Cavitation may develop on upward-launched submerged objects approaching sea surface with high speed. In this work, the cavitation shedding and collapse during the water-exit of an axisymmetric projectile is investigated using large eddy simulation (LES). High resolution is guaranteed by carefully fulfilling the requisites of y+<1, Δx+<100, and Δz+<40 to resolve at least 80% of the turbulent kinetic energy. The result indicates that the cavity in growth is always undeveloped as the ambient hydrostatic pressure keeps decreasing. The cavity is pushed by the water surface to shed downward and keep shrinking until its final collapse. The vapor inside cavity during the water-exit process is separated by a layer of water so as not to mix with the air. The front of the re-entrant jet barely catches up with the moving wall, and the cavity is pinched off by the joint effect of the jet front and water surface. It is also found that the angle of attack (AOA) generates inversely inclined liquid-vapor contact lines of the cavity leading edge and cavity closure. The advancing contact lines finally intersect on the pressure side to make the cavity break off, which can cause noticeable pressure impulse on the break-off spot. The pressure feature of the water-exit cavitation evolution is studied with intensively arranged monitor points on the wall, which can sense pressure peaks when the liquid-vapor contact lines sweep over them. The instantaneous high pressure induced by cavitation collapse is resolved.


was again there, and there were attacks of abdominal colic. X-ray examination of the abdomen showed a dilated coil of small bowel, and a barium enema showed normal filling of the colon with no barium entering the ileum. A diagnosis of recurrent small bowel intussusception was made, and laparotomy undertaken. Second operation. Under general anaesthesia the abdomen was opened through the previous wound. Distended coils of ileum presented themselves in the wound, and a 20-cm. long ileo-ileal intussusception was found, with collapsed ileum distal to it. The origin of this intussusception was proximal to the previous one, and it was easily reduced. After an uneventful post-operative course the child was discharged on May 5, 1953.


This paper discusses the design and the implementation of the LU factorization routines included in the Heterogeneous ScaLAPACK library, which is built on top of ScaLAPACK. These routines are used in the factorization and solution of a dense system of linear equations. They are implemented using optimized PBLAS, BLACS and BLAS libraries for heterogeneous computational clusters. We present the details of the implementation as well as performance results on a heterogeneous computing cluster.


This dissertation consists of three essays studying two aspects of the interactions between agriculture and the environment: agricultural technology adoption and its environmental impacts (in the first essay), and weather shocks and their impacts on rural households in developing countries (in the second and third essays). The first essay proposes a multimarket equilibrium approach to estimating the consumer surplus for environmentally-friendly technologies adopted by farmers. Compared to conventional non-market valuation techniques based on single-market equilibrium, this new method allows for farmers' price feedback effects on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for those technologies. Results from an application indicate that consumers are willing to pay a premium for environmentally-friendly technologies adopted by farmers, and that the multimarket equilibrium WTP is smaller in magnitude than its single-market equilibrium counterpart. In the second essay, I develop a unitary agricultural household model to examine the impacts of rainfall variability on migration, off-farm employment and transfers in rural Ethiopia. Empirical results show that the share of out-migrated household members and per capita off-farm labor supply decrease with average rainfall in the main growing iii seasons, and increase with the standard deviation of average rainfall in the five main growing seasons prior to the survey. The level and standard deviation of rainfall are found to have indeterminate effects on the amount of transfers that households receive from the extended family or informal social safety nets. The third essay evaluates the effectiveness of different diversification strategies in smoothing consumption. Results suggest that adverse rainfall shock (below average rainfall) and temperature shock (above average extreme heat degree days) both negatively impact consumption. Receiving public transfers is effective in smoothing consumption against adverse rainfall shock, and participating in off-farm employment is effective against adverse temperature shock. Sending migrants to urban areas and receiving transfers from former household members or informal social safety nets are not effective against any


