This study was designed to establish an in vitro model system in human hormone-producing pituitary adenoma which is analogous to the in vivo cellular environment. Mechanically dispersed cells composed of single cells and aggregated cells from 9 pituitary adenomas (5 GH-producing adenomas and 4 prolactinomas) were cultured on microporous membrane coated with basement membrane extract. Not only single cells but also large aggregated cells which usually float in the medium when seeded on ordinary plastic flasks were morphologically flattened and firmly attached to coated microporous membrane within a few days under the control of seeding medium volume. In both types of adenoma, surviving aggregated adenoma cells revealed well-preserved hormonal activity with regard to both cell morphology and hormone release after 6 m in culture and no undifferentiation of cell characteristics was observed. It is concluded that this culture method may further aid the investigation of in vitro cellular structure and function in human pituitary adenoma under conditions which closely mimic the in vivo cellular environment.


Cyclic cyclotriveratrylene (CTV) type supramolecular host
compounds are traditionally synthesized under harsh dehydrating conditions
and require the use of large quantities of organic solvent in the reaction
workup. We now report both solvent-free and ionic liquid reaction media in
efficient 'green' syntheses of CTVs under mild conditions. The
ionic liquid tributylhexylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide
(N6444 Imide) provides a safe, non-volatile reaction medium that
is readily recycled. This methodology obviates the need for the use of
large quantities of organic solvent and strong dehydrating acids yet
provides pure crystalline product in high yields. Unlike most traditional
synthetic routes to these compounds extensive recrystallisation or
chromatographic steps are avoided and the molten salt reaction medium is
readily recovered. Interestingly, condensation also occurs under ambient
conditions on grinding of solid benzyl alcohol monomers with a suitable
solid acid to afford the corresponding CTV. Ionic liquids have, as yet,
been little explored as reaction media or solvents yet these offer
significant advantages over volatile (and often toxic) organic solvents.
Human exposure to potentially harmful vapours is obviated and recycling of
the ionic liquid reaction medium significantly reduces waste generated. The
procedures described here serve to extend the use of ionic liquids as
reaction media.


AIM
The mechanism of tramadol-induced vasodilation was investigated using isolated rabbit thoracic aortic rings.

METHODS
Aortic rings from 8 rabbits were placed in organ bath and precontracted with phenylephrine (10(-5) mol/L) before addition of tramadol. Relaxation responses by tramadol were evaluated in the presence and absence of endothelium, indomethacin (an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase), NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, a specific inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase), glibenclamide (an inhibitor of ATP-sensitive potassium channels), tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA, an inhibitor of calcium-sensitive potassium channels), and naloxone (an antagonist of opioid receptors).

RESULTS
Tramadol (10(-4) mol/L and 3 x 10(-4) mol/L) caused significant vasodilation in endothelium-intact and endothelium-denuded aortic rings (P<0.05). The relaxation response to tramadol was significantly greater in endothelium-intact rings than in endothelium-denuded rings. Pretreatment of aortic rings with indomethacin (10(-5) mol/L), glibenclamide (10(-5) mol/L), TEA (10(-3) mol/L), and naloxone (10(-4) mol/L) had no effect on the tramadol-induced relaxation. In endothelium-intact rings, L-NAME (10(-4) mol/L) pretreatment caused marked inhibition of the relaxation induced by tramadol, but not endothelium-denuded rings.

CONCLUSION
In the rabbit aorta, vascular relaxation induced by tramadol is due to both nitric oxide production from endothelium and a direct effect on smooth muscle.


Cooperative relaying techniques have been shown to provide spatial diversity in fading wireless environment. As a result, they increase link reliability, provide higher capacity, reduce transmit power, and extend transmission range as opposed to non-cooperative transmission (direct transmission). Although the use of cooperative relaying has been proven to achieve those gains in the absence of interference (single flow), it is not clear how much gain we can expect from using cooperative relaying in multi-flow scenario specifically the total network capacity. The network capacity in multi-hop multi-flow settings is severely affected by interference between links and, this effect increases when the cooperative relaying is imposed. In this paper, we use a clique based capacity analysis to investigate the performance gain (loss) on network capacity for wireless ad hoc networks by using cooperative relaying. It is observed that the throughput drops significantly when cooperative links are imposed in the network.


A detailed qualitative study on assessing and managing urban risks, co-financed by the European Commission (EC), is in progress. Key findings and preliminary results underline the importance of safety and security issues for urban life quality. This paper presents the findings of this study aiming at proposing a European wide strategy for Urban Risks assessment and management by taking into account legal status for current practices at EU 25. A structured questionnaire was addressed to National Authorities aiming to gain an insight into existing law provisions, emergency planning and urban risk management practices. An analysis of the replies highlighted the diversity of both urban risks and emergency management structures. The risks investigated cover a range from natural catastrophes and technological failures to terrorism and intended action threats. Risks were ranked by priority according to frequency of occurrence and consequences. The scaling of hazards, the identification and mapping of risks, the severity of consequences and matters concerning mutual assistance in major emergencies are identified as the priority fields. A refined version of the results, following consultations with the parties involved and the EC forms the basis of the project proposals. The complexity fo the modern urban Environment, urbanization trends, increasing vulnerability and the different approaches in dealing with urban risks, indicate a clear need for a common platform and a unified approach across the EU. Basic components of a suggested unified approach and an EU wide mitigation strategy are also discussed.


In William Styron's Sophie's Choice and The Confessions of Nat Turner, and the responses to his novels, two contrasting discourses emerge: a commitment to the idea that histories of slavery and the Holocaust can be explained by economic motives, on one hand, and, on the other, a commitment to the idea that these histories are defined by racial sentiments against blacks and Jews, respectively. This essay considers Styron's commitment to the economic explanation alongside the fate of that explanation in Robert William Fogel and Stanley Engerman's controversial history of slavery, Time on the Cross. All of these works were controversial because critics claimed they failed to take racism seriously and, in failing to do so, produced exculpatory accounts of Holocaust and slavery perpetrators.


The paper deals with the issue of practical knowledge for enabling participation. Participation as a strategy for change is widespread in community, health and human service contexts. Research to date has focused on the mechanisms of beneficiaries' participation (e.g. identity, empowerment, activity, gender, space). However, participation as an engagement strategy is action oriented and requires high levels of interaction between those creating the conditions for participation and those participating. These conditions need to be continuously adjusted and outcomes are often unpredictable. This process of 'working with' is often dealt with as a technical issue and captured in metaphorical language. Less emphasis has been given to the type of knowledge modalities that might be necessary in order to enable participation. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of participation in a youth inclusion programme the paper explores the role of stories as potential indicators of practical knowledge. The paper argues that enabling young people's participation requires intuition and imagination, patience and perseverance, and judgement for acting under uncertainty. It concludes that stories only partially fulfil their potential as indicators of such knowledge modalities.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the gene expression of hepatic TNF-α and IL-1β by crush injury of rat's soft tissues.

METHODS
Rats were randomly divided into sham group, crush group, crush+aminoguanidine (AG) group, and crush+L-arginine (L-Arg) group. Activities of ALT and AST as well as NO level in serum were measured. Gene expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β were detected with RT-PCR.

RESULTS
Obvious increase in TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA expression was detected in the crush group compared with the sham group (P<0.05). After pretreated L-Arg, expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA were markedly increased (P<0.05). After pretreated AG, those indices obviously decreased (P<0.05). Activities of ALT and AST enhanced and NO level increased in the crush group compared with the sham group (P<0.05). Pretreatment with L-Arg or AG led to substantial increased or reduced activities of ALT and AST as well as NO levels, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Endogenous NO mediated TNF-α, IL-1β mRNA up expression in liver induced by increased production of NO after crush injury of rat's soft tissues.


Introduction: The only treatment for grade IV knee osteoarthritis is total knee arthroplasty (TKA) irrespective of the age of the patient. Most of the grade IV OA patient are elderly and most likely to have some comorbidities. Age and comorbidities are the major reasons for patient's reluctance to undergo TKA. A clinical pathway with standard length of stay (LOS) could justify the patient's hesitation for TKA. The aim of this study was to determine the factors, including age and comorbidity, that affect the LOS of patients treated with TKA. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study of TKA patients in Surabaya Orthopedics and Traumatology Hospital from January 2011 to July 2017. Preoperative comorbidities were scored using Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and physical status by ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologist), classification for age, sex, BMI, blood loss, operation time, method of anaesthesia and postoperative day of rehabilitation were recorded as factors potentially affecting LOS. The discharge criteria for the patients were ability to ambulate to the bathroom and clean operative wound with no complications. The data obtained were analysed statistically. Results: The average LOS was 5.58 days, ranging from three to eight days. There were no demographic factors that affected the patients' LOS. BMI, ASA, CCI, and blood loss did not significantly affect LOS. Operation time was between 90-140 minutes, and spinal anaesthesia showed significant longer LOS, but within the average. Conclusion: Age and comorbidity did not affect length of stay in TKA patients.


Diagnostic plots, introduced by K. S. Chan, are widely used to determine excessive water production mechanisms. In this paper, we introduce a computer vision model that is capable of segmenting and identifying multiple Chan signatures per plot, for the sake of surveillance and early screening, given that wells could exhibit diverse mechanisms throughout their life cycle. As deep learning (DL) demands a vast amount of information, we start our workflow by building a data set of 10,000 publicly available oil wells that have experienced varying water production mechanisms. Next, we perform preprocessing and remove anomalies from production data, which could be deceptive in analysis. Then, we visualize Chan plots as images and annotate them. Thereafter, we split data set, carry out augmentation, and put data together to be used as input for a convolutional neural network (CNN) layer. Eventually, data are trained utilizing you only look once (YOLO)—a one-stage object detector, hyperparameters are tuned, and model performance is evaluated using mean average precision (mAP). The collected data from fields in Alaska and North Dakota represent oil wells that have been producing for decades. When working with wells that possess noisy production data, we recognized challenge, bias, and tedium in human interpretation of Chan plots. Subsequently, we observed the inevitability of cleaning well production data before constructing the plots and thoroughly revealed its effect on enhancing model potentiality to get a fair score. In addition, we concluded that following a systematic approach of active learning, a technique that allows user to analyze mistakes of algorithm predictions and label data accordingly, accomplished a significant boost in model performance, especially with underrepresented classes. The proposed CNN model, which uses automatic feature extraction and expresses data in detail, is presumed to be robust as it successfully predicted multiple mechanisms of excessive water production, with confidence scores higher than 80%, in wells that exhibit different production conditions such as horizontal trajectories, artificial lift, waterflooding, stimulation, and other well intervention events. In this work, we introduce a novel computer vision model, which combines image processing and DL techniques to identify multiple water production signatures that a well can undergo and eliminate subjectivity of human interpretation. This approach has the potential to be effective, as a part of workflow automation, in expeditious surveillance of large oil fields. Source code is available on GitHub for public use.


Loess is terrestrial, clastic sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It is usually inter–bedded with paleosol horizons, forming loess-paleosol successions (LPS). Due to their characteristics LPS's represent valuable records of climate changes during Pleistocene. The thickest LPS sections in Croatia are in the Baranja region. Stable oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotope analysis were made on loess malacofauna in order to quantify paleo-temperature changes and describe paleo-vegetation in this part of Central Europe. δ18O values show significant paleotemperature changes during the Upper Pleistocene (130 ky - 20 ky) in Baranja region. Average growing season (AGS) temperature varied 13.2 °C or 9.5 °C during that time period, depending on which formula is applied for calculations. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements show strong peaks in the paleosol horizons pointing to more humid climate. The overall climate was much cooler then present. Stable carbon isotope values point to dominance of C3 vegetation type during the Late Pleistocene in southern part of Central Europe. Climate change in the Late Pleistocene is very likely a significant but not the only factor that influenced the extinction of Neanderthal population which paved the way for the dominance of anatomically modern humans (AMH) in Central Europe.


The phenomenon of systemic regression of numerous flat warts takes place within one month after the sudden onset of spontaneous inflammation in them. In other types of warts, we have never observed such a dramatic regression. We performed a histological study in a total of 51 cases showing this spontaneous inflammation in their flat warts and found a massive mononuclear cell infiltration in all. In 9 cases, a histological study for basophils was carried out but failed to show them among the infiltrating cells despite the strong histological resemblance to contact allergy. An immunofluorescence technique performed in 16 cases demonstrated no specific deposits of immunoglobulins and complement in such inflamed wart tissues except for those which appear to be only a secondary event to inflammation per se. These immuno‐pathological findings further substantiate the concept that cell‐mediated mechanisms rather than humoral immunity play a major role in this phenomenon of sudden regression of numerous flat warts.


Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is used extensively to study cell-substrate interactions because its mechanical properties are easily tuned in physiologically relevant ranges. These changes in mechanical properties are also known to modulate surface chemistry and cell response. In this study, PDMS pre-polymer was combined with increasing amounts of crosslinker (3.3, 5.0, 10.0, 12.5, 20.0 and 33.3 wt.%). The solutions were mixed in sterile conditions and degassed, then poured into 60 mm cell culture dishes to a depth of 1 mm. This was followed by curing at a constant temperature of 75 o C for 2 hours. The PDMS substrates were then exposed to an air plasma for 10 minutes. All substrates were exposed to UV light for further sterilization and understanding of the structure/morphology of the substrates was obtained with microscopic techniques. A SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line was used in cell culture experiment. Cells were plated at a concentration of 300 x 10 6 cells/dish on plasma treated PDMS substrates and incubated at 37 o C in a humidified 5 % CO 2 environment. For the assessment of morphological changes, images of cells growing on each substrate were captured using an inverted phase contrast microscope. Cell adhesion as well as immunofluorescence analyses were conducted, and the mechanical as well as surface properties of PDMS were correlated to neuroblastoma cell behaviour. The results reveal that the physicality of the extracellular matrix/environment (ECM) substrate governs cell behavior regardless of hormones, cytokines, or other soluble regulatory factors. The approach used in this study may open up new avenues in translational medicine and pharmacodynamics research. Copyright © 2019 VBRI Press.


The transmissible strain of leukemia (S2) herein described originated in a mouse in which benzpyrene had been injected into the spleen. The predominant (malignant) cells of this strain are not typically lymphoid, myeloid, or monocytic in type, and thus far we have been unable to ascertain their origin. The disease can be transmitted to most mice of Stock S, in which the spontaneous disease originated. It can also be transmitted to unrelated mice which receive massive doses of x-rays before and after inoculation, but not to unirradiated unrelated mice. In unrelated mice irradiated with a single dose prior to inoculation, leukemic tumors develop, but regress completely within approximately two weeks.

The transmitting agent brought rapidly to −30° C. and kept at that temperature for thirty minutes fails to produce the disease when inoculated into susceptible mice. However, a leukemic cell suspension exposed to a gradual reduction of the temperature to — 70° C. and maintained at that temperature for thirty-two days still possesses the ability to transmit the disease. Leukemic tissue dried in vacuo in the frozen state, glycerinated tissue, and Berkefeld filtrates of similar tissue fail to transmit the disease.

This strain of leukemia is described because of characteristics hitherto not recorded in association with mammalian leukemia.


Non-dowelled short slabs are a cost-effective innovation of jointed plain concrete pavements. The development of this innovation has been concentrated in their structural performance. Still there is a lack of specific studies of the relation load transfer – crack width, being the crack width at joint the direct cause of the aggregate interlock. Considering that their provision of load transfer relies on aggregate interlock, the objective of the present article is to develop the relationship between the load transfer by aggregate interlock and its direct cause (the crack width) specifically for innovative non-dowelled short concrete slabs pavements. For that, the analysis includes a validated nonlinear aggregate interlock model incorporated in a 3D Finite Element program, laboratory results, and field measurements performed as part of the present investigation. The results show that due to the small crack widths, the short slabs are able to provide adequate load transfer (not less than 70%) even without dowels bars. Indeed, in this case, the load transfer relies on aggregate interlock and the results of the Faultimeter (residual value more than 0) have confirmed this interlocking for crack widths at joints not more than 1.2 mm, which are typical values in short slabs when the joints are activated. For that, the Early Entry saw cutting method needs to be modified or applied as a complementary method to perform the joints. Although in short concrete slabs pavements the provision of load transfer is already guaranteed by the small crack widths at joints, the application of high-quality coarse aggregates provides even higher load transfer.


Human infants have the remarkable ability to learn any human language. One proposed mechanism for this ability is distributional learning, where learners infer the underlying cluster structure from unlabeled input. Computational models of distributional learning have historically been principled but psychologically-implausible computational-level models, or ad hoc but psychologically plausible algorithmic-level models. Approximate rational models like particle filters can potentially bridge this divide, and allow principled, but psychologically plausible models of distributional learning to be specified and evaluated. As a proof of concept, I evaluate one such particle filter model, applied to learning English voicing categories from distributions of voice-onset times (VOTs). I find that this model learns well, but behaves somewhat differently from the standard, unconstrained Gibbs sampler implementation of the underlying rational model.


ABSTRACT Investigating factors that influence a person's ability to control gambling behaviour is important. The Dualistic Model of Passion, which includes both harmonious and obsessive passion, has proposed an original framework for studying these factors. However, the concept of passion as it pertains to the gambling experience remains relatively new and uncharted territory. This study entails a scoping review undertaken to determine the current state of knowledge concerning passion for gambling, and to provide recommendations for future research directions. The majority of studies included report a positive association between obsessive passion and gambling problems, whereas results related to harmonious passion were less consistent. Recommendations stemming from this scoping review include refining understanding of the relationship between obsessive passion and gambling problems, and broadening research aims to include more diverse sampling, methods and variables of interest when examining the overall contribution of passion to gamblers' lived experiences. A final recommendation is to initiate research to test the utility of the Gambling Passion Scale in prevention and intervention programming.


Background Early diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is vitally important in the management of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis (PS), because of the risk of sudden cardiac death. Some patients with PS develop CS during follow-up, but few studies have addressed its incidence and clinical course.

Aim To investigate the incidence, initial manifestations, and prognosis of CS in patients with PS.

Methods Participants comprised 215 subjects who had been pathologically diagnosed with PS since January 2002. The incidence of CS was evaluated using the diagnostic guidelines for CS of the Japan Society of Sarcoidosis. 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging were included in the diagnostic work-up unless contraindicated. Initial manifestations and prognosis of CS were also reviewed.

Results Twenty (9.5%) of the 215 PS patients developed CS during follow-up (median, 2.5 years; range, 0.8-4.5 years). Annual incidence rate of CS was 3.8%. Initial manifestations of CS were abnormal findings on screening electrocardiogram (n=12), chest symptoms such as palpitation (n=6), and others (n=2). During the follow-up of CS (median, 2.6 years; range, 0.4-4.6 years), three died (lung cancer, n=2; sudden cardiac death, n=1) and four were implanted with a permanent pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Conclusions CS developed in PS patients at an annual incidence rate of 3.8%, with electrocardiogram changes and chest symptoms being the most prevalent initial manifestations. Of the 20 CS patients, 25% encountered CS-related death or were forced to be treated by device implantation during the follow-up.


This paper provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of government bond yield spreads in the euro area with a focus on developments during the global financial crisis that started in 2007. In line with the previous literature, we find that international factors, in particular general risk perception, play a major role in explaining governments bond yields differentials. While domestic factors such as liquidity and sovereign risk appear to be smaller but non-negligible drivers of yield spreads our results point to significant interaction of general risk aversion and macroeconomic fundamentals. Moreover, the impact of domestic factors on bond yield spreads increase significantly during the crisis, when international investors started to discriminate more between countries. In particular, the combination of high risk aversion and large current account deficits tend to magnify the incidence of deteriorated public finances on government bond yield spreads. Overall, our results suggest that an improvement in global risk perception will lead to a narrowing of intra-euro area bond yield differentials. However, the differing impact of the crisis on Member States' public finances and the expected higher risk awareness of investors after the crisis could keep government bond yield spreads at a higher level then in the pre-crisis period.


The mid-Piacenzian warm period (3.264 to 3.025 Ma) is the most recent geological period with a present-like atmospheric pCO2 exhibiting significant warming relative to present conditions. With the advanced understanding of the climate variability of this interval, a specific interglacial (marine isotope stage KM5c, MIS KM5c, 3.205 Ma) is selected for 15 Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project phase 2 (PlioMIP 2) and updated boundary conditions are provided. In this study, we carried out series of experiments according to the design of PlioMIP2 with two versions of the IPSL Atmosphere-Ocean Coupled General Circulation Model (AOGCM) (IPSL-CM5A and IPSL-CM5A2). By comparing with PlioMIP 1 experiment, run with IPSL-CM5A, our results show that the simulated MIS KM5c climate presents enhanced warming in mid-to-high latitudes, especially in ocean regions. This warming can be attributed to the largely enhanced Atlantic Meridional 20 Overturning Circulation caused by the high latitude seaway changes. The tier experiments, conducted with IPSL-CM5A2 (with faster computation scheme), show that besides the increased pCO2, both modified orography and reduced ice sheets contribute substantially in mid-to-high latitudes warming of MIS KM5c. When considering the pCO2 uncertainties, the warming pattern changes, our model response to the variation of pCO2 by +/-50ppmv is not symmetric in the surface air temperature, due to the non-linear response of the cryosphere (snow cover and sea ice extent). By analysing the Greenland 25 Ice Sheet surface mass balance, we also demonstrate its vulnerability under both MIS KM5c and modern warm climate.


WebQual is an instrument for assessing the quality of Internet sites from the perspective of the customer. Earlier versions of WebQual focused on information and interaction quality. This paper reports on a new version of WebQual that incorporates three quality dimensions: information quality, interaction quality and Web site design quality. WebQual is applied in the domain of Internet auctions and the results are used to assess the reliability of the instrument for assessing the quality of Web sites. Three auction sites (Amazon, eBay and QXL) are evaluated through an intervention that involves buying and selling at auction. The results of the intervention are analyzed quantitatively to assess the validity of the WebQual instrument and supplemented by qualitative data that is used to consider the relative merits of the three sites evaluated.


Pistacia lentiscus L. is known in some Tunisian forest area by its fixed oil used in traditional medicine as an antiseptic product. This investigation is the first to study the antimicrobial activity of P.lentiscus edible oil and its phenolic extract. Oil was extracted from fruits harvested from six provenances located in Tunisia. The antimicrobial activity was tested using disc diffusion assay and the broth dilution method. Kbouch and Sidi Zid oils were most efficient (p < 0.003) against, respectively, Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus niger with an inhibition zone of 9.33 mm. The phenolic extract had the largest spectrum of sensitive microorganisms. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration results showed that all strains were inhibited by both oil and extract.


Wastewater treatment generates large amounts of sewage sludge, which when are disposed in highly degraded soils (with a complete loss of the A horizon and a great part of the B horizon), represent an interesting alternative to recover the aggregate level into soil. Within the hierarchy of soil systems, the aggregate level is the one that integrates soil properties that are directly related to soil sustainability. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different dose of sewage sludge and an annual legume on the structural recovery of a degraded Alfisol. Sludge was added to soil at 0, 15, 30 and 60 t ha-1 in treatments with and without yellow serradela (Ornithopus compressus L.). After 6 months, the following structural indicators were identified: aggregate distribution, water aggregate stability and bulk density (Da). Results showed that the higher the sludge dose the higher the proportion of macroaggregates and their stability, whereas Da decreased. In spite of the short-term study, data showed that there was a positive effect when amendments were combined with O. compressus L. It demonstrated that degradation is likely to be reversed, thus giving to soil more physical support.


This research examines the conspicuous consumption of luxury goods by comparing the impact of the so-called "snob" and "bandwagon" effects on both global and national luxury fashion brands. Consumer culture theory was applied to develop the conceptual model in order to investigate self and social influences regarding luxury brand consumption by using self-identity projects and marketplace culture. We found that status seeking was used as the initial drive for luxury good consumption and this was mediated by snob and bandwagon effects. The sample are mostly drawn from Generation Y individuals with high incomes. A second-order factor modelling used in the SEM analysis program, and the overall model demonstrate a good fits with χ2/df = 1.748; GFI = .82; RMSEA = .057; and PCFI = 0.84. The results suggest that both snob and bandwagon consumption are related to global luxury fashion brand consumption. Surprisingly, the bandwagon effect was not seen to be related to national luxury fashion brands. This study extends our knowledge of conspicuous consumption into the area of national luxury fashion brands by illustrating the distinguishing points where national luxury brands combat global luxury fashion brands. The study also points out the importance of individuals' identity and the perceived value of status in consumer goods purchasing.


Iron-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles, with Fe/Ti atomic ratios from 0% to 10%, were synthesized by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP), employing a single-step method. Ferrocene, being nontoxic and readily soluble in liquid hydrocarbons, was used as the iron source, while titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) was used as the precursor for TiO2. The general particle characterization and phase description were examined using ICP-OES, XRD, BET, and Raman spectroscopy, whereas the XPS technique was used to study the surface chemistry of the synthesized particles. For particle morphology, HRTEM with EELS and EDS analyses were used. Optical and magnetic properties were examined using UV–vis and SQUID, respectively. Iron doping to TiO2 nanoparticles promoted rutile phase formation, which was minor in the pure TiO2 particles. Iron-doped nanoparticles exhibited a uniform iron distribution within the particles. XPS and UV–vis results revealed that Fe2+ was dominant for lower iron content and Fe3+ was common for higher iron content and the iron-containing particles had a contracted band gap of ~1 eV lower than pure TiO2 particles with higher visible light absorption. SQUID results showed that doping TiO2 with Fe changed the material to be paramagnetic. The generated nanoparticles showed a catalytic effect for dye-degradation under visible light.


The thiolate/disulfide organic redox couple (McMT−/BMT), derived from 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole (McMT), recently proposed as an alternative to usual inorganic couples in dye-sensitized solar cells, exhibits a remarkable reversibility and stability in a thermogalvanic cell containing a 1-ethyl-3-methyimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/acetonitrile (EMIMBF4/AN) mixture. The thermoelectric power depends strongly on concentrations of both the ionic liquid and the redox couple. It is enhanced by a factor of six at high ionic-liquid concentrations. The control of these parameters can be used to enhance the thermopower and the thermoelectric efficiency of future ionic-liquid thermocells.


The prevailing inequities within the Swedish healthcare system constitute a major challenge, not the least in cancer care. An international comparison shows that outcomes for Swedish cancer care score highly. Even so, the process of how care is delivered to its customers has been questioned, with particular emphasis on disregarded groups of the population. Using the notion of value co-creation, the process of service delivery is highlighted. Moreover, the collaborative and relational elements are considered crucial in service interactions, giving the customer an active role in engaging in various activities to co-create value with service providers and others. However, value co-creation has not been thoroughly investigated in a healthcare context.

This thesis addresses the current situation for segments of healthcare customers and explicitly aims to increase equity in healthcare. To achieve this goal, barriers that groups of healthcare customers face during the service delivery process are illuminated, as are the various activities in which they engage to co-create value. The thesis also explores the kinship among various domains; particularly the theories of quality management, value co-creation, and social construction, as well as the methodology of action research.

The empirical material draws from two studies that took place in the Western Region of Sweden. The first study explored how a participatory action research approach may contribute to raising awareness about preventive health services, thus increasing the number of participants in a cervical cancer screening program among foreign-born women. The second study investigated complaints of cancer patients and their relatives by focusing on the interpersonal aspects of service delivery and by applying a gender lens.

The results underline the importance of how healthcare services are provided, particularly the collaborative, interactional, and relational aspects that enable customers' value co-creation processes. Incorporating social construction theory into value co-creation offers a collective dimension; the unique knowledge and skills of customer segments should be used more productively, thus enabling healthcare providers to offer more tailored value propositions that better meet the needs and expectations of particular groups.

In line with value co-creation ideas, policy makers and practitioners must realize that a need exists to move beyond the two-party sphere of provider–patient by including other actors from the customer's network, such as family members and civil society. By adopting an action research approach and tools from quality management, disparities may be revealed and quality may be improved to contribute to increased equity in healthcare.


¸Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu (1385−1468 ad) was a Turkish surgeon who lived in the Ottoman Empire during the fifteenth century, a time of progressive expansion. When in his eighties, he wrote Cerrahiyyetü'l‐Haniyye, which means Imperial Surgery. His book is the first example of an illustrated surgical textbook in the Turkish−Islamic medical literature. The importance of his book rests upon the inclusion of colour miniatures of the surgical procedures, incisional techniques and instruments, all drawn by Sabuncuog˘lu himself. Only three hand‐written copies exist, two of which were originally written by the author and are currently exhibited in Paris and Istanbul. The book was rediscovered in 1936, but some parts of it are still suspected to be missing. At present, the book consists of three chapters divided into 193 known sections. The sections deal with all fields of surgery including ophthalmology, and cite relevant Greek, Arabic and Persian textbooks. In this historical article the sections of Cerrahiyyetü'l‐Haniyye pertinent to ophthalmology are critically reviewed, including a selection of the coloured drawings.


Optimized conditions of hot and cold rolling followed by annealing can result in a balance between recrystallization and rolling textures in order to reduce the planar anisotropy of brass sheets. In this work, the effect of finish rolling temperature, cold reduction and annealing temperature on texture development has been investigated. It is shown that uniform deformation at higher finishing temperature is responsible of formation of a severe Cube and G texture components. In contrast, mechanical twinnings are widely formed at low finishing temperatures. There is also a direct relation between the intensity of Cube component and the amount of cold reduction.


Directed cell migration is critical across biological processes spanning healing to cancer invasion, yet no existing tools allow real-time interactive guidance over such migration. We present a new bioreactor that harnesses electrotaxis—directed cell migration along electric field gradients—by integrating four independent electrodes under computer control to dynamically program electric field patterns, and hence steer cell migration. Using this platform, we programmed and characterized multiple precise, two-dimensional collective migration maneuvers in renal epithelia and primary skin keratinocyte ensembles. First, we demonstrated on-demand, 90-degree collective turning. Next, we developed a universal electrical stimulation scheme capable of programming arbitrary 2D migration maneuvers such as precise angular turns and migration in a complete circle. Our stimulation scheme proves that cells effectively time-average electric field cues, helping to elucidate the transduction time scales in electrotaxis. Together, this work represents an enabling platform for controlling cell migration with broad utility across many cell types.


This paper presents a case study of foundation of an inclined independent masonry tower in Angkor. One of the Prasat Sour Prat towers had been dismantled before reconstruction for conservation. The foundation was inclined as the same as the upper structure of the tower and spreading outwards. The inclination was considered caused by foundation failure with some differential settlements of the ground. During dismantling, the soil layers exposed on the trenched section were found rather horizontal than the inclined state that had been expected. Laterite blocks of step slope stones was found to have slid down along the soil mound of the foundation. The mechanism might have been caused by weakening of soil strength by wetting ground. Without dismantling, the real mechanism of the inclination was never known as well as the corresponding counter measures.


The paper proposes the modeling and the optimal management of a hot-temperature (sodium nickel chloride) battery system coupled with wind generators connected to a medium voltage grid. A discrete-time model of the storage device reproducing the battery main dynamics (i.e., state of charge, temperature, current, protection, and limitation systems) has been developed. The model has been validated through some experimental tests. An optimal management strategy has been implemented based on a forward dynamic programming algorithm, specifically developed to exploit the energy price arbitrage along the optimization time horizon ("generation shifting"). Taking advantage of this strategy wind generation performances can be enhanced and adapted to load demand, obtaining an increased economic gain measured by the difference between the economic revenue obtained with and without the proposed generation shifting policy.


In this paper, we propose a new efficient privacy-preserving outsourced computation framework over public data, called EPOC. EPOC allows a user to outsource the computation of a function over multi-dimensional public data to the cloud while protecting the privacy of the function and its output. Specifically, we introduce three types of EPOC in order to tradeoff different levels of privacy protection and performance. We present a new cryptosystem called Switchable Homomorphic Encryption with Partially Decryption (SHED) as the core cryptographic primitive for EPOC. We introduce two coding techniques, called message pre-coding technique and message extending and coding technique respectively, for messages encrypted under a composite order group. Furthermore, we propose a Secure Exponent Calculation Protocol with Public Base (SEPB), which serves as the core sub-protocol in EPOC. Detailed security analysis shows that the proposed EPOC achieves the goal of outsourcing computation of a private function over public data without privacy leakage to unauthorized parties. In addition, performance evaluations via extensive simulations demonstrate that EPOC is efficient in both computation and communications.


Abstract The main goal of this study was to describe the spatial and temporal distribution of candidates for blood donation in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, who appeared at the Hemo-minas Foundation in 1994 and 2004. The study also compared the candidates for age, gender, and clinical approval for blood donation in space and space-time. Data were obtained from a cross-sec-tional study for 1994 and were randomly selected from all donor candidates for 2004. The samples were georeferenced using the residential address. The spatial analysis techniques employed were: Kernel maps, thematic maps of Bayesian em-pirical rates and crude rates, and Moran Global. According to the findings, spatial distribution of candidates was non-random. The Kernel maps helped detect points with higher or lower concen-tration of candidates. Thematic maps described the concentration of candidates in relation to the population for the various categories. The results could help detect areas for actions targeting do-nor recruitment and areas with specific blood do-nation public campaign needs.Blood Donors; Spatial Analysis; Hemotherapy Service


Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is common in humans. The virus then enters a "latency phase" and can reactivate to different stimuli such as immunosuppression. The clinical significance of CMV infection in inflammatory bowel disease is different in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). CMV does not interfere in the clinical course of CD. However, CMV reactivation is frequent in severe or steroid-resistant UC. It is not known whether the virus exacerbates the disease or simply appears as a bystander of a severe disease. Different methods are used to diagnose CMV colitis. Diagnosis is classically based on histopathological identification of viral-infected cells or CMV antigens in biopsied tissues using haematoxylin-eosin or immunohistochemistry, other tests on blood or tissue samples are currently being investigated. Polymerase chain reaction performed in colonic mucosa has a high sensitivity and a positive result could be associated with a worse prognosis disease; further studies are needed to determine the most appropriate strategy with positive CMV-DNA in colonic mucosa. Specific endoscopic features have not been described in active UC and CMV infection. CMV colitis is usually treated with ganciclovir for several weeks, there are different opinions about whether or not to stop immunosuppressive therapy. Other antiviral drugs may be used. Multicenter controlled studies would needed to determine which subgroup of UC patients would benefit from early anti-


ABSTRACT Expression of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) contributes to the hypotension and vascular hyporeactivity in various models of shock induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, the role of iNOS in response to shock caused by live bacteria is more controversial. In the present study, we investigated the role of iNOS in a rat model of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). CLP resulted in increased plasma nitrite/nitrate levels (up to 59 μ.M at 24 h) and increased pulmonary iNOS activity (up to 71 fmoles/mg/min at 12 h) and caused a significant vascular hyporeactivity at 18 h. The degree of NO production and iNOS induction was approximately 30% of that observed several hours after administration of LPS in the same species, and the degree of vascular hyporeactivity was less than that observed after LPS injection. Selective inhibition of iNOS with mercaptoethylguanidine (MEG) reduced plasma nitrite/nitrate levels, but did not prevent the development of vascular hyporeactivity, and did not improve survival in this model of CLP. Thus, CLP-induced sepsis causes low-level induction of iNOS, but factors other than iNOS are the crucial determinants of the vascular failure and mortality in this model.


Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto.fi Author Mathias S. Grunér Name of the doctoral dissertation Molecular interactions of hydrophobin proteins with their surroundings Publisher School of Chemical Technology Unit Department of Biotechnology and Chemical Technology Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 206/2015 Field of research Biotechnology Manuscript submitted 5 June 2015 Date of the defence 10 December 2015 Permission to publish granted (date) 6 November 2015 Language English Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Abstract This thesis describes the properties of a group of proteins named hydro-phobins, which fulfil a variety of functions in the growth and function of filamentous fungi. Hydrophobins can be utilized as coatings/protective agents, in adhesion, in surface modifications and overall functions that require surfactant-like properties. This work is concentrated on the hydrophobins HFBI, HFBII and HFBIII expressed by Trichoderma reesei. The aims of this study were to examine in what manner hydrophobins function when interacting with their surroundings and how their surroundings affect their function. Hydrophobins were shown strongly to adhere to surfaces of varying polarity and structure by self-assembly, governed by their amphiphilic nature, and to adsorb with different orientation on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The proteins were shown to selectively recruit other proteins and molecules to a self-assembled amphiphilic film of hydrophobin. HFBI variants bound to a surface were shown to recruit T. reesei enzymes specifically depending on localized protein surface charge on the hydrophilic part of the protein, and HFBII adsorbed on nanoparticles was shown to bind layers of human plasma proteins in different manner when adsorbed on nanoparticles of varying polarity. Surface films formed by hydrophobins were shown to be highly elastic, and charged residues on the side of the proteins were shown to have a role in stabilizing the protein films formed. The surroundings in which the proteins exist were shown to also affect their function. Surfaces of varying polarity in the protein surroundings affected how they self-assemble, and hydrophobin multimer exchange in solution was shown to be governed by hydrophobic interactions and the multimer exchange behaviour was shown to be affected by other proteins and molecules. HFBII and HFBI were shown to interact in solution, altering multimer kinetics and thermodynamics considerably. Solution association methods, surface characterization analysis methods and size measurement techniques such as stopped-flow spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation and differential centrifugal sedimentation were used. The results presented here show that hydrophobins function by selectively interacting with their surroundings assembled at various interfaces specifically recruiting other proteins and molecules and that the surroundings in which the proteins exist also affects their function in terms of multimer exchange behaviour and surface adhesion properties. The knowledge learned here regarding hydrophobins, show that these proteins can be specialized to function as highly selective self-assembling building blocks in applications such as biosensors and biocompatible coatings, and gives new insight in the growth and function of filamentous fungi.


The theory of stress-induced cavitation is applied here to the problem of cavitation of a viscous liquid in the streaming flow past a stationary sphere. This theory is a revision of the pressure theory which states that a flowing liquid will cavitate when and where the pressure drops below a cavitation threshold, or breaking strength, of the liquid. In the theory of stress-induced cavitation the liquid will cavitate when and where the maximum tensile stress exceeds the breaking strength of the liquid. For example, liquids at atmospheric pressure which cannot withstand tension will cavitate when and where additive tensile stresses due to motion exceed one atmosphere. A cavity will open in the direction of the maximum tensile stress, which is 45° from the plane of shearing in pure shear of a Newtonian fluid. This maximum tension criterion is applied here to analyse the onset of cavitation for the irrotational motion of a viscous fluid, the special case imposed by the limit of very low Reynolds numbers and the fluid flow obtained from the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes equations. The analysis leads to a dimensionless expression for the maximum tensile stress as a function of position which depends on the cavitation and Reynolds numbers. The main conclusion is that at a fixed cavitation number the extent of the region of flow at risk to cavitation increases as the Reynolds number decreases. This prediction that more viscous liquids at a fixed cavitation number are at greater risk of cavitation seems not to be addressed, affirmed nor denied, in the cavitation literature known to us.


A meta-analysis into the operational validity of general mental ability (GMA) measures in Germany is presented. The meta-analysis addresses the question whether findings of US and European meta-analyses are generalizable to Germany given the differences in the education systems of these countries. The high level of differentiation in the German educational system is expected to enhance the homogeneity of applicant pools resulting in a low level of variability in predictor scores which reduces the observed GMAperformance relationships. Our analysis is based on 54 independent German articles and unpublished reports. Results indicated an operational validity of p=.467 for training success (k=90; N=11,969) and p=.534 for job performance (k=9; N=746). Moderator analyses showed that job complexity and the year of publication are relevant moderator variables, with lower job complexity levels and older studies being associated with higher operational validities. Findings suggest that overall German operational validities are comparable with findings in the United States or other European countries. However, for training success operational GMA validities are slightly lower in Germany compared with US or European meta-analyses.


Digital technologies once held the promise to be a great equalizer. As a digital economy takes shape, global inequalities however are rising sharply. Vertically integrated global digital corporations are set to rule every sector of the economy based on their exclusive control over its data, further concentrating economic power. There exists a political paralysis over regulation of such digital corporations. Any shift in the dominant digital model and practices towards greater fairness and sustainability requires first of all an examination of the political economy of data, and the digital intelligence that it contributes. Policy makers around the world are evidently becoming eager to explore ways for wide data sharing, with a view to its easy availability for domestic businesses.

But there is a dearth of understanding and political will at the highest levels to develop the required new policies and laws for this purpose, as well as of viable practical models for data sharing. Very little theoretical work explores alternative models for economic governance of data. This paper attempts some new directions in this regard.

The digital economy can be understood as comprising intelligent systems running whole sectors, employing data based digital intelligence to re-organize and coordinate them. Within such a macro understanding, it is possible to apply the framework of Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) developed by Elinor Ostrom to examine the management of data and digital intelligence resources at the community level in a given sector, like transport, under the dominant model. Such an analysis reveals very suboptimal results on almost all the key IAD evaluation parameters; from efficiency and equity to accountability and sustainability. The paper then proposes treating data and digital intelligence as common pool resources, under common property regimes.

It briefly considers the kind of data governance arrangements that may be possible and necessary for a robust and fair digital economy. The discussion also subsumes key contemporary data related issues like the contestations around free global flows of data and the data rights of platform dependent actors, like taxi drivers and traders.


Neurons throughout the sensory pathway are tuned to specific aspects of stimuli. This selectivity is shaped by feedforward and recurrent excitatory-inhibitory interactions. In the auditory cortex (AC), two large classes of interneurons, parvalbumin- (PVs) and somatostatin- positive (SOMs) interneurons, differentially modulate frequency-dependent responses across the frequency response function of excitatory neurons. At the same time, the responsiveness of neurons in AC to sounds is dependent on the temporal context, with the majority of neurons exhibiting adaptation to repeated sounds. Here, we asked whether and how inhibitory neurons shape the frequency response function of excitatory neurons as a function of adaptation to temporal repetition of tones. The effects of suppressing both SOMs and PVs diverged for responses to preferred versus non-preferred frequencies following adaptation. Prior to adaptation, suppressing either SOM or PV inhibition drove both increases and decreases in spiking activity among cortical neurons. After adaptation, suppressing SOM activity caused predominantly disinhibitory effects, whereas suppressing PV activity still evoked bi-directional changes. SOM, but not PV-driven inhibition dynamically modulated frequency tuning as a function of adaptation. Additionally, testing across frequency tuning revealed that, unlike PVs, SOM-driven inhibition exhibited gain-like increases reflective of adaptation. Our findings suggest that distinct cortical interneurons differentially shape tuning to sensory stimuli across the neuronal receptive field, maintaining frequency selectivity of excitatory neurons during adaptation.


ABSTRACT To incorporate active learning and cooperative teamwork in statistics classroom, this article introduces a creative three-dimensional educational tool and an in-class activity designed for introducing the topic of agglomerative hierarchical clustering. The educational tool consists of a simple bulletin board and color pushpins (it can also be realized with a less expensive alternative) based on which students work collaboratively in small groups of 3–5 to complete the task of agglomerative hierarchical clustering: they start with n singleton clusters, each corresponding to a pushpin of a unique color on the board, and work step by step to merge all pushpins into one single cluster using the single linkage, complete linkage, or group average linkage criteria. We present a detailed lesson plan that accompanies the designed activity and also provide a real data example in the supplementary materials. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.


In the theory of programming languages, one often takes two complementary perspectives. In operational semantics, one defines and reasons about the behaviour of programs; and in denotational semantics, one abstracts away implementation details, and reasons about programs as mathematical objects or denotations. The denotational semantics should be compositional, meaning that denotations of programs are determined by the denotations of their parts. It should also be adequate with respect to operational equivalence: programs with the same denotation should be behaviourally indistinguishable. One often has to prove adequacy and compositionality independently for different languages, and the proofs are often laborious and repetitive. These proofs were provided systematically in the context of process algebras by the mathematical operational semantics framework of Turi and Plotkin – which represented transition systems as coalgebras, and program syntax by free algebras; operational specifications were given by distributive laws of syntax over behaviour. By framing the semantics on this abstract level, one derives denotational and operational semantics which are guaranteed to be adequate and compositional for a wide variety of examples. However, despite speculation on the possibility, it is hard to apply the framework to programming languages, because one obtains undesirably fine-grained behavioural equivalences, and unconventional notions of operational semantics. Moreover, the behaviour of these languages is often formalised in a different way – such as computational effects, which may be thought of as an interface between programs and external factors such as non-determinism or a variable store; and comodels, or transition systems which implement these effects. This thesis adapts the mathematical operational semantics framework to provide semantics for various classes of programming languages. After identifying the need for such an adaptation, we show how program behaviour may be characterised by final coalgebras in suitably orderenriched Kleisli categories. We define both operational and denotational semantics, first for languages with syntactic effects, and then for languages with effects and/or comodels given by a Lawvere theory. To ensure adequacy and compositionality, we define concrete and abstract operational rule-formats for these languages, based on the idea of evaluation-in-context; we give syntactic and then categorical proofs that those properties are guaranteed by operational specifications in these rule-formats.


The quality and safety of smoked pelagic fish products along the value chain is a complex event that required multiple analyses to define its stability. Consequently, changes in microbiological total viable count (TVC) and specific spoilage organisms (SSO) and physicochemical characteristics (total volatile base-nitrogen (TVB-N), total lipid, free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) of brined and unbrined smoked Atlantic mackerel ( Scomber scombrus ) were evaluated for 24 days period of storage. Total viable counts were significantly (p=0.002) higher in unbrined than in brined smoked S. scombrus stored at 20°C. Brined smoked S. scombrus stored at 0-4°C had lower TVC during the storage period. TVB-N levels increased with storage time, but the increase was evident in unbrined than brined samples stored at 20°C. TVB-N for brined smoked samples stored at 0-4°C below the acceptable limit for throughout the storage period. No significant differences (p>0.05) in lipid content were observed between the groups after smoking and during storage. Lipid hydrolysis and oxidation were higher in unbrined smoked samples stored at 20°C but was rather stable at 0-4°C. The shelf life of smoked S. scombrus was estimated to be 4 and 5 days for unbrined and brined samples stored at 20°C, while samples stored at 0-4°C had a shelf life of 20 days. The study shows that the use of brine in hot smoked mackerel creates the unavailability of ionically water molecules needed by micro-organisms. Low storage temperature decreases the level of hydrolysis by inhibiting enzyme activity responsible for spoilage. This has potential of achieving quality and safe value-added products along the pelagic fishery. Therefore, application of the technique in the Malawi fishery value chain cannot be over emphasized.


Abstract: We examined the relationship between amphibian abundance and habitat features at 8 spatial scales in boreal Alberta, Canada. Twenty-three local pond variables and 15 landscape variables at 7 scales (50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, and 5000 m) were incorporated into a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for each scale. We analyzed amphibian relative abundance against the PC axis scores using regression for each species and each scale. We found that each species' abundance was best described at different spatial scales. Wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) abundance was best predicted by local, pond-linked variables, boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) abundance by 1000-m-scale landscape variables, and western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) by the 100-m scale. We found significant positive relationships with amphibian relative abundance and dissolved oxygen, deciduous forest cover, mixed forest cover, and urban cover. Pond depth, conductivity, total dissolved solids, aquatic plant density, low-shrub cover, and conifer cover showed negative relationships with abundance. We also investigated relationships between landform type and amphibian relative abundance. All 3 species were most abundant on wetlands in the moraine landform. Our research highlights the importance of developing conservation plans based on knowledge of individual species' biology because amphibians do not all respond to the same spatial scale. Nomenclature: Crother et al., 2000; Frost et al., 2006.


The article compares for the first time Luther's reflections on Islam with Cusanus's. Both thinkers didn't engage in Islam on their own initiative, but because they were prompted by political developments. Luther's writings on Islam are mostly authored in German. He addresses the public in the empire and tries to encourage Christians challenged in their Christians faith, especially those who are in Turkish captivity. Nicholas of Cusa addresses also Islamic receivers in his Cribratio Alkorani. Luther stresses the contrast between the gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of Muhammad, whereas Cusanus tries to build theological bridges between Christianity and Islam.


In this work, needlelike precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) nanometer particles were synthesized by industrial carbonation route using EDTA as crystal control agent. The morphological characterization shows that the as-synthesized needlelike PCC particles have an average diameter of 52 nm and an aspect ratio of around 14:1. The results indicate that EDTA plays a crucial role in the formation of needlelike PCC nanometer particles. A possible mechanism for the formation of needlelike PCC particles assisted by the crystal control agent EDTA is also proposed.


When the prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD) is discussed, two questions invariably arise concerning alcohol. Does alcohol protect against CAD? If so, how does it do it? The answer to question 1 is yes, and to question 2, we don't know. The topic of alcohol and atherosclerosis has recently been reviewed in some detail, and much of the information on the epidemiology of alcohol and atherosclerosis in this editorial is discussed in greater detail in that review. 1 Most of the epidemiologic studies of alcohol and CAD demonstrate that alcohol is protective and that there is an inverse relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and the risk of developing CAD. 1 Four studies are particularly noteworthy because they are well designed and prospective and involve large numbers of subjects. In the Framingham Heart Study, alcohol consumption, over a range of one to five drinks per day (13 to


We propose a wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) passive optical network (PON) to provide conventional unicast data and downstream multicast function. At the optical line terminal (OLT), for each WDM channel, a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator (DDMZM) is used to generate a sub-carrier double-sideband differential-phase-shift-keying (DPSK) signal. All the central carriers are separated and subsequently modulated to deliver the multicast data, while the remaining sub-carrier DPSK signals carry the downstream unicast traffic. In the optical network units (ONUs), part of the downstream unicast signal power is re-modulated for upstream transmission, which enables source-free ONUs. The proposed scheme is experimentally demonstrated with 1.25-Gb/s downstream unicast, multicast and upstream data.


Highly oriented nylon and polyethylene fibres shrink in length when heated and expand in diameter. By twisting and then coiling monofilaments of these materials to form helical springs, the anisotropic thermal expansion has recently been shown to enable tensile actuation of up to 49% upon heating. Joule heating, by passing a current through a conductive coating on the surface of the filament, is a convenient method of controlling actuation. In previously reported work this has been done using highly flexible carbon nanotube sheets or commercially available silver coated fibres. In this work silver paint is used as the Joule heating element at the surface of the muscle. Up to 29% linear actuation is observed with energy and power densities reaching 840 kJ m-3 (528 J kg-1) and 1.1 kW kg-1 (operating at 0.1 Hz, 4% strain, 1.4 kg load). This simple coating method is readily accessible and can be applied to any polymer filament. Effective use of this technique relies on uniform coating to avoid temperature gradients.


This thesis project studied the use of a KRAS mutation present in three NSCLC cell lines, A549, NCI-H460 and Calu-6, as a positive predictive marker for achieving radiosensitization by a combined treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) erlotinib followed by irradiation. After validating the method using the KRAS wild type PC-9 cell line, Western blots for phosphorylated EGFR were performed for the three cell lines. In A549 cells, Western blots revealed an early pEGFR signal 5 minutes after irradiation with 5 Gy, but within 1.5 and 3.5 hours after irradiation, no late pEGFR signal was present. In contrast, both the NCI-H460 and Calu-6 cell line did not show a pEGFR signal 5 minutes after irradiation with 5 Gy. In colony formation assays performed for A549, NCI-H460 and Calu-6 cell lines, radiosensitization by treatment with the TKI erlotinib prior to irradiation was only achieved in A549 cells, reaching a dose enhancement factor (DEF) of 1.4 at the 10% survival level. For NCI-H460 and Calu-6 cells, no radioenhancement was detected in colony formation assays. In addition, short-term proliferation assays of the three cell lines were conducted. While erlotinib alone compared to the untreated control had only a small impact on cell proliferation, the combined treatment of erlotinib followed by 2 Gy of irradiation showed a clear antiproliferative effect on the A549 cell line. Corresponding with the findings of the colony formation assays, the proliferation of NCI-H460 and Calu-6 cells was not significantly decreased by the combined treatment regime. Even though the KRAS mutant A549 cell line was radiosensitized in colony formation and proliferation assays, the other two KRAS mutant cell lines NCI-H460 and Calu-6 did not respond to EGFR inhibition. Taken together, the presence of a KRAS mutation in those three NSCLC cell lines was not predictive for cellular response to EGFR inhibition combined with irradiation. Therefore, a KRAS mutation present in NSCLC cell lines cannot be used as a general positive predictive marker for achieving radiosensitization with the TKI erlotinib.
Also, the presence of a KRAS mutation in A549 cells was not associated with a late phase pEGFR signal after irradiation, questioning whether a KRAS mutation always leads to an increased pEGFR signaling via ligand production. Furthermore, the experimental data showing that a pEGFR signaling within minutes after irradiation was only present in A549, but not in NCI-H460 and Calu-6 cell lines implies that irradiation-induced pEGFR might not be a universal phenomenon, but rather influenced by yet unknown cellular properties. The fact that an early pEGFR signaling was only present in A549 cells, which also was the only cell line to be radiosensitized by erlotinib, implies that the early generation of a pEGFR signal after irradiation might be important for cellular radioresistance and therefore being an important target for EGFR inhibitory strategies. While the conducted experiments demonstrated that the KRAS mutation present in the NSCLC cell lines A549, NCI-H460 and Calu-6 was not predictive for the cells response to erlotinib and irradiation treatment, the early pEGFR signaling after irradiation might be of predictive value. For future individualized therapies of NSCLC, further studies are needed to possibly find a cellular marker predicting the response to combined EGFR inhibition and irradiation, ultimately providing an easy and fast screening method of cancer patients to identify those who will benefit of adding EGFR inhibitors to their irradiation treatment regime.


Purpose
The open innovation (OI) paradigm suggests that firms should use inflows and outflows of knowledge in order to accelerate innovation and leverage markets. Literature examining how firms are adopting OI practices is rich; notwithstanding, little research has addressed this topic from the perspective of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Given the relevance of SMEs in worldwide economies, the purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of research on OI in SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach
In total, 112 academic articles were selected from the Web of Science database. Following a bibliometric analysis, the most relevant authors, journals, institutions and countries are presented. Additionally, the main areas these articles cover are summarized.

Findings
Results are consistent in that the most prolific authors are affiliated with the universities leading the ranking of institutions. However, it is remarkable that top authors in this field do not possess a large number of publications on OI in SMEs, but combine this research topic with other related ones. At the country level, European countries are on the top together with South Korea.

Research limitations/implications
Despite following a rigorous method, other relevant documents not included in the selected databases might have been ignored.

Practical implications
This paper outlines the main topics of interest within this area: impact of OI on firm performance and on organizations' structure, OI as a mechanism to hasten new product development, the analysis of the inbound/outbound dimensions of OI, and legal issues related to intellectual property right management when OI is implemented.

Originality/value
The study uses a combination of bibliometric indicators with a literature review.


The measurement of pressure within both stationary and rotating frames of reference is a fundamental requirement when studying the flow field through turbomachinery blading. Measurement of pressure within the rotating frame presents a particular challenge, as centrifugal acceleration of the sensor can have a significant impact on sensor calibration, and therefore accuracy of the resulting measurements. In this paper the telemetric calibration of pressure sensors at up to 12,000 g is described, and the impact on calibration of membrane size, sensor body shape, and sensor mounting direction is discussed. The program of work reported in this paper focuses on experimental issues associated with rotating pressure measurement. The combined effect of centrifugal load and pressure on integrally temperature compensated silicon pressure sensors is presented. Experimental results are given that provide insight into the influence of acceleration on pressure readings. Implementation of acceleration into sensor calibration is presented. Supplementary finite element calculations enable impact of sensor body shape to be taken into account during the evaluation of sensor acceleration-to-pressure sensitivity ratio. Different sensors with varied membrane sizes and acceleration force directions are examined and compared.


Parallel increases in many inflammatory diseases including atopy over the last 40 years suggest that common environmental changes may be promoting inflammatory immune responses. Modern diets have become increasingly rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and relatively deficient in n-3 PUFAs. These dietary changes are believed to promote a pro-sensitisation, pro-allergic and pro-inflammatory environment. Exposure to such an environment during pregnancy and in the very early life period is considered to influence subsequent patterns of the immature and developing neonatal immune system, and this may contribute to the increase in allergic disease in early life. As allergic diseases often first manifest in infancy, prevention strategies need to be targeted early, even in utero. Epidemiologic and experimental data provide a plausible link between dietary changes and increased incidence of childhood atopic disease. Although there have been studies examining the potential benefits of giving n-3 PUFA-rich fish oil supplements during pregnancy, there are no studies examining the effects of increased consumption of oily fish in pregnancy on neonatal immune responses and subsequent clinical outcomes. The Salmon in Pregnancy Study (SIPS) is the first randomised controlled trial of oily fish intervention during pregnancy. The hypotheses being investigated in SIPS is that increased intake of salmon, a source of long chain (LC) n-3 PUFAs (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)), in pregnancy will a) increase maternal LC n-3 PUFA intake, b) increase maternal and infant blood LC n-3 PUFA status, c) modulate fetal/neonatal immune responses and d) lower the risk of infant atopy determined at 6 months of age. The primary outcome measures of SIPS were the clinical signs of atopy in the offspring. Pregnant women (n=123) at high risk of having atopic offspring, and with low habitual intake of oily fish (? 2/month) were randomised at 20 weeks of pregnancy to either consuming 2 portions/week of farmed salmon (n=62) or continuing their habitual diet (n=61) until the end of pregnancy. The woman attended a clinic at 20 (n=123), 34 (n=110) and 38 (n=91) weeks of gestation at which fasting blood was collected and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was administered (at 20 and 34 weeks). At delivery umbilical cord blood was collected (n=101) for fatty acid and immunological analysis. Infants attended a clinic at 6 months of age (n=86) for assessment of allergic sensitisation by skin prick testing (SPT) using various allergen extracts and of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD index). Maternal and cord plasma and cord blood mononuclear cell (CBMC) fatty acid compositions were determined by gas chromatography. Neonatal (cord) immune cell subsets were identified by flow cytometry. Ex-vivo cytokine production by CBMC in response to stimulants (allergen, mitogen, and toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands) was determined by cytometric bead array and flow cytometry. Ex-vivo prostaglandin E2 production by CBMC was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunoglobin E concentration was measured in cord blood plasma and in 6 month infant blood plasma. Eating oily fish twice a week during pregnancy resulted in a higher maternal intake of LC n-3 PUFAs (both EPA and DHA) and in higher maternal and cord blood plasma status of LC n-3 PUFAs (both EPA and DHA). LC n-3 PUFA content of CBMC was not significantly affected. CBMC production of interleukins-2, -4, -5, and -10 and tumour necrosis factor-? was lower in the salmon group. There was no effect of salmon on the atopic outcomes assessed at 6 months.


This article reviews and discusses emerging evidence suggesting an evolutionarily-conserved connection between injury-associated exposure of cytoskeletal proteins and the induction of tolerance to infection, repair of tissue damage and restoration of homeostasis. While differences exist between vertebrates and invertebrates with respect to the receptor(s), cell types, and effector mechanisms involved, the response to exposed cytoskeletal proteins appears to be protective and to rely on a conserved signaling cassette involving Src family kinases, the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase Syk, and tyrosine phosphatases. A case is made for research programs that integrate different model organisms in order to increase the understanding of this putative response to tissue damage.


The objective of the present work is to develop a novel approach for combining in an ensemble multiple base clusterings of operational transients of industrial equipment, when the number of clusters in the final consensus clustering is unknown. A measure of pairwise similarity is used to quantify the co-association matrix that describes the similarity among the different base clusterings. Then, a Spectral Clustering technique of literature, embedding the unsupervised K-Means algorithm, is applied to the coassociation matrix for finding the optimum number of clusters of the final consensus clustering, based on Silhouette validity index calculation. The proposed approach is developed with reference to an artificial casestudy, properly designed to mimic the signal trend behavior of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) turbine during shut-down. The results of the artificial case have been compared with those achieved by a state-of-art approach, known as Clusterbased Similarity Partitioning and Serial Graph Partitioning and Fill-reducing Matrix Ordering Algorithms (CSPAMETIS). The comparison shows that the proposed approach is able to identify a final consensus clustering that classifies the transients with better accuracy and robustness compared to the CSPA-METIS approach. The approach is, then, validated on an industrial case concerning 149 shut-down transients of a NPP turbine.


Can the tax system be reformed to generate the levels of revenue required to fund public goods while reducing the overall level of distortions implicit in the system? This question lies at the heart of many economic analyses of tax reform including the Mirrlees Review. Motivated by the aim to develop a broad set of principles for what makes a 'good tax system', the Review was an attempt to build a case for tax reform from the large body of economic theory and empirical evidence. The discussion in this paper draws on the work in the Review and concerns the taxation of labour earnings as well as relevant aspects of the welfare benefit and tax credit systems. It focuses on the empirical foundations for tax reform and argues for placing the analysis of earnings taxation in a lifetime setting, recognising the importance of human capital investments.


This article presents a corpus-based contrastive study of (dis)fluency in French and English, focusing on the clustering of discourse markers (DMs) and filled pauses (FPs) across various spoken registers. Starting from the hypothesis that markers of (dis)fluency, or 'fluencemes', occur more frequently in sequences than in isolation, and that their contribution to the relative fluency of discourse can only be assessed by taking into account the contextual distribution of these sequences, this study uncovers the specific contextual conditions that trigger the clustering of fluencemes in the two languages. First, the contexts of appearance of DMs and FPs are described separately, both in English and French, focusing on their distribution, position and co-occurrence patterns. Then, the combination of DMs and FPs in sequences and their different configurations (DM+FP, FP+DM, etc.) are investigated. Overall, it appears that FPs function differently depending on whether they are clustered with DMs or not, and this difference consists in either maintaining or erasing inter- and intra-linguistic contrasts.


A supremely usable nuts-and-bolts guide for beginners A daily tool of the trade for specialists Handbook of Usability Testing gives you practical, step-by-step guidelines in plain English. Written by Jeffrey Rubin, it arms beginners with the full complement of proven testing tools and techniques. From software, GUIs, and technical documentation, to medical instruments, VCRs, and exercise bikes, no matter what your product, you'll learn to design and administer extremely reliable tests to ensure that people find it easy and desirable to use. * Requires no engineering or human factors training* A rigorous, step-by-step approach - with an eye to common gaffes and pitfalls - saves you months of trial and error* Liberally peppered with real-life examples and case histories taken from a wide range of industries* Packed with extremely usable templates, models, tables, test plans, and other indispensable tools of the trade


In this paper, the construction technique of a new soil anchor-the cement-soil mixing anchor, which is applicable in the area of soft clay, is introduced. During the construction of the anchor, the drill pipe and blade is served as a reinforced body and formed an anchorage body with the cement-soil body. The material and making, technics parameters, mechanical equipment and construction requirement of the cement-soil mixing anchor are presented firstly. Then, the uplift tests of the cement-soil mixing anchor are carried out, and the ultimate pullout force which is 1.6 times greater than that of the soil nailing in the same condition is obtained. At last, an application of the cement-soil mixing anchor in a foundation pit is given. The test results shown that the application of the cement-soil mixing anchor can reach the expected reinforcement effect. Therefore, this framework can then be used by design engineers to more confidently estimate the pullout capacity of cement-soil mixing anchors under tension loading.


The broad objectives of the work were to develop standard methods for the routine biological surveillance of river water quality, using the non-planktonic algae. Studies on sampling methodology indicated that natural substrata should be sampled directly wherever possible, but for routine purposes, only a semi-quantitative approach was found to be feasible. Artificial substrata were considered to be useful for sample collection in deeper waters, and of three different types tested, Polythene strips were selected for further investigation essentially on grounds of practicality. These were tested in the deeper reaches of a wide range of river types and water qualities: 26 pool sites in 14 different rivers were studied over a period of 9 months. At each site, the assemblages developing on 3 strips following a 4, or less commonly, an 3 week immersion period were analysed quantitatively. Where possible, the natural substrata were also sampled semi-quantitatively at each site, and at a nearby riffle. The results of this survey were very fragmentary: many strips failed to yield useful data, and the results were often difficult to interpret, and of limited value for water quality surveillance purposes. In one river, the Churnet, the natural substrata at 14 riffle sites were sampled semi-quantitatively on 14 occasions at intervals of 4 weeks. In this survey, the results were more readily interpreted in relation to water quality, and no special data processing was found to be necessary or helpful. Further studies carried out on the filamentous green alga Cladophora showed that this alga may have some value as a bioaccumulation indicator for metals, and as a bioassay organism for the assessment of the algal growth promoting potential of natural river waters.


Many return predictability anomalies disappear over time. One explanation is that investors arbitrage profits away. But investors have always used technical analysis, so this argument may not apply to technical analysis strategies. In this article, the authors study what happens when a new technical trading rule appears and becomes popular over time. Bollinger Bands, introduced in 1983, provide a natural experiment. Before their introduction, trading on Bollinger Bands was very profitable. However, since their introduction, their predictive power seems to have gradually decreased, and it has largely disappeared in most international markets since 2001, the year that Bollinger published his book on Bollinger Bands.


At present, the finish machining process of workpiece with free-form surface has the disadvantages of complex trajectory planning, low machining efficiency and precision. To solve these problems, a material removal model whose removal rate model can change with the profile of the workpiece is proposed in this paper. The working mechanism of this method is described as follows: the rheological effect of magnrtorheological fluid is used to change the magnetic field distribution in finishing areas; then the finishing pressure distribution is changed, that makes the material removal rate of every point in the contact area be approximately equal so the aim of uniform removal is achieved. The experiments identify the quantitative relationship between magnetic field intensity and finishing pressure. Contrast experiments of finishing and removal effects are performed under the different conditions of magnetic field distribution. The experiments results show that the proposed method is feasible and this method has the potential of obtaining the ultra precision.


The applications of ubiquitous sensor networks require database system to support the following three functions in addition with conventional database functions. (1) continual event monitoring. Since control systems such as robots perform accurately, event monitoring must be executed in strict real-time. (2) signal processing. To recognize events in the physical world, sensor data must be processed by non traditional way such as similar sequence retrievals. (3) fast signal stream persisting. All of sensor data should be stored to consider the reason of illegal events after accidents or offline data mining. To support the requirements, we propose a new database system KRAFT. To realize (1), KRAFT controls user-level threads on FreeBSD KSE scheduler. To realize (2), KRAFT provides similar sequence retrieval operators. The operators' distance functions are Euclidean and dynamic time warping. To realize (3), KRAFT provides direct persisting, which does not execute the write ahead logging process. We describe preliminary results of experiments and show the performance of KRAFT.


In large-scale enterprise networks, multiple network intrusion detection and prevention systems are used to provide high quality protections. In this context, keeping load evenly distributed among the systems is crucial. This is because even load distributions provide protection to the networks and improve the networks' quality of service.
 A challenging problem, however, is to maintain the load balancing of the systems while minimizing the loss of correlation information due to distributing traffic. Since anomaly- based detection and prevention of some intrusions, such as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and port scans, require a single system to analyze correlated flows of the attacks, this loss of correlation information might severely affect the accuracy of the detections and preventions.
 In this paper, we address this challenging problem by first formalizing the load balancing problem as an optimization problem, considering both the systems' load variance and the correlation information loss. We then present our Benefit-based Load Balancing (BLB) algorithm as a solution to the optimization problem.
 We have implemented a prototype load-balancer which uses the BLB algorithm. We evaluated the load-balancer against various port scans and DDoS attacks. The evaluation results show that our load-balancer significantly improves the detection accuracy of these attacks while keeping the systems' load close within a desired bound.


Patches of aggregated membrane proteins on motile fibroblasts are transported from the surfaces of the leading lamella to a site just ahead of the nucleus in the phenomenon known as capping. A major cell surface glycoprotein, Pgp-1 (GP80), was tagged with a monoclonal IgG and then aggregated with fluorescent secondary antibodies. Correlated digitized fluorescence and phase-contrast microscopy were used to map the trajectories of fluorescent Pgp-1 patches located in various regions of the cell surface. The response of patches located in lamellar and nonlamellar regions to spontaneous retraction of the trailing cell margin, or tail was examined in detail. During capping, Pgp-1 patches accumulated at a morphologically distinct site on the cell surface, the 'null border', corresponding to the boundary between lamelloplasm and endoplasm and the posterior edge of the dorsal cortical F-actin sheath. Posterior to this site, gradual forward movement of patches accompanied the gradual narrowing phase of the trailing edge retraction that occurs prior to abrupt detachment of the tail, but patches did not actually accumulate at the null border. The rate of forward patch movement was generally greater at positions further behind the boundary. Patch movement correlated approximately with forward organelle movement in the trailing region of the cell. The boundary was also apparent during simultaneous capping and retraction when forward patch transport on the trailing edge and rearward transport of patches across the lamellar surface appeared to converge on the null border. Forward patch transport was strictly confined to regions behind the boundary while retrograde patch transport was confined to the lamellar region ahead of the boundary. Patches are thought to be linked to the cortical cytoskeleton and their transport is discussed in terms of the very different cortical cytoskeletal dynamics occurring in the leading and trailing edges of locomoting cells.


Background To date, liver biopsy is the only means of reliable diagnosis for fatty liver disease (FLD). Owing to the inevitable biopsy-associated health risks, however, the development of valid noninvasive diagnostic tools for FLD is well warranted. Aim We evaluated a particular metabolic profile with regard to its ability to diagnose FLD and compared its performance to that of established phenotypes, conventional biomarkers and disease-associated genotypes. Methods The study population comprised 115 patients with ultrasound-diagnosed FLD and 115 sex- and age-matched controls for whom the serum concentration was measured of 138 different metabolites, including acylcarnitines, amino acids, biogenic amines, hexose, phosphatidylcholines (PCs), lyso-PCs and sphingomyelins. Established phenotypes, biomarkers, disease-associated genotypes and metabolite data were included in diagnostic models for FLD using logistic regression and partial least-squares discriminant analysis. The discriminative power of the ensuing models was compared with respect to area under curve (AUC), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) and by way of cross-validation (CV). Results Use of metabolic markers for predicting FLD showed the best performance among all considered types of markers, yielding an AUC of 0.8993. Additional information on phenotypes, conventional biomarkers or genotypes did not significantly improve this performance. Phospholipids and branched-chain amino acids were most informative for predicting FLD. Conclusion We show that the inclusion of metabolite data may substantially increase the power to diagnose FLD over that of models based solely upon phenotypes and conventional biomarkers.


Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to offer a new perspective on resistance and anti‐consumption literature by relating it to consumer cynicism.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper proceeds to a conceptual deconstruction of consumer cynicism by comparing the contemporary meaning of the term with the original signification of cynicism, contrasting the psychological approach with the philosophical one. This perspective sheds light on disparate forms of consumer cynicism found in previous research.

Findings

– Four different figures of consumption related to cynicism were distinguished in this paper. Defensive cynicism and offensive cynicism are psychological tools used to neutralize persuasion attempts or divert marketing techniques. Subversive cynicism and ethical cynicism, which are reminiscences of cynicism in Ancient Greece, challenge the consumerist ideology and even propose an alternative ethics.

Originality/value

– Prior research on consumer cynicism has focused on the defensive psychological dimension of the concept, limiting it to a coping device for deceived consumers. Three other facets have been explored in this paper and provide a broader framework that can account for the disparate manifestations observed in the resistance and anti‐consumption literature. This new conceptualization of consumer cynicism could also explain why consumers' disappointment with private consumption does not always lead to public involvement.


Failure detection and redundancy management is discussed for avionics applications of integrated navigation involving coordinated use of multiple simultaneous sensor subsystems such as GPS, JTIDS, TACAN, VOR/DME, ILS, an inertial navigation system (INS), and possibly even Doppler AHRS. A brief high level survey is provided to assess the status of those techniques and methodologies advertized as already available for handling the challenging real-time failure detection, redundancy management, and Kalman filtering aspects of these systems with differing availabilities, differing reliabilities, differing accuracies, and differing information content/sampling rates. Following the status review, a new failure detection/redundancy management approach is developed based on voter/monitoring at both the raw data and at the filtered-data level, as well as using additional inputs from hardware built-in-testing (BIT) and from specialized tests for subsequent failure isolation in the case of ambiguous indications. The technique developed involves use of Gaussian confidence regions to reasonably account for the inherent differences in accuracy between the various sensor subsystems. Online estimates of covariances from the Kalman filter are to be used for this purpose (when available). A technique is provided for quantitatively evaluating both the probability of detecting failed component subsystems and the probability of false alarm to be incurred, which is then to be traded off as the basis for rational selection of the thresholds used in the automated decision process. Moreover, the redundancy management procedure is demonstrated to be amenable to pilot or navigation operator prompting and override, if necessary.


Laser-beam interaction in an undulator is commonly suggested in the development of free electron laser (FEL) schemes. In this paper, a three-dimensional algorithm is developed to assist in laser-beam interaction simulation in an undulator, which is built on the basis of the fundamentals of electrodynamics, i.e. the electron's behavior is determined by the magnetic field and the laser electric field in the time domain. On the basis of the algorithm, the detuning effect in a laser heater, the carrier envelope phase effect of a few-cycle laser in attosecond X-ray FEL schemes and output wavelength tuning in a high gain harmonic generation FEL are numerically discussed.


The task of changing the overlap between two quantum states can not be performed by making use of a unitary evolution only. However, by means of a unitary-reduction process it can be probabilistically modified. Here we study in detail the problem of mapping two known pure states onto other two states in such a way that the final inner product between the outcome states is different from the inner product of the initial states. In this way we design an optimal non-orthogonal quantum state preparation scheme by starting from an orthonormal basis. In this scheme the absolute value of the inner product can be reduced only probabilistically whereas it can be increased deterministically. Our analysis shows that the phases of the involved inner products play an important role in the increase of the success probability of the desired process.