Concrete is a structural composite material with excellent properties when subjected to compression. But the poor ability to resist tensile stresses forces the concrete to be used with reinforcement. Commonly, large continuous steel bars have been applied as reinforcement since mid-1800's to carry the tensile loads. Placing the steel bars takes many man-hours, which contributes to a significant part of the total concrete costs. By eliminating the reinforcement part of the construction work, the costs can be reduced considerably. Fibers have been incorporated into building materials since ancient times to improve the properties. Today, fibers are incorporated in concretes to improve certain properties of this material. They are added to enhance the ductility of the concretes. Additionally, the tensile and the flexural strengths of the material are enhanced. The crack widths and their propagation are decreased by the insertion of fibers. Research over the years have shown that fiber reinforcement has sufficient strength and ductility to be used as a complete replacement to conventional steel bars in some types of structures; foundations, walls, slabs. Fibers are also used in beams in combination with conventional reinforcement which increase the capacity and the stiffness of the concrete. The technology that is available today has made is possible to consider fiber reinforcement without the use of conventional steel bars in load carrying structures. For this to be a reality, the fibers must be distributed and oriented as expected, which is difficult. If fibers can be used without the need of steel reinforcement bars, the reinforcement part of the construction work will be eliminated. Hence, the construction costs will be significantly reduced. In recent years, a project within COIN has set the aim to develop a high tensile strength all-round concrete which exhibits a residual flexural tensile strength in the range of 10-15 MPa and that can be applied in load carrying structures. This MSc-thesis is a part of this work and it has consisted of testing fiber-reinforced self-compacting concretes with different types and contents of fibers, namely steel fibers and basalt fibers. The different concrete mixes were tested and the corresponding fresh and hardened concrete properties were evaluated and compared. Based upon the results achieved in these experiments, the conclusion was taken of whether or not the different concrete mixes could be used for the purpose the COIN project was aiming for.


Forecasting the diffusion of innovations plays a major role in managing technology development and in engineering management overall. In this paper, we extend the conventional Bass model stochastically by specifying the error process of sales as log-normal and mean-reverting. Our model satisfies the following reasonable properties, which are generally ignored in the existing literature: sales cannot be negative, the error process can have a memory, and sales fluctuate more when they are high and less when they are low. The conventional and widely used model that assumes normally distributed error term does not have these properties. We address how to forecast properly under the log-normal and mean-reverting error process, and show analytically and numerically that in our extended model sales forecasts can substantially alter conventional Bass forecasts. We also analyze the model empirically, showing that our extension can improve the accuracy of future sales forecasts.


In this brief article, the author responds to Brown and Trusty's assertion that based on the deficiencies of existing comprehensive school counseling program (CSCP) research, school counselors need not focus their time and effort on showing causal connections between their programs and measures of student academic achievement. Rather than defending the specific merits of the CSCP research, this rejoinder article addresses (a) the larger issue of whether Brown and Trusty have mischaracterized a key underlying results-based assumption of CSCPs, as well as (b) the value of multiple research paradigms in CSCP evaluation studies, and (c) the importance of systemic thinking and collaboration within CSCP research.


Over the past three decades, developing countries have deregulated, privatized and liberalized their economies. Paradoxically, they have also retained or even strengthened their labour laws and regulations. This compromise has created enormous political tension, which manifests itself as recurrent calls for either a rollback or a deepening of reforms. Few of these calls have been heeded, so the burden of reconciling the conflicting policies ends up being transferred to those public agents who enforce the regulations on the ground. To understand how these agents act, the latitude they have, the limits they face and the results they accomplish, this paper examines how labour inspectors and prosecutors intervened in four beleaguered industries in Brazil. It finds that enforcement agents often do more than just impose fines or teach infringers about the law. Rather, they use their discretion and legal powers to realign incentives, reshape interests and redistribute the risks, costs and benefits of compliance across a tailor-made assemblage of public, private and non-profit enterprises in a way that makes compliance easier for all involved. On a broader canvas, regulatory enforcement agents who perform this role can be characterized as the foot soldiers of a post-neoliberal or neo-developmental state.


This Ph.D. thesis presents theory, modeling, design, fabrication, experiments and results for microfluidic magnetic separators. A model for magnetic bead movement in a microfluidic channel is presented, and the limits of the model are discussed. The effective magnetic field gradient is defined, and it is argued that it is a good measure, when comparing the performance of magnetic bead separators. It is described how numeric modeling is used to aid the design of microfluidic magnetic separation systems. An example of a design optimization study is given. A robust fabrication scheme has been developed for fabrication of silicon based systems. This fabrication scheme is explained, and it is shown how it is applied with variations for several designs of magnetic separators. An experimental setup for magnetic separation experiments has been developed. It has been coupled with an image analysis program to facilitate real-time monitoring of the experiments. The set-up and experimental protocol are described in detail. Results are presented for 'active' magnetic bead separators, where on-chip microfabricated electromagnets supply the magnetic field and field gradients necessary for magnetic bead separation. It is shown conceptually how such a system can be applied for parallel biochemical processing in a microfluidic system. 'Passive' magnetic separators are presented, where on-chip soft magnetic elements are magnetized by an external magnetic field and create strong magnetic fields and gradients inside a microfluidic channel. Systems with the elements placed beside the microfluidic channel is combined with hydrodynamic focusing to demonstrate a magnetic bead microarray inside a microfluidic channel. Systems where the on-chip magnetic material is placed underneath the microfluidic channel are also presented. One of these designs feature multiple magnetic length scales, and it is shown that this enhances bead capture ability. A 'hybrid' magnetic separator design, where the magnetic field from on-chip current lines couples with an externally applied homogenous field to create strong fields and gradients is demonstrated. This gives extra magnetic bead manipulation possibilities compared to the passive designs. It is demonstrated how this can be used for magnetic bead microarrays. Finally, it is discussed, based on the research presented in this thesis, how to further develop magnetic separation systems in microfluidic systems, and recommendations are given for the choice of magnetic design based on the desired application.


This article presents the first in-depth textual analysis of the Razmnamah (Book of War), the Persian translation of the Mahabharata sponsored by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the late sixteenth century. I argue that the Razmnamah was a central literary work in the Mughal court and of deep relevance to Akbar's imperial and political ambitions. I pursue my analysis of the Mughal Mahabharata in two sections, focusing first on the work's Sanskrit sources and then on the translation practices one finds evidenced in the Persian text. In the first section, I outline how the Mughal translators accessed Sanskrit materials and identify the Sanskrit texts that served as the basis for the Persian translation. This framework helps reconstruct the nature of the Mahabharata as the Mughals knew it and provides both the conceptual and literary tools needed to pursue comparative textual analysis. In the second section, I examine the text of the Razmnamah in comparison with its Sanskrit sources to highlight some of the Mughal translators' key strategies in reimagining the epic in Persian. This close reading traces several literary paradigms that offer insight into the crucial role the Razmnamah played in the production and reproduction of Mughal imperial culture. Taken as a whole, my analysis argues that the Razmnamah was a crucial component of the politico-cultural fashioning of Akbar's court, whereby the Mughals developed a new type of Indo-Persian imperial aesthetic.


The enzyme 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11 beta HSD2) is selectively expressed in aldosterone target tissues, where it confers aldosterone selectivity for the mineralocorticoid receptor by inactivating 11 beta-hydroxyglucocorticoids. Variable activity of 11 beta HSD2 is relevant for blood pressure control and hypertension. The present investigation aimed to elucidate whether an epigenetic mechanism, DNA methylation, accounts for the rigorous control of expression of the gene encoding 11 beta HSD2, HSD11B2. CpG islands covering the promoter and exon 1 of HSD11B2 were found to be densely methylated in tissues and cell lines with low expression but not those with high expression of HSD11B2. Demethylation induced by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and procainamide enhanced the transcription and activity of the 11 beta HSD2 enzyme in human cells in vitro and in rats in vivo. Methylation of HSD11B2 promoter-luciferase constructs decreased transcriptional activity. Methylation of recognition sequences of transcription factors, including those for Sp1/Sp3, Arnt, and nuclear factor 1 (NF1) diminished their DNA-binding activity. Herein NF1 was identified as a strong HSD11B2 stimulatory factor. The effect of NF1 was dependent on the position of CpGs and the combination of CpGs methylated. A methylated-CpG-binding protein complex 1 transcriptional repression interacted directly with the methylated HSD11B2 promoter. These results indicate a role for DNA methylation in HSD11B2 gene repression and suggest an epigenetic mechanism affecting this gene causally linked with hypertension.


We examine the gas‐to‐liquid frequency shifts and isotropic Raman linewidths for the axial and equatorial CH stretching vibrations of cyclohexane‐d11 in 13 different solvents. The ''perturbed hard‐fluid model'' of Ben‐Amotz and Herschbach provides a consistent description of the observed shifts in terms of average repulsive and attractive solute–solvent interactions. The attractive part of the shift is dominated by dispersive interactions, with a small contribution from inductive forces. This analysis also reproduces the observed ratio of equatorial to axial attractive shift components if certain details of the cyclohexane‐d11 geometry are accounted for when the repulsive part of the shift is calculated. The ratio of equatorial to axial peak linewidths is nearly the same for all solvents and is consistent with inhomogeneous broadening by attractive force fluctuations. A version of the Schweizer–Chandler theory of attractive force broadening, modified to incorporate interactions between the solute vibratio...