In the further course of pregnancy the heart was anteponed with the stomach posterior on the right side, and intestinal loops in the posterodorsal mediastinum, LHR was 53% in 26+5 SSW, fetal liver was intraabdominal at all times. In the third trimester a significant polyhydramnion developed which was treated with amniotic drainage in 35+3 weeks of pregnancy due to maternal symptoms. Delivery was performed as a secondary Caesarean in 37+1 weeks. On the 2nd day surgery was performed and revealed a large central diaphragmatic defect with an intrathoracic position of the stomach and a severe brachyesophagus (approx. 4 cm). Parts of the duodenum and pancreas were found in the mediastinum. There was no spleen. The duodenum could be repositioned. Stomach and pancreas could not be relocated intraabdominally in first surgery. An MRI-scan of the spine was performed on the 6th day and showed a spinal cord compression through atlas and axis with narrowing of the spinal canal to 5 mm. A laminectomy and decompression of the cervical myelon was performed neurosurgically on the 17th day. In patients with congenital intrathoracic stomach a ''serpentine-like syndrome'' should be considered as differential diagnosis and appropriate examinations should be performed. In our case the atypical intraoperative findings and the literature search were the key to the diagnosis of this very rare disease. Thus, the cervical anatomy could be detected early and further complications could be avoided.


Three presynaptic neurons, monosynaptically connected to the medial cells of the pleural ganglion of Aplysia californica and previously shown to elicit cAMP-mediated diminutions in K conductance in those cells (Kehoe, 1985a, b), were shown to elicit still another slow synaptic current that resembles the cAMP-induced cationic current described in the preceding paper (Kehoe, 1990). The synaptic current elicited by these so-called "blocking" neurons was compared, in hyperpolarized medial cells, with the current induced by an intracellular injection of cAMP. It was found that (1) both currents show an outward rectification, (2) both currents are enhanced and prolonged by phosphodiesterase inhibitors (as well as by intracellular acidification of the postsynaptic neuron and by bath-applied caffeine), and (3) both currents react in the same way to changes in (Ca)0, showing a net enhancement when (Ca)0 is reduced and, conversely, a marked diminution when extracellular (Ca)0 is increased. The increase in amplitude of the slow synaptic current in low-Ca solutions and its decrease in high-Ca seawater are contrary to the changes that would be expected from the known effects of Ca on transmitter release at chemical synapses, revealing the overriding importance of the postsynaptic block by Ca. The data presented here strongly suggest that both the slow inward current and the diminutions in K conductance induced by the firing of the 3 blocking neurons are mediated by cAMP. Like the 2 cAMP-mediated diminutions in K conductance (Kehoe, 1985a, b), the cAMP-activated slow inward current, because of its atypical voltage dependence, both depolarizes the medial cell and causes an increase in its input resistance at resting potential. Consequently, the synaptically activated increase in cAMP prolongs the excitability of the medial cells for up to tens of seconds after the end of presynaptic firing.


the earlier suggestion by Freeman and Turner' that maculotoxin and tetrodotoxin were probably identical and the observationthat maculotoxin has a molecular weight of less than 540 (tetrodotoxin has a molecular weight of 319). The only point we would like to raise is the matter of toxicity losses associated with their purification procedure. Their final yield' from 250 octopuses was I· 8 mg of tetrodotoxin which they stated. was 0·006% of the total whole gland weight, that is, it came from 30 g of posterior salivary glands. Our studies" established that the intravenous certain lethal dose of maculotoxin was less than 0·05 mg of extracted whole gland in 20 g mice and that the average weight of the paired venom glands in mature specimens' was 650 mg. This suggests that the glands used by Sheumack et alii may have been from immature specimens (average weight 120 mg per pair). By our estimations we would expect 30 g of glandular tissue to contain at least 600000 certain lethal doses (intravenous in mice). Thus the final yield of I .8 mg of tetrodotoxin represents less than 2· I/~ of the total toxicity extractable from the venom glands. This enormous fall in toxicity probably may have occurred during the initial extraction, as the authors went on to recover 47/~ of the activity present after the second extraction step. We believe this very low harvest of toxin should be emphasized. In purifying toxins it is very important to monitor the total toxicity recovered with each step otherwise a minor component may be recovered and falsely considered to be the main toxin. S. K. SUTHERLAND, A. J. BROAD. Commonwealth Serum Laboratories. 45 Poplar Road, Parkville, Vic. 3052.


A novel method for evaluating the benefits of a potential brand association is presented. The uniqueness of the method is considering brand association as just another product attribute, subject to the usual analysis used to determine the attributes desired by consumers in a new product. The method was illustrated using automobile tires as the product, and designation of the tire as the "Official" tire of NASCAR as the brand association. A set of tire profiles was created, describing hypothetical tires as combinations of levels of five attributes. Subjects ranked these profiles for preference, and this preference was decomposed through conjoint analysis to yield part‐worths for each attribute level for each subject. Association with NASCAR had an average impact of 14.8 percent on consumer preference, comparable with that of speed rating (13.8 percent), and not much below that of brand (20.5 percent). Rudimentary market simulation suggested that associating the underdog tire brand with NASCAR would result in dramatically improved market share. Evaluating potential brand associations by their simulated effects on market share may be a useful managerial tool.


