How does business complexity affect risk management in financial institutions? The commonly used risk measures rely on either balance-sheet or market-based information, both of which may suffer from identification problems when it comes to answering this question. Balance-sheet measures, such as return on assets, capture the risk when it is realized, while empirical identification requires knowledge of the risk when it is actually taken. Market-based measures, such as bond yields, not only ignore the problem that investors are not fully aware of all the risks taken by management due to asymmetric information, but are also contaminated by other confounding factors such as implicit government guarantees associated with the systemic importance of complex financial institutions. To circumvent these problems, we use operational risk events as a risk management measure because (i) the timing of the origin of each event is well identified, and (ii) the risk events can serve as a direct measure of materialized failures in risk management without being influenced by the confounding factors that drive asset prices. Using the gradual deregulation of banks' nonbank activities during 1996–1999 as a natural experiment, we show that the frequency and magnitude of operational risk events in U. S. bank holding companies have increased significantly with their business complexity. This trend is particularly strong for banks that were bound by regulations beforehand, especially for those with an existing Section 20 subsidiary, and weaker for other banks that were not bound and for nonbank financial institutions that were not subject to the same regulations to begin with. These results reveal the darker side of post-deregulation diversification, which in earlier studies has been shown to lead to improved stock and earnings performance. Our findings have important implications for the regulation of financial institutions deemed systemically important, a designation tied closely to their complexity by the Bank for International Settlements and the Federal Reserve.


Porous granules of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-Ca3(PO4)2; β-TCP) were prepared from porous hydroxyapatite granules with calcium deficient composition synthesized by hydrothermal method. The β-TCP granules were composed of rod-shaped particles of about 10-20 µm in length. Rod-shaped particles were locked together to make micro-pores, and the size of micro-pores formed by tangling of rod-shaped particles was about 0.1-0.5 µm. The granule size, particle size, and micro-pore size could be controlled by our unique method. The porous granules of β-TCP must be suitable for the bone graft material and for scaffold of cultured bone.


ABSTRACT The expected gains from RES deployment to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) and the cut-off of external dependence of electricity sources could be important. However, it is crucial to understand the determinants of RES growth to help policymakers drawing effective energy polices, involving a commitment of both citizens and governments. In this paper, we use novel panel econometric tools (taking into account structural breaks and cross-section dependence) and find evidence of nonstationary issues and cointegration issues between renewable energy production and its drivers (CO2 emissions, GDP per capita, energy use and dependency). The results thus reveal that non-stationary issues should be attended, otherwise they could be biased. Using suitable estimators (DOLS, FMOLS) with two different data sets and different proxies and taking common factors into account by MG estimates, we find that there is no environmental concerns effect explaining the growth of renewables in European countries. However, national revenues, energy consumption (demand effect) and energy dependency have a positive impact on renewables deployment. Considering these results, economic assistance (subsidies) might be a mean to increase further the renewables deployment in EU countries and education about renewables deployment is needed.


The effectiveness of simulation-based training has been examined in various sports. However, considering the effect of gender and sport on training, it would be interesting to evaluate simulation-based training in female basketball.

 The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of simulation-based training on physical fitness and performance indices in female basketball players.

 Sixteen female semi-professional basketball players were randomly assigned to experimental (n=8; age, 25±2 years; weight, 62±9 kg; height, 167±8 cm) or control (n=8; age, 24±1 years; weight, 57±9 kg; height, 170±8 cm) groups. The experimental group participated in a six week basketball simulation training program including running with different speeds (jogging to sprinting), agility, jumping, and shuffling. Both groups performed the Cooper 12 min run, line drill, an adjusted T-test, 20 ms print, the Sargent vertical jump and basketball exercise simulation test before and after six weeks of the study period. Control and experimental groups performed typical basketball training, three times weekly. The overall training volume was similar for both groups.

 The perceived exertion was higher in the simulation-based training than control (p<0.05) group. The findings of this study indicated a significant increase in VO2 max (p=0.001), anaerobic power (p=0.009), explosive leg strength (p=0.036), and total distance covered in basketball exercise simulation test (p=0.001) and decrease of the meantime of one round of basketball exercise simulation test (p=0.001) in the simulation training compared to the control group.

 Generally incorporation of the simulation-based training in conditioning programs is recommended for improving aerobic, anaerobic and leg explosive strength of basketball players.


The effect of finite-size and boundary conditions on the I-V characteristics of a resistively shunted, two-dimensional Josephson-junction array in zero magnetic field is studied both analytically and numerically. Through a detailed analysis of activation, driven diffusion, and destruction of free vortices under periodic boundary conditions, we obtain a two-scale finite-size scaling expression which, in particular, resolves a previously reported discrepancy between the analytical treatment of Ambegaokar et al. [Ambegaokar, Halp-erin, Nelson, and Siggia, Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 783 (1978)] and numerical simulations. The effect of finite array width on the I-V curves in the experimentally studied open networks is governed by a different, one-scale scaling expression with a different underlying physical mechanism. For arrays of sufficiently large width, data from the two types of boundary conditions provide lower and upper bounds on the asymptotic value of the voltage. Large-scale simulations (up to 2304×512 nodes) are carried out to verify the phenomenological analysis.


This paper examines the causes of the exceptionally marked fall in non-construction investment in Italy since 2007. Non-financial private services were the main driver of the decline in the aggregate investment rate, but all sectors weighed in negatively; the reallocation of value added away from industry was a further drag on investment. In concordance with survey findings, an aggregate model of investment indicates that even during the recent double recession the most important driver of capital accumulation was demand conditions. The user cost of capital had a substantial negative impact in the acute phases of the sovereign debt crisis, but since 2013 its contribution has been positive, thanks to the ECB's expansionary monetary policy. The constraints on capital accumulation imposed by tight credit supply conditions were particularly severe in 2009 and 2012. Finally, uncertainty provided a sizeable drag on investment growth not only during the global financial crisis but also in the last two years. The significance of these determinants of investment is confirmed also by a disaggregated model for the thirteen manufacturing branches.


Mathematicts is an important subject at elementary schools. Preliminary observation at many Elementary School indicated that student's mathematic achievement was not satisfactory. The student's understanding of number operations was olso low. One of many ways to improve the student's activities and mathematic achievement is through the use of block Dienes in teaching number operations.


With the global population growth of elderly persons, there has been a tendency toward higher quality of life, along with continually increasing expectations and needs for enhanced health care for elderly persons. The purposes of this research were to develop the E‐textile–based Smart Healthcare Glove System (SHGS) with Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator (TENS) as a health care device for the elderly hypertensive, and to evaluate the effectiveness of SHGS for hypertensive treatment. The SHGS consists of an inner glove with sensor‐embedded conductive textiles; an outer glove; a TENS for electrical stimulation; and an arm band for a ubiquitous health care wearable device. The SHGS with TENS is used for hypertension treatment and care by electrically stimulating meridian points on the palm. The health care performance test was carried out with a dozen elderly female patients (six Senior‐old‐ageing and six Old‐ageing groups) suffering from hypertension, and was conducted to measure blood pressure and pulse rate before and after wearing the SHGS with TENS for 15 min. Significantly, this study found that the mean blood pressure of all 12 patients after wearing SHGS decreased from 142.58 ± 9.90/82.46 ± 4.45 mmHg to 119.83 ± 9.23/75.79 ± 4.90 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (p < .001) as well as diastolic blood pressure (p < .01) by paired t test. Also, the mean blood pressure of chronic hypertensive patients decreased significantly from 149.25 ± 9.45/82.75 ± 2.70 mmHg to 125.33 ± 9.78/76.67 ± 3.31 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (p < .001). In addition, there was a significant difference in blood pressure before and after wearing the SHGS by Wilcoxon signed rank test (p value: 0.0313, 0.0005). These results suggest that SHGS decreases blood pressure, improves irregular blood circulation, and can be an effective high‐tech health care device for elderly hypertensive patients. Although this study used only elderly participants, the results of the study may be generalized to hypertensive patients at any age. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


STUDY OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility of using a postal survey to assess health and development in 7 year old children of different birth weights and to examine the response and any resulting response bias. DESIGN: A multi-stage postal survey, using a sample stratified by birth weight. SETTING: The four counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Northamptonshire, which make up the former Oxford NHS Region. SAMPLE: All children born in 1985 to the residents of the former Oxford region who weighed either under 1500 g or over 5000 g at birth and all those with unstated birth weight were included. Samples of approximately 130 live births were randomly selected from each 500 g birth weight band between 1500 g and 5000 g. The total sample size was 1319. METHODS: The children in the sample were identified from birth registration and traced through the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR). Self administered questionnaires were sent through the relevant Family Health Service Authority (FHSA) and then via the child's general practitioner (GP) to the child's parent(s). When parents' permission was given, self administered questionnaires were also sent to the child's GP and teacher. MAIN RESULTS: Of the 1319 children, 1169 were alive at the age of 7 and were successfully traced. Questionnaires were forwarded by GPs to parents of 1071 children and completed questionnaires were obtained from parents of 805 children. Parents of 753 children gave permission to approach the child's teacher and replies were received for 695. Parents of 770 children gave permission to send a questionnaire to the child's GP and 724 were returned completed. Response bias was assessed for the parents' questionnaire using data recorded about all births at birth registration. Response rates varied by sex of child, social class, and country of birth of the father. In addition, parents with a child with a serious motor or sensory deficit appeared to be more likely to respond. CONCLUSIONS: Response rates at each stage of the survey were good. The bias in response to the parents' questionnaire needs to be taken into consideration in future work. The method was found to be feasible and could be applied more widely than in monitoring child health.


The effects of the precipitate and martensite lath on the softening behavior have been investigated for 11Cr-3.5W-3Co steel during creep at 700. During creep, the precipitate on the PAG (prior austenite grain) boundaries and martensite lath boundaries coarsened. The recovery of dislocation density and an increase of martensite lath width took place. It is shown that the inverse of the size of the precipitates and the inverse of the square root of the martensite lath width have a linear relation with the Vickers hardness, which corresponds to the Hall-Petch relation and particle looping mechanism.


ABSTRACT Araujo, M.; Medeiros, C. and Endres, J-P., 2016. An Analytic Approach to Model the Tidal Circulation in a Double-inlet Estuary. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 223-227. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Estuaries comprise broad spectra of systems whose morphology often rule theirs hydrodynamics. The Itamaracá estuarine system (NE-Brazil) is formed by the Santa Cruz Channel (SCC), connecting to the Atlantic Ocean through two inlets. Water level and in depth current measurements were used to evaluate an analytical approach for representing its tidal circulation. Depth-averaged currents were analytically predicted with 11% error (δ1 = 0.11). Currents measurements for five different sampling stations and depths were compared to model responses for various values of eddy viscosity (ν) and bottom friction parameter (r). The best-fit quadratic error δ2 = 0.155 was obtained with ν = 6.3×10−3m2s−1 and r = 6.5×10−3ms−1. Model improvements, considering bottom friction and eddy diffusivity formulations, indicated a boundary layer depth of 0.10H (H=channel depth), and a large (6.1×10−3m) mean roughness length of the sea-bed to couple with the intricate roots system of red mangroves along the SCC. Simulations were also used to test Taylor's (1954) scale analysis, yielding c = 0.080 as best value (c = ν/u*H constant; u* =bottom friction velocity) and a mean eddy viscosity of 5.8×10−3 m2s−1). The low sensibility of momentum distribution to changes in eddy viscosity verified suggests that stronger viscosity dumping may be compensated by higher bottom shear stress. This simple analytical approach could also be used to predict spatial and temporal distribution of pollutants and other materials at SSC and at similar systems as advection of those components could easily be simulated combining modelled currents with measurements of theirs concentrations.


Eigenmannia 's jamming avoidance response (JAR) is a frequency change of its electric organ discharge (EOD) in response to an electric stimulus of similar frequency (small ΔF; ΔF = FFish - FStim). It is assumed that the response to an unclamped stimulus, ΔR = FResponce - FRest, is stereotyped and non-habituating, and improves the fish's electrolocation performance in the presence of a jamming stimulus, such as the EOD of a nearby conspecific.

Adult females gravid with eggs ( N = 3) gave good responses (frequency decrease of at least 3 Hz) to -ΔF (stimulus frequency higher than fish frequency), but no response or only weak responses (<0.5 Hz) to +ΔF (stimulus frequency lower than fish frequency). AFter 2.75 years, a sexually mature female still showed the same behaviour, whereas an immature female (see below) had changed its behaviour considerably on becoming sexually mature.

Large males ( N = 4) did not give JARs to + ΔF, and no JARs or only weak ones to -ΔF (|ΔR| < 0.7 Hz). Increasing the stimulus intensity by +10 or +20 dB did not change this result. After 2.5 years, two large males were still found to be almost unresponsive. However, large males gave rapid frequency modulations ('short rises' and "interruptions'), which have been described from threatening fish likely to attack, even at the weakest stimulus intensity.

One group of juveniles ( N = 4; probably females) gave only a weak increase in frequency (ΔR 2 Hz) in response to -ΔF. Another group of juveniles ( N = 4; probably males) gave strongest responses (ΔR > 3 Hz) to ΔF = 0 Hz. In these juveniles, the 'equilibrium point' of no response was at ΔF ≊ −0.6 Hz to −1 Hz instead of at ΔF = 0 Hz. They thus increased, rather than decreased, their EOD frequency even at small -ΔFs, which would have been more economical. A decrease in frequency was weaker than an increase. A significant frequency change could even be elicited by stimuli of ΔF = O Hz that are phase-locked to the EOD.

The accuracy of assessment of ΔF, as determined in juvenile fish giving good +ΔRs and -ΔRs, was not better than ±0.3 Hz (at ΔF = −0.6 Hz). The JAR showed strong habituation.

None of the 14 fish showed a frequency difference vs response curve close to optimal for the purpose of jamming avoidance. An alternative function of the JAR in social communication is considered.


Abstract Samples of Fe82Ga18-xAlx (1.5 £ x £ 15) alloys were prepared using a high vacuum arc melting system and homogenized at 1100 8C for 3 h, 1 000 8C for 120 h, and 730 8C for 168 h. The Fe82Ga18-xAlx(3 £ x £ 13.5) alloys were annealed at 550 8C for 15 min, while being exposed to a low magnetic field. The structure of the alloys was analysed by X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. The magnetostriction coefficient of each of the samples was measured. It was found that the magnetostriction values of Fe82Ga18-xAlx(3 £ x £ 13.5) alloys were enhanced by magnetic field annealing. The magnetostrictive growth rate of the Fe82Ga15Al3sample was particularly large at 165%, and the Fe82Ga9Al9sample showed the highest magnetostrictive coefficient (up to 114 · 10-6) without compressive stress.


The study considers an ultrasonic characterization on the thermal distribution in vicinity for a cylindrical thermal lesion formed in a biological tissue. The cylindrical heat source is made of a standard nichrome wire with the diameter of 1 mm. The wire was inserted inside a pork muscle housed in a cuboidal container made of perspex. The heat is conducted radially outwards from the wire to the surrounding tissue. Thermal distribution near the heated wire was predicted by numerically solving a bioheat transfer function using FemLab (Comsol, Inc.). As the wire temperature was raised from the environmental temperature 20 °C to more than 80 °C in steps of 5 °C, ultrasonic B-scan images were acquired at each temperature. We assessed the feasibility of detecting the lesion boundary using changes in echogenicity, changes in centroid frequency due to attenuation, tissue moving characteristics resulting from changes in the speed of sound, and elastograms. These observations will be of use in improving ultrasonic monitoring and guiding in HIFU surgery and thermo-therapeutic process in general.


Despite the global recognition of women's central role in the provision, management, and utilisation of water for production and domestic use, and despite the close links between production choices, the security of water for consumption, and gendered social relations, the implications of these interlinkages for health and nutrition are under-explored. This paper seeks to fill this gap. It unpacks the gendered pathways mediating the links between water security in all its dimensions and nutritional outcomes, based on research in 12 villages across two Indian states. The findings point to the importance of the dynamic links between natural (land and water) systems and gendered human activities, across the domains of production and reproduction, and across seasons. These links have implications for women's work and time burdens. They impact equally on physical and emotional experiences of well-being, especially in contexts constrained by the availability, access, quality, and stability of water.


Since 2003 the German Public Employment Service (PES) has been experimenting with the contracting out of various services. One of the new labour market programmes is the Personnel Service Agencies, which provide client firms with jobseekers on a temporary assignment basis and are responsible for integrating jobseekers into non-subsidised employment. By contracting out employment services, the PES seeks to exploit efficiency gains characteristic of enterprises that compete in quasi-markets. In order to integrate jobseekers as rapidly as possible, a result-oriented system of incentives has been developed. This paper describes the institutional setting and examines its appropriateness for efficient job placement services.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gender dysphoria (GD) frequently cooccur. However, existing research has primarily used smaller samples, limiting generalizability and the ability to assess further demographic variation. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the prevalence of cooccurring ASD and GD diagnoses among US adolescents aged 9 to 18 and (2) identify demographic differences in the prevalence of cooccurring ASD and GD diagnoses.

METHODS
This secondary analysis used data from the PEDSnet learning health system network of 8 pediatric hospital institutions. Analyses included descriptive statistics and adjusted mixed logistic regression testing for associations between ASD and GD diagnoses and interactions between ASD diagnosis and demographic characteristics in the association with GD diagnosis.

RESULTS
Among 919 898 patients, GD diagnosis was more prevalent among youth with an ASD diagnosis compared with youth without an ASD diagnosis (1.1% vs 0.6%), and adjusted regression revealed significantly greater odds of GD diagnosis among youth with an ASD diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio = 3.00, 95% confidence interval: 2.72-3.31). Cooccurring ASD/GD diagnoses were more prevalent among youth whose electronic medical record-reported sex was female and those using private insurance, and less prevalent among youth of color, particularly Black and Asian youth.

CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that youth whose electronic medical record-reported sex was female and those using private insurance are more likely, and youth of color are less likely, to have cooccurring ASD/GD diagnoses. This represents an important step toward building services and supports that reduce disparities in access to care and improve outcomes for youth with cooccurring ASD/GD and their families.


"Morgan - 100 Years" celebrates 100 years of Morgan cars, tracing the history of Britain's most prestigious motor company, the only car maker in the world to survive for a century under the ownership of its founding family. This incredibly successful marque boasts wonderfully loyal enthusiasts who lovingly restore older cars as well as continuing to support new development. Covering the Morgan story from 1909 to the present day and drawing on archive material from the Morgan factory in Worcestershire, where the cars are still lovingly handcrafted, "Morgan - 100 Years" also includes information on the development of the Aero 8, the first totally new car since 1936; Morgan's heroic Le Mans race campaigns; great stories from Morgan owners and the Morgan Company's vision for the future. Telling the story of this prestigious sports car manufacturer in a unique and entertaining style, "Morgan - 100 Years" is bound to delight all Morgan enthusiasts.


Objective: The current study uses methods from social network analysis to examine the relationship between chronic health conditions (CHC) and adolescent friendships. Particular attention is given to the processes of peer marginalization, peer withdrawal, and homophily related to CHC. Methods: Exponential random graph models were used to investigate the extent to which CHC is associated with patterns in adolescent friendship connections, while controlling for important social network properties and covariates. The study uses cross-sectional data from six small U.S. high schools (N = 461) within the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Results: Findings demonstrate no significant differences between adolescents with CHC and adolescents without CHC in the number of incoming friendship nominations (peer marginalization) or outgoing friendship nominations (peer withdrawal). In addition, similarity in CHC (homophily) was not significantly related to friendship between two individuals. Conclusions: In sum, the presence of adolescent CHC was not significantly associated with adolescent social network structure, including peer marginalization, peer withdrawal, and homophily related to CHC, after controlling for alternative social network processes. Although previous literature suggests that adolescents with CHC experience negative social consequences, the current findings demonstrate that the social network structure of adolescents with CHC did not differ significantly from that of their peers without CHC. Thus, findings from the current study suggest that CHC are not related to objective reductions in social connections.


The use of nasal nitric oxide (nNO) in sinonasal disease has recently been advocated as a potential tool to explore upper inflammatory airway disease. However, it is currently hampered by some factors including the wide range of measurement methods, the presence of various confounding factors and the heterogeneity of the study population. The contribution of nasal airway and paranasal sinuses communicating with the nose through the ostia represents the main confounding factor. There is accumulating evidence that nasal humming (which is the production of a tone without opening the lips or forming words) during nNO measurement increases nNO levels due to a rapid gas exchange in the paranasal sinuses. The aim of this review is to discuss the basic concepts and clinical applications of nNO assessment during humming, which represents a simple and noninvasive method to approach sinonasal disease.


Bacteria and archaea are constantly threatened by a large array of viruses and other genetic elements. Driven by evolution, these organisms have acquired a wide arsenal of defense mechanisms that allow the host organism to fight off the invaders. Among these defense mechanisms is an adaptive and inheritable that is conveyed through Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and their CRISPR associated proteins (Cas). Immunity relies on the integration of short stretches of invasive DNA (spacers) into the genome of the host. Subsequent, transcription and processing of these spacers result in small crRNA molecules that guide Cas proteins for sequence specific DNA target degradation. Most of our knowledge on CRISPR immunity has come from conventional biochemical techniques, that average the population dynamics and thereby mask the underlying molecular dynamics. In this thesis, we adopt single-molecule fluorescence techniques that allow for real-time visualization of the molecular dynamics that underlie CRISPR immunity. Our single-molecule approach reveals that the various stages of CRISPR immunity in E. coli are highly dynamic and tightly coupled, leading to a robust immune response. The results presented in this thesis contribute to a new level of understanding on the molecular mechanisms behind CRISPR immunity and may aid in the development of CRISPR-based tools for engineering biology.


Based on the fluid theory of plasma, a model is built to study the characteristics of nitrogen discharge at high pressure with induced argon plasma. In the model, species such as electrons, N2+, N4+, Ar+, and two metastable states (N 2(A3∑u+), N2 (a1 ∑u-)) are taken into account. The model includes the particle continuity equation, the electron energy balance equation, and Poisson抯equation. The model is solved with a finite difference method. The numerical results are obtained and used to investigate the effect of time taken to add nitrogen gas and initially-induced argon plasma pressure. It is found that lower speeds of adding the nitrogen gas and varying the gas pressure can induce higher plasma density, and inversely lower electron temperature. At high-pressure discharge, the electron density increases when the proportion of nitrogen component is below 40%, while the electron density will keep constant as the nitrogen component further increases. It is also shown that with the increase of initially-induced argon plasma pressure, the density of charged particles increases, and the electron temperature as well as the electric field decreases.


Evaluation of clinical skills in pre and postgraduate medical students should establish the level of concordance in each group according to defined objectives. Hypothesis: clinical skills in pregraduate students shows poor interobserver concordance levels (kappa index < 0.41) and improves in postgraduate students. Patients and methods: a pilot study of 50 cases permitted sample size estimates of 104 to 156 patients given a standard error of the kappa index of 0.08, and alfa error of 0.05 and the power to detect a difference of 0.20. Observers were random couples of interns (n = 11) and fist year residents (n = 10). The clinical findings evaluated were severity of illness, respiratory retractions, rales, respiratory distress and impairment of consciousness. Each record also included age, gender, nutritional status, diagnosis on admission, evaluation couple and date. Statistical analysis of the data included comparisons of proportions (Ji square) and of kappa indexes. Results: 358 children were admitted to the study, 206 were evaluated by residents and 152 by interns, both groups being of similar age, gender and nutritional status. Kappa indexes generated by intern couples were from –0.03 up to 0.17 and by residents 0.13 to 0.68. These figures were significantly better for residents only when evaluating impairment of consciousness and severity of illness. Reduction of evaluation categories to 2 levels showed significant improvement of kappa indexes only in the group of residents. The latter had better results than interns for all indexes except for respiratory distress. Conclusions: It is imperative to make a critical review of educational objectives and methods directed to the acquisition of clinical skills in pre and postgraduate medical students. The findings in this study show poor level of concordance in both groups and are hardly acceptable because interns have just had semiological training and residents in addition controlled practice.


Along with the increasing use of the Internet, scholarly publishing was affected by the rise of 'predatory journals'. Many authors attribute the success of these journals to the open access provided to potential readers. While many authors have attempted to propose criteria for identifying predatory journals, very little research was directed to explaining their success, and underlying strategies. This study uses a biological sciences perspective, based on the five stages of predation, and examines the strategies accordingly. The results indicate that predatory journals use the same strategies as all Internet-based scams in identifying their prey. The largest number of strategies addresses approaching the authors. The recent trends include personalized call for papers, use of fake metrics, hijacking reputed journals, faking location and editorial structure, addressing a broad range of topics and providing fast services (at the expense of quality). In addition to these strategies, publishing fees are often hidden. In summary, the pressure to publish and metrics-based career advancement procedures are the main attractors driving authors to predatory journals, despite the efforts of scientists and Internet-based means of identifying these journals and publicizing their dishonest practices.


BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulatory effect of a small molecule selectin inhibitor in the liver by examining the functional, structural, and survival response of animals subjected to hemorrhagic shock and to determine the liver infiltration of neutrophils and the regulation of chemokine expression. Selectins play an important role in the development of the lesions associated with ischemia/reperfusion and hemorrhagic shock. Blocking individually the selectin family of adhesion molecules with monoclonal antibodies has resulted in better organ function and survival. To our knowledge, there are no studies demonstrating the beneficial effect of multiple selectin blockade with a small molecule inhibitor under conditions of hemorrhagic shock.

METHODS
Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to hemorrhagic shock. Three groups of animals were included (n = 16/group), i.e., the sham, control, and treated groups, which received a small molecule selectin inhibitor (TBC-1269) at 25 mg/kg body weight after the bleeding began. The following parameters were evaluated: fluid requirements during resuscitation, liver injury tests (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase), liver histology and myeloperoxidase, and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 mRNA and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant mRNA in liver tissue, and animal survival at 3 days. Statistical analysis included Student's t test and analysis of variance when indicated.

RESULTS
Significant improvement in liver function and histology was noted in the treated group. Survival was also improved, although it is not known whether liver failure was the most proximate cause of lethality. Infiltration of neutrophils, measured by tissue myeloperoxidase, was significantly decreased in livers of treated animals. No significant changes were noted in fluid requirements. The small molecule selectin inhibitor group showed a down-regulating effect on liver macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant mRNA expression associated with less accumulation of neutrophils in the liver.

CONCLUSION
This study supports the role that selectins play in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic shock. The mechanism of protection seen after multiple selectin blockade (TBC-1269) centered, in part, around the infiltration of liver neutrophils, probably dependent on the induction of macrophage inflammatory protein-2 and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant mRNA expression in liver tissue.


To point out one possible complication after suburtehra tape insertion. To present methods of treatment, especially partial or total removal of the tape. Few successful cases of treatment are shown in case reports. Design: case report. Observation: Chronic pain after insertion of suburethral tape is a rare complication. There are several possible causes, such as tape erosion with chronic inflamation, post-colposuspension syndrome, myo-fascial syndrome, nerve damage during tape implantation or due to overproduction of fibrous tissue. Partial or total tape removal is needed when the conservative treatment fails. patients may remain continent or a new tape is placed. Pain relief is usually complete but there are times when additional treatment is needed. Conclusion: Sling removal is a successful method of treating chronic pain after suburethral tape insertion. patients describe pain relief and improvement of quality of life.


A dichotomy exists as to the ease and success of ablation for focal origin when compared with macroreentrant tachyarrhythmias, and inexact diagnosis of the arrhythmia mechanism is often a factor. In this installment of Teaching Rounds in Electrophysiology, Selvaraj et al1 present findings in a patient with previous tetralogy of Fallot repair and ventricular tachycardia. They use this case to teach us how the visual interpretation of electroanatomic maps can be misleading, and most importantly, they underscore the value of defining arrhythmia mechanism.

Article see p 553

Color-coded electroanatomic maps are meant to facilitate our ability to recognize activation sequences. We learn what is early and where the circuits are located… Or do we?

Once a reference point, which for ventricular tachycardia is often a recognizable portion of the QRS, is established and a window of interest, typically spanning the cycle length of the tachycardia, is chosen, one can readily recognize sites of early activation coded red on the activation map display. For focal source tachycardias, ablation at such sites is likely to be successful. However, caution is required when targeting these sites in some instances.

### Fascicular Tachycardia

Automatic or localized reentrant fascicular tachycardia may have exits from the Purkinje system to the ventricular myocardium at potentially distant and multiple sites away from the true tachycardia origin. Early ventricular electrograms, when compared with the QRS, simply identify the breakout sites of the tachycardia, as well as sinus rhythm.