This paper presents a unique Ilocano culture through the amazing nature of constructing antique houses and churches with the sablot leaves. The crude formulation of the original sablot paste was reconstituted to relate to the modern day context. This study attempts to widen the Ilocano culture through the Ilokano built environment with the end view of enriching its present collection of subjects unfolding the Ilocano engineering using indigenous resources. This study made use of a mixture of qualitative and quantitative type of research. Interview was the method of gathering information and the researcher conducted experiment based on what she learned from the interview on the use of sablot as paste. Four major Ilocano values were deemed evident and highly associated with the indigenous construction material known as sablot. They are prudence (kinamanagsakbay), self-reliance (panagwayas), caring (panangilala), and ingenuity (kinawido). The findings disclose four amazing discoveries: 1) The strength of the samples out of sablot paste are as strong as those of cement as binder. 2) There is an effect of soaking time to the strength of the sablot samples. 3) The strength of the grout and mortar for concrete hollow blocks using sablot paste as binder is as strong as the grout and mortar using cement. and 4) The plaster out of sablot paste is 35 percent lower in cost than the cement plaster, taking the area of application and thickness of the plaster similar for both. Sablot trees were found still thriving in Vigan City, Sto. Domingo, and Sinait, all in Ilocos Sur. The presence of sablot trees within the Ilocos Region is still with a high percentage of probability, basing on the existence of the trees in Sablot (Litsea glutinosa), Lour Rob., A Symbol of Ilocano Ingenuity in Construction, N. A. Esguerra UNP Research Journal Volume XXII January-December 2013 ISSN 0119-3058 129 the three municipalities of Ilocos Sur, owing to the fact that these places have churches built using the sablot paste.


Serial order learning and performance by chimpanzees and gorillas on a computerized task Katherine E. Wagner Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL Stephen R. Ross Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL Abstract: Multiple primate species have demonstrated a propensity for serial order learning that qualitatively differs from many tested non-primates. The interaction between physiology, sociality and cognition evinces the need to examine this ability throughout the primate order and across different stages of performance. Zoo-living gorillas (n=3) and chimpanzees (n=3) learned to order progressively-built lists of 3,4, and 5 symbols on a touchscreen computer. While performance increased on longer lists for both species (F=20.1, p<0.001), overall gorillas performed more accurately (F=149.1, p<0.001) and exhibited longer response latencies (F=89.2, p<0.001) compared to chimpanzees. Task errors most frequently comprised selection of the symbol associated with the next ordinal position (F=124.3, p<0.001). Results support an ape-typical learning process, while performance differences may indicate the influence of species-traits impacting attention, arousal, and impulsivity.


In this paper we analyze the distribution of fertility rates across the world using parametric mixture models. We demonstrate the existence of twin peaks and the division of the world's countries in two distinct components: a high-fertility regime and a low fertility regime. Whereas the significance of twin peaks vanishes over time, the two fertility regimes continue to exists over the whole observation period. In 1950 about two thirds of the world's countries belonged to the high-fertility regime and the rest constituted the low-fertility regime. By the year 2005 this picture has reversed. Within both the lowand the high-fertility regime the average fertility rate declined, with a larger absolute decline within the high-fertility regime. Visually, the two peaks moved closer together. For the low fertility-group we find both βand σconvergence but we cannot establish any convergence pattern for the high fertility regime. Overall our findings are difficult to reconcile with the standard view of a fertility trap but they support the "differentiated take-off" view established in the Unified Growth literature.


Abstract It is generally believed that clay minerals can protect organic matter from degradation in redox active environments, but both biotic and abiotic factors can influence the redox process and thus potentially change the clay-organic association. However, the specific mechanisms involved in this process remain poorly understood. In this study, model organic compound 12-Aminolauric acid (ALA) was selected to intercalate into the structural interlayer of nontronite (an iron-rich smectite, NAu-2) to form an ALA-intercalated NAu-2 composite (ALA-NAu-2). Shawanella putrefaciens CN32 and sodium dithionite were used to reduce structural Fe(III) to Fe(II) in NAu-2 and ALA-NAu-2. The bioreduced ALA-NAu-2 was subsequently re-oxidized by air. The rates and extents of bioreduction and air re-oxidation were determined with wet chemistry methods. ALA release from ALA-NAu-2 via the redox process was monitored. Mineralogical changes after iron redox cycle were investigated with X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. At the beginning stage of bioreduction, S. putrefaciens CN32 reductively dissolved small and poorly crystalline particles and released intercalated ALA, resulting a positive correlation between ALA release and iron reduction extent (<12%). The subsequent bioreduction (reduction extent from 12∼30%) and complete air re-oxidation showed no effect on ALA release. These results suggest that released ALA was largely from small and poorly crystalline NAu-2 particles. In contrast to bioreduction, chemical reduction did not exhibit any selectivity in reducing ALA-NAu-2 particles, and a considerable amount of reductive dissolution was responsible for a large amount of ALA release (>80%). Because bacteria are the principal agent for mediating redox process in natural environments, our results demonstrated that the structural interlayer of smectite can serve as a potential shelter to protect organic matter from oxidation.


Noise level estimation is crucial in many image processing applications, such as blind image denoising. In this paper, we propose a novel noise level estimation approach for natural images by jointly exploiting the piecewise stationarity and a regular property of the kurtosis in bandpass domains. We design a  $K$ -means-based algorithm to adaptively partition an image into a series of non-overlapping regions, each of whose clean versions is assumed to be associated with a constant, but unknown kurtosis throughout scales. The noise level estimation is then cast into a problem to optimally fit this new kurtosis model. In addition, we develop a rectification scheme to further reduce the estimation bias through noise injection mechanism. Extensive experimental results show that our method can reliably estimate the noise level for a variety of noise types, and outperforms some state-of-the-art techniques, especially for non-Gaussian noises.


Background: MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non coding RNAs involved in cell homeostasis. miRs are deregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC). Our study aimed at identifying miRs with a driver role in carcinogenesis altered by similar mechanisms in both human and mouse CRC. Goal of the study was to use CRC mouse models for the pre-clinical development of anti-miRs as therapeutic drugs. Methods: Azoximetane (AOM)/Dextran-Sulfate (DSS) treated mice or CDX2Cre-APC f/wt mice were used to study inflammation-associated and sporadic APC-related CRC. Human Inflammatory Bowel Disease associated (n=15), and sporadic (n=62) CRC with their matched normal tissues were collected according to Good Clinical Practice recommendation and subjected to RNA extraction using Trizol. miR and gene expression profiling was assessed by nCounter technology (Nanostring Seattle). Anti-miR-135b and scrambled probes for in vivo studies were synthesized by Girindus. Results: miRs profiling from AOM/DSS and CDX2Cre-APC f/wt CRC revealed that miR-135b is one of the most up-regulated miRs in both models. In humans miR-135b over-expression was found in both IBD and sporadic CRC and was associated with reduced Progression Free Survival and Overall Survival in CRC patients. Molecular studies in Mouse Embryo Fibroblast and human CRC cell lines highlighted the role of two major pathways in the upstream activation of miR-135b: APC-β-Catenin and SRC-PI3K. MiR-135b up-regulation resulted in reduced apoptosis and increased cell growth due to the down-regulation of TGFRB2, DAPK1, APC and FIH. Silencing of miR-135b in vivo reduced tumor multiplicity and tumor load in the AOM/DSS CRC model. Mice treated with anti-miR-135b showed well differentiated tumors and acinar pattern while tumors in the control groups showed low differentiation and adenomatous pattern. Conclusions: Our data suggest that miR-135b is a key molecule whose activation is downstream of oncogenes and oncosuppressor genes frequently altered in CRC. Our study defines specific pathways that converge on the activation of the same microRNA. The "in vivo" silencing of miR-135 shows preclinical efficacy with low toxicity and represents the first in vivo study for the use of anti-miRs in CRC treatment


PURPOSE
To assess the reproducibility and stability of hippocampal T2 relaxation times and examine the effects of patients' age, seizures, and duration of epilepsy on this measure.

METHODS
Hippocampal T2 relaxation times were measured in 63 patients with chronic epilepsy (55 with partial and 8 with idiopathic generalized seizures) using a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill sequence, echo times 22 to 262 millisecond, on a 1.5-T clinical MR imaging system. Twenty-three patients on stable medication regimens underwent repeated T2 relaxometry after an interval of between 115 and 331 days. In 4 patients with partial seizures, hippocampal T2 relaxation times were measured interictally and again within 45 minutes of seizures.

RESULTS
In the 55 patients with partial epilepsy, hippocampal T2 relaxation times did not correlate with seizure frequency, duration of epilepsy, or age, but they were significantly more abnormal in those patients with a history of prolonged (more than 30 minutes) early childhood seizures than in those without. Eight patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy had normal MR and hippocampal T2 relaxation times. In the 23 patients who underwent repeated T2 relaxometry there was no evidence of qualitative changes in T2-weighted images of the hippocampi or systematic changes of hippocampal T2 relaxation times with time. In 4 patients recent complex partial or secondary generalized seizures did not acutely alter hippocampal T2 relaxation times.

CONCLUSION
Hippocampal T2 relaxation time is a precise, reliable, stable, noninvasive measurement sensitive to hippocampal disease. These results do not suggest progression of hippocampal disease in patients with intractable partial seizures during periods of up to 331 days.