In this paper we present a new approach for marker less human motion capture from conventional camera feeds. The aim of our study is to recover 3D positions of key points of the body that can serve for gait analysis. Our approach is based on foreground extraction, an articulated body model and particle filters. In order to be generic and simple, no restrictive dynamic modeling was used. A new modified particle-filtering algorithm was introduced. It is used efficiently to search the model configurations space. This new algorithm, which we call Interval Particle Filtering, reorganizes the configurations search space in an optimal deterministic way and proved to be efficient in tracking natural human movement. Results for human motion capture from a single camera are presented and compared to results obtained from a marker based system. The system proved to be able to track motion successfully even in partial occlusions and even outdoors.


An accumulating body of evidence suggests that the activity of the mineralocorticoid, aldosterone, in the brain via the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure. MR was recently found in vasopressin and oxytocin synthesising magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) in both the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei in the hypothalamus. Considering the physiological effects of these hormones, MR in these neurones may be an important site mediating the action of aldosterone in blood pressure regulation within the brain. However, aldosterone activation of MR in the hypothalamus remains controversial as a result of the high binding affinity of glucocorticoids to MR at substantially higher concentrations compared to aldosterone. In aldosterone‐sensitive epithelia, the enzyme 11β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β‐HSD2) prevents glucocorticoids from binding to MR by converting glucocorticoids into inactive metabolites. The present study aimed to determine whether 11β‐HSD2, which increases aldosterone selectivity, is expressed in MNCs. Specific 11β‐HSD2 immunoreactivity was found in the cytoplasm of the MNCs in both the SON and PVN. In addition, double‐fluorescence confocal microscopy demonstrated that MR‐immunoreactivity and 11β‐HSD2‐in situ hybridised products are colocalised in MNCs. Lastly, single‐cell reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction detected MR and 11β‐HSD2 mRNAs from cDNA libraries derived from single identified MNCs. These findings strongly suggest that MNCs in the SON and PVN are aldosterone‐sensitive neurones.


The purpose of this article is to examine factors associated with belief that AIDS is a form of genocide and trust in federal government reports on AIDS in a cross-sectional sample of 1,054 black church members. Reports in both the professional literature and mass media have documented fears that AIDS is a form of genocide unleashed on black Americans, and distrust of reports on AIDS.Results from this study demonstrate that a substantial number of participants believe that belief in genocide is not accounted for by levels of AIDS knowledge. Belief in genocide may be a modern urban legend that need not be a barrier for AIDS education. Implications for development of AIDS education sensitive to the cultural context of African Americans are described.


Environmental protection efforts have been made by the people, especially those still governed by customary law. Customary law serves to regulate society in all aspects of life, including the relationship between humans and between humans and the environment. The customary law also serves to regulate the use and the management of the environment efficiently for the purpose of preventing environmental damages and maintaining sustainability for the future. The communities which still have strong customary law will tend to preserve the environment and limit usages that cause damage to the environment. Cases of environmental damage that occurred today is very worrying. The formal law created is not sufficient to control it, so customary law is needed as an alternative to complementing the lack of formal law in order to effectively prevent the environmental damage. This research is aimed to determine the best way to protect the environment using customary aspect as the instrument. The method used in this paper is SWOT analysis that determines the strategies of the customary law in environment protection. The selection of the strategy was determined by the score and the weight of the pre-defined components. The results showed that the customary law, which has its own legal logic with aspects of local knowledge developed in the community for a long time as it relates to the values inherent culture and spiritualism, has a chance to be implemented in protecting environment. Customary law can be instrumental in preventing and protecting the environmental damage because the goal is to create harmony with nature.


The 3D4AMB project aims at developing a system based on the stereoscopic 3D techonlogy like the NVIDIA 3D Vision, for the diagnosis and treatment of amblyopia in young children. It exploits the active shutter technology to provide binocular vision, i.e. to show different images to the amblyotic (or lazy) and the normal eye. It would allow easy diagnosis of amblyopia and its treatment by means of interactive games or other entertainment activities. It should not suffer from the compliance problems of the classical treatment, it is suitable to domestic use, and it could at least partially substitute occlusion or patching of the normal eye.