### Supravalvar and Thoracic Vein Arrhythmia

Tachycardia that originates in one of the cul-de-sacs of the heart (atria or ventricle) may similarly enter the myocardium of the cardiac chamber at one or multiple locations that may be relatively distant from the true origin. Unless the true origin outside …


Effective pretreatment of spectral reflectance is vital to model accuracy in soil parameter estimation. However, the classic integer derivative has some disadvantages, including spectral information loss and the introduction of high-frequency noise. In this paper, the fractional order derivative algorithm was applied to the pretreatment and partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to assess the clay content of desert soils. Overall, 103 soil samples were collected from the Ebinur Lake basin in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China, and used as data sets for calibration and validation. Following laboratory measurements of spectral reflectance and clay content, the raw spectral reflectance and absorbance data were treated using the fractional derivative order from the 0.0 to the 2.0 order (order interval: 0.2). The ratio of performance to deviation (RPD), determinant coefficients of calibration (Rc2), root mean square errors of calibration (RMSEC), determinant coefficients of prediction (Rp2), and root mean square errors of prediction (RMSEP) were applied to assess the performance of predicting models. The results showed that models built on the fractional derivative order performed better than when using the classic integer derivative. Comparison of the predictive effects of 22 models for estimating clay content, calibrated by PLSR, showed that those models based on the fractional derivative 1.8 order of spectral reflectance (Rc2 = 0.907, RMSEC = 0.425%, Rp2 = 0.916, RMSEP = 0.364%, and RPD = 2.484 ≥ 2.000) and absorbance (Rc2 = 0.888, RMSEC = 0.446%, Rp2 = 0.918, RMSEP = 0.383% and RPD = 2.511 ≥ 2.000) were most effective. Furthermore, they performed well in quantitative estimations of the clay content of soils in the study area.


"Said to live for 500 or 1451 years (depending on the source), the phoenix is a bird with beautiful gold and red plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites, both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises." (Wikipedia, 2007.) Introduction Like the phoenix, technology education (TE) can, under the right circumstances, give life to new programs--curricula with different emphases and directions from technology education, yet sharing a common heritage: the belief that applied technology will continue to shape our world. How that shaping process takes place--and the problems that it can solve--defines the industrial design phoenix as an increasingly formidable, emerging area of study. After more than 50 years of training industrial arts and technology educators at Montclair State University, our technology teacher education program was closed in 1996. At the time of this decision, we had approximately 300 students enrolled within the two major concentrations in the department--teacher education and the nonteaching industrial technology option. Several reasons were offered to justify the program's termination: the need to put a public face on aggressive action towards program consolidation within the state college system; relative non-articulation of technology education with other academic disciplines; shrinking budgets; and an industrial, smokestack public image found to be increasingly inconsistent with the changing mission of the University. These justifications mirror, to a large degree, those usually given by administrators for closing industrial arts and technology programs in the secondary schools throughout the country. After closing the program, the majority of the remaining Technology faculty was moved into the Department of Art and Design, which offered teaching opportunities related to some of the areas with which we were familiar: general design, graphic design and photography, jewelry and lapidary. In the years following the closure, these teaching reassignments have proven to be a fertile ground from which the ashes, so to speak, of our new phoenix, namely industrial design, would arise. Manual Arts/Manual Training/industrial Arts/ Industrial Technology/Technology Education Program change and redefinition of goals is nothing new within the industrial and technological arts. As a curricular discipline, technology education (TE) has, throughout its history, always had to jump significant hurdles of acceptance as a component of general education subject matter. In some cases, programs have not survived. In many secondary schools, technology shops were located in school basements. The term dumping ground became associated with industrial arts programs, often filled and tracked with non-college-bound students. Evoking a mental image of smokestack processing, and catering to the lower-echelons of the student population, these programs were, and are, often easy targets for school administrators and local school boards, themselves increasingly held accountable by hostile taxpayers seeking to shave expenses under ever-increasing school tax burdens and tuition costs. The Emergence of Technology as the Source of Curriculum Content Technology education has undergone many changes in the 125 years since Calvin Woodward introduced manual training as an educational discipline in St. Louis in the 1880s. In the following 100 years, American industry stood as the major criteria and benchmark for the selection of subject content in the industrial arts. By the 1960s, however, society was changing, fueled in large part by remarkable and rapid advances within industry and technology spreading throughout the consumer marketplace. Industry was no longer viewed as justifiable criteria for the selection of industrial arts subject content--neither was the name. …


The catalytic properties of Al2O3-supported vanadia with a wide range of VOx surface density (1.4–34.2 V/nm2) and structure were examined for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane and propane. UV–visible and Raman spectra showed that vanadia is dispersed predominately as isolated monovanadate species below ∼2.3 V/nm2. As surface densities increase, two-dimensional polyvanadates appear (2.3–7.0 V/nm2), along with increasing amounts of V2O5 crystallites at surface densities above 7.0 V/nm2. The rate constant for oxidative dehydrogenation (k1) and its ratio with alkane and alkene combustion (k2/k1 and k3/k1, respectively) were compared for both alkane reactants as a function of vanadia surface density. Propene formation rates (per V atom) are approximately eight times higher than ethene formation rates at a given reaction temperature, but the apparent ODH activation energies (E1) are similar for the two reactants and relatively insensitive to vanadia surface density. Ethene and propene formation rates (per V atom) are strongly influenced by vanadia surface density and reach a maximum value at intermediate surface densities (∼8 V/nm2). The ratio of k2/k1 depends weakly on reaction temperature, indicating that activation energies for alkane combustion and ODH reactions are similar. The ratio of k2/k1 is independent of surface density for ethane but increases slightly with vanadia surface density for propane, suggesting that isolated structures prevalent at low surface densities are slightly more selective for alkane dehydrogenation reactions. The ratio of k3/k1 decreases markedly with increasing reaction temperature for both ethane and propane ODH. Thus, the apparent activation energy for alkene combustion (E3) is much lower than that for alkane dehydrogenation (E1) and the difference between these two activation energies decreases with increasing surface density. The lower alkene selectivities observed at high vanadia surface densities are attributed to an increase in alkene adsorption enthalpies with increasing vanadia surface density. The highest yield of alkene is obtained for catalysts containing predominantly isolated monovanadate species and operated at high temperatures that avoid homogeneous reactions (<∼800 K).


The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) is located on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, at an altitude of 4.2 km. The existing suite of facility heterodyne receivers covering the submillimeter band is rapidly aging and in need of replacement. To facilitate deep integrations and automated spectral line surveys, a family of remote programmable, synthesized, dual-frequency balanced receivers covering the astronomical important 180-720 GHz atmospheric windows is in an advanced stage of development. Installation of the first set of receivers is expected in the spring of 2012. Dual-frequency observation will be an important mode of operation offered by the new facility instrumentation. Two band observations are accomplished by separating the H and V polarizations of the incoming signal and routing them via folded optics to the appropriate polarization sensitive balanced mixer. Scientifically this observation mode facilitates pointing for the higher receiver band under mediocre weather conditions and a doubling of scientific throughput (2 ×  4 GHz) under good weather conditions.


A dynamic, state feedback control structure is proposed. The scheme is conceived as an adaptive controller with the equilibrium in an L/sub g/V control law as the uncertain parameter, which allows the implementation of the controller for systems with unknown equilibrium. A new property of L/sub g/V controllers is given, and it is proven that this and other important properties carry on to the proposed scheme. A synchronous machine case study shows that the proposed scheme may give better results than the L/sub g/V controller from which it is derived.


This study was conducted to evaluate the rehabilitation measures and select appropriate tree species and rehabilitation methods for rehabilitating the rock desert areas in Guizhou, China. The study was carried out during the periods from 2003 to 2006 and results are as follows. Afforestation site is classified as a dolomite sandstone hilly country, a halfstony hilly country, a karst physiognomy, a rock desertification farmland and an latent rock desertification farmland by soil type and rock desertification status. Total afforestation area of Xuiwen is 1,300ha and afforestation area of a dolomite sandstone hilly country, a halfstony hilly country, a karst physiognomy, a rock desertification farmland and an latent rock desertification farmland are respectively 104.0ha (8.0%), 146.6ha (11.3%), 200.5ha (15.4%), 705.7ha (54.3%) and 143.2ha (11.0%). Planted tree species were selected by five site types. Robinia pseudoacacia, Chamaecyparis obtusa, Thuja orientalis, Cupressus duclouxiana and Juniperus chinensis L. var. chinensis were planted in a dolomite sandstone hilly country and Choerospondias axillaris and Robinia pseudoacacia were planted in a halfstony hilly country. Cupressus duclouxiana, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Lonicera fulvotomentosa, Ilex kudincila, Quercus aliena, Quercus variabilis, Choerospondias axillaris, Koelreuteria bipinnata, Cryptomeria japonica, Cinnamomum camphora and Cinnamomum bodinieri were planted in a karst physiognomy. Cupressus duclouxiana, Toona sinensis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Lonicera fulvotomentosa, Eucommia ulmoides, Ilex kudincha. Zanthoxylum bungeanum and Magnolia officinalis were planted in a rock desertification farmland. Lonicera fulvotomentosa, Juglans sinensis, Pyrus pyrifolia, Choerospondias axillaris, Prunus salicina and Diospyros Kaki was planted in an latent rock desertification farm land. Robinia pseudoacacia showed high survival rate in 2004 and 2005, but Zanthoxylum bungeanum and Cinnamomum camphora showed slightly low survival rate in 2004. Survival rate of planting species in 2005 was over 80% because some species which showed low survival in 2004 were changed with other species and a proper afforestation method was applied. Growth rate of tree species was evaluated by height and diameter growth rate. Cupressus duclouxiana showed a highest height growth rate in 2004. Toona sil1ensis, Choerospondias axillaris, Koelreuteria bipinnata, and Cinnamomum camphora showed almost 100% height growth rate in 2005, although they showed a negative height growth rate in 2004. Robinia pseudoacacia showed a good growth rate in the rock desertification farmland and the halfstony hilly country so it could give a commercial benefit like honey as well as an afforestation effect.


We introduce RealTime QA, a dynamic question answering (QA) platform that announces questions and evaluates systems on a regular basis (weekly in this version). RealTime QA inquires about the current world, and QA systems need to answer questions about novel events or information. It therefore challenges static, conventional assumptions in open domain QA datasets and pursues, instantaneous applications. We build strong baseline models upon large pretrained language models, including GPT-3 and T5. Our benchmark is an ongoing effort, and this preliminary report presents real-time evaluation results over the past month. Our experimental results show that GPT-3 can often properly update its generation results, based on newly-retrieved documents, highlighting the importance of up-to-date information retrieval. Nonetheless, we find that GPT-3 tends to return outdated answers when retrieved documents do not provide sufficient information to find an answer. This suggests an important avenue for future research: can an open domain QA system identify such unanswerable cases and communicate with the user or even the retrieval module to modify the retrieval results? We hope that RealTime QA will spur progress in instantaneous applications of question answering and beyond.


AIMS
Low access flow and the diagnosis of high degrees of venous stenosis have been recommended as indications for prophylactic angioplasty. However, recent studies have shown that prophylactic angioplasty for > 50% stenosis did not prolong graft patency, and that a single flow measurement may not accurately predict graft failure. In this study we compared the value of monthly measurement of access flow and of the maximal degree of stenosis in the detection of graft failure over a three-month period.

METHODS
Thirty-nine hemodialysis patients with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts were evaluated by Doppler ultrasound at monthly intervals for three months. Graft failures were defined as thrombosis, or surgical and angioplastic revisions required because of the presence of access recirculation, and patients with graft failure were followed within the subsequent one-month periods of observation.

RESULTS
Twelve graft failures occurred during the three-month period of observation. The risk for subsequent graft failure significantly increased at flows < 300 ml/min. Nine (20%) graft failures occurred with stenoses of 30 to 50%, and three (13%) with stenoses of> 50%. The grafts that failed in the second and the third study months had a 25.8% (380 +/- 62 vs. 287 +/- 190 ml/min, p < 0.05) and a 36.5% (393 +/- 142 vs. 226 +/- 41 ml/min, p < 0.05) decrease in access flow, respectively. There was no significant change in access flow for the grafts patent throughout the study (911 +/- 333, 794 +/- 302, and 919 +/383 ml/min, p = ns). No significant increases in maximal stenosis were found for the grafts that failed in the second month (44 +/- 6.1 vs. 48 +/- 15%, p = ns) and the third month (48 +/- 9 vs. 51 +/- 16%, p = ns). There were no significant changes in the maximum stenosis for the grafts patent throughout the three-month study periods (37 +/- 15,43 +/- 11, and 44 +/- 15%, p = ns).

CONCLUSIONS
Access flow is a more sensitive predictor of graft failure than stenosis. Examination of trend in decline of access flow is a more powerful indicator to detect graft dysfunction than an individual single flow value.


The view that children's understanding of mind is constructed through social interaction is consistent with other social-constructivist models. We provide examples of similar claims in research on emotion perception, pretense understanding, autobiographical memory, and event knowledge. Identification of common elements from such socio-cultural perspectives may lead to greater theoretical integration and provide a new framework for exploring human development.


Previous studies on tongue reading, i.e., speech perception ofdegraded audio supported by animations of tongue movementshave indicated that the support is weak initially and that subjectsneed training to learn to interpret the movements. Thispaper investigates if the learning is of the animation templatesas such or if subjects learn to retrieve articulatory knowledgethat they already have. Matching and conflicting animationsof tongue movements were presented randomly together withthe auditory speech signal at three different levels of noise in aconsonant identification test. The average recognition rate overthe three noise levels was significantly higher for the matchedaudiovisual condition than for the conflicting and the auditoryonly. Audiovisual integration effects were also found for conflictingstimuli. However, the visual modality is given much lessweight in the perception than for a normal face view, and intersubjectdifferences in the use of visual information are large.


SIR,-With reference to Professor Rene Leriche's article (February 2, p. 231), I think it might be of interest if I recalled some of the observations from several hundred procaine stellate blocks and approximately 160 sympathectomies, all of which I have performed for disorders of the internal ear, such as Mdni6re's disease, tinnitus, and a few selected cases of nerve deafness. There is no doubt that sympathectomy has an influence on the cerebral circulation if one can regard the internal auditory artery as being a part of the cerebral circulatory syster). During the course of a fenestration operation I have seen under the microscope the minute labyrinthine blood vessels dilate as the result of a procaine stellate block. This is recalled in Proc. roy. Soc. Med., 1951, 44, 760. Here, then, is proof that the cerebral circulation is definitely under sympathetic influence.


Nanoscale scintillators represent an important class of materials underlying the functioning of high resolution, high 'light yield' radiation detection equipment, applicable for medicine in addition to security and environmental monitoring. This current study has focused on the controlled synthesis of Cs2ZnX4 (X = Cl, Br) not only due to its very fast and promising radioluminescence decay time but also because no reliable synthesis protocols have been reported for producing nanoscale motifs of this material, to date. Solution-based methods can be used to synthesize products, possessing different, discrete morphologies with the ability to dictate particle size and shape. Specifically, we have demonstrated that a hot injection technique can be used to fabricate nanoscale rods and plates. Using this method, we systematically studied the effect of varying reaction variables, such as (i) reaction temperature, (ii) surfactants, and (iii) reaction time. As synthesized nanorods of Cs2ZnCl4 possessed lengths of 101.3 ± 24.4 nm with widths of 17.3 ± 4.5 nm, whereas Cs2ZnBr4, created under identical conditions, were characterized by lengths of 206 ± 50 nm and widths of 26.7 ± 12.6 nm. Ligand-assisted re-precipitation (LARP) was used to produce the corresponding micron-sized particles. Under these conditions, we successfully synthesized spindles and spherical particles of Cs2ZnCl4 with sizes of 1.58 ± 0.16 μm and 1.03 ± 0.34 μm, respectively, whereas plates of Cs2ZnBr4 were prepared with average sizes of 0.76 ± 0.21 μm. High resolution synchrotron mapping, using the hard X-ray nanoprobe at NSLS II, was used to confirm the expected spatial distribution of Cs, Zn, and Cl within the as-produced crystals. Nanorods of Cs2ZnCl4 and Cs2ZnBr4 were subsequently tested for scintillation light yield and decay times. Preliminary results showed that Cs2ZnCl4 maintained a light yield of 100–300 photons per MeV with a fast decay component of 2.6 ns. The Cs2ZnBr4 analogue did not give rise to any perceptible scintillation emission.


Two sets of experiments with irregular channels were designed and carried out in order to clarify some aspects of resistance to flow in irregular channels and to separate losses due to boundary shear from those caused by the irregularities in the flow cross section ( "form" losses ). It is demonstrated that a certain type of irregularity, in which the flow cross section remains constant or nearly so, does not produce any "form" loss. This type of irregularity is the one in which any change in the width of the channel is associated with a change in the elevation of channel bed (change in depth of flow) such that the flow cross section remains the same, or nearly so, through the irregularity. However, other types of irregularities associated with rapid changes in flow cross section, in which the flow cross section does not remain constant through the irregularity, produced "form" losses which accounted for up to 92 per cent of the total loss in the channel (a).


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the curvilinear relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and target employee's task performance, and the moderating roles of perceived organizational support (POS).

Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 275 supervisor–subordinate dyads in a two-wave survey, the authors adopted a hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses.

Findings
The results revealed that there is a U-shaped relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and task performance. Moreover, POS moderated the curvilinear relationship such that the curvilinear relationship is more pronounced among those with lower POS.

Research limitations/implications
This study does not explore the mediating mechanism of how perceived negative gossip affects the target's task performance. Moreover, as this research was conducted in a Chinese context, the question of the generalizability of the findings calls for more attention.

Practical implications
When the negative gossip is still in its early stages, managers should realize the potential threat to target employees and take measures to stop and minimize negative gossiping and rumormongering. Furthermore, managers should do their best to find the optimal levels of organizational support for target employees.

Originality/value
This study is among the first effort to understand how perceived negative gossip can influence the target employees' performance by proposing and demonstrating a nonlinear relationship. Moreover, by illuminating how POS plays a role in the curvilinear relationship between negative gossip and task performance, the authors not only complement but also extend the literature on workplace gossip and organizational support.


ABSTRACT

Cooking oil fumes contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are known to cause chronic human health effects; hence long-term exposure data is required for determining workers' exposure profiles and the resultant health risks. However, due to both time and cost constraints, previous studies were performed on a cross-sectional basis. To date, mathematical models have been widely used for predicting long-term exposures in the industrial hygiene field. The aims of this study were to develop suitable predictive models for establishing long-term exposure data on cooking workers. The whole study was conducted in a test chamber with an exhaust hood installed 0.7 m above a deep-frying pan and operated at flow rates of 2.64–5.16 m3 min–1. The cooking process that we selected for testing used peanut oil to deep-fry chicken nuggets at 200°C. An IOM inhalable sampler and an XAD-2 tube were successively used to collect particle- and gas-phase PAHs, respectively. All of the collected samples were analyzed for 21 PAHs using a gas chromatograph (GC) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The results showed that the emission rates of the total-PAHs in the gas-phase and the particle-phase were 1.45 × 104 and 2.14 × 102 ng min–1, respectively. The capture efficiencies of the exhaust hood for the total-PAHs were 39.1–76.5%. The resultant fugitive emission rates of the gas-phase and the particle-phase ranged from 3.41 × 103 to 8.82 × 103 and from 5.03 × 101 to 1.30 × 102 ng min–1, respectively. As no significant difference in the sampling results of the total-PAHs was detected between the chef-zone (i.e., the near zone) and the helper-zone (i.e., the far zone), the well-mixed room (WMR) model was adopted for estimating the exposures of all workers. A good correlation (y = 0.134x + 75.3; R2 = 0.860) was found between the model predicted results (x; 3.25 × 102–1.57 × 103 ng min–1) and the field sampling results (y; 1.36 × 102–2.92 × 102 ng min–1), indicating the plausibility of using the proposed approach to establish a long-term exposure databank for the cooking industry.


3 Cripps T, Bennett ED, Camm AJ, Ward DE. Inducibility of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia as a prognostic indicator in survivors of recent myocardial infarction: a prospective evaluation in relation to other prognostic variables. J Am Coll Cardiol 1989;14:289-96. 4 Richards D, Cody D, Denniss A, Russell P, Young A, Uther J. Ventricular electrical instability: a predictor of death after myocardial infarction. Am J Cardiol 1983;51:75-80. 5 Waspe E, Seinfeld D, Kim SG, Matos JA, Fisher JD. Prediction of sudden death and spontaneous ventricular tachycardia in survivors of uncomplicated myocardial infarction: value of the response to programmed stimulation using a maximum of three ventricular extrastimuli. J Am Coll Cardiol 1985; 5:1292-301.


We present an imaging method that uses the random optical speckle patterns that naturally emerge as light propagates through strongly scattering media as a structured illumination source for photoacoustic imaging. Our approach, termed blind structured illumination photoacoustic microscopy (BSIPAM), was inspired by recent work in fluorescence microscopy where super-resolution imaging was demonstrated using multiple unknown speckle illumination patterns. We extend this concept to the multiple scattering domain using photoacoustics (PA), with the speckle pattern serving to generate ultrasound. The optical speckle pattern that emerges as light propagates through diffuse media provides structured illumination to an object placed behind a scattering wall. The photoacoustic signal produced by such illumination is detected using a focused ultrasound transducer. We demonstrate through both simulation and experiment, that by acquiring multiple photoacoustic images, each produced by a different random and unknown speckle pattern, an image of an absorbing object can be reconstructed with a spatial resolution far exceeding that of the ultrasound transducer. We experimentally and numerically demonstrate a gain in resolution of more than a factor of two by using multiple speckle illuminations. The variations in the photoacoustic signals generated with random speckle patterns are utilized in BSIPAM using a novel reconstruction algorithm. Exploiting joint sparsity, this algorithm is capable of reconstructing the absorbing structure from measured PA signals with a resolution close to the speckle size.


Environmental sequencing has greatly expanded our knowledge of micro-eukaryotic diversity and ecology by revealing previously unknown lineages and their distribution. However, the value of these data is critically dependent on the quality of the reference databases used to assign an identity to environmental sequences. Existing databases contain errors, and struggle to keep pace with rapidly changing eukaryotic taxonomy, the influx of novel diversity, and computational challenges related to assembling the high-quality alignments and trees needed for accurate characterization of lineage diversity. EukRef (eukref.org) is a community driven initiative that addresses these challenges by bringing together taxonomists with expertise spanning the complete eukaryotic tree of life and microbial ecologists that actively use environmental sequencing data for the purpose of developing reliable reference databases across the diversity of microbial eukaryotes. EukRef organizes and facilitates rigorous sequence data mining and annotation by providing protocols, guidelines and tools to do so.


This paper presents a study on the state estimation of out-of-plane dynamics of motorcycles based on the Sharp 71 model. The Sharp 71 model is a linear time-variant system that describes the out-of-plane dynamics of a motorcycle. Comparisons with multi-body simulations and measurement data show that this relatively simple model is capable of principally representing the lateral dynamics of the motorcycle. Two relevant variables of out-of-plane dynamics are the roll angle and the tire lateral forces. The structure of the Sharp 71 model offers the possibility of estimating these two variables model-based with the aid of corresponding measured output variables. The input variable is the steering torque, which obviously cannot be measured with reasonable effort. Therefore, an unknown-input observer is used to estimate the states. This state estimator allows a systematic consideration of the unknown input variable. The unknown-input observer is designed for different sets of outputs and the corresponding effects on the results are considered. The sensors used include gyroscope, acceleration sensor and steering angle sensor. The longitudinal velocity as time-variant parameter considers the coupling of the out-of-plane model with longitudinal dynamics. The implementation is achieved with gainscheduling of the observer feedback. The implemented concept is evaluated regarding its performance and convergence. Simulation studies are used as well as an evaluation based on measurement data. The simulation test was carried out with the help of a multi-body simulation. A comparison with a purely IMU-based roll angle estimator is presented for the handling course test. The results are of great interest, since in modern driver assistance systems, knowledge of the current dynamic vehicle condition is essential. With the aid of turn rate and acceleration sensors, important parameters such as roll angle are already recorded. The use of comprehensive physical motorcycle models is a pursued approach to further detail the vehicle state estimates. In combination with modern control engineering methods, other important driving dynamics variables can be calculated, such as the lateral forces of the tyres in this case. The results based on the simple Sharp 71 model already yields stable estimates of the essential state variables. The results also give information about the necessary level of detail of the used physical model and allow a principal assessment of the observer convergence during high dynamic maneuvers.


A controlled, randomized, double-blind, within-patient, crossover study was made with 50 patients (28 women and 22 men) of mean age 47 years (range, 32-69 years) who were subjected to identical bilateral gingivectomies. On one occasion, lidocaine 2% was infiltrated as the local anesthetic. On the other occasion, lidocaine 2% with epinephrine 1:80,000 was given. Postoperative pain intensity was recorded by the patients on a 100-mm visual analogue scale every hour during an 11-hour observation period. The mean pain intensity was numerically higher after lidocaine 2% at 0 hours and 1 hour postoperatively. Then the mean pain intensity after lidocaine 2% was lower than that after lidocaine 2% with epinephrine 1:80,000 throughout the remaining observation period. The difference in pain intensity was statistically significant (P < .05) at 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 hours after surgery. Mean sum (SEM) pain intensity over the 11-hour observation period was lower (P = .03) after lidocaine 2%, 66.5 (13.4) mm than after lidocaine 2% with epinephrine 1:80,000, 92.6 (15.4) mm. The study shows that high epinephrine concentration (1:80,000) increases the postoperative pain after dental soft tissue surgery with mild pain.


Over a three-month period at the pathology laboratory of Jackson Memorial Hospital, 110 sputum samples from 62 hospitalized patients with suspected AIDS were examined for Pneumocystis carinii. Sputum specimens were either expectorated spontaneously (most patients) or expectorated after the inhalation of small amounts of nebulized normal saline. Each sputum sample was cytocentrifuged onto two slides. One slide was stained with Gomori methenamine-silver (GMS) and the other with cresyl violet (CV). Among the 62 study patients, 18 were proven to have no histologic evidence of P carinii pneumonia. Of the remaining 44 patients, P carinii organisms were found by GMS stain in 14 (32%) and by CV stain in 18 (41%). Among those with a positive CV stain, the diagnosis was made on the first sputum specimen in 14 patients and on the second specimen in the remaining four patients. CV stain is at least as sensitive as GMS in detecting P carinii cysts in the sputum of AIDS patients with P carinii pneumonia, and its diagnostic sensitivity may exceed 40% under field conditions. Further, CV stain is much simpler to prepare than GMS and much simpler to interpret than Giemsa. It could be easily adapted for general use to expedite the diagnosis and treatment of P carinii pneumonia.


Objective: The need for neuroimaging in non-isolated third nerve palsy remains uncertain. Even with associated partial pupillary involvement, the possibility of aneurysm is said to be low. We highlight the need for vigilance for possible life-threatening aneurysms in cases of non-isolated third nerve palsies. Method: Case report of a 20 years old boy who presented with drooping of the left upper eyelid, double vision and dull headache. Examination showed moderate ptosis, 300 exotropia and limited extraocular movements of the left eye. Quantitative pupillary measurement revealed 1mm anisocoria with decreased left pupillary light response. Result: A clinical diagnosis of left third and fourth cranial nerve palsies from intracranial space-occupying lesion was made. Computed tomography and computed tomography angiography confirmed left posterior communicating artery aneurysm. Conclusion: Any degree of pupillary involvement in third nerve palsy, whether isolated or not should warrant neuroimaging in view of the high mortality risk from intracranial aneurysms. Niger Med J. Vol. 50, No. 3, July – Sept., 2009: 68 – 70. Key words: third nerve palsy, partial pupillary involvement, aneurysm.


In today's cloud data centers and edge computing, attack surfaces have significantly increased, hacking has become industrialized, and most security control implementations are not coherent or consistent. The foundation of any data center or edge computing security strategy should be securing the platform on which data and workloads will be executed and accessed. The physical platform represents the first layer for any layered security approach and provides the initial protections to help ensure that higher-layer security controls can be trusted. This report explains an approach based on hardware-enabled security techniques and technologies for safeguarding container deployments in multi-tenant cloud environments. It also describes a proof-of-concept implementation of the approach—a prototype—that is intended to be a blueprint or template for the general security community.


The first seeds of mathematical intuitionism germinated in Europe over a century ago in the constructive tendencies of Borel, Baire, Lebesque, Poincare, Kronecker and others. The flowering was the work of one man, Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer, who taught mathematics at the University of Amsterdam from 1909 until 1951. By proving powerful theorems on topological invariants and fixed points of continuous mappings, Brouwer quickly build a mathematical reputation strong enough to support his revolutionary ideas about the nature of mathematical activity. These ideas influenced Hilbert and Godel and established intuitionistic logic and mathematics as subjects worthy of independent study.
Our aim is to describe the development of Brouwer's intuitionism, from his rejection of the classical law of excluded middle to his controversial theory of the continuum, with fundamental consequences for logic and mathematics. We borrow Kleene's formal axiomatic systems (incorporating earlier attempts by Kolmogorov, Glivenko, Heyting and Peano) for intuitionistic logic and arithmetic as subtheories of the corresponding classical theories, and sketch his use of godel numbers of recursive functions to realize sentences of intuitionistic arithmetic including a form of Church's Thesis. Finally, we present Kleene and Vesley's axiomatic treatment of Brouwer's continuum, with the function-realizability interpretation which establishes its consistency.


The beneficial health effects of fruits and veg- etables have been attributed to their polyphenol content. These compounds undergo many bioconversions in the body. Modeling polyphenol exposure of humans upon intake is a prerequisite for understanding the modulating effect of the food matrix and the colonic microbiome. This modeling is not a trivial task and requires a careful inte- gration of measuring techniques, modeling methods and experimental design. Moreover, both at the population level as well as the individual level polyphenol exposure has to be quantified and assessed. We developed a strategy to quantify polyphenol exposure based on the concept of nutrikinetics in combination with population-based mod- eling. The key idea of the strategy is to derive nutrikinetic model parameters that summarize all information of the polyphenol exposure at both individual and population level. This is illustrated by a placebo-controlled crossover study in which an extract of wine/grapes and black tea solids was administered to twenty subjects. We show that urinary and plasma nutrikinetic time-response curves can be used for phenotyping the gut microbial bioconversion capacity of individuals. Each individual harbours an intrinsic microbiota composition converting similar poly- phenols from both test products in the same manner and stable over time. We demonstrate that this is a novel approach for associating the production of two gut-medi- ated c-valerolactones to specific gut phylotypes. The large inter-individual variation in nutrikinetics and c-valerolac- tones production indicated that gut microbial metabolism is an essential factor in polyphenol exposure and related potential health benefits.


In light of a boom of radical social critique following the financial crisis, Cultural Studies and poststructuralism, which used to be favorites among many left-wing academics until recently, seem to have lost ground: In the wake of the "big crisis" with its material problems and consequences, the theoretical problematization of The Subject, truth, and structure, as well as the focus on subversive micropolitics (instead of macro analyses), complex power relations and battles of interpretation is considered to be outdated and misleading. This article takes the wide-spread unease with regard to poststructuralism's potential for radical social critique seriously and confronts the paradigm with questions concerning criticism and truth, inequality and authority and its ability to problematize society on a systemic level. The main argument is that current shortcomings in the field of radical social critique can be conquered by key ideas of poststructuralist thinking itself.


Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a joining process which is performed at low temperatures, lower than the melting temperature of the base material, thus it is considered a solid state welding process. This feature makes it suitable for copper welding, material whose thermal diffusivity is higher than that of most steel alloys. Large heat losses identified at copper welding by fusion welding processes are thus reduced using FSW process. Because of the shown efficiency and the innovative character of this process, many actions have been initiated in order to optimize it. The aim of this paper is to develop a three-dimensional coupled thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) model of FSW process for pure copper plates using the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) formulation given in the FE code ABAQUS V6.13. The CEL formulation is one of the few formulations that are capable of handling with such large deformations. The developed numerical model was validated by comparing its results related to the temperatures calculated in the process time with those measured in performed experiments using the same process parameters. This model was capable of simulating the FSW of copper plates and of anticipating the temperature distribution and burrs formation in the weld bead.


In this paper we investigate the potential of the analysis of noisy non-stationary time series by quantizing it into streams of discrete symbols and applying finite-memory symbolic predictors. The main argument is that careful quantization can reduce the noise in the time series to make model estimation more amenable given limited numbers of samples that can be drawn due to the non-stationarity in the time series. As a main application area we study the use of such an analysis in a realistic setting involving financial forecasting and trading. In particular, using historical data, we simulate the trading of straddles on the financial indexes DAX and FTSE 100 on a daily basis, based on predictions of the daily volatility differences in the underlying indexes. We propose a parametric, data-driven quantization scheme which transforms temporal patterns in the series of daily volatility changes into grammatical and statistical patterns in the corresponding symbolic streams. As symbolic predictors operating on the quantized streams we use the classical fixed-order Markov models, variable memory length Markov models and a novel variation of fractal-based predictors introduced in its original form in (Tino, 2000b). The fractal-based predictors are designed to efficiently use deep memory. We compare the symbolic models with continuous techniques such as time-delay neural networks with continuous and categorical outputs, and GARCH models. Our experiments strongly suggest that the robust information reduction achieved by quantizing the real-valued time series is highly beneficial. To deal with non-stationarity in financial daily time series, we propose two techniques that combine ``sophisticated" models fitted on the training data with a fixed set of simple-minded symbolic predictors not using older (and potentially misleading) data in the training set. Experimental results show that by quantizing the volatility differences and then using symbolic predictive models, market makers can generate a statistically significant excess profit. However, with respect to our prediction and trading techniques, the option market on the DAX does seem to be efficient for traders and non-members of the stock exchange. There is a potential for traders to make an excess profit on the FTSE 100. We also mention some interesting observations regarding the memory structure in the studied series of daily volatility differences. (author's abstract)


semantic query, programming languages, resource description framework, meta-data Context Spaces aim to provide a new class of document management services in which storage, organization and retrieval of information is based on semantically rich and active meta-data. It enhances the access to existing document resources by making it more proactive, mobile and context-aware. We have designed a new language, Penelope, to realize Context Spaces. Penelope defines the basic programming language concepts, including primitive data types as objects. It uses the message passing model for expressing operations over these objects. The current implementation of Penelope is based on the Resource Description Framework (RDF) data model and the Schema specification. The property centric approach and the platform independence provided by RDF makes Penelope suitable for building distributed components. This work on Penelope demonstrates the benefits of expressing data and code in a single unifying language.


Palatal fistula following cleft palate repair, is one of the considerable complications and remains a challenging problem to the surgeons. The reported recurrence rate of the fistula is between 33% to 37%. Due to fibrosis and poor vascularity of adjacent tissues, high recurrence rates are typical. Closure of palatal fistulas can be achieved by different surgical techniques like local, regional and distant flaps, local turnover flaps, pedicled flaps from oral mucosa, buccal fat pad flaps, inter-positional cartilage grafts can be utilized for management of small fistulas. For larger fistualas, tongue flaps, temporalis muscle flaps, musculomucosal flaps, nasal septal flaps and free flaps can be used. These procedures are often cumbersome and leave a raw nasal or oral surface, which may increase the incidence of postoperative problems or some flaps can be bulky and may require a second-stage procedure. Different synthetic materials such as alloderm, Poly-D and L-Lactic Acid or "PdLLA" and collagen membrane are used in multilayer repair represented by the nasal mucosa, the inter-positional graft and oral mucosa. These interpositional grafts provide a scaffold for in growth of tissues, revascularization and mucosal epithelialization. We present a case of closure of an oronasal fistula, using resorbable collagen membrane in three layered repair to avoid recurrence.


Coexistence between the TOHO-type and Brazilian extended-spectrum (BES)-type of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-produced by bacteria caused public health issue. Several studies have been reported on the coexistence between blaTEM, blaCTX-M and blaSHV genes in ESBL in broad spectrum enterobacteria. The present study involved the prevalence of coexistence of blaTOHO and blaBES genes in enterobacteria identified in hospitalized and out-patients at Saint Camille Hospital in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Firstly, the study was led by microbiological identification of enterobacteria, secondly antibiogram was performed by diffusion method and finally the molecular characterization was done by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to search for antibiotic resistance genes blaTOHO and blaBES. The ultraviolet (UV) lamp (Gene Flash) for the photography of gels allowed the visualization of specific bands of TOHO and BES genes. Among 250 strains of Gram negative bacilli collected, 60 strains (24.1%) showed resistance profile to antibiotics used. Molecular characterization showed the coexistence between blaTOHO and blaBES genes in 53.3% in bacteria strains carried by the patients. The highest prevalence was observed in Escherichia coli (34.4%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (21.9%) strains. For the first time in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, this study therefore established the coexistence between blaTOHO and blaBES genes in ESBL produced enterobacteria at Saint Camille Hospital.

 Key words:  Antibiotic, resistance, extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), genes, TOHO, Brazilian extended-spectrum (BES).


Decentralized agent groups typically require complex mechanisms to accomplish coordinated tasks. In contrast, biological systems can achieve intelligent group behaviors with each agent performing simple sensing and actions. We summarize our recent papers on a biologically-inspired control framework for multi-agent tasks that is based on a simple and iterative control law. We theoretically analyze important aspects of this decentralized approach, such as the convergence and scalability, and further demonstrate how this approach applies to real-world applications with a diverse set of multi-agent applications. These results provide a deeper understanding of the contrast between centralized and decentralized algorithms in multi-agent tasks and autonomous robot control.


Mineralized hydrothermal breccias and veins formed during and after the waning stages of maar-diatreme-related volcanic activity at Kelian, Kalimantan, Indonesia. Subsurface phreatic explosions occurred around the margins of the diatreme breccia complex, focusing high-temperature fluid flow and generating several large, mineralized hydrothermal breccia bodies. Tectonic, phreatomagmatic, and hydraulic processes also contributed to hydrothermal brecciation. Explosive phreatic brecciation was followed by in situ hydraulic brecciation, and then by minor veining as the system returned to steady-state geothermal conditions. Brecciation and mineralization mostly occurred 400 to 700 m below the paleowater table. The Kelian deposit contained more than 240 t Au prior to mining. Precious metals occur with sulfide minerals as disseminations, in sheeted and conjugate veins and as breccia cement. There is a progression from pyrite-dominated (stage 1) to base metal sulfide-dominated (stages 2 and 3) to sulfosalt-dominated hydrothermal breccias and veins (stage 4). In terms of gangue minerals, the system evolved from illite-quartz to adularia- and/or quartz- and/or illite-dominated and then carbonate-dominated. Boiling produced abundant bladed carbonate during stages 3 and 4. Overall, carbonate and base metal sulfide minerals are abundant, whereas quartz is comparatively minor. Free gold is most abundant in stages 3 and 4 but also occurs in stages 1 and 2. Native gold occurs principally as inclusions in pyrite, sphalerite, galena, arsenopyrite, quartz, bladed carbonate, and sulfosalts. Hydrothermal alteration assemblages are zoned about contacts, faults, breccias and veins, and consist of secondary quartz, illite, pyrite, chlorite, and various carbonate minerals. Kelian preserves evidence of a magmatic component to the mineralizing fluids. Fluid inclusion analyses revealed the presence of saline fluid inclusions, in particular from stage 3. Isothermal mixing of low-salinity (∼0 to 2 wt % NaCl equiv) with moderate-salinity fluids (10 to 25 wt % NaCl equiv), rather than boiling, resulted in the range of salinity and homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in sphalerite, carbonate and quartz deposited during stage 3. Salinities of ∼4 to 6 wt percent NaCl equiv for inclusions in adularia and quartz from stages 2 and 4 and in rhodochrosite and proustite-pyrargyrite from stage 4 may also reflect a component of mixing of low-salinity water with a moderately saline fluid. Sulfur isotope values from Kelian sulfides (δ 34S = -1.4 to 5.5 per mil) are consistent with a magmatic sulfur source. Both boiling and fluid mixing contributed to high-grade Au mineralization at Kelian. Rapid formation (hundreds of years or less) is inferred for the individual hydrothermal breccia bodies. © 2008 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.


The explosion in volume and variety of data offers enormous potential for research and commercial use. Increased availability of personal data is of particular interest in enabling highly customised services tuned to individual needs. Preserving the privacy of individuals against reidentification attacks in this fast-moving ecosystem poses significant challenges for a one-size fits all approach to anonymisation.
In this paper we present ($k$,$\epsilon$)-anonymisation, an approach that combines the $k$-anonymisation and $\epsilon$-differential privacy models into a single coherent framework, providing privacy guarantees at least as strong as those offered by the individual models. Linking risks of less than 5\% are observed in experimental results, even with modest values of $k$ and $\epsilon$.
Our approach is shown to address well-known limitations of $k$-anonymity and $\epsilon$-differential privacy and is validated in an extensive experimental campaign using openly available datasets.


Values of the circulation function have been obtained for dual-rotating propellers. Numerical values are given for four, eight, and twelve-blade dual-rotating propellers and for advance ratios from 2 to about 6. In addition, the circulation function has been determine for single-rotating propellers for the higher values of the advance ratio. The mass coefficient, another quantity of significance in propeller theory, has been introduced.


With the help of high-performance computing, we benchmarked a selection of machine learning classification algorithms on the tasks of whisker stimulus detection, stimulus classification and behavior prediction based on electrophysiological recordings of layer-resolved local field potentials from the barrel cortex of awake mice. Machine learning models capable of accurately analyzing and interpreting the neuronal activity of awake animals during a behavioral experiment are promising for neural prostheses aimed at restoring a certain functionality of the brain for patients suffering from a severe brain injury. The liquid state machine, a highly efficient spiking neural network classifier that was designed for implementation on neuromorphic hardware, achieved the same level of accuracy compared to the other classifiers included in our benchmark study. Based on application scenarios related to the barrel cortex and relevant for neuroprosthetics, we show that the liquid state machine is able to find patterns in the recordings that are not only highly predictive but, more importantly, generalizable to data from individuals not used in the model training process. The generalizability of such models makes it possible to train a model on data obtained from one or more individuals without any brain lesion and transfer this model to a prosthesis required by the patient. Author Summary A neural prosthesis is a computationally driven device that restores the functionality of a damaged brain region for locked-in patients suffering from the aftereffects of a brain injury or severe stroke. As such devices are chronically implanted, they rely on small, low-powered microchips with limited computational resources. Based on recordings describing the neural activity of awake mice, we show that spiking neural networks, which are especially designed for microchips, are able to provide accurate classification models in application scenarios relevant in neuroprosthetics. Furthermore, models were generalizable across mice, corroborating that it will be possible to train a model on recordings from healthy individuals and transfer it to the patient's prosthesis.


In view of the over-speed phenomenon of heavy haul vehicles at high speed, the estimation of the effective range of the dynamic stability and inclination angle of the truck was carried out a rollover stability alarm system based on liquid pendulum angle sensor and virtual instrument software was developed. The working principle and data processing module of tilt sensor are discussed, through the data lines to output analog voltage signal transmitted to the vehicle electronic control unit . A control command is sent by the electronic control unit and sent to the driver via an alarm device, which enables the driver to control the speed in time, and so it reduces the risk of a rollover accident. The results show that the warning system is of good accuracy. The early warning system preventing malignant road traffic accidents has important social significance and actual application value for a safe vehicle.


: In a retrospective study 256 cases with curative or prophylactic neck dissection were evaluated with regard to neck recurrence and survival. In 173 cases the spinal accessory nerve had been preserved, in the remaining 86 cases it had been sacrificed. The results demonstrate that preservation of the accessory nerve has no influence on the regional recurrence rate and on survival if preservation of the nerve is possible without compromising the radicality of the neck dissection and if the patient is subjected to post-operative radiation.


This paper presents the design mix of foamed concrete and split tensile strength of lightweight foamed concrete with the addition of polypropylene fiber. The design mix of the foamed concrete was targeted to achieve a density of 1500 kg/m 3 . Six different water-cement ratios (w/c) range from 0.30 to 0.40 were taken into consideration. Three different group of LFC with 0% PP, 0.25% PP and 0.40% PP are prepared. The optimum w/c was determined by comparing the compressive test result of different percentage polypropylene fiber. By using the LFC with optimum w/c ratio and designated amount of PP of 3:1 c/s ratios, the concrete specimens were tested with splitting tensile test to determine the effects of PP to the tensile strength of the lightweight foamed concrete. From the result, it is found that by using 2:1 c/s ratio, the optimum w/c of mix with 0% PP, 0.25% PP and 0.40% PP are 0.36, 0.34 and 0.32 respectively, while for c/s equals to 3:1, the optimum w/c are 0.34, 0.32 and 0.32 respectively. From the splitting tensile result, under a controlled density of 1500 ± 50 kg/m 3 , the tensile strength range of 0.991-2.138 MPa were observed. From the result, it can be concluded that, the addition of polypropylene fiber to the lightweight foamed concrete does affect the tensile strength of the foamed concrete. However further addition of PP will not cause any positive and significant effect to the tensile strength of lightweight foamed concrete.


Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) are one of the leading technologies being developed in the search for alternatives to the pump-and-treat method for the remediation of contaminated groundwater. A new optimising design methodology is proposed to aid decision-makers in finding minimum cost PRB designs for remediation problems in the presence of input uncertainty. The unique aspects of the proposed methodology are considered to be: design enhancements to improve the hydraulic performance of PRB systems; elimination of a time-consuming simulation model by determination of approximating functions relating design variables and performance measures for fully penetrating PRB systems; a versatile, spreadsheet-based optimisation model that locates minimum cost PRB designs using Excel's standard non-linear solver; and the incorporation of realistic input variability and uncertainty into the optimisation process via sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis and factorial analysis. The design methodology is developed in the context of the remediation of nitrate contamination due to current concerns with nitrate in New Zealand. Three-dimensional computer modelling identified significant variation in capture and residence time, caused by up-gradient funnels and/or a gate hydraulic conductivity that is significantly different from the surrounding aquifer. The unique design enhancements to control this variation are considered to be the customised down-gradient gate face and emplacement of funnels and side walls deeper than the gate. The use of velocity equalisation walls and manipulation of a PRB's hydraulic conductivity within certain bounds were also found to provide some control over variation in capture and residence time. Accurate functional relationships between PRB design variables and PRB performance measures were shown to be achievable for fully penetrating systems. The chosen design variables were gate length, gate width, funnel width and the reactive material proportion. The chosen performance measures were edge residence, centreline residence and capture width. A method for laboratory characterisation of reactive and non-reactive material combinations was shown to produce data points that could realistically be part of smooth polynomial interpolation functions. The use of smooth approximating functions to characterise PRB inputs and determine PRB performance enabled the creation of an efficient spreadsheet model that ran more quickly and accurately with Excel's standard non-linear solver than with the LGO global solver or Evolver genetic-algorithm based solver. The PRB optimisation model will run on a standard computer and only takes a couple of minutes per optimisation run. Significant variation is expected in inputs to PRB design, particularly in aquifer and plume characteristics. Not all of this variation is quantifiable without significant expenditure. Stochastic models that include parameter variability have historically been difficult to apply to realistic remediation design due to their size and complexity.…


ABSTRACT The main objective of this study was assessing the species diversity and plant community structure of Nandi forests of Kenya. Seventy six (20 × 20 m) sample plots, of which 27 located in North Nandi and 49 from South Nandi Forest were used to collect vegetation data. Sample plots were established along transects measuring 1.0 to 1.6 km length and adjacent transects were 500 m apart from each other. Abundance data of species was used for species diversity, similarity, species richness estimation and plant community analysis. PC-ORD, CANOCO and Estimates were used to analyze the data. A total of 321 species belonging to 243 genera and 92 families were identified in this study. Out of these, 253 species were recorded in South Nandi and 181 in North Nandi. South Nandi Forest had higher species diversity than that of North Nandi Forest. Three distinct plant communities including; Diospyros abyssinica-Heinsenia diervilleoides, Trilepisium madagascariense-Solanum mauritianum and Turraea holstii - Ehretia cymosa were identified.