Abstract This paper presents the case of a very rare capillary hemangioma of the testis in a 23-year-old patient. Physical examination revealed a tumor located in the upper pole of the left testis, which was suspected of being malignant due to its significantly increased density and irregular contours. Blood levels of the following tumor markers were determined: alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin and lactate dehydrogenase. No abnormalities were found in any of these tests. A gray-scale ultrasound scan of the scrotum revealed a lesion located in the upper pole of the left testis, 24 mm in diameter with slightly decreased echogenicity and irregular contours, which suggested infiltration of the tunica albuginea of the testis. Color and power Doppler scans demonstrated a dense network of blood vessels and increased blood flow in the lesion described. In addition, 3D ultrasound scan images were obtained, which allowed for a thorough determination of the topography of the lesion. No abnormalities were found in the patient's medical history, physical examination or ultrasound scan of the right testis. Taking into account the suspected malignancy with signs of infiltration of the tunica albuginea of the upper pole of the testis a decision was made to remove the left testis together with the spermatic cord using the inguinal approach. A histopathological examination of the whole specimen revealed a multifocal capillary hemangioma of the testis, signs of testicular fibrosis and significant atrophy of the spermatogenic epithelium of the seminiferous tubules. Immunohistochemistry: CD31 (+), CD34 (+), FVIII (−), vimentin (+), CK MNF116 (−), mesothelial cells (−), calretinin (−), MIB-1 = 8.4%. The tumor described is one of the few benign lesions originating from the tissues of the testis for which partial resection of the organ may be considered. Intraoperative histopathological examination and resection of the lesion with the preservation of a healthy tissue margin may be considered in patients with a single testis in whom the tumor is found to have a very rich vascular network and the levels of tumor markers are normal.


The pivotal storage density win achieved by solid-state devices over magnetic devices in 2015 is a result of multiple innovations in physics, architecture, and signal processing. One of the most important innovations in that regard is enabling the storage of more than one bit per cell in the Flash device, i.e., having more than two charge levels per cell. Constrained coding is used in Flash devices to increase reliability via mitigating inter-cell interference that stems from charge propagation among cells. Recently, capacity-achieving constrained codes were introduced to serve that purpose in modern Flash devices, which have more than two levels per cell. While these codes result in minimal redundancy via exploiting the underlying physics, they result in non-negligible complexity increase and access speed limitation since pages cannot be read separately. In this paper, we suggest new constrained coding schemes that have low-complexity and preserve the desirable high access speed in modern Flash devices. The idea is to eliminate error-prone patterns by coding data only on the left-most page while leaving data on all the remaining pages uncoded. Our coding schemes work for any number of levels per cell, offer systematic encoding and decoding, and are capacity-approaching. Since the proposed schemes enable the separation of pages, we refer to them as read-and-run (RR) constrained coding schemes as opposed to schemes adopting read-and-wait for other pages. We analyze the new RR coding schemes and discuss their impact on the probability of occurrence of different charge levels. We also demonstrate the performance improvement achieved via RR coding on a practical triple-level cell Flash device.


Due to the high dynamic frequency of virtual method calls in typical object-oriented programs, feedback-directed devirtualization and inlining is one of the most important optimizations performed by high-performance virtual machines. A critical input to effective feedback-directed inlining is an accurate dynamic call graph. In a virtual machine, the dynamic call graph is computed online during program execution. Therefore, to maximize overall system performance, the profiling mechanism must strike a balance between profile accuracy, the speed at which the profile becomes available to the optimizer, and profiling overhead. This paper introduces a new low-overhead sampling-based technique that rapidly converges on a high-accuracy dynamic call graph. We have implemented the technique in two high-performance virtual machines: Jikes RVM and J9. We empirically assess our profiling technique by reporting on the accuracy of the dynamic call graphs it computes and by demonstrating that increasing the accuracy of the dynamic call graph results in more effective feedback-directed inlining.


Abstract We have developed a compact, high-performance, mechanically robust reconfigurable microwave switch matrix as well as peripheral components such as diode driver, voltage controlled oscillator, and power detector modules for satellite applications using the low temperature co-fired ceramics technology (LTCC) and hybrid integration of integrated circuits. In order to verify the technology for space applications, we combined these components to build a system that enables automated verification of the switch matrix in space, accounting for power consumption, mass, overall geometrical dimensions, and mechanical robustness. The system passed a full space qualification. During a one year On-Orbit-Verification (OOV) mission aboard the German test satellite TET-1 (technology evaluation carrier) launched on July 22, 2012, the correct operation and reliability of the entire switch matrix system and thereby the used technology will be demonstrated.


Contemporary environmental crises are often attributable to a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world. One potential solution to this disconnect, as it relates to children, is the naturalizing of school playgrounds. This paper seeks to contextualize the impacts of a school ground naturalization program on the outdoor play and learning ecosystem. Drawing on results of a collaborative and qualitative case study, this paper highlights the ability of an outdoor play and learning spaces program to induce a culture shift towards the endorsement and advocacy of outdoor play and learning amongst school communities, catalyzing a need for supporting policy and regulation.


Background: Although the mechanical properties of composite resin for orthodontic bonding have been improved substantially, their antibacterial properties are still limited. Various researchers have attempted to reduce plaque accumulation on composite adhesive material by incorporation of bactericidal agents. Silver has a significant antimicrobial activity and is effective against streptococci of the human oral cavity so it might be useful as an antibacterial agent incorporated into composite resin especially when applied in nanometer sizes. Thus the aim of this study is to evaluate if the addition of silver oxide nanoparticles at various proportions with orthodontic bonding resin as to influence their antibacterial properties and to evaluate if the addition of silver oxide nanoparticles at various proportions with orthodontic bonding resin will affect their shear bond strength.
Methodology: This study was done on one control group and two experimental groups. The control group consisted of Transbond XT and the two experimental group consisted of Transbond XT with 5% Silver oxide Nanoparticles and Transbond XT with 10% Silver oxide Nanoparticles respectively. Each group containing 10 specimens was subjected to antibacterial activity tested on Streptococcus mutans. For the antibacterial testing disk diffusion assay method was used. 30 Composite discs were made using molds each group containing 10 Composite discs. Similarly each group containing 10 specimens was subjected to shear bond strength testing using Instron universal testing machine For shear bond strength testing 30 tooth were bonding, 10 tooth in each group and were assessed for shear bond strength. The results were analyzed using one way ANOVA test and Pearson comparison.
Results: A statistically significant difference is found in the antibacterial activity and shear bond strength of the samples compared. The group containing Transbond XT with 10% Silver oxide Nanoparticles was found to have the highest antibacterial activity followed by group containing Transbond XT with 5% Silver oxide Nanoparticles and the least with the control group which contained only Transbond XT. The results for the shear bond strength showed that incorporation of silver oxide nanoparticles decreases the shear bond strength of composite resin. Incorporation of silver oxide nanoparticles containing 5% of silver reduces the bond strength to a level comparable to the control group. Further increasing the amount of silver nanoparticles to the 10% level demonstrates a decline in the shear bond strength.
Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, it can be concluded that the addition of Silver oxide Nanoparticles to Transbond XT composite significantly inhibits the growth of Streptococcus mutans. Whereas increasing the amount of particles to 10% has an undesirable effect on shear bond strength when compared to the control group.


In the framework of radioactive waste repository, clayrock formations are foreseen as barrier materials due to their diffusion properties. In clay materials, the dominant transport mode is diffusive and depends mainly on various parameters such as the mobility of the species in water, the accessible porosity, the pore space geometry and the retardation as a result of reactions such as sorption or ion exchange (Tournassat and Appelo, 2011). In this way, the European CATCLAY project (EURATOM FP7), in the context with research on transport in porous materials, was proposed to describe the cation migration processes in natural clayrocks. The project is structured along 3 RTD workpackages, combining modeling and experimental studies from a simpler, analogous system (monophasic compacted clay system) to clayrocks (Callovo-Oxfordian argillites, Opalinus Clay and Boom Clay). Part of this experimental studies focuses on small scale structure (µm - nm) property of rocks in order to determine how the spatial distribution of mineral and pores at small scales can influence diffusion driven transport of sorbing cations. The present study focuses on compacted illite properties (simpler analogous system) in hopes to extent this study to the natural clayrock formation. Illite was chosen by the way that is the main constituent of clayrock. Compacted illite material represents thus an analogy with the clay matrix constituting clay-rocks. Our approach is mainly based on imaging the small scale structural organization of compacted illite material and analyzing the obtained images in order to extract information on pore space and mineral spatial distribution. Techniques for imaging the texture of illite material like water saturated, in compacted state, were first developed. The first step was to improve classic resin impregnation method in order to preserve the texture without losing the clay confinement and modifying the pore space geometry. This has been done by taking into account the molecule size of the monomer, the low viscosity, the dipole moment (adapted for the clayrock with swelling clay content) and the controlled time polymerization. MMA monomer proved to be the most suitable resin in our study. The small scale structure of impregnated sample was then imaged in 2D using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and in 3D using Focused Ion Beam coupled to Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB/SEM). For TEM observations, a set of ultra-thin serial sections (50 - 100 nm) were cut using a microtome. A set of 2D images were then acquired using a resolution ranged between 100 nm and 10 A. TEM images clearly show us the multi-scale organization of clay materials (Figure 1 and 2); we observe the 10 A spacing sheets constituting the illite particles, nanometer size illite clay particles more or less aggregated and the surrounding pores having a size ranging from few hundred nanometers to nanometer. FIB/SEM analysis is currently in progress. From FIB/SEM, a set of serial images can be acquired using the "slice and view" method (Keller et al., 2011). Then, 2D FIB/SEM images need to be aligned to reconstruct a 3D volume. Image resolution is limited to 10-20 nm. Both methodologies (FIB-tomography and TEM techniques) are thus complementary method for the up-scaling characterization of the structural organization of compacted clayey materials. TEM images analysis allow to scale down the resolution size since only a part of the pore space could thus be imaged with FIB/SEM method (Keller et al., 2011). Viewing and performing a qualitative description of images constitute a major result and can help us to better understand how the transfer pathways and retention sites are organized in the porous media. Thanks to image analysis method, pores and minerals can be thresholded from grey level TEM and FIB/SEM images. Quantitative parameters can be then computed based from segmented images. In this objective, we currently focus our analysis in order to determine the size and the morphology of pores, the main geometrical features of clay particles (number of layers, size, shape...), the spatial distribution of clay particles (individual/aggregates, type of contact between the clay particles, orientation...) and the pores connectivity. Quantitative parameters are expected to be used in various transfer modeling approaches. This will be done in the framework of SIMISOL project which is focused on the modeling cation diffusion from atomic to nanometer scales.


Glyphosate is an herbicide that is used worldwide with potential environmental risks to nontarget organisms. We applied an age-stage, two-sex life table approach to assess the sublethal effects of short-term oral exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide on the life table parameters and biocontrol potential of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Aphids (Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker) (Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae)) treated with herbicide (an isopropylamine-salt of glyphosate) at low recommended, maximum recommended, and double the maximum recommended concentration for agricultural situations, and untreated controls were offered to the fourth instar of H. axyridis for 24 h. Development, consumption, and fecundity were measured daily until death. We detected minor differences in the hatching rate and mean generation time, whereas the longevity, fecundity, net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of increase, and consumption were unaffected across treatments. We conclude that biocontrol potential of H. axyridis was not affected by acute oral intoxication by a glyphosate-based herbicide during the larval stage for 24 h under the study design.


Within the context of the ecological crisis of the twenty-first century, the book integrates Marxism and systems theory to reveal finance capital and the 'war on terror' as complementary responses of a capitalism reduced to parasitising upon symptoms of chaos.


Loosening of bolted connections in a structure can significantly reduce the load-bearing capacities of the structure. Detecting loosening of bolted connections at an early stage can avoid failure of the structure. Due to the complex geometry of a bolted connection and the material discontinuity between the clamped components, it is difficult to detect loosening of a bolted connection using conventional non-destructive test methods. A vibration-based method that uses changes in natural frequencies of a structure to detect the locations and extent of damage can be used to detect loosening of bolted connections, since the method focuses on detecting a stiffness reduction, which can result from loosening of the bolted connections. Experimental and numerical damage detection using the vibration-based method was conducted to detect the loosening of the bolted connections in a fullsize steel pipeline with bolted flanges. With the recent development of a predictive modeling technique for bolted connections in thin-walled structures, an accurate physics-based finite element model of the pipeline that is required by the vibration-based damage detection method is developed. A trust-region search strategy is employed to improve the damage detection method so that convergence of the damage detection algorithm can be ensured for under-determined systems, and the robustness of the algorithm can be enhanced when relatively large modeling error and measurement noise are present. The location and extent of the loosened bolted connections were successfully detected in experimental damage detection using changes in the natural frequencies of the first several modes; the exact location and extent of the loosened bolted connections can be detected in the numerical simulation where there are no modeling error and measurement noise.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Education is an enlightening experience and social process. The new social realities, particularly the interplay between democratization of education emergence of knowledge, society and globalization greatly influence the educational process of all societies. There exists a paradoxical situation of limited higher education opportunities and a large pool of unemployable educated in India.  This is partly a result of the failure of our education system to develop the competencies required for the world of work.  Such competency to face epidemics of Corona and value education, i.e., sensitivity, the ability and a skill to do job or business, is expected outcome of any good education system. The student should realize that they have the right for quality education as well as quality healthy life and they also have learning responsibilities to enable the institution to provide quality education.  The students and staff should mutually reinforce their efforts for quality education.  The 21 century is an age of accelerated change, the age of ICT that is Information and Communication Technology. We are happy to welcome 2020 which presents a powerful message that this is an age of Knowledge, age of Quality at the same time we are facing covid 19 corona in this age of Uncertainties.  In this scenario, higher education is essential for survival.  We are having in an important and epoch-making age.  We look at higher education for solutions.


Flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) has been researched for over 50 years at many locations around the world, and scientifically all the major influences are well recognized. However, the application of this science and understanding to fossil, combined-cycle/HRSG and nuclear plants has not been entirely satisfactory. Major failures are still occurring and the locations involved are basically the same as they were in the 1980s and 1990s. This paper reviews the latest theory of the major mechanistic aspects and also provides details on the major locations of FAC in plants, the key identifying surface features of singleand two-phase FAC, the cycle chemistries used in the plants and the key monitoring tools to identify the presence of FAC. The management aspects as well as the inspection, predictive and chemistry approaches to arrest FAC are described, and the different approaches that are needed within fossil, HRSG and nuclear plants are delineated. Barry Dooley and Derek Lister


We consider a non-parametric penalized likelihood approach for model building called likelihood basis pursuit (LBP) that determines the probabilities of binary outcomes given explanatory vectors while automatically selecting important features. The LBP model involves parameters that balance the competing goals of maximizing the log-likelihood and minimizing the penalized basis pursuit terms. These parameters are selected to minimize a proxy of misclassification error, namely, the randomized, generalized approximate cross validation (ranGACV) function. The ranGACV function is not easily represented in compact form; its functional values can only be obtained by solving two instances of the LBP model, which may be computationally expensive. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com A grid search is typically used to find appropriate parameters, requiring the solutions to hundreds or thousands of instances of the LBP model. Since only parameters (data) are changed between solves, the resulting problem is a non-linear slice model in the parameter space. We show how slice-modeling techniques significantly improve the efficiency of individual solves and thus speed-up the grid search. In addition, we consider using derivative-free optimization algorithms for parameter selection, replacing the grid search. We show how, by seeding the derivative-free algorithms with a coarse grid search, these algorithms can find better solutions with fewer function evaluations. Our interest in this area comes directly from the seminal work that Olvi and his collaborators have carried out designing and applying optimization techniques to problems in machine learning and data mining. E-mail: email@example.com


Joint performances such as tensile strength and hardness in multi-pass welds are induced from both metallurgical and mechanical heterogeneity due to the difference of welding conditions. Hardness distribution in multi-pass weld metal is evaluated with a numerical simulation considering multiple heat cycles and phase transformation. Hardness of multipass weld metal is calculated with the rule of mixture by using fraction and hardness of each microstructure. In order to calculate fraction of each microstructure, CCT diagram was used. Conventional CCT diagrams of weld metal is not available even for single pass weld metal, thus new diagrams for multi-pass weld metals are created in this study. Modified diagrams for multi-pass weld metals with reheating effect were more dependent on the maximum temperature in reheating than the welding conditions. Hardness distribution is precisely predicted when the created CCT diagram for the multipass weld metal was used and the detailed calculation of weld thermal cycle is done.


The formation of the central nervous system begins early in development with the induction of the neural ectoderm on the dorsal surface of the embryo. Subsequently, the neural ectoderm plate changes its shape to form a neural groove and eventually, a neural tube. The wall of the neural tube is composed of germinal cells, collectively called the neuroepithelium, that produces neurons and glia throughout the central nervous system (CNS). Three points will be made about cellular production in the CNS: (1) The neuroepithelium forms expansions (brain vesicles), folds, and lobules characteristic of particular CNS regions. The hypothesis that neuroepithelial "anatomy" is a blueprint for proper anatomical development of the CNS will be discussed. (2) Using tritiated thymidine autoradiography in the developing rat, we have found that the neuroepithelium generates neuronal populations according to specific timetables during CNS organogenesis. Some populations are produced early in a 1-2 day period, others are produced later during a 5-7 day period, while still others are produced after birth for periods of a few weeks. (3) By exposing perinatal rat pups to low level X-irradiation, we find that killing neuronal precursors and young postmitotic neurons results in permanent reductions in the number of cells that constitute the targeted neuronal populations. Even though some development continues after the X-ray exposures, there is no compensatory increase in cell proliferation to replace the lost cells. The implications of this finding will be discussed in light of the permanence of neurotoxic insults during human CNS development.


This paper presents an experimental investigation of transient refrigerant and oil migration in a residential heat pump water heater (HPWH) system. In the experiments, R134a is paired with POE 22 oil. The Quick Closing Valve Technique (QCVT) is employed to localize the refrigerant and oil into each section of the system. The Remove and Weigh Technique (RWT) is then applied to measure the trapped refrigerant mass in the sections, with an uncertainty about 0.17% of the total refrigerant charge. The retained oil mass in each section, except for the compressor, is determined by the Mix and Sample Technique (MST), of which the uncertainty is about 0.15% of the total oil charge. Five experiments are conducted to cover a full heating-up of five hours. The experimental data shows that the most of refrigerant is in the heat exchangers. The inventory of the refrigerant generally decreases in the evaporator and increases in the condenser during the heating-up. The measurements also indicate that most of the oil stays in the compressor. The retention of the oil generally increases in the evaporator and it first decreases then increases in the condenser.


Studies of the glomerular structure in diabetes mellitus have helped to elucidate the basis for some functional abnormalities. The decline in glomerular filtration occurring in many long-term diabetics is a functional disorder of great clinical importance. Quantitative structural studies of the glomeruli in diabetics at different stages of disease are necessary to learn about the development of structural changes leading to the endstage kidney disease. Preliminary results of a study of glomeruli from longterm diabetics with clinical nephropathy are compared with those obtained in control subjects and in diabetics within the first 5 yr of disease. In the long-term diabetics the peripheral basement membrane thickness was doubled. On the average, mesangial regions occupied nearly 60% of the total tuft volume as compared with 33% in the early stages. A marked accumulation of basement membrane material in the mesangial regions had taken place so that 85% of the total basement membrane material of the tufts (i.e., peripheral basement membrane in the capillary walls plus mesangial basement membrane-like material) was localized within the mesangial regions. In the early stages equal amounts were found at these two different sites. The distribution of the lesions within the kidney is under investigation in a light microscopic study of autopsy material from long-term diabetics with varying degrees of glomerulopathy. The severity of the diabetic glomerulopathy was quantitated separately within the superficial and the deep cortical zones. The results showed that there was no tendency toward increased severity in the deep glomeruli. It can therefore be concluded that factors related to the structural and functional differences between these two subgroups of glomeruli do not play a dominant role in the development of diabetic glomerulopathy.


A new species of frogfish, Antennarius monodi sp. nov., is described from the Upper Miocene (Messinian) of Raz-el-Ain, near Oran, north-east Algeria. The type and only specimen of this taxon is the first articulated skeleton belonging to the family Antennariidae ever recorded as a fossil. The morphological and meristic characters observed support the inclusion of this species in the Antennarius ocellatus group, where it shares several features with the extant Antennarius senegalensis. Morphological features, sedimentary characters and faunal association concur to suggest that A. monodi sp. nov. possibly was a tropical, continental species that lived on muddy bottoms and turbid waters at depths less than 90–100 m. From a biogeographic point of view, the presence of an antennariid closely related to A. senegalensis in the Late Miocene of the Mediterranean suggests that this area had strong biotic relationships with the eastern tropical Atlantic at that time. The integrative analysis of phylogenetic interrelationships and fossil record of the entire order Lophiiformes reveals that all the lophiiform lineages were already in existence in the Eocene. Moreover, the existence of a derived species of the genus Antennarius in the Late Miocene at last fills a large gap that exists in the fossil record of the Teleostei, suggesting that the modern antennariid body plan originated well before that period.


The continuous-time random walk (CTRW) describes the single-particle dynamics as a series of jumps separated by random waiting times. This description is applied to analyze trajectories from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a supercooled polymer melt. Based on the algorithm presented by Helfferich et al. [Phys. Rev. E 89, 042603 (2014)], we detect jump events of the monomers. As a function of temperature and chain length, we examine key distributions of the CTRW: the jump-length distribution (JLD), the waiting-time distribution (WTD), and the persistence-time distribution (PTD), i.e., the distribution of waiting times for the first jump. For the equilibrium (polymer) liquid under consideration, we verify that the PTD is determined by the WTD. For the mean-square displacement (MSD) of a monomer, the results for the CTRW model are compared with the underlying MD data. The MD data exhibit two regimes of subdiffusive behavior, one for the early α process and another at later times due to chain connectivity. By contrast, the analytical solution of the CTRW yields diffusive behavior for the MSD at all times. Empirically, we can account for the effect of chain connectivity in Monte Carlo simulations of the CTRW. The results of these simulations are then in good agreement with the MD data in the connectivity-dominated regime, but not in the early α regime where they systematically underestimate the MSD from the MD.


Antibody-based therapeutic approaches are yielding more and more of the promise they have held since the conception of the 'magic bullet' theory by Paul Ehrlich. The beneficial effect of antibody-based therapies is directly related to antibody-dependent functions, such as neutralization and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, but in many cases also relies on the delivery of toxic compounds to cancerous cells. However, the clinical utility of toxic antibody conjugates can be significantly hampered by side effects. Ideal effector compounds are inactive 'en route', but gain full activity once the antibody conjugate has bound to cancerous cells. Of significant potential in this respect are the pro-apoptotic ligands Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF), fibroblast-associated cell-surface ligand (FasL) and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). TNF ligands are normally present as homotrimeric transmembrane proteins, but can also be processed into a soluble trimeric form. Compared to their corresponding transmembrane counterpart, soluble TNF, FasL and TRAIL have a strongly reduced capacity to activate TNF receptor 2, Fas and TRAIL receptor 2. However, all sequence information required for full activation of these receptors is latently retained in these soluble ligands and can be unmasked by oligomerization or cell surface immobilization. The latter provides a clear rationale for the use of these ligands as effectors in antibody-based therapy. The antibody-targeted ligand will be in a relatively inactive soluble form while en route. However, once bound to the targeted cancer cell the soluble TNF ligand fusion proteins will be converted into fully active membrane ligand-like molecules. Here we will, after briefly detailing the biology of TNF, TRAIL and FasL, focus on the promises and pitfalls of targeted TNF ligand fusion proteins in achieving a 'magic bullet' with maximum cancer selective activity and minimal side effects.


Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy using microresonator whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) is demonstrated. WGMs are excited around the circumference of a cylindrical cavity 125 mum in diameter using an adiabatically tapered fiber. The microresonator is very conveniently tuned by stretching, enabling the locking of an individual WGM to the laser. As the laser is scanned in frequency over an atmospheric trace-gas absorption line, changes in the fiber throughput are recorded. The experimental results of cavity-enhanced detection using such a microresonator are centimeter effective absorption pathlengths in a volume of only a few hundred microns cubed. The measured effective absorption pathlengths are in good agreement with theory.


OBJECTIVE: A new variant of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS) was reported, which had a substitution of glutamate to lysine at codon 219 (E219K) in addition to a P102L mutation on the same allele of the PrP gene. However, clinical features were not detailed and pathological studies were not done. Unusual clinical, neuroradiological, and pathological findings are reported for these patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: Clinical presentations of the patients in the same family were variable; progressive dementia with minimal ataxia in some patients but ataxia without dementia in others. PET studies with 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) disclosed a relative decrease of FDG uptake in bilateral temporoparietal cortices of a patient with dementia, but in the cerebellar cortices in a patient with ataxia. At necropsy, a patient with dementia had multicentric and diffuse plaques stained with PrP antiserum, but not with haematoxylin and eosin or Congo red, in the cerebral and cerebellar cortices. CONCLUSION: Neurological and neuropathological features in the patients were atypical of the classic form of GSS with P102L mutation. The absence of Congo red staining prion protein plaques is probably attributable to E219K polymorphism on the same allele of the PrP gene.


Reforming agricultural trade for developing countries is a two-volume set. The first volume is subtitled Key issues for a pro- development outcome of the Doha Round, and it is focused on specific concerns that are being encountered in the agricultural negotiations, and on strategies for dealing with them to arrive at a final agreement that will significantly spur growth and reduce poverty in developing countries. The companion volume is subtitled Quantifying the impact of multilateral trade reform. It comprises chapters that take different approaches to modeling trade reform and quantifying the resulting benefits and costs to various players in the negotiations. The study explains the differences in results that come out of these different approaches, and compares them to some other recent estimates of the gains from global trade reform.


Using data on 800,000 corporate publications and patent citations to these publications between 1980 and 2015, we study how corporate investment in research is linked to its use in the firm's inventions, and to spillovers to rivals. We find that private returns to corporate research depend on the balance between two opposing forces: the benefits from the use of science in own downstream inventions, and the costs of spillovers to rivals. Consistent with this, firms produce more research when it is used internally, but less research when it is used by rivals. As firms become more sensitive to rivals using their science, they are likely to reduce the share of research in R&D.


Currently, information on hypercoagulability can be achieved directly-through measuring the enzymatic forms of coagulation zymogens generated during coagulation ac- tivation-or indirectly-through measuring the activation peptides generated when zymogens are activated or the enzyme-inhibitor complexes formed by inhibition of the enzymes by their plasmatic inhibitors. On the basis of published results, markers of activated coagulation are considered useful for investigating mechanisms that regu- late hemostasis. They can also be used to better character- ize patients at increased thrombotic risk. However, they should be considered indices of hypercoagulability, not of the risk of thrombosis, until prospective studies can dem- onstrate that alterations of these markers can predict the occurrence of thrombosis. For diagnosing acute thrombo- sis, their usefulness is questionable; they are less effective than markers of fibrinolysis activation such as the D-dimer. Finally, their use to monitor anticoagulant treatment is still premature and needs investigation in well-designed clinical studies.


Like many in the industry, the authors believe passwords and simple bearer tokens, such as cookies, are no longer sufficient to keep users safe. Google employs a base level of sophisticated server-side technologies, such as SSL and risk analysis, to protect users with plain old passwords; however, it's also investing in client-side technologies, such as strong authentication with two-step verification using one-time passwords and public-key-based technology, for stronger user and device identification. It's championing various approaches to access delegation, both in its applications and with third parties, so that end user credentials aren't passed around insecurely.


Fracture in Composites - An Overview (Part I) An overview of the literature for the last twenty years on the fracture mechanics of unidirectional fibre reinforced polymer composites is presented. Pure mode (I, II, and III) as well as mixed mode longitudinal cracks (i.e., cracks that prolongate along the fibres) are considered mainly. It is shown that the strain energy released rate is the most widely used parameter for fracture toughness characterization. Various solutions for determination of the strain energy release rate in composites using linear-elastic fracture mechanics are presented. Studies on fracture in composite sandwich structures are reviewed, too. Some analyses of damages and their influence on fracture behaviour also are considered. Topical problems of composite fracture mechanics are formulated.


While there are several techniques for analyzing the impact of claims on time schedule and productivity,very few are considered adequate and comprehensive to consider risks and uncertainties.A generic approach for claims analysis using simulation is proposed. The formulation of the generic methodology presented in this paper depends on three simulation models;As-Planned Model (APM),As-Built Model (ABM), and What-Would-HaveBeenModel(WWHBM). The proposed generic methodology as presented in this paper provides a good basis as a more elaborate approach to better analyze claims and their impacts on project time and productivity utilizing discrete event simulation.The approach proposed allows for scenario analysis to account for the disputed events and workflow disruptions. The proposed models will assist claimants in presenting their cases effectively and professionally.


Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology that is changing the way of doing everything. Empirical studies focused on the technical aspect of this technology while studies related to the behavioural approach are limited. Among the empirical studies, there is no agreement on the predictors of IoT adoption by users. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to review and analyze the literature systematically to find the status of IoT adoption and the predictors that affect the adoption. To achieve this purpose, a systematic literature review is conducted to identify the related articles. Three filtering processes are deployed to refine the selected articles. This has resulted in reviewing 22 articles between 2016-2020. A frequency analysis was conducted. The findings of the 22 articles indicate that the number of articles pertaining to IoT is increasing with majority of the studies were conducted in Asian countries in smart devices, healthcare, consumers, and smart home IoT. The majority of the reviewed studies are quantitative with the technology acceptance model (TAM) is the dominant model. The important predictors of IoT adoption include ease of use, usefulness, perceived risk, social influence, privacy, attitude, security, compatibility, and trust. More qualitative and mixed-method studies are needed in IoT adoption, and more studies are needed in the adoption of IoT smart homes in developing countries


Pulmonary arterial hypertension has characteristic changes to the mechanical environment, extracellular matrix, and cellular proliferation. In order to develop a culture system to investigate extracellular matrix (ECM) compositional-dependent changes in pulmonary arterial hypertension, we decellularized and characterized protein and lipid profiles from healthy and Sugen-Chronic Hypoxia rat lungs. Significant changes in lipid profiles were observed in intact Sugen-Hypoxia lungs compared with healthy controls. Decellularized lung matrix retained lipids in measurable quantities in both healthy and Sugen-Chronic Hypoxia samples. Proteomics revealed significantly changed proteins associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension in the decellularized Sugen-Chronic Hypoxia lung ECM. We then investigated the potential role of healthy vs. Sugen-Chronic Hypoxia ECM with controlled substrate stiffness to determine if the ECM composition regulated endothelial cell morphology and phenotype. CD117+ rat lung endothelial cell clones were plated on the variable stiffness gels and cellular proliferation, morphology, and gene expression were quantified. Sugen-Chronic Hypoxia ECM on healthy stiffness gels produced significant changes in cellular gene expression levels of Bmp2, Col1α1, Col3α1 and Fn1. The signaling and cell morphology observed at low substrate stiffness suggests early changes to the ECM composition can initiate processes associated with disease progression. These data suggest that Sugen-Chronic Hypoxia ECM can be used to investigate cell-ECM interactions relevant to pulmonary arterial hypertension.


Two events conspired to force me to develop and then articulate a political or power perspective on nursing research. During my term as president of the American Nurses' Association (ANA) experience taught me that knowledge is the currency of politics--politics defined broadly as governance by the institution, by the profession, by the industry or by the Congress. Data describe. Data explain. Data persuade. And, where the mind is made up, data justify. The second event was the June 1988 meeting in Jerusalem of the Workshop of European Nurse Researchers (WERN) where I was invited to speak on The Power of Knowledge: The Knowledge of Power. This was the challenge to put into words what I had learned on this subject throughout a career as academician topped with a tour in professional politics. The result is a common sense approach to nursing research that I would like to present to the nursing community for further debate.


Objective Inability to understand speech in noise has been cited repeatedly as the principal complaint of hearing aid users. While data exist documenting the benefit provided by hearing aids with directional microphones when listening to speech in noise, little work has been done to develop a standard clinical protocol for fitting these hearing aids. Our goal was to evaluate a clinical measure of the acoustic directivity of a directional hearing aid, including its association with a test of speech perception in noise. Design The performance of two commercially available directional behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids was evaluated using the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) and the Real Ear Aided Response (REAR) on 24 adult participants with symmetric, mild to moderately severe, sensorineural hearing loss. The HINT was conducted with the speech signal presented from 0° and the noise from 180° and either 135° or 225° degrees, depending on the ear tested. REAR was measured at the above three angles using swept pure tones, and these measures were used to compute in situ directivity for each subject and hearing aid. Conclusions Directional benefit for the HINT was greatest when noise was presented from the azimuth of the published polar diagram null of a given hearing aid in its directional mode (180 or 135/225°). The only significant correlation between HINT and REAR results, however, was found when the noise source was at 180°. These results confirm the validity of using real ear measures as a way to assess directionality in situ, but also indicate the complexity of predicting perceptual benefit from them. These data suggest that factors beyond acoustic directionality may contribute to improvement in speech perception in noise when such improvements are found.


Abstract. A scheme is presented whose purpose is twofold: (1) to enable the automatic identification of an interplanetary magnetic cloud (MC) passing Earth from real-time measurements of solar wind magnetic field and plasma quantities or (2) for on-ground post-data collection MC identification ("detection" mode). In the real-time ("prediction") mode the scheme should be applicable to data from a spacecraft upstream of Earth, such as ACE, or to that of any near real-time field and plasma monitoring platform in the solar wind at/near 1AU. The initial identification of a candidate MC-complex is carried out by examining proton plasma beta, degree of small-scale smoothness of the magnetic field's directional change, duration of a candidate structure, thermal speed, and field strength. In a final stage, there is a test for large-scale B-field smoothness within the candidate regions that were identified in the first stage. The scheme was applied to WIND data over the period 1995 through mid-August of 2003 (i.e. over 8.6 years), in order to determine its effectiveness in identifying MC passages of any type (i.e. N S, S N, all S, all N, etc. types). (N S refers to the B component of the magnetic field going from north (+) to south (-) in GSE coordinates.) The distribution of these MC types for WIND is provided. The results of the scheme are compared to WIND MCs previously identified by visual inspection (called MFI MCs) with relatively good agreement, in the sense of capturing a large percentage of MFI MCs, but at the expense of finding a large percentage of "false positives". The scheme is shown to be able to find some previously ignored MCs among the false positives. It should be effective in helping to identify in real time most N S MCs for magnetic storm forecasting. The N S type of MC is expected to be most prevalent in solar cycle 24, which should start around 2007. The scheme is likely to be applicable to solar wind measurements taken well within 1 AU to well beyond it. Keywords. Interplanetary physics (Interplanetary magnetic fields; Solar wind plasma) – Magnetospheric physics (Solar wind-magnetosphere interactions)


to 27.2 ml. It is probable that the majority of the public are unaware of the existence of the standard medicinal teaspoon, and the number of homes in which they are to be found must be very small. Surely the time has come to abandon the use of these inaccurate so-called " domestic equivalents " and to advise patients to measure medicines exactly. If drugs were prescribed and dispensed on the metric system it would be quite simple for patients to measure the dose as 4, 5, 10, or 30 ml., etc. Even on the old system it would be better for medicines to be labelled in fluid drachms and ounces and for measures to be supplied.


Engineering faculty have many types of relations with their students. In class, they are primarily the facilitators of learning. Also, act as advisors guiding students through their years of education. In some cases, the relationship between the student and the professor evolves into a mentoring relationship -which is the topic of this paper. This paper takes a practical look at the challenges and rewards of experienced engineers and educators becoming mentors for students or young practicing engineers. The author recommends an approach to mentoring that is deep in self-evaluation, one that considers the intellectual, social, cultural, and professional development needs of students and young professionals, and the need for taking little steps-one person at a time-that may make a big difference in student's performance and attitudes towards learning. It is argued that such an approach to mentoring will help encourage more underrepresented groups, such as women and minorities, to pursue careers in engineering. The paper, also, describes some attributes of mentoring and suggests how a faculty member might become a good mentor to students.


SUMMARY Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) have been traditionally seen as proteins packaging RNA nonspecifically into ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), but evidence suggests specific cellular functions on discrete target pre-mRNAs. Here we report genome-wide analysis of alternative splicing patterns regulated by four Drosophila homologs of the mammalian hnRNP A/B family (hrp36, hrp38, hrp40, and hrp48). Analysis of the global RNA-binding distributions of each protein revealed both small and extensively bound regions on target transcripts. A significant subset of RNAs were bound and regulated by more than one hnRNP protein, revealing a combinatorial network of interactions. In vitro RNA-binding site selection experiments (SELEX) identified distinct binding motif specificities for each protein, which were overrepresented in their respective regulated and bound transcripts. These results indicate that individual heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins have specific affinities for overlapping , but distinct, populations of target pre-mRNAs controlling their patterns of RNA processing.