This research is focused on two main problems. First, what are the
strategies used by the translator in translating the English personal pronouns from
Beauty and the Beast (BB) into Si Cantik dan Pangeran Buruk Rupa (CPBR).
Second, this research wants to know about how the strategies influence the
translation quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability.
Based on the problems above, there are two purposes intended to be
achieved. The research aims to figure out what kind of strategies used by the
translator in translating the personal pronouns. Besides, it also aims to see the
effect of the strategies used towards the translation quality in terms of accuracy
and acceptability.
Descriptive qualitative method is employed within this research. The data
come from all English personal pronouns of BB and the Indonesian version in
CPBR. In analysing, the content analysis and questionnaires are used. In content
analysis is employed to figure out the strategies while the questionnaires are used
to measure the Translation Quality Assessment (TQA).
From the analysis, some findings are gained. There are 154 data of English
personal pronouns which are translated into 129 Indonesian personal pronouns.
These 154 data are classified into 16 types of English personal pronouns; the 129
Indonesian are classified into 23 types.
There are five (5) strategies employed by the translator. The strategies are:
first, translating the personal pronouns literally: 39 data (25.32%) are translated
into free morpheme and 23 data (14.93%) are translated into enclitics. The second
strategy is translating by structural adjustment: 37 data (24.02%) are translated
into same function word and 11 data (7.14%) are translated into different function
word. The third strategy is translating into proper name: 15 data (9.74%). Fourth,
translating by deletion and addition: 25 (16.23%) are translated by deletion while
one datum (0.65%) is translated by addition. The last strategy is translating into
Noun, Demonstrative Reference and into Noun + Demonstrative Reference. There
is one datum (0.65%) which is translated into Noun, one datum (0.65%) which is
translated into Demonstrative Reference and 2 data (1.29%) which are translated
into Noun + Demonstrative Reference. There are some problems related to the strategies used which affect the
TQA. In terms of accuracy, there are 8 data (33. 33%) deleted. Meanwhile, the
literal translation strategy also brings problem on clarity in 37.5% (9 data) and
problem on choice of words on 29.17% (7 data). These problems cause the mean
point on accuracy is 1.33. In acceptability, deletion is found as a problem on 3 data (14.29%). Literal
translation causes two problems on acceptability: problem on clarity (21. 81%) or
5 data) and problem on addressing parents (6 data or 28.57%). These problems
make the acceptability mean point reaches 1.09. In translating, there are various strategies employed by the translator. Yet,
there are two strategies commonly used in translating, they are literal translation
strategy and structural adjustment. In term of the quality of translation, a translator
should attention on the deletion and choice of words for both may affect the
quality.
One of the significances may be taken from this research is that personal
pronoun may be used as a means in teaching others, especially children, to respect
other persons.


The present study investigated the analgesic and hepatoprotective activities of a water extract of Ononis spinosa L. (OS) in mice. Analgesic activity was based on the pain thresholds measured with the tail‐flick test before administration at 30, 90 and 150 min. The results were analysed with one‐way variance analysis. The extract of Ononis spinosa showed analgesic activity equivalent to aspirin at 30 and 90 min and even higher than aspirin with the 50 mg/kg dose. At a dose of 100 mg/kg OS showed an analgesic effect equivalent to aspirin at all time points.


The systematic analysis of protein-protein interactions is a fundamental step for understanding of cellular organization, processes and functions. Recent high-throughput experiments have produced an enormous amount of protein-protein interaction data. However, the analysis of protein-protein interactions has a limitation in effectiveness because of the unreliability of the interaction data. In this paper, we apply semantic similarity measures to quantifying the reliability of protein-protein interactions. We also propose a novel metric, which is called semantic interactivity, to measure the interaction reliability by the integration of gene ontology annotations. We evaluate the measurements by comparing the interaction reliability between proteins to their functional co-occurrence. The results show that the interaction reliability measured by semantic interactivity has a positive correlation with the functional association between the interacting proteins. Finally, we demonstrate that the semantic interactivity measure can accurately detect potential false positive interactions.


Laser beam of high energy density, melting of the workpiece material welded together, can make the heating affected area and change shape minimum, without the use of flux or for dissimilar materials, particularly strong bonding strength. Laser welding is a high energy of the laser beam as heat source a high precision welding. However, the safe application of new technology is the challenge we face. Laser can damage the eyes, skin, respiratory, central nervous and the whole body. It is generally skin safety standards. View of the laser welding process currently used, the possibility of respiratory hazards in the growth of workers with chronic exposure to hazards by the possibility of laser is growing, so the above five aspects of laser hazards should pay attention.


