The presence of large numbers of security vulnerabilities in popular feature-rich commodity operating systems has inspired a long line of work on excluding these operating systems from the trusted computing base of applications, while retaining many of their benefits. Legacy applications continue to run on the untrusted operating system, while a small hyper visor or trusted hardware prevents the operating system from accessing the applications' memory. In this paper, we introduce controlled-channel attacks, a new type of side-channel attack that allows an untrusted operating system to extract large amounts of sensitive information from protected applications on systems like Overshadow, Ink Tag or Haven. We implement the attacks on Haven and Ink Tag and demonstrate their power by extracting complete text documents and outlines of JPEG images from widely deployed application libraries. Given these attacks, it is unclear if Over shadow's vision of protecting unmodified legacy applications from legacy operating systems running on off-the-shelf hardware is still tenable.


This study was aimed at evaluating the durability of the car body for rubber-tired light rail vehicles according to Korean-standardized specifications for light rail vehicles (size, strength, structure, weight, etc.). The strengths of the car body were analyzed under two weight conditions (tare weight and maximum passenger weight) by using the finite element method. Based on the results of the analysis, dynamic stresses were measured by using strain gauges, including rosette gauges, while the train was running on the test track. Various experimental results have verified the durability and safety of the car body.


Cavitation often brings negative effects, such as performance degradation, noise, vibration, and material damage, to a marine propulsion systems, but for optimum performance, cavitation is almost inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the understanding of cavitation in order to maximize the performance without encountering severe problems. Experimental tests can only provide limited information about this complex phenomenon. This thesis deals with improving numerical simulations methodologies that can offer a more complete picture of the cavitation process, making it possible to investigate the flow in more detail with some confidence, thus enabling an improved design.
Numerical simulations of non-cavitating and cavitating flows are conducted using OpenFOAM. The flow is modelled using Implicit Large Eddy Simulation and considering the two phases, i.e. vapour and liquid, as a homogeneous mixture through a volume fraction transport equation method along with the Schnerr-Sauer mass transfer model.
To avoid manual calibration of the mass transfer model coefficients, which may significantly affect both the accuracy and stability of the numerical predictions, an approach is suggested and tested to compute the mass transfer rate based on the flow local time scale during the solution procedure. Moreover, the saturation pressure is modified in order to take into account the shear stress effects on the liquid rupturing.
To test the proposed modifications, several test cases consisting of 2D and 3D hydrofoils and model scale propellers are simulated and the results are compared with experimental data. Integral quantities, local pressure data, and cavitation extent are studied for both the non-cavitating and the cavitating flows. Furthermore, the computational set-up is tested by varying domain size, mesh type and resolution, numerical schemes, and mass transfer model coefficients.
The overall results compare well with the available experimental data, provided the mesh resolution is sufficient. The proposed mass transfer model modifications give a considerably improved prediction of pressure distribution and cavity extent. Some results yield overpredicted cavitation, indicating discrepancies between the modelling approach and model scale experimental techniques.


Economic reforms that began 25 years ago have transformed India. What used to be a poor, slow-growing country now has the third-largest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world with regard to purchasing power parity and is projected to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world in 2016 (with 7.6 percent growth in GDP). Once an object of pity, India has become an object of envy. It has been called a potential superpower and the only credible check on Chinese power in Asia in the 21st century. Hence, the United States has backed India for a permanent seat in the United Nations and has persuaded the Nuclear Suppliers Group to exempt India from the usual nuclear nonproliferation rules.Yet India's success has been tarnished in several areas. The past 25 years can be largely summed up as a story of private-sector success and government failure, of successful economic reform tainted by institutional erosion. Although many old controls have been abolished, many still continue, and a plethora of new controls have been created in areas relating to the environment, health, tribal areas, and land. What leftist critics have denounced as an era of neoliberalism is better called neo-illiberalism. India remains in the bottom half of countries measured by indicators of economic freedom. Social indicators of education, health, and nutrition have improved much too slowly, and India has been overtaken in some indicators by poorer Bangladesh and Nepal. The delivery of all government services remains substandard. Political interference has eroded the independence and quality of institutions ranging from the police and courts to educational and cultural institutions. India's economic reforms over 25 years have transformed it from a low-income country to a middle-income one. But to become a high-income country, India must liberalize the economy much further, improve governance, and raise the quality of its institutions.


Carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I is the flux‐determining enzyme of the ornithine cycle, and neutralizes toxic ammonia by converting it to urea. An 80 bp glucocorticoid response unit located 6.3 kb upstream of the transcription start site mediates hormone responsiveness and liver‐specific expression of carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I. The glucocorticoid response unit consists of response elements for the glucocorticoid receptor, forkhead box A, CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein, and an unidentified protein. With only four transcription factor response elements, the carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I glucocorticoid response unit is a relatively simple unit. The relationship between carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I expression and in vivo occupancy of the response elements was examined by comparing a carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I‐expressing hepatoma cell line with a carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I‐negative fibroblast cell line. DNaseI hypersensitivity assays revealed an open chromatin configuration of the carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I enhancer in hepatoma cells only. In vivo footprinting assays showed that the accessory transcription factors of the glucocorticoid response unit bound to their response elements in carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I‐positive cells, irrespective of whether carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I expression was induced with hormones. In contrast, the binding of glucocorticoid receptor to the carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I glucocorticoid response unit was dependent on treatment of the cells with glucocorticoids. Only forkhead box A was exclusively present in hepatoma cells, and therefore appears to be an important determinant of the observed tissue specificity of carbamoylphosphate synthetase‐I expression. As the glucocorticoid receptor is the only DNA‐binding protein specifically recruited to the glucocorticoid response unit upon stimulation by glucocorticoids, it is likely to be directly responsible for the transcriptional activation mediated by the glucocorticoid response unit.


The clinician whose older patient exhibits an abnormal TSH value must first determine if the result is caused by nonthyroidal illness or a medication whose effect is reversible. Patients without a nonthyroidal cause for the TSH abnormality and corresponding abnormalities in levels of circulating thyroid hormones and/or significant reproducible TSH elevation are usually in need of therapy. Those with normal circulating concentrations of thyroid hormone and potentially reversible signs and symptoms may be considered for a monitored therapeutic trial of treatment. All others need to be followed biochemically regardless of treatment choices. Patients with subclinical thyroid dysfunction require follow-up.


Content-based video copy detection algorithms (CBCD) focus on detecting video segments that are identical or transformed versions of segments in a known video. In recent years some systems have proposed the combination of orthogonal modalities (e.g. derived from audio and video) to improve detection performance, although not always achieving consistent results. In this paper we propose a fusion algorithm that is able to combine as many modalities as available at the decision level. The algorithm is based on the weighted sum of the normalized scores, which are modified depending on how well they rank in each modality. This leads to a virtually parameter-free fusion algorithm. We performed several tests using 2010 TRECVID VCD datasets and obtain up to 46% relative improvement in min-NDCR while also improving the F1 metric on the fused results in comparison to just using the best single modality.


The large-scale operations in land redevelopment, culminating in the 1950s and 1960s, played a major part in changing the social and productive pattern of agriculture in the South of Italy, the Mezzogiorno. The successes achieved are largely to be attributed to the competence and endeavour of an experienced team of technicians. The late Giulio Leone can by rights be seen as the last representative of this team. As from the 1940s, his professional endeavour focused on the large landed estates of Sicily and various agricultural areas in Campania. The conclusion of his work on agrarian reform in Calabria was followed by prolonged service in the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (the development fund for Southern Italy), first in administration of the redevelopment service and ,subsequently, as assistant director general of the institute itself. Thus we have an exemplary case of a long human and professional life earning him a place among the great technicians of modern-day policy for Southern Italy.


Deposition of nanosized particles in the pulmonary region has the potential of crossing the blood-gas barrier. Experimental in vivo studies have used micron-sized particles, and therefore nanoparticle deposition in the pulmonary region is not well understood. Furthermore, little attention has been paid to the emphysematous lungs, which have characteristics quite different from the healthy lung. Healthy and emphysematous replica acinus models were created from healthy and diseased human lung casts using three-dimensional reconstruction. Particle concentration and deposition were determined by solving the convective-diffusion equation numerically for steady and unsteady cases. Results showed decreased deposition efficiencies for emphysema compared to healthy lungs, consistent with the literature and attributed to significant airway remodeling in the diseased lung. Particle diffusion was found to be six times slower in emphysema compared to healthy model. The unsteady state simulation predicted deposition efficiencies of 96% in the healthy model for the 1 nm and 3 nm particles and 94% and 93% in the emphysema model for the 1 nm and 3 nm particles, respectively. Steady state was achieved in less than one second for both models. Comparisons between steady and unsteady predictions indicate that a steady-state simulation is reasonable for predicting particle transport under similar conditions.


Unsteady helicopter rotor flows are solved by a Chebyshev pseudospectral method with overset mesh topology which employs Chebyshev polynomials for solution approximation and a Chebyshev collocation operator to represent the time derivative term of the unsteady flow governing equations. Spatial derivative terms of the flux Jacobians are discretized implicitly while the Chebyshev spectral derivative term is treated in explicit form. Unlike the Fourier spectral method, collocation points of standard Chebyshev polynomials are not evenly distributed and heavily clustered near the extremities of the time interval, which makes the spectral derivative matrix ill-conditioned and deteriorates the stability and convergence of the flow solution. A conformal mapping of an arcsin function is applied to redistribute those points more evenly and thus to improve the numerical stability of the linear system. A parameter study on the condition number of the spectral derivative matrix with respect to the control parameters of the mapping function is also carried out. For the validation of the proposed method, both periodic and nonperiodic unsteady flow problems were solved with two-dimensional problems: an oscillating airfoil with a fixed frequency and a plunging airfoil with constant plunging speed without considering gravitational force. Computation results of the Chebyshev pseudospectral method showed excellent agreements with those of the time-marching computation. Subsequently, helicopter rotor flows in hovering and nonlifting forward flight are solved. Moving boundaries of the rotating rotor blades are efficiently managed by the overset mesh topology. As a set of subgrids are constructed only one time at the beginning of the solution procedure corresponding to the mapped Chebyshev collocation points, computation time for mesh interpolation of hole-cutting between background and near-body grids becomes drastically reduced when compared to the time-marching computation method where subgrid movement and the hole-cutting need to be carried out at each physical time step. The number of the collocation points was varied to investigate the sensitivity of the solution accuracy, computation time, and memory. Computation results are compared with those from the time-marching computation, the Fourier spectral method, and wind-tunnel experimental data. Solution accuracy and computational efficiency are concluded to be great with the Chebyshev pseudospectral method. Further applications to unsteady nonperiodic problems will be left for future work.


The Asian economic crisis gave birth to a new international consensus about the need for increased and more timely and reliable information to sustain and develop markets. It is little wonder that leaders of two nations heavily dependent on global investment would respond. However, the form this has taken is pragmatic accommodations to specific informational needs of business, rather than any commitment to generalised transparency improvements. The governments of Singapore and Malaysia remain extremely nervous about broader conceptions of transparency. Ideas about the rights of citizens to information, the importance of a free press to more transparent and accountable systems and attempts to subject state institutions to greater public scrutiny are resisted with vigour. Indeed, if there has been any significant institutional convergence since the crisis began, it has not been towards liberal democratic models. Rather, it has involved the emulation in Malaysia of the established Singapore media regime of legalistic media intimidation, surveillance and public relations management. The comparison between Singapore and Malaysia also demonstrates that the importance of transparency to business is relative rather than absolute. How else could we explain the extremely high degree of international business confidence in Singapore, both before and after the crisis? As we have seen, Singapore lacks market transparency in a range of basic areas. However, political stability and positive perceptions of the government and bureaucracy mediate the impact of this on investors. Where those perceptions are absent or not so strong, as in Malaysia, transparency shortfalls arouse greater suspicion and concern.


This paper presents a design method of time-delayed control systems. Because of the tremendous spread of computer networks, control strategies for time-delayed control systems are needed for network-based control systems (NBCSs) and other network applications. Although model-based or predictive control methods (like a Smith predictor) are often used for time-delay compensation, the performance often deteriorates when the value of time delay is uncertain. In these circumstances, a novel time-delay-compensation method based on the concept of network disturbance (ND) and communication disturbance observer (CDOB) has been proposed. The method has the same effectiveness for time-delay compensation as that of the Smith predictor. Furthermore, because the method works without delay-time model, it can be flexibly applied to many kinds of time-delayed control systems. In this paper, a design method of CDOB, considering the dynamic property of ND, is proposed in the situation of constant time delay. The dynamic property of ND leads to two design conditions of CDOB. Those design conditions are derived considering relationships between poles of CDOB and ND dynamics. Then, the actual design procedure of CDOB based on derived design conditions is presented in two different delay cases. The stability of the designed control systems is clarified by stability analysis. The validity of the proposed design method is verified by experimental results. Finally, we present experimental results in the case of random delay as an example of practical application of the time-delay compensation method to actual NBCSs.


Most adult hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs) remain quiescent with only a minor portion undergoing active proliferation and neurogenesis. The molecular mechanisms that trigger eventually the transition from quiescence to activation are still poorly understood. Here, we found the activity of the transcriptional activator Yap1 to be enriched in active NSCs. Genetic deletion of Yap1 led to a significant reduction in the relative proportion of active NSCs supporting a physiological role of Yap1 in regulating the transition from quiescence to activation. Overexpression of wild type Yap1 in adult NSCs did not induce NSC activation suggesting tight upstream control mechanisms, but overexpression of a gain-of-function mutant (Yap1-5SA) elicited cell cycle entry in NSCs and hilar astrocytes. Consistent with a role of Yap1 in NSC activation, single cell RNA sequencing revealed the partial induction of an activated NSC gene expression program. Yet, Yap1-5SA expression also induced Taz and other key components of the Yap/Taz regulon previously identified in glioblastoma stem cell-like cells. Consequently, dysregulated Yap1 activity led to repression of hippocampal neurogenesis, promoting aberrant differentiation instead.


Amorphous computing is the study of programming ultra-scale computing environments of smart sensors and actuators \cite{white-paper}. The individual elements are identical, asynchronous, randomly placed, embedded and communicate locally via wireless broadcast. Aggregating the processors into groups is a useful paradigm for programming an amorphous computer because groups can be used for specialization, increased robustness, and efficient resource allocation. This paper presents a new algorithm, called the {\em clubs algorithm}, for efficiently aggregating processors into groups in an amorphous computer, in time proportional to the local density of processors. The clubs algorithm is well-suited to the unique characteristics of an amorphous computer. In addition, the algorithm derives two properties from the physical embedding of the amorphous computer: an upper bound on the number of groups formed and a constant upper bound on the density of groups. The clubs algorithm can also be extended to find the maximal independent set (MIS) and $\Delta + 1$ vertex coloring in an amorphous computer in $O(\log N)$ rounds, where $N$ is the total number of elements and $\Delta$ is the maximum degree.


The topic of this thesis fo cus on the preliminary design and the p erformance analysis of a multirotor platform. A multirotor is an electrically p owered Vertical Take Off (VTOL) machine with more than two rotors that lift and control the platform. Multirotor are agile, compact and robust, making them ideally suited for b oth indo or and outdo or application especially to carry-on several sensors like electro optical multisp ectral sensor or gas sensor. The main disadvantage is the limited endurance due to heavy Li-Po batteries and high disk loading through the use of different small prop ellers. At the same time, the design of the multirotor do es not follow any engineering principle but it follow the ideas of amateurs' builder. An adaptation of the classic airplane design theory for the preliminary design is implemented to fill the gap and detailed study of the endurance is p erformed to define the right way to make this kind of VTOL platforms.


The photoconductivity of solution-cast Zn1–xMgxO (x=0-0.4) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin films, and Zn1-xMgxO/P3HT bilayers is investigated using Time-Resolved Microwave Conductivity (TRMC) with the aim of determining the locus of free charge carrier generation in the bilayer system. The photoconductivity of Zn1–xMgxO thin films, under illumination with 300 nm laser pulses, is limited by the formation of stable excitons and by scattering of the carriers at grain boundaries. The electron mobility in Zn1–xMgxO films decreases exponentially with Mg concentration, up to x=0.4. In agreement with previous work, free carriers are observed in the P3HT film under illumination with 500 nm pulses in the absence of an acceptor. Under illumination with 500 nm pulses, where only the polymer absorbs, the TRMC signal for the Zn1–xMgxO/P3HT bilayers for x≥0.2 is the same as that of pure P3HT, indicating that free carrier generation in these bilayers occurs predominately by exciton dissociation in the polymer bulk, and not at the interface between the polymer and the solution-cast oxide. At lower Mg concentrations (x<0.2) the TRMC signal increases with decreasing x following the dependence of the electron mobility in the oxide but its light intensity dependence remains consistent with free carrier generation in the polymer bulk. To explain these results and previously published photovoltaic device data (Adv. Funct. Mater. 2007, 17, 264) we propose that free carrier generation in the bilayers predominantly occurs in the bulk of P3HT, and is followed by electron injection to the oxide to yield photocurrent in photovoltaic cells. The dependence of the TRMC signal of the bilayers on Mg concentration is explained in terms of the yield for free carrier generation in the polymer and the relative contributions of electrons in the oxide and holes in the polymer.


We review the literature about the rich, the affluent and the top incomes focusing in two issues: identification and measurement, and the analysis of the determinants of richness. The review discusses data sources, indicators, populations and units of analysis used for the identification of the rich, approaches used to construct affluence lines and measures of richness. It also surveysempirical results about the composition of the incomes of the rich and the role of direct determinants of richness, such as individual characteristics, the State and the structure of production. We cover literature since the early twentieth century but give special attention to the research conducted after the 2000s.


In our article we deal with leisure activities and travel habits of 150 college students from Szolnok. We have analyzed the relationship between the frequencies of watching TV, that is: the time spent watching TV and doing sports. Furthermore, we have also investigated the frequencies of travels, and main motives of choosing travel destinations. We have found that college students have several hours of leisure time daily. Among the recreational activities, the ones that occurred predominantly are watching TV, doing sports, and travelling. It is interesting to note that the relationship between the frequency of watching TV and doing sports has not been significant while the relationship between watching TV occasionally and doing regular physical activity has turned out to be significant. Students who play sports for 1-2 hours a day spend significantly less time in front of the TV compared to their peers who do not do sports. 92% of the students travel at least once a year. The participants of youth tourism are quite price-conscious. In choosing travel destinations favorable prices play an important role.


Ministering Angels is the story of conservative country women doing their patriotic duty in an outpost of the British Empire. From 1914 Camden district women joined local Red Cross branches and their affiliates in the towns and villages around the colonial estate of the Macarthur family at Camden Park. They sewed, knitted and cooked for God, King and Country throughout the First and Second World Wars, and the years inbetween. They ran stalls and raffles, and received considerable community support through cash donations from individuals and community organisations. Using the themes of soldier and civilian welfare, patriotism, duty, sacrifice, motherhood, class and religion the narrative explains how the placed-based nature of the Red Cross branch network provided an opportunity for the organisation to harness parochialism and localism for national patriotic purposes. The book delves into the story of how Camden's Edwardian women provided leadership at a local, state and national level and created ground-breaking opportunities that empowered women to exercise their agency by undertaking patriotic activities for the first time. The book details how Camden women were encouraged to immerse themselves in the Red Cross ministering angel mythology, and serve 'their boys' by volunteering at branch sewing circles and fundraisers or as voluntary aids at military, civilian and Red Cross hospitals. In their wake Camden women created the most important voluntary organisation in district history, a small part of the narrative of the Australian Red Cross, arguably the country's most important not-for-profit organisation. Their stories were the essence of place, and the success of the district branches meant that over time homefront volunteering became synonymous with the Red Cross. Ministering Angels is a local Red Cross study of volunteering in war and peace that provides a small window into the national and transnational perspectives of one of the world's most important welfare organisations. Local studies like this book are not common and they tell the story of ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things in extra-ordinary times.


Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the cult of the saints was the dominant form of religion in Christian Europe. In this elegantly written work, Peter Brown explores the role of tombs, shrines, relics, and pilgrimages connected with the sacred bodies of the saints. He shows how men and women living in harsh and sometimes barbaric times relied upon the merciful intercession of the holy dead to obtain justice, forgiveness, and to find new ways to accept their fellows. Challenging the common treatment of the cult as an outbreak of superstition among the lower classes, Brown demonstrates how this form of religiousity engaged the finest minds of the Church and elicited from members of the educated upper classes some of their most splendid achievements in poetry, literature, and the patronage of the arts. Brown has an international reputation for his fine style, a style he here turns on to illuminate the cult of the saints. Christianity was born without such a cult; it took rise and that rise needs chronicling. Brown has a gift for the memorable phrase and sees what the passersby have often overlooked. An eye-opener on an important but neglected phase of Western development.--The Christian Century Brilliantly original and highly sophisticated . . . . [The Cult of the Saints] is based on great learning in several disciplines, and the story is told with an exceptional appreciation for the broad social context. Students of many aspects of medieval culture, especially popular religion, will want to consult this work.--Bennett D. Hill, Library Journal


A technique using photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) to optically characterize the strain present in a lattice mismatched III-V compound semiconductor bulk epilayer is described. The 15-K PL spectra of a series of In/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As epilayers with indium compositions at or slightly above that needed to satisfy the lattice matching condition are presented. At the exact lattice matching condition, a single, narrow, strong PL peak is observed. As the indium composition is increased further, the lattice constant increases, and the epilayer experiences biaxial compressive strain. A doublet structure evolves in the PL spectrum, and only a weak, single, broad, PL peak is observed when the whole epilayer has relaxed. The analysis is non-destructive, rapid, and applicable to any epilayer in which strain may be present.<<ETX>>


The authors question whether the d-dimer assay and pulmonary computed tomography angiography (CTA) are being used appropriately to evaluate suspected acute pulmonary embolism (PE) at their hospital. To answer this question, a retrospective review was performed on all emergency department (ED) patients who underwent d-dimer assay and/or CTA from August 15, 2008, to August 14, 2009. The authors' algorithm for diagnosing PE requires that patients with low or intermediate probability of acute PE undergo a d-dimer assay, followed by CTA if the d-dimer is positive. Patients with high probability of PE should have CTA performed without a d-dimer assay. This result suggests that d-dimer assay and CTA are used inappropriately to evaluate patients with suspected acute PE in our ED. The low threshold for initiating an evaluation for PE decreases the prevalence of PE in this population.


Purpose. Bloodstream infections are major causes of morbidity and mortality that lead to prolonged hospital stays and higher medical costs. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the MinION nanopore sequencer for the identification of the most dominant pathogens in positive blood culture bottles. Methodology. 16S and ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2 rRNA genes were amplified by PCR reactions with barcoded primers using nine clinical isolates obtained from positive blood bottles and 11 type strains, including five types of Candida species. Barcoded amplicons were mixed, and multiplex sequencing with the MinION sequencer was performed. In addition, barcoded PCR amplicons were sequenced by Sanger sequencing to validate the performance of the MinION. Results. The bacterial and Candida spp. identified by MinION sequencing, based on the highest homology of reference sequences from the NCBI gene databases, agreed with the matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry results, excepting the closely related species Streptococcus and Escherichia coli. The 'pass' reads obtained within about 10 min of sequencing were sufficient to identify the pathogens. The average values of sequence identities with 1D2 chemistry and the R9.5 flow cell were around 99 %; thus, frequent sequence errors did not affect species identification based on amplicon sequencing. Conclusion. We have established a rapid, portable and economical technique for the identification of pathogens in positive blood culture bottles through a novel MinION nanopore sequencer amplicon sequencing scheme, which replaces traditional Sanger sequencing.


The aim of our study is to learn about the innovation models currently used by Spanish tourism companies and determine if there is any relation between the level of innovation and the sub-industry, the firms' billing volume, how they manage their innovation efforts, the general innovation fields and the companies' ranking of specific innovation focuses. Our findings reveal that hotels and tourist activity companies invest the most in innovation, while intermediation and transport firms and restaurants invest the least. However, there is no direct correlation between innovation investment levels and the different tourism subindustries. Contrarily, our results indicate that, as companies increase their billing volume, they dedicate greater resources to innovation. Similarly, though despite no significant difference, creating new products attracts more investments than technology in order to achieve differentiation. Also, the most innovative tourism companies apply significant resources to client orientation efforts while very few to cost reduction initiatives.


Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were prepared simply by the reverse co-precipitation method from the solution of ferrous/ferric mixed salt in the presence of cationic surfactant (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB) and nonionic surfactant (Polyethylene glycol, PEG) in two concentrations. Meanwhile, Fe3O4 nanoparticles without surfactant are also synthesized under the same condition for comparison. In addition via the reverse co-precipitation method, the pH which is an important factor in synthesis of magnetite was controlled at high values easily. The experimental results reveal that addition of surfactants affected on the size and morphology of the nanoparticles based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterizations.


We propose a novel incomplete cooperative algorithm for distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs) denoted as Cooperative Constraint Approximation (CoCoA). The key strategy of the algorithm is to use a semi-greedy approach in which knowledge is distributed amongst neighboring agents, and assigning a value only once instead of an iterative approach. Furthermore, CoCoA uses a unique-first approach to improve the solution quality. It is designed such that it can solve DCOPs as well as Asymmetric DCOPS, with only few messages being communicated between neighboring agents. Experimentally, through evaluating graph coloring problems, randomized (A)DCOPs, and a sensor network communication problem, we show that CoCoA is able to very quickly find solutions of high quality with a smaller communication overhead than state-of-the-art DCOP solvers such as DSA, MGM-2, ACLS, MCS-MGM and Max-Sum. In our asymmetric use case problem of a sensor network, we show that CoCoA not only finds the best solution, but also finds this solution faster than any other algorithm.


The CEA's organization regarding criticality-safety is the same for each of its nuclear center. First, one or more qualified criticality engineer (QCE) is located directly on nuclear installations containing fissile material. The QCE manages criticality safety in the installations. He develops criticality safety analyses for the installations and participates in the implementation of the resulting rules. Second, a center's criticality engineer (CCE) is in charge of the verification for every modification in each nuclear facilities. He is also in charge to support qualified criticality engineer, and capitalise the knowledge of all the installations. Third, a Criticality Specialist (CS) controls the good functioning of the criticality organization in the center. Furthermore, a criticality safety experts group could assist every criticality engineer of each center's organisation for the criticality calculations and analysis. This paper details the role of the Criticality Specialist, which is to define an independent opinion on nuclear facilities modifications that could affect the criticality analysis. Its role is also to be an interface between CEA and the French nuclear safety authority for criticality risks in the center. Its action is thus to ensure the quality and consistency of the files sent to the authorities, but without participating in the technical solutions choices. Then, this paper presents an example of a control carried out on one of the nuclear facilities in Paris-Saclay center. This control is about an implementation of a future operation that may present a criticality risk. The criticality specialist did several further requirements for this operation. In the end, this paper presents how this second line control has been taken into account by the nuclear installation. Finally, this paper establishes a feedback on the positioning of the criticality specialist regarding the controls performed on nuclear facilities.


To investigate the clonal relationship between follicular lymphoma (FL) and transformed diffuse lymphoma (tDL), we examined the expression of tumor idiotype, immunoglobulin (Ig) gene rearrangements and sequence of Ig variable genes in paired tissue specimens. All 16 cases analyzed expressed surface immunoglobulin (sIg) on both the FL and the tDL, though the immunophenotype of one case of FL could not be definitively determined. In 14 of 15 cases, the surface immunophenotype was preserved; the exception was likely secondary to a class switch from IgM to IgG. In 12 of 13 cases, antiidiotypic monoclonal antibodies prepared against the FL reacted with the paired tDL. Analysis of Ig gene rearrangements in four cases by Southern blot hybridization showed evidence of clonal relationships in all cases though concordance was not seen with all probes tested (C kappa, C lambda, JH, PFL1, and PFL2). In the one case that had a discordant L chain rearrangement, sequence analysis of the L chain demonstrated a common mature B cell origin for both the FL and tDL. To determine whether tDL arose from one or more FL cells, the sequences of the H chain variable genes were analyzed. Individual clones of the V region gene of the FL showed a random distribution of changes throughout the sequence. In contrast, individual clones of the V region gene from tDL shared numerous nonrandom sequence alterations, implying a common single cell origin. In conclusion, tDL is a mature B cell and arises by transformation of a single FL cell.


Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a typical semiconductor metal oxide. It functions under irradiation with ultraviolet (UV, ≤400 nm), deep-ultraviolet (DUV, ≤300 nm), and far-ultraviolet (FUV, ≤200 nm) light. Therefore, investigations in these regions are essentially important not only for the basic understanding of the properties of TiO2 but also for the development of various applications such as photocatalysis and solar cells. In this review, the historic and recent research studies of TiO2 in these areas are overviewed. In particular, recent marked progress on attenuated total reflectance (ATR) DUV–FUV spectroscopy, resonant DUV Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy, and DUV Raman spectroscopy are focused on intensively. These pursuits provide detailed insights into the electronic states, bandgap energies, and phase transformations of TiO2 and TiO2 based materials as well as design guides for their applications.


The summit crater of Vailulu'u Seamount, the youngest volcano in the Samoan chain, hosts an active hydrothermal system with profound impact on the ocean water column inside and around its crater (2 km wide and 407 m deep at a 593 m summit depth). The turbidity of the ocean water reaches 1.4 NTU, values that are higher than in any other submarine hydrothermal system. The water is enriched in hydrothermal Mn (3.8 ppb) and 3He (1 × 10−11 cc/g) and we measured water temperature anomalies near the crater floor up to 0.2°C. The hydrothermal system shows complex interactions with the ocean currents around Vailulu'u that include tidally‐modulated vertical motions of about 40–50 m, and replenishment of waters into the crater through breaches in the upper half of the crater wall. Inside and outside potential density gradients suggest that hydrothermal venting exports substantial amounts of water from the crater (1.3 ± 0.2 × 108 m3/day), which is in good agreement with fluxes obtained from a tracer release experiment inside the crater of Vailulu'u (0.8 × 108 m3/day [ Hart et al., 2003 ]). This mass flux, in combination with the differences in the inside and outside crater temperature, yields a power output of around 760 megawatts, the equivalent of 20–100 MOR black smokers. The Mn output of 300 kg/day is approximately ten times the output of a single black smoker.


The only book to cover the entire history of birth control and the intense controversies about reproduction rights that have raged in the United States for more than 150 years, "The Moral Property of Women" is a thoroughly updated and revised version of the award-winning historian Linda Gordon's classic history "Woman's Body, Woman's Right", originally published in 1976. Arguing that reproduction control has always been central to women's status, "The Moral Property of Women" shows how opposition to it has long been part of the conservative opposition to gender equality. From its roots in folk medicine and in a campaign so broad it constituted a grassroots social movement at some points in history, to its legitimization through public policy, the widespread acceptance of birth control has involved a major reorientation of sexual values. In three new chapters and updates throughout, Gordon addresses birth control and public policy, the intense abortion debates of the past thirty years, and a host of issues that extend from abortion controversies, including sterilization, teenage pregnancy and childbearing, and stem-cell research. Illuminating the conflicts and politics at the core of birth control issues through a historical lens, the book places today's "choice" versus "right-to-life" movements in the context of the campaign that first prohibited abortion in the mid-nineteenth century and the campaign that legalized contraception in the early twentieth century. From the earliest attempts of women to organize for the legal control of their bodies to the effects of second-wave feminism, Gordon defines the role that birth control has played in society's attitudes toward women, sexuality, and gender equality. Highlighting the leaders of the struggle and their actions, the book chronicles the contributions of notorious reproductive control activists such as Margaret Sanger as well as lesser-known pioneers including the utopian socialist Robert Dale Owen, the women's rights advocate Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the three doctors Foote - Edward Bliss Foote, Edward Bond Foote, and Mary Bond Foote - the anarchists Ezra Heywood and Emma Goldman, the civil libertarian Mary Ware Dennett, and abortion rights advocates of the 1970s.


A growing number of researchers and designers have understood the importance of involving users in the creation of future designs. As a result, several authors have introduced 'design labs', discussing their benefits. However, these studies fail to give a detailed account of how they support co-creation between the research (or development) team and users. In this paper we introduce 'dialogue-labs' to support the co-design of novel interactions for a specific task (i.e. ways of creating and communicating mood boards), and for a specific user group (i.e. industrial designers). We discuss how different types of locations, tasks, and materials allowed us to spark dialogue between researchers and participants. We present a comparison of the materials used and the quality of the ideas that emerged during the sessions that can help researchers and designers create dialogue with people.


Consumers in the United States are being exposed to steadily increasing levels of novel and untested substances as a result of their contact with consumer products containing nanoparticles. Hundreds of nanotech consumer products are being marketed for human consumption, including food, dietary supplements, cosmetics and sunscreens. The majority of these products do not list their nanotech content on the product label. This expanding market ignores the growing scientific understanding that nanoparticles can create unintended human health and environmental risks. This Article discusses the public health, regulatory, legal and ethical issues raised by the developing appreciation of the health risks associated with nanotech products and is arranged as follows. After the Introduction, this Article describes the present scientific understanding of the health risks associated with the consumption of nanoparticles. Next, a summary of the existing FDA regulatory structure that governs food, dietary supplements, cosmetics and sunscreens is provided along with an explanation of why these regulations fail to protect public health when applied to regulate the nanotech versions of these products. The Article goes on to illustrate how the FDA's dated position on bioequivalence, coupled with preexisting regulations, lead to a lack of a labeling requirement which bars a consumer from engaging in self-protection. Compounding this situation, if a consumer is injured from this unavoidable exposure, this Article spells out how the insensitivity of the tort system to injuries from innovative technologies means that an injury from a nanotech product will be borne by the consumer and not the manufacturers who are reaping the profit from product sales. Finally, this Article proposes alternative methods of regulating nanotech products that better protect public health while encouraging technical innovation. These proposals are based on lessons learned from past introductions of new chemicals and innovative technologies such as asbestos, PCBs, DES, Thalidomide, medical X-rays and Benzene that all had serious, long-term public health consequences.


A new Web interface for rule net-based distributed control systems is proposed. It is applied to the monitoring of a chemical analysis system coupled with a wort fermentation process. A complete description of both the chemical and the informatics system is presented. This interface offers the possibility of accessing the process from any Internet-connected device (PC, PDA, etc.), using a standard browser as the only software required. The evolution of the results obtained in the FIA monitoring (and consequently of the process) can be analyzed by means of this interface; on the other hand, the process itself can be directly controlled through the modification of the different working parameters, even from a remote location.


Foraminiferal morphogroups were studied in 5 cores (ranging from 1.64 m to 4.50 m long) from a semi-confined bay, at depth between 2 m and 6 m. Except at the base of the longest cores where the sands are almost azoic with only rare typical shelf tests, the microfauna is characteristic of a coastal bay. The small sized tests found in the upper 2 meters of the cores are mainly free-living, infaunal, detritivorous or herbivorous-detritivorous. Their morphology indicates a prevalence of low oxygen environments during the progressive filling of the bay during the Holocene transgression. An increase of the percentage of low oxygen and infaunal morphogroups occurs between 1.5 m and 0.5 m. It corresponds to a change in bottom water circulation beginning about 5,000 years BP, and leading to a low oxygen period and probably to an increase of organic matter within the sediments. This change might result from an inversion of the dominant wave front direction due to changes in atmospheric circulation. Such a phenomenon was reported in the Doce River mouth area (19° N latitude), for example. The period of reversed dominant wave front direction (5,100 to 3,900 years BP) observed in this region seems to be contemporaneous with the period of low oxygen conditions observed in Flamengo Bay.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

A subset of cells, termed side-population (SP), with characteristics of adult stem cells (SC) has been identified in several tissues, cell lines, as well as human and experimental tumors. The main feature of these putative stem cells is the high efflux capability for antimitotic drugs. The role of this SP in tumorigenesis is controversial; though, a role as cancer stem cells has been reported. Here, we have investigated whether a functionally equivalent SP exists in cell lines derived from mouse epidermis and skin tumors in order to define the extent of which the presence of SP is associated with tumor progression. We observed increased percentage of the SP in cell lines derived from skin squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs; cell lines CH72 and JWF2) compared with those arose from skin papillomas (308 and MT1/2) and mouse epidermis (C50). Side populations were isolated by the high capability to efflux Hoechst upon FACS analysis. Interestingly, qRT-PCR analysis of SP and non-SP shows elevated expression of the ABCG2/BCRP1 transporter -which participates in the dye efflux- in SP; while the expression of the hair follicle stem cell markers keratin 15 (K15), CD34 and Lgr6 were similar between SP and non-SP. These results suggest that the SP is not related to the well characterized stem cells from the bulge region of the hair follicle (BuSC). Importantly, the relevant correlation among the SP size and tumor progression suggests that these cells are positively selected during tumor progression. In order to localize the SP in mouse epidermis and tumors, we performed immunofluorescence analysis of skin papillomas and SCCs generated through the two-stage carcinogenesis protocol. We identified the ABCG2 transporter in a region near and above the BuSC area. Notably, this region was also positive for the thymic epithelial progenitor marker MTS24 which defines a keratinocyte population with characteristic of stem cells. Importantly, the ABCG2 transporter and MTS24 were localized in patches of cells on the proliferative basal cell layer of skin papillomas. Furthermore, we observed an elevated number of putative stem cells expressing ABCG2 and MTS24 in tumors from our previously published K5CDK4 mouse which showed increased malignant progression to SCC. Collectivelly, our results suggest that a putative stem cell population –different from the BuSCs–, play an important role during the malignant progression SCC. Supported by NIH grant CA116328.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3372. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3372


In this paper a simple architecture for an image oriented virtual machine targeted to computer vision applications is introduced. This virtual machine provides a low level approach to image processing working on very high level data structures which allows developers to setup the sequence of processing actions in an easy way. Additionally, this architecture provides a common environment for prototyping and production systems simplifying the deployment process of the final application.


An examination of teat canal swabs established that 51 teat canals out of 68 quarters of machine-milked cows were colonized by Staphylococcus aureus. Only 31 of these quarters yielded milk from which S. aureus could be cultured, and 6 out of the 31 produced milk containing somatic cell counts in excess of 500 000/ml. No inhibitory substances could be detected in milk samples 12 h after 10 mg of sodium cloxacillin had been deposited in the test canal on 1-4 successive occasions. Teat canal swabs and milk sample cultures of the same quarters became and remained bacteriologically negative for at least a week after the last treatment. Six quarters, which according to the International Dairy Federation criteria were suffering from subclinical mastitis, became negative after local teat canal therapy. Scanning electron micrographs of one infected teat canal revealed the presence of cocci in depressions and crevices on the epithelial surface, suggesting that such cocci are not always flushed out into milk samples. Teat canal therapy should make a marked contribution to the control of bovine mastitis.


The seahorse is a marine teleost fish member of the Syngnathidae family that displays a complex variety of morphological and reproductive behavior innovations and has been recognized for its medicinal importance. In the Brazilian ichthyofauna, the seahorse Hippocampus reidi is among the three fish species most used by the population in traditional medicine. In this study, a protocol was performed based on fast heat inactivation of proteases plus liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry to identify native peptides in gills of seahorse H. reidi. The MS/MS spectra obtained from gills allowed the identification of 1080 peptides, of which 1013 peptides were present in all samples and 67 peptide sequences were identified in an additional LC-MS/MS run from an alkylated and reduced pool of samples. The majority of peptides were fragments of the internal region of the amino acid sequence of the precursor proteins (67%), and N- and C-terminal represented 18% and 15%, respectively. Many peptide sequences presented ribosomal proteins, histones and hemoglobin as precursor proteins. In addition, peptide fragments from moronecidin-like protein, described with antimicrobial activity, were found in all gill samples of H. reidi. The identified sequences may reveal new bioactive peptides.


Estimating the human hand posture is important for a variety of applications, such as human-computer interface, virtual reality and computer graphic animation. However, posture recognition is not yet advanced enough to provide a flexible and reliable performance for these applications. The purpose of this study is to find a closed-form solution for 3D hand posture estimation using a 2D monocular image. We propose a method to estimate the hand model parameters from detected 2D positions of finger tips and other main points. Using the hand model with 27 degrees of freedom (DOF) and the constraints among them, a new algorithm to estimate the finger posture by solving the inverse kinematics of the finger joints is presented. Experimental results confirm that our method gives the correct hand posture.


ABSTRACT Some landholders who have cropping enterprises utilise wetlands on their properties, even where such actions are unlawful. The ecological impacts of cropping or draining these environmental assets will vary, but the outcomes can be dramatic and irreversible. This article examines the judgements of rural landholders about the acceptability of cropping or draining wetlands. Data were gathered through a survey of rural landholders in western Victoria. Rural landholders were more likely to judge cropping or draining wetlands to be unacceptable than acceptable. Respondents who found these practices acceptable were more likely to have a business orientation and be farmers by occupation. Almost a third of respondents indicated they were 'unsure', suggesting there is an opportunity to influence their attitudes. However, the 'unsure' were more similar to those who found cropping or draining wetlands acceptable. Economic opportunities provided by these practices are an important barrier to conservation efforts. We suggest that management agencies target landholders with wetlands and offer financial incentives for their active management beyond that required by law, and provide learning opportunities around wetlands. It may also be necessary to more actively monitor and prosecute illegal activity to complement the existing focus on extension and cost sharing for on-ground work.


ABSTRACT This paper provides a critical discussion of internationalisation in Higher Education (HE), and exemplifies a process of uncovering the investments in power and ideology through the partial analysis of four strategic internationalisation documents at two Scottish Higher Education institutions, as part of an ongoing international study into the ethics of internationalisation (EIHE).1 A Foucauldian discursive analytical approach is employed in analysing the policy documents. It reveals the relationships between power and knowledge in the constitution of regimes of truth within internationalisation, while serving to interrogate the dynamics of the affective and ethical in the comprising of such relationships and imaginaries. A critical postcolonial theorisation works in tandem with a Foucauldian approach in uncovering the relations of power discursively at work and the discursive effects of power in institutional terms. Four key themes are identified within the documents and critically discussed. The discussions serve to demonstrate that a lack of critical engagement with internationalisation discourses in Higher Education has the effect of reifying a dominant view and suppressing the emergence of alternative discourses. A critical postcolonial lens facilitates interpretability of power dynamics through and beyond internationalisation in Higher Education to consider the ethical effects of such power in its investments in global inequality, injustice and oppression within the global modernist imaginary.


(ere are two problems in the traditional spectral clustering algorithm. Firstly, when it uses Gaussian kernel function to construct the similarity matrix, different scale parameters in Gaussian kernel function will lead to different results of the algorithm. Secondly, K-means algorithm is often used in the clustering stage of the spectral clustering algorithm. It needs to initialize the cluster center randomly, which will result in the instability of the results. In this paper, an improved spectral clustering algorithm is proposed to solve these two problems. In constructing a similarity matrix, we proposed an improved Gaussian kernel function, which is based on the distance information of some nearest neighbors and can adaptively select scale parameters. In the clustering stage, beetle antennae search algorithm with damping factor is proposed to complete the clustering to overcome the problem of instability of the clustering results. In the experiment, we use four artificial data sets and seven UCI data sets to verify the performance of our algorithm. In addition, four images in BSDS500 image data sets are segmented in this paper, and the results show that our algorithm is better than other comparison algorithms in image segmentation.


This paper describes the goals of the ATMOSPHERE project, which is a multi-institutional research and development (R&D) effort aiming at designing and implementing a framework and platform to develop, build, deploy, measure and evolve trustworthy, cloud-enabled applications. The proposed system should address the federation of geographically distributed cloud computing providers that rely on lightweight virtualization, and provide access to heterogeneous sets of resources. We discuss some preliminary results, including the architecture that has been proposed to address these challenges.


Raman measurements of two common gases are made using a simple multipass capillary Raman cell (MCC) coupled to an unfiltered 18 around 1 fiber-optic Raman probe. The MCC, which is fabricated by chemical deposition of silver on the inner walls of a 2 mm inner diameter glass capillary tube, gives up to 20-fold signal enhancements for nonabsorbing gases. The device is relatively small and suitable for remote and in situ Raman measurements with optical fibers. The optical behavior of the MCC is similar to previously described liquid-core waveguides and hollow metal-coated waveguides used for laser transmission, but unlike the former devices, the MCC is generally applicable to a very wide range of nonabsorbing gases.


This paper describes the design and implementation of mechanisms for latency tolerance in the remote memory access communication on clusters equipped with high-performance networks such as Myrinet. It discusses strategies that bridge the gap between user-level requirements and network-specific communication interfaces while attempting to increase opportunities for latency hiding. Mechanisms for overlapping communication with computation and coalescing small messages (trading latency for bandwidth) are explored. The effectiveness of these techniques is evaluated using microbenchmarks and application kernels including the NAS parallel benchmark suite. The microbenchmark results showed a better degree of overlap for nonblocking operations in ARMCI as compared to MPI. Application results showed up 30% to 45% improvement over MPI on using nonblocking operations. The aggregation of small messages yielded performance improvement of up to 78% over non-aggregated communication.


Abstract Integration of flight and propulsion control systems in advanced aircraft has attracted much attention because of ever increasing demand on enhancement of performance and reliability. As the underlying dynamic couplings and non-linear interactions of flight and propulsion systems are too complex for realtime execution in onboard computational platforms, hierarchical hybrid (i.e. combined continuously varying and discrete event) architecture is proposed for the development of future generation control systems that will take the advantage of these interactions for mission enhancement. Although the original structures of continuously varying control systems for propulsion and flight are retained, discrete event supervisory (DES) control would facilitate decision-making for aircraft operation. DES decisions regarding propulsion and flight control influence the performance and reliability of the entire vehicle control system due to interactions at the level of continuously varying dynamics. A two-level hierarchical DES control system is designed to supervise and coordinate the operation of twin-engine aircraft propulsion with flight dynamics. In essence, the propulsion system is integrated with the flight dynamical system such that the DES controller at the propulsion level of hierarchy provides load balancing of the engines as well as overall health and mission management of the aircraft propulsion system. The parameter-scheduling dynamic-inversion controller stabilizes and drives the flight system in the vehicle operation envelope and compensates for potential unbalance and any other undesirable action, resulting from discrete event supervision of the propulsion system. Results of real-time simulation on a test bed are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control concept.


We propose a robust object recognition method based on approximate 3D models that can effectively match objects under large viewpoint changes and partial occlusion. The specific problem we solve is: given two views of an object, determine if the views are for the same or different object. Our domain of interest is vehicles, but the approach can be generalized to other man-made rigid objects. A key contribution of our approach is the use of approximate models with locally and globally constrained rendering to determine matching objects. We utilize a compact set of 3D models to provide geometry constraints and transfer appearance features for object matching across disparate viewpoints. The closest model from the set, together with its poses with respect to the data, is used to render an object both at pixel (local) level and region/part (global) level. Especially, symmetry and semantic part ownership are used to extrapolate appearance information. A piecewise Markov Random Field (MRF) model is employed to combine observations obtained from local pixel and global region level. Belief Propagation (BP) with reduced memory requirement is employed to solve the MRF model effectively. No training is required, and a realistic object image in a disparate viewpoint can be obtained from as few as just one image. Experimental results on vehicle data from multiple sensor platforms demonstrate the efficacy of our method.


Class 1 hydrate deposits are characterized by ahydratebearing layer underlain by a two-phase zone involving mobile gas.Two kinds of deposits are investigated. The first involves water andhydrate in the hydrate zone (Class 1W), while the second involves gas andhydrate (Class 1G). We introduce new models to describe the effect of thepresence of hydrates on the wettability properties of porous media. Wedetermine that large volumes of gas can be readily produced at high ratesfor long times from Class 1 gas hydrate accumulations by means ofdepressurization-induced dissociation using conventional technology.Dissociation in Class 1W deposits proceeds in distinct stages, while itis continuous in Class 1G deposits. To avoid blockage caused by hydrateformation in the vicinity of the well, wellbore heating is a necessity inproduction from Class 1 hydrates. Class 1W hydrates are shown tocontribute up to 65 percent of the production rate and up to 45 percentof the cumulative volume of produced gas; the corresponding numbers forClass 1G hydrates are 75 percent and 54 percent. Production from bothClass 1W and Class 1G deposits leads to the emergence of a seconddissociation front (in addition to the original ascending hydrateinterface) that forms at the top of the hydrate interval and advancesdownward. Inboth kinds of deposits,more » capillary pressure effects lead tohydrate lensing, i.e., the emergence of distinct banded structures ofalternating high-low hydrate saturation, which form channels and shellsand have a significant effect on production.« less


Problems statement: Lack of information on locally isolated cellulase-producing bacterium in thermophilic compost using a mixture of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) and Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) as composting materials. Approach: The isolation of microbes from compost heap was conducted at day 7 of composting process where the mixture of composting materials consisted of 45.8% cellulose, 17.1% hemicellulose and 28.3% lignin content. The temperature, pH and moisture content of the composting pile at day 7 treatment were 58.3, 8.1 and 65.5°C, respectively. The morphological analysis of the isolated microbes was conducted using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Gram stain method. The congo red test was conducted in order to detect 1% CMC agar degradation activities. Total genomic DNAs were extracted from approximately 1.0 g of mixed compost and amplified by using PCR primers. The PCR product was sequent to identify the nearest relatives of 16S rRNA genes. The localization of bacteria chromosomes was determined by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) analysis. Results: Single isolated bacteria species was successfully isolated from Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB)-Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) compost at thermophilic stage. Restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles of the DNAs coding for the 16S rRNAs with the phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolated bacteria from EFB-POME thermophilic compost gave the highest homology (99%) with similarity to Geobacillus pallidus. The strain was spore forming bacteria and able to grow at 60°C with pH 7. Conclusion: Thermophilic bacteria strain, Geobacillus pallidus was successfully isolated from Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) and Palm Oil Mil Effluent (POME) compost and characterized.


Short‐rib polydactyly syndromes are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by narrow thorax with short ribs, polydactyly and often other visceral and skeletal malformations. To date there have only been six reported patients with homozygous and compound heterozygous variants in IFT81, causing a short‐rib thoracic dysplasia, with, or without, polydactyly (SRTD19: OMIM 617895). IFT81 is a protein integral to the core of the intraflagellar transport complex B (IFT‐B), which is involved in anterograde transport in the cilium. We describe the case of a male infant with compound heterozygous variants in IFT81, who presented with short long bones, a narrow thorax, polydactyly, and multiple malformations. Three novel clinical features are reported including complete situs inversus, micropenis, and rectal atresia, which have not previously been associated with variants in IFT81. We reviewed the literature and identified the most consistent clinical features associated with this rare ciliopathy syndrome. We postulate that dolichocephaly and sagittal craniosynostosis may be associated with this condition, and provide a clue to considering IFT81 as the causative gene when deciphering complex ciliopathies.


An effective method is proposed for designing three- and higher-dimensional FIR digital filters in this paper. The method is based on deriving the closed-form matrix called by the inverse frequency response transformation matrix, such that the filter's coefficients can be computed directly from the given specifications without any iterative procedures and optimization techniques. Design examples are presented to demonstrate the flexibility and the efficiency of the method, and it is shown that even for filter lengths up to 21/spl times/21/spl times/21 only 0.4 s CPU time is needed.


In this paper, an OICA (online iterative control algorithm) by setting measured PES (position error signal) into the servo system to achieve high track densities through minimizing the square of the H2 -norm of the transfer function from NRRO (non-repeatable run-out) disturbance sources to true PES is proposed without having to solve any AREs (algebraic Riccati equations) and LMIs (linear matrix inequalities). An online RRO (repeatable run-out) estimator is constructed to extract NRRO components for gradient estimates, hence preventing the controller parameters from being trapped in a local minima. Experimental results on a PC-based servo system for a spinstand [12] show an improvement of 22% in 3sigma NRRO and suppression of baseline NRRO spectrum.


China?s institutional private equity and venture capital market has similarities to that of the United States and Europe, but there are important differences. Many practices that are taken for granted in areas such as Silicon Valley have yet to become routine in China. To begin with, there is a lack of readily available information about opportunities, entrepreneurs and companies. In addition, Chinese entrepreneurs know little about finance, corporate structures and governance, thereby requiring investors to spend considerable amounts of time educating them and filling the gaps. The authors identify seven disciplines critical to successful investment in China: knowledge and appreciation of the importance of social capital networks, or guanxi; understanding of corporate governance and shareholder rights; the ability to manage intellectual property; the ability to adapt business models to local conditions; the ability to add managerial and technical value to young enterprises; knowledge of legal structure; and an ability to navigate complex regulatory environments.


Neoclassical theoretical approaches dominate modern health economics. However, the peculiarities of healthcare provision are so unusual that neoclassical theory is especially unsuited to the area. Even mainstream health economists often abandon Paretian welfare considerations to focus on needs instead. Problems relating to uncertainty and externalities are also widely acknowledged. This article shows that there are additional important pecularities of healthcare that are relatively neglected in the literature. Some of these concern healthcare needs: while health itself is a universal need, needs for healthcare provision are largely involuntary, varied and idiosyncratic. These issues have important consequences for the planning of healthcare systems and the extent of transaction costs in any market-based system. These factors, combined with the inherent dynamism of modern healthcare needs and capabilities, make institutional and evolutionary approaches especially suitable for healthcare economics.


BACKGROUND
Bipolar disorder frequently has an early onset, with an estimated 1.8% prevalence of bipolar I disorder in children and adolescents. Childhood onset of bipolar disorder is typically associated with a chronic, severe, and disabling course of illness. Relatively few prospective studies are available that evaluate the long-term efficacy of atypical antipsychotics in achieving and sustaining response or remission in pediatric patients with bipolar depression. Lurasidone has been approved by the FDA as monotherapy for bipolar depression in pediatric patients ages 10-17 years. The aim of the current post-hoc analysis was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of lurasidone in achieving response or remission in children and adolescents with bipolar depression followed over a two-year period.

METHOD
Patients 10-17 years with bipolar I depression who completed a 6-week double-blind (DB) study of lurasidone vs. placebo were eligible to enroll in a two-year, open-label (OL) extension study in which patients were continued on flexibly-dosed lurasidone (20-80 mg/d) or switched from placebo to lurasidone. Efficacy measures included the Children's Depression Rating Scale, Revised (CDRS-R) and the Clinical Global Impression, Bipolar Depression Severity scale (CGI-BP-S). Functioning was evaluated utilizing the Clinician-rated Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) score, with a score >70 indicating no clinically meaningful functional impairment. Responder criteria were met if a patient achieved criteria = 50% reduction from DB baseline in the CDRS-R total score: remission criteria were met if a patient achieved a CDRS-R Total Score =28 and a YMRS total score =8 and CGI-BP-S depression score =3, and a patient was considered to have met recovery criteria if they achieved remission with a CGAS score >70. In addition, a more stringent outcome, sustained remission, was also analyzed, which required a patient to meet remission criteria for =24 consecutive weeks.

RESULTS
A total of 306 patients completed the 6-week DB study and entered the extension study; 195 (63.7%) patients completed one year of treatment and 168 (54.9%) patients completed two years of treatment. Responder rates at OL baseline, one year, and two years were: 51.0%, 88.4% and 91.1%, respectively; remission rates were 24.3%, 61.3%, and 75.6%, respectively; and recovery rates were 17.7%, 53.8%, and 73.8%. On a Pearson correlation analysis, there was a strong inverse relationship (r = -0.71) between CDRS-R total score, and global functioning as measured by the CGAS. Sustained remission was achieved by 37.2% of patients at one year and 57% of patients after two years.

CONCLUSIONS
In children and adolescents with bipolar depression, up to 2 years of treatment with lurasidone was associated with continued improvement in depressive symptoms, resulting in progressively higher rates of response, remission, recovery, and the more rigorously calculated outcome of sustained remission.

FUNDING
Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.


A new class of dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS, CdMnS) thin film based photoelectrochemical cell is presented. DMS thin films are synthesized on both glass and stainless steel substrates using a chemical growth process. The preparation parameters, such as growth temperature, time, reaction pH, precursor concentrations, etc., were optimized to yield characteristically oriented films. The layer thickness was found to decrease with increase in Mn concentration. Composition of the as-grown samples was determined by an EDS technique. The electrochemical cells were then formed out of these series of films as the active photoelectrodes, an electrolyte and a counter electrode. The cells were then characterized through their dark and photosensing properties. The other cell parameters were determined from these studies and the cell performance has been evaluated with a special reference to Mn concentration in CdS. A significant enhancement in performance has been observed for a cell with electrode composition of x = 0.01.


Observations of seismic waves generated by explosions in Lake Superior during the Early Rise Experiment have been made westward to a range of 2600 km. A phase filtering technique involving the vertical and horizontal motion, used to enhance the body phases, is applied to both the compressional and shear wave portions of the seismograms, presented in record section form.

Our interpretation of these data implies that the P velocity increases in a series of discontinuities to a depth of 500 km (the extent of our data); the most important of these being increases from 8.2 km/sec to 8.47 km/sec at 126 km, and from 8.9 km/sec to 9.5 km/sec at 450 km. Q for P waves appears to decrease below 126 km.

Although the shear-wave data is not as convincing as the P -wave data, it is probable that the increase in P velocity at 126 km is accompanied by a decrease in shear velocity from about 4.7 km/sec to 3.9 km/sec, with a corresponding increase of Poisson's ratio, bulk modulus and density, and decrease in rigidity. The shear velocity then increases to 5.0 km/sec at 220 km. The lowest value of the shear velocity is necessitated by the relatively small ranges at which the turning point of the cusp associated with this low-velocity channel seems to occur.

A comparison of the Rayleigh wave phase velocities computed for this model (using Birch's relationship between density and P velocity) with the Canadian Shield data of Brune and Dorman and the midwest United States data of McEvilly is favorable.


The aims of this study were to present a remedy for isolated Weber type B fractures using a new surgical technique, a specialized anatomical locking plate without inter-fragmentary lag screws, and an early weight-bearing protocol after surgery, as well as to evaluate the outcomes of this remedy. The study included 29 patients (17 males and 12 females; mean age, 40.8 years, range, 18 to 82 years) with a minimum 1-year follow-up period. Surgery was performed as fixation without inter-fragmentary lag screws using a specialized locking plate that was pre-anatomically contoured on the outline of the fibula. Tolerable weight bearing was permitted in the second postoperative week. Fractures were compared clinically and radiologically to the injured side and were rated according to the criteria reported by McLennan and Ungersma. The Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) were used to evaluate functional results. In all patients, union was achieved without any loss of reduction or malunion. There were no infections or wound complications. According to the McLennan and Ungersma criteria, all patients were rated good radiologically; however, 2 were rated fair and 27 were good functionally. The mean FAOS score was 90.5 (range 62.4 to 100) at 1 year follow up after surgery. The fixation method without interfragmentary lag screws using a specialized anatomical locking plate and early postoperative weight bearing has the advantages of being an easy procedure with greater stability and provides good functional and radiological outcomes in patients with isolated Weber B ankle fractures.


Research concerning student experience and perception of chapel programs at Christian colleges is severely lacking (Morrison, 2014). However, relevant literature on secularization and the rising impact of spirituality on today's students reveals chapel programs to be a critical intersection for the spiritual life of a Christian institution and its students. This study sought to explore and describe student perceptions and experience of the chapel program at Taylor University for the 2016-2017 academic year. The study implemented an embedded mixed methods design consisting of two surveys administered to the entire campus community; one survey administered at regular intervals to a group of students; and three focus groups. The results tell of the impact specific elements such as worship, speakers, and scripture have on students and an overall positive perception of the program. Chapel administrators at Taylor can utilize this study as they consider implementing changes in both the practice and vision of the chapel program. In addition, the information regarding student perceptions and experience in this study can serve chapel administrators around the country as they seek to improve and enhance the spiritual lives of their students.


Background The Scottish Government has been instrumental in leading policy development for resuscitation planning. 'Living and Dying Well' a national action plan for palliative and end of life care made an integrated approach to DNACPR decision making an action point. This produced the first, national policy for DNACPR decision making in Europe. Simultaneously, work done in the paediatric sector highlighted the need for a positive and permissive approach to resuscitation planning for Children and Young Adults and a parallel government backed initiative produced the Children And Young Peoples Resuscitation Policy which launched in January 2011. Aims CYPADM aims to prevent unnecessary, unwarranted or unwanted attempts at resuscitation in children. Importantly it goes far beyond a simple cardiopulmonary resuscitation decision as cardiac arrest is a very rare terminal event in children and young adults. It clearly delineates what resuscitative measures are warranted as well as those that are not. It acknowledges that a full resuscitation attempt, including ventilation may be appropriate. CYPADM ensures that discussion of resuscitation of children and young people occurs with consultant medical and senior nursing staff engaging with parents and young people in a developmentally appropriate fashion. CYPADM is intended to be used in all care settings in both the statutory and voluntary sectors. Method Health Improvement Scotland undertook on-going evaluation of the DNACPR and CYPDM policies in consultation with a core multidisciplinary group including representatives from all Health Boards, the Scottish Ambulance Service, the Care Commission and NHS24. Measures have been developed which will establish the extent to which these policies impact on patient care with regard to inappropriate CPR attempts, expected death, and anticipatory care planning. Conclusion CYPADM assures an integrated, permissive approach to resuscitation planning and communication for children and young adults across Scotland. Electronic audit via the Scottish Paediatric Surveillance Unit is on-going.


The low academic performance of students is a problem of concern to the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) worldwide. The quality of education is mainly measured by the academic performance, which is directly related with the grades. The grades obtained by students are translated into the number of passed and failed subjects. Students who fail one or several subjects in their first attempt have to decide either to repeat the course or dropout their studies. In the case of student retention, several previous studies have shown that students entering a career are not graduated in the established times. These results undoubtedly reflect an education problem that affects the development of society. Therefore, this issue needs to be investigated. Because of the importance of this problem, some HEI have conducted studies about the causes for low academic performance. In general, the authors of these investigations agree that the causes are multi-factorial and they may be related with education institutions, students or teachers. Several studies have proposed some variables to consider in assessing academic performance. However, the evaluation tools used to measure this variable have not been shown. In the present work, the objective is to develop a model that allows to identify the pedagogical factors directly influencing on the retention of subjects in the first-year engineering students. This study is founded on the hypothesis that the responsibility of teachers in the classroom significantly influences in the academic success or failure. The main result from this research is the approach of a unified model, which constitutes a compilation and a combination of pedagogical factors considered on investigations carried out previously in some countries. The model is based on two questionnaires, the first one for teachers and the second one for students. These questionnaires contain similar questions that collect information from different points of view. The opinion collected from both teachers and students is to be compared and contrasted, with the purpose of identifying the factors directly affecting student retention. The research certainly presents a contribution with regard to the previous work carried out. The results will help both teachers and academic authorities to raise awareness and decisions to improve the teaching-learning process and decrease student repetition rates.


The neighboring optimal control problem for a singularly perturbed nonlinear system with state and control inequality constraints is investigated. The problem is formulated in a more general and different form and the various characteristic features of the analysis are discussed. Next, the analysis is presented to generate a "sky print" for ascent maneuver of a hypersonic vehicle such as X-33 for damage and/or failure conditions.


ABSTRACT This paper offers new principles for visual information seeking (VIS). A key concept is to support browsing, which is distinguished from familiar query composition and information retrieval because of its emphasis on rapid filtering to reduce result sets, progressive refinement of search parameters, continuous reformulation of goals, and visual scanning to identify results. VIS principles developed include: dynamic query filters (query parameters are rapidly adjusted with sliders, buttons, maps, etc.), starfield displays (two-dimensional scatterplots to structure result sets and zooming to reduce clutter), and tight coupling (interrelating query components to preserve display invariants and support progressive refinement combined with an emphasis on using search output to foster search input). A FilmFinder prototype using a movie database demonstrates these principles in a VIS environment.


Glucose (catabolite) repression is mediated by multiple mechanisms that combine to regulate transcription of the GAL genes over at least a thousandfold range. We have determined that this is due predominantly to modest glucose repression (4- to 7-fold) of expression of GAL4, the gene encoding the transcriptional activator of the GAL genes. GAL4 regulation is affected by mutations in several genes previously implicated in the glucose repression pathway; it is not dependent on GAL4 or GAL80 protein function. GAL4 promoter sequences that mediate glucose repression were found to lie downstream of positively acting elements that may be "TATA boxes." Two nearly identical sequences (10/12 base pairs) in this region that may be binding sites for the MIG1 protein were identified as functional glucose-control elements. A 4-base-pair insertion in one of these sites causes constitutive GAL4 synthesis and leads to substantial relief (50-fold) of glucose repression of GAL1 expression. Furthermore, promoter deletions that modestly reduce GAL4 expression, and therefore presumably the amount of GAL4 protein synthesized, cause much greater reductions in GAL1 expression. These results suggest that GAL4 works synergistically to activate GAL1 expression. Thus, glucose repression of GAL1 expression is due largely to a relatively small reduction of GAL4 protein levels caused by reduced GAL4 transcription. This illustrates how modest regulation of a weakly expressed regulatory gene can act as a sensitive genetic switch to produce greatly amplified responses to environmental changes.


This is a guide for material to learn more about anti-racism. The guide is based on "The Antiracist Bookshelf" created at William & Mary.


This paper summarizes recent literature on the experience of some existing currency boards. It begins with the definition of the currency board and the description of some existing currency boards. It then discusses advantages and disadvantages of implementing the currency board regime, and concludes with a list of conditions that must be satisfied if a country wants to adopt this monetary framework.


In this paper we investigate the features of gestures deaf people use in their national Sign Languages. In Sign Languages, almost every word has a sign equivalent. National Sign Languages are characterized by variability, which is manifested in the use by carriers of one Sign Languages of its various dialects and borrowings from other Sign Languages. This leads to the appearance in them of the same or similar gestures with different meaning. In our study we compare elements of Russian Sign Language with other Signs Language to find out their similarities and differences. Our study is based on the elements of our own corpus. The corpus includes the most commonly used signs of Russian Sign Languages of various topics; the signs are written in the SignWriting notation. The written form of a gesture allows us to look at the structure of the gesture in a convenient static form. The form also allows us to identify the features of gesture formation and to highlight the common features of each of the Sign Languages. This allows us to transmit and store important information to use in various fields of human activity. The purpose of our work is to collect and compare gestures of Russian Sign Languages and some of the most interesting national sign systems in order to identify their common features. To solve this problem, we investigated the same gestures of Russian Sign Languages and national Sign Languages; the gestures have the same or different meaning. We give examples that describe the general and distinctive features of such gestures. If we know the specifics of gestures in different Signs Languages, we will better understand the languages and make gesture speech unambiguous and easier to translate. Studies in the field of Sign Languages in various countries are still ongoing. Our results can be used by specialists in Sign Languages recording and in machine translation systems in order to recognize speech more accurately.


Azaspiracids (AZAs) are a group of lipophilic polyether toxins implicated in incidents of shellfish poisoning in humans, particularly in northern Europe. We isolated an AZA-producing dinoflagellate, later described as a new genus and species Azadinium spinosum, from eastern Scottish coastal waters during a North Sea oceanographic cruise in 2007. In 2008 detailed analysis of plankton from Niskin bottle samples collected on a cruise along the Danish west coast typically showed highest amounts of AZA in the 3-20 µm fraction. We established a number of crude cultures from this size fraction at the station with highest AZA abundance. An AZA-producing clone corresponding taxonomically to the description of A. spinosum was isolated by microcapillary and brought into pure culture. This dinoflagellate clone produces AZA-1, AZA-2 and an isomer of AZA-2 and thus shows qualitatively the same AZA profile as the A. spinosum strain previously isolated from the Scottish east coast. However, the Danish clone, in contrast to the Scottish isolate, produces only a small amount of the structurally as yet undescribed isomer of AZA-2. This confirmation of A. spinosum as a causative dinoflagellate for AZA toxicity essentially explains the lack of correlation of AZA with the abundance and distribution of the previously postulated culprit, the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Protoperidinium crassipes. Evidence of AZA toxins in the plankton from the Danish coast and confirmed association with A. spinosum also further supports the previous findings of the wide biogeographical distribution of these toxins throughout the coastal North Sea, and hence potential risk to shellfish resources and human health.


Travel Agent Game in Agentcities (TAGA) is the framework that extends and enhances the Trading Agent Competition (TAC) scenario to work in Agentcities, an open multi agent environment based on FIPA compliant pla tforms. TAGA uses the semantic web languages and tools (RDF and OWL) to specify and publish the underlying common ontologies; as a content language within the FIPA ACL messages; as the basis for agent knowledge bases via XSB-based reasoning tools; to describe and reason about services. TAGA extends the FIPA protocols to support open market auctions and enriches the Agentcities with auction services. The introducing of the semantic web languages improves the interoperability among agents. TAGA is intended as a platform for research in multi-agent systems, the semantic web and automated trading in dynamic markets as well as a self-contained application for teaching and experimentation with these technologies.


This thesis work is about an improvement in Tate and Lyle's Clean-in-Place system. The thesis investigates how the designs around two machines can be constructed to automate its Clean-in-Place system. Alongside, two step-by-step manuals were created on how the machines should be cleaned. Furthermore a cleaning agent were searched for which eliminates the oat residues that Tate and Lyle faces. The study's focus was to reduce the cleaning time in their closed systems by automating the cleaning sequences and use a more suitable cleaning agent for their type of residues. The background to the study can be described as a cleaning problem. Tate and Lyle's Clean-in-Place system is operated manually and is executed twice a month. The cleaning agents in their current situation is sodium hydroxide and nitric acid which is not adapted for the remaining residues that appear in their equipment piping and edges. The problem arises when the monument remains isn't properly cleared so the production cannot be resumed since contamination may occur. The equipment is disassembled, cleaned by hand and reassembled before the production can be continued. The purpose of the thesis work is to find the most advantageous way to clean a decanter centrifuge and a separator. A more suitable cleaning agent are examined as well as the economic benefits that can occur at reduced cleaning time. The work delimited from practical construction and planning for an upgraded system. The result consists of two step-by-step manuals that specifically describes how the machines should be cleaned with a Clean-in-Place system. Subsequently, two designs were developed around the decanter centrifuge and separator. The designs describe the placement of pipes, valves and pumps as well as suggestions for new pipelines that provide cleaning benefits. Examination of more customized cleaning was done as an experiment in the chemistry department at the School of Engineering in Jonkoping. The experiment presented as unsuccessful and wouldn't be repeated because of optimistic planning. Instead, the result was presented as a Pugh-matrix where four supplements based on similar studies were used. With an automated system and a qualified cleaning the production time could be increased by 9, 7 %. The economic change was presented as an investment calculation.


This paper addresses an adaptive blind multiuser detection strategy for a multi-rate direct sequence CDMA downlink channel. Specifically, two chip-level equalisation schemes, using either variable spreading length (VSL) or multi-code (MCD) multi-rate access modes, are proposed and tested. Both equalisers can be updated by minimising a hybrid CM/MSE cost function based on the constant modulus (CM) criterion for active users and a mean square error (MSE) criterion for inactive users in a partially loaded system. The BER performance abd the convergence of the proposed algorithms are analysed and compared through various simulations in both partially and fully loaded systems. Essentially, our results show that the VSL algorithm exhibits faster convergence than the MCD scheme while similar BER performance over different multi-path channels is achieved.


This work outlines the results from an investigation to determine the effect of the oxygen dissolved at bottling and the specific oxygen barrier properties of commercially available closures on the composition, color and sensory properties of a Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc wine during two years of storage. The importance of oxygen for wine development after bottling was also assessed using an airtight bottle ampule. Wines were assessed for the antioxidants (SO(2) and ascorbic acid), varietal thiols (4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one, 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol), hydrogen sulfide and sotolon content, and color throughout 24 months of storage. In addition, the aroma and palate properties of wines were also assessed. The combination of oxygen dissolved at bottling and the oxygen transferred through closures has a significant effect on Sauvignon Blanc development after bottling. Wines highly exposed to oxygen at bottling and those sealed with a synthetic, Nomacorc classic closure, highly permeable to oxygen, were relatively oxidized in aroma, brown in color, and low in antioxidants and volatile compounds compared to wines sealed with other closures. Conversely, wines sealed under more airtight conditions, bottle ampule and screw cap Saran-tin, have the slowest rate of browning, and displayed the greatest contents of antioxidants and varietal thiols, but also high levels of H(2)S, which were responsible for the reduced dominating character found in these wines, while wines sealed with cork stoppers and screw cap Saranex presented negligible reduced and oxidized characters.