Background In treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), T2T (treat-to-Target) is the most reliable treatment strategy. Recent reports have indicated that reaching normal levels of bone mineral density (BMD) might be important for the prevention of fractures in osteoporosis treatment (reference 1 and 2).From this fact, there might be a possibility that T2T targeting BMD might be feasible also in osteoporosis treatment. In doing so, medicines with the ability to sufficiently increase BMD at a fast speed should be needed. Denosumab (DMAb) specifically inhibits the receptor activator for nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) improves BMD rapidly at lumbar or hip. Therefore, DMAb is one of candidate drugs for T2T practice, and it is very important to know risk factors that attenuate its effect in the treatment of osteoporosis. Objectives The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for inadequate response to the treatment of osteoporosis by DMAb. Methods Sixty-six patients treated with DMAb were observed retrospectively for one year. The mean age was 74 years, women were 91% and 36 patients with RA were included.We measured BMDs at lumbar and hip by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (Hologic Discovery) at baseline and one year later. We evaluated the effects of age, body mass index (BMI), use of glucocorticoide (GC), previous treatment for osteoporosis, BMD at baseline, bone metabolic markers (BAP; bone alkaline phosphatase, uNTx; urinary N-telopeptide), serum Ca and P levels and the previous vertebral fractures for inadequate response to DMAb.We defined the cases who could not gain the increase of BMD over 2% at the lumbar vertebrae and 4% at the hip as inadequate responders by taking the measurement error into account. Results Dose of PSL was significantly high in non-responder at non-RA trochanter and RA lumbar BMD (p=0.028, 0.006). BAP was higher in non-responder at RA lumbar BMD (p=0.007). Urinary NTX was significantly low in non-responder at non-RA lumbar and RA trochanter BMD (p=0.026, 0.048). Previous treatment for osteoporosis was significantly high in non-responder at non-RA lumbar, total hip and trochanter BMD (p=0.026, 0.022, 0.003).Multivariate logistic analysis including age, BMI, dose of PSL, BMD at baseline, BAP, uNTX, Ca and P level as confounders revealed that dose of PSL was the significant risk factors for no-response at lumbar BMD (OR0.634, 95% CI 0.433–0.93, p=0.02). Conclusions Patients receiving GC might not gain an adequate response to the treatment by DMAb for osteoporosis. Reducing dose of GC or altanative treatment regimen might be necessary. References Kuroda T. et al. J Clin Densitom 15: 392–8, 2012. Bauer D.C. et al. JAMA 174: 1126–34, 2014. Disclosure of Interest None declared


In the early twentieth century, Americans often waxed lyrical about "Mother Love", signaling a conception of motherhood as an all-encompassing identity, rooted in self-sacrifice and infused with social and political meaning. By the 1940s, the idealization of motherhood had waned, and the nation's mothers found themselves blamed for a host of societal and psychological ills. In "Mom", Rebecca Jo Plant traces this important shift by exploring the evolution of maternalist politics, changing perceptions of the mother-child bond, and the rise of new approaches to childbirth pain and suffering. Plant argues that the assault on sentimental motherhood came from numerous quarters. Male critics who railed against female moral authority, psychological experts who hoped to expand their influence, and women who strived to be more than wives and mothers - all for their own distinct reasons - sought to discredit the longstanding maternal ideal. By showing how motherhood ultimately came to be redefined as a more private and partial component of female identity, Plant illuminates a major reorientation in American civic, social, and familial life that still reverberates today.


Structural, magnetic and magneto-transport properties of thermally evaporated Fe/Cu multilayers (MLs) have been investigated. Although multilayered structure has been successfuly obtained, a substantial interfacial roughness ranging from 0.6 nm to 1.2 nm has been determined. All Fe/Cu MLs were polycrystalline with an average grain size of about 10 nm. Fe was bcc and textured (110) whereas Cu was fcc (111). Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that the fcc Cu layer was rather textured (110) and (100) at least in the first stage of growth of the Fe/Cu MLs. Conversion electron Mossbauer (CEMS) measurements indicated the existence of three phases. Two of them were magnetic with a dominant bcc Fe phase, followed by fcc Fe phase. The third phase was superparamagnetic. The CEMS results were explained in terms of the partial diffusion of Fe into Cu with three different zones. The small magnetoresistance (MR < 0.2%) was correlated to Fe clusters located at Fe-Cu interfaces.


The Penrose transform is an integral geometric method of interpreting elements of various analytic cohomology groups on open subsets of complex projective 3-space as solutions of linear differential equations on the Grassmannian of 2-planes in 4-space. The motivation for such a transform comes from interpreting this Grassmannian as the complexification of the conformal compactification of Minkowski space, the differential equations being the massless field equations of various helicities. This transform is a cornerstone of twistor theory [22, 24, 30], but the methods generalize considerably as will be explained in this article. Closely related is the Ward correspondence[28], a non-linear version of a special case of the Penrose transform. It also admits a rather more general treatment. The object of this article is to explain the general case and the natural connection between the Penrose and Ward approaches.


The hydroxyapatite/collagen (HAp/Col) nanocomposite membrane was prepared from the HAp/Col nanocomposite fibers. The HAp/Col membrane crosslinked by a vacuum heating showed 14±2 (dry) and 1.0±0.1 (wet) MPa in tensile strengths that were enough strength to operate in both cell culture and surgical operations. Histological observation and total DNA amount analysis demonstrated that human osteoblastic cells, MG63, derived from osteosarcoma on the HAp/Col membrane adhered and proliferated well as the same as those on tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS). Real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses indicated that alkaline phosphatase gene expression on the HAp/Col membrane was 1.4 times greater than that on TCPS. These results suggested that the HAp/Col nanocomposite membrane can be utilized in bone tissue engineering scaffold as well as bone filler.


Humanoid Robot Soccer is an implementation of technology in robotics area that has the ability to mimic human activity to play football. Kicking is one of many abilities that the robot must have to play football nicely. The ability to kick in a various kind of kick also needed to enhance it's performance in the match. This research was conducted on a 20 degree of freedom humanoid robot soccer named R-SCUAD. The robot was equipped with 20 Dynamixel servo motors as the actuator, an arbotix-pro as a sub-controller and an Odroid XU4 as the main controller. The method developed in this research was based on Darwin-op framework with an enhancement especially on the kick engine. Experiment results showed that there was a corellations between the distance that the ball travelled due to a kick with leg the swing speed of the kick, it can be inferred that a greater swing speed value will yields a greater distance of ball travel. With the leg swing speed of 50 rpm generate average distance 36.58 cm while with a speed of 300 rpm generate an average distance of 329.62 cm. Result also showed that the balancing system developed based on kick angle computation was able to maintain the robot stability up to 25 ° of kick angle.


Objective: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is applied for the imaging of the maxillofacial and dental structures, particularly for surgical treatments and dental implants. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of slice thickness on the accuracy of CBCT linear measurements. Methods: In this diagnostic accuracy study, forty-two titanium pins with the same dimensions were inserted into seven dry sheep mandibles. The length of the pins before the insertion was carefully measured by a digital caliper, (0.01mm accuracy). Imaging of the mandible performed using CBCT New Tom VGi. After image reconstruction by NNT Viewer, linear measurements were made on cross-sectional slices (thicknesses of 0.125, 0.5, 1 and 2mm) by three radiologists. The accuracy of measurements assessed using descriptive indices and compared between different slice thicknesses by repeated measures ANOVA.Results: Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference between different slice thicknesses (P=0.024). According to the least significant difference (LSD) test, the difference in absolute errors was significant in all thicknesses (P=0.024). Measurements at 0.125 mm thickness were significantly different from others, with a higher error rate (mean absolute error=0.17). Measurements at 0.5mm thickness showed a significant difference with those at 0.125 and 2mm (mean absolute error=0.15). Measurements at 2mm thickness were significantly different from those at 0.125 mm thickness (mean absolute error=0.13).The average error rate was lower in 2mm thickness and the measurements were more accurate.Conclusion: A statistically significant difference was seam between CBCT measurements and actual sizes in different slice thicknesses. The differences were below 1mm, and clinically acceptable.


The tricyclic antidepressant agents, particularly amitriptyline and dothiepin, are recognized for their potentially lethal cardiovascular and neurological effects in poisoned patients. In this article, the clinical and laboratory findings of 44 children with amitriptyline intoxication are reviewed. Our purpose was to investigate amitriptyline intoxication in childhood. Of 44 patients, 21 (47.7%) were boys, 23 (52.3%) were girls, and the ages ranged from 12 months to 14 years (mean9 / SD; 4.099 / 2.9 years). All children except one who took an overdose of amitriptyline to decrease his pain accidentally ingested an overdose of amitriptyline. The amount of amitriptyline ingested was between 2 mg/kg and 97.5 mg/kg (mean9 / SD; 13.69 / 17.7 mg/kg per dose) (the drug dosage was not known in 13 children). The most commonly observed clinical and laboratory findings were lethargy, tachycardia, convulsion, hyperglycemia and leukocytosis. In all patients except for two children who died the abnormal clinical and laboratory findings returned to normal within a few days after admission and they were discharged from the hospital in good health within the fourth day of admission. One of the children ingested 97.5 mg/kg amitriptyline and probably died due to status epilepticus and another child who died ingested 36 mg/ kg amitriptyline and died due to cardiopulmonary arrest. In conclusion, our findings showed that initial symptoms and signs of acute amitriptyline intoxication appeared severe, but they disappeared with only supportive care required in most children except for cases that ingested high doses of drug within a few days. In contrast to adults, we infrequently noted respiratory insufficiency, arrhythmia and hypotension in children with acute amitriptyline intoxication.


A larger cell uses a pilot pattern with a higher pilot density in a frequency axis direction to improve a channel estimation accuracy when a frequency selective fading variation is large. Meanwhile, a smaller cell uses a pilot pattern with a lower pilot density in the frequency axis direction. A pilot pattern that each base station uses is transmitted to a mobile station in a cell as a report signal.


This work aims to reduce the read power consumption as well as to enhance the stability of the SRAM cell during the read operation. A new 10-transisor cell is proposed with a new read scheme to minimize the power consumption within the memory core. It has separate read and write ports, thus cell read stability is significantly improved. A 16Kb SRAM macro operating at 1V supply voltage is demonstrated in 65 nm CMOS process. Its read power consumption is reduced to 24% of the conventional design. The new cell also has lower leakage current due to its special bit-line pre-charge scheme. As a result, it is suitable for low-power mobile applications where power supply is restricted by the battery.


A number of sequence-based analyses have been developed to identify protein segments, which are able to form membrane interactive amphiphilic alpha-helices. Earlier techniques attempted to detect the characteristic periodicity in hydrophobic amino acid residues shown by these structure and included the Molecular Hydrophobic Potential (MHP), which represents the hydrophobicity of amino acid residues as lines of isopotential around the alpha-helix and analyses based on Fourier transforms. These latter analyses compare the periodicity of hydrophobic residues in a putative alpha-helical sequence with that of a test mathematical function to provide a measure of amphiphilicity using either the Amphipathic Index or the Hydrophobic Moment. More recently, the introduction of computational procedures based on techniques such as hydropathy analysis, homology modelling, multiple sequence alignments and neural networks has led to the prediction of transmembrane alpha-helices with accuracies of the order of 95% and transmembrane protein topology with accuracies greater than 75%. Statistical approaches to transmembrane protein modeling such as hidden Markov models have increased these prediction levels to an even higher level. Here, we review a number of these predictive techniques and consider problems associated with their use in the prediction of structure / function relationships, using alpha-helices from G-coupled protein receptors, penicillin binding proteins, apolipoproteins, peptide hormones, lytic peptides and tilted peptides as examples.


The visitor to Newton Abbot cannot fail to be struck with the number of sand- and gravel-pits, some of great size, which are scattered about the neighbourhood, not only in the valleys, but high up the slopes of the hills, and in several instances on their summits. On giving some attention to the character and distribution of these deposits of sand and gravel, it will be found:—first, that two main divisions may be made in them, namely those of an evidently alluvial character, and those which occupy positions quite unconnected with the present systems of drainage; and, secondly, that these latter deposits are nevertheless confined to the Bovey Basin and bordering hills, not descending into any of the other lateral or outlying valleys. A reference to the geological maps of the country will not serve to throw much light on the correlation or identification of the beds when they are examined in detail. But since the days when De la Beche and Godwin-Austen recorded their observations, many new sections have been opened up. The rapid growth of Torquay and Newton Abbot has been attended by a call for sand, which is largely used in the preparation of "cobb," a kind of plaster, unfortunately necessary to envelop and keep the damp out of houses for the most part built of marble. The examination of these sections, together with those dug for the foundations of new villas on Woolborough Hill, has led me to differ from the opinions and eonclusi,ons which have


Definitive embryonic forms emerge during animal development as epithelial cell layers repeatedly fold and interact. Inductive influences of adjacent cells specify sites of folding in epithelia. The cellular properties that are altered by induction result in characteristic changes in cell form which accompany folding. The ubiquitous presence of microfilaments and microtubules in cells undergoing invagination has led to the belief that cytoskeletal elements are the causal agents for epithelial folding. Most of the research emphasizing the importance of cytoskeletal elements is based on the use of anticytoskeletal drugs and the premise that these drugs specifically disrupt the architecture of the cytoskeleton. Numerous experiments, however, have shown that these drugs do not exert their effects solely on the cytoskeleton. They also affect cell surface properties. The possibility that localized increases in cell surface adhesivity can orchestrate cellular form changes and subsequent folding movements has been repeatedly considered for theoretical reasons, but rarely tested in the laboratory. The recent finding that invagination or evagination of an epithelial monolayer can be induced following transposition of grafts between proximal and distal extremes of the moth pupal wing has provided new support for this idea. Adhesive properties of wing cells are graded along the proximo-distal axis of the wing, and the direction of induced epithelial folding is related to relative adhesiveness of graft and host cells. Graft invagination only occurs following a transfer of tissue from proximal extreme to distal extreme, whereas graft evagination only accompanies the reciprocal exchange of tissues. Emphasis on the role of cytoskeletal elements in governing the folding of epithelia should be tempered by an appreciation of the importance of cell adhesivity. The observed accumulation of cell surface molecules at sites destined to invaginate may contribute to increased adhesivity of the invaginating population of cells, and oriented microtubules and microfilaments may simply stabilize the cellular configurations assumed as cell surface properties drive changes in cellular form.


Trichodesmium spp. fix atmospheric N2 and so an element other than N limits produc- tion by these species in the oligotrophic ocean. Because dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) is in short supply in many marine systems, it has been hypothesized that P is a growth-limiting nutrient for these species in nature. However, Trichodesmium is capable of hydrolyzing dissolved organic P (DOP) compounds and the inorganic products from hydrolysis may provide an additional source of P for growth. We investigated P dynamics and alkaline phosphatase activity in cultures and natural populations of Trichodesmium from the Atlantic Ocean and the north coast of Australia to determine whether hydrolysis of DOP could supply enough P to fuel growth. During the Atlantic cruise, con- centrations of DIP were lower and chlorophyll (chl a)-specific rates of alkaline phosphatase activity by Trichodesmium were higher than during the Australian transect. However, because Tricho- desmium were much more abundant during the Australian transect, where they represented the bulk of the surface chl a biomass, total water column rates of alkaline phosphatase activity were higher along the Australian transect than in the Atlantic. In both systems, DOP could potentially supply a significant portion of the cellular P necessary for growth. In cultures and natural populations, alkaline phosphatase activity was inhibited when DIP was present and increased in the presence of DOP. Cul- tures of Trichodesmium IMS101 grew equally well on media enriched with DOP or DIP at all but the highest enrichment levels. From these studies, we conclude that if the supply of appropriate DOP substrates is adequate, DOP can represent an important P source for Trichodesmium growth which should be included in estimates of P availability in surface waters.


Purpose: A review of extant literatures shows that most mergers fail during the integration process. Little is known about how the realization of operating synergies and dissemination of available know-how in the merged firm are managed in the post-merger phase. We provide insights on the process of integrating operating synergies by focusing on the critical success factors that facilitate integration of the skills of merged banks.Design/methodology/approach: We draw on three research traditions in merger literature and reconcile them with three dimensions of integration. In-depth interviews were conducted with Nordea bank's managers from four Nordic countries.Findings: Having learned from the mistakes of previous mergers, Nordea's "guiding star" for managing its post-merger integration process was expressed as Focus, Speed and Performance from top management. Therefore, a hands-on leadership style, vision-led thinking, a bias for action, involvement of the entire staff, continuous focus on customers, and open and honest communication with employees are critical to success.Concluding remarks and implications: We conclude that the motive for a merger has an important impact on the degree of interaction and degree of integration. This study expands on previous findings by, among other things, synthesizing three theoretical lenses into an integrative model, and addresses post-merger issues with a sharp eye toward clear managerial relevance.Originality and value: We respond to the call to expand inter-firm relationships study beyond the narrow dyadic relationship focus and not solely conceptualize mergers as one of companies' entry modes to implement mechanistic growth strategy. The three dimensions of integration imbued with three research traditions in merger literature provides us with a conceptual lens to conceive mergers also as engines for change emerging from the merged firms to enhance a bespoke performance of their business process. Building on this premise in line with our research questions, the focal study broadens the analytical toolbox for radical and incremental change dichotomies identified in prior studies.


The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of inclusion of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and garlic (Allium sativum) in pig diets on apparent nutrient digestibility, pig performance, carcass characteristics and on sensory characteristics of the pork. Seventy individually-fed grower-finisher pigs (42 kg live weight) were offered one of the following diets ad-libitum: (1) control diet (based on wheat, pollard and soyabean meal), (2) control diet supplemented with rosemary at 1 g/kg (low rosemary; LR), (3) control diet supplemented with rosemary at 10 g/kg (high rosemary; HR), (4) control diet supplemented with garlic at 1 g/kg (low garlic; LG) and (5) control diet supplemented with garlic at 10 g/kg (high garlic; HG). Pigs offered diets with garlic had a lower feed intake (P < 0.01) and lower digestible energy intake (P < 0.05) compared to the pigs offered the control or rosemary diets during the grower-finisher period. Pigs offered the LG and HG diets had a better (P < 0.05) food conversion ratio (FCR) than the pigs offered the control or rosemary diets. Digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were lower (P < 0.05) for the HG diet than the LG diet. Gross energy digestibility and digestible energy concentration were lower for the HR than the LR diet. Sensory panellists found a significant difference (P < 0.001) in the sensory properties of cooked muscle from the control and HG treatments. In conclusion, the addition of garlic to the diets of grower-finisher pigs reduced feed intake and improved FCR while the addition of rosemary had no beneficial effects on growth performance or carcass characteristics.