With recent advances in asteroseismology it is now possible to peer into the cores of red giants, potentially providing a way to study processes such as nuclear burning and mixing through their imprint as sharp structural variations—glitches—in the stellar cores. Here we show how such core glitches can affect the oscillations we observe in red giants. We derive an analytical expression describing the expected frequency pattern in the presence of a glitch. This formulation also accounts for the coupling between acoustic and gravity waves. From an extensive set of canonical stellar models we find glitch-induced variation in the period spacing and inertia of non-radial modes during several phases of red giant evolution. Significant changes are seen in the appearance of mode amplitude and frequency patterns in asteroseismic diagrams such as the power spectrum and the échelle diagram. Interestingly, along the red giant branch glitch-induced variation occurs only at the luminosity bump, potentially providing a direct seismic indicator of stars in that particular evolution stage. Similarly, we find the variation at only certain post-helium-ignition evolution stages, namely, in the early phases of helium core burning and at the beginning of helium shell burning, signifying the asymptotic giant branch bump. Based on our results, we note that assuming stars to be glitch-free, while they are not, can result in an incorrect estimate of the period spacing. We further note that including diffusion and mixing beyond classical Schwarzschild could affect the characteristics of the glitches, potentially providing a way to study these physical processes.


Maternal and nonmaternal reciprocal effects were compared with nuclear genetic and carryover effects using a diallel mating amongst eight Eucalyptus globulus Labill. wild parents from northeastern and southern Tasmania races. Seed mass exhibited a significant maternal effect, increasing seed germinative capacity but not germination rate. After accounting for variation in seed mass, both germinative capacity and germination rate exhibited significant reciprocal effects, but these were non maternal in origin. Rapid germination and large seeds resulted in significantly larger seedlings in the nursery, but these carryover effects diminished with age. In contrast, the expression of genetic effects increased with age. Significant additive genetic variation was detected for growth by age 3 years and significant reciprocal differences were detected at the race level after 2 years in field trials. If common, such reciprocal effects could bias genetic parameters and impact on the choice of cross-direction in deployment programs. Failure to account for carryover effects in genetic analyses may inflate estimates of genetic variation for growth during early stages of the life cycle.


Taxonomic information and life-history observations are given for Pyrgauchenia treehoppers (Auchenorrhyncha: Membracidae) in South-East Asia. Specimens from field studies in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah are identified as: P. biuni Stegmann & Webb sp. nov., P. pendleburyi Stegmann & Webb sp. nov., P. tristaniopsis Stegmann & Webb sp. nov., P. ?brevinota Funkhouser and P. colorata Distant. Two nominal species, P. angulata Funkhouser and P. brunnea Funkhouser, are placed as junior synonyms of P. colorata Distant syn. nov. Descriptions and detailed figures of the new species and P. colorata are given, together with type data and some morphological details for P. breddini, P. jugulata Buckton, P. kinabalense Breddin, P. wallacei Breddin, P. fulmeki Schmidt, P. foersteri Breddin and P. recurva Funkhouser. Pyrgauchenia nymphs (P. tristaniopsis) are described for the first time and an unusual morphological variant in adult females of the same species is described. The first study of the male and female genitalia of South-East Asian Centrotinae has revealed considerable similarity among the Pyrgauchenia species studied. Characters found in these structures and in the abdomen of the nymph, which may be useful at a higher level of classification, are discussed. A key and list of all Pyrgauchenia species is given, together with their distribution and life-history data (where known). The record of P. pendleburyi in Peninsular Malaysia is the first of this genus from mainland South-East Asia. Life-history observations, together with published records, demonstrate maternal egg-guarding, and a potential for polyphagy and for specificity in mutualistic ant partners.


For being convenient for researching the dynamic characteristic and the improvement and use of small shaper, for improving the dynamic technical performance, the three-dimensional solid model of working mechanism was established with ADAMS. Each part of the model in ADAMS was set up. Simulation analysis on the working process of working mechanism was achieved. The structure optimization parameters of working mechanism were obtained. The result proves that the lengths of crank and rocker are almost no impact on the fluctuation range of ram speed. The location of revolute joint between rocker and frame has less impact on the return speed and acceleration of ram. The location of revolute joint between crank and slider impacts greater on the fluctuation range of ram speed.


: The intent of this paper has been to present the notion that the public's demands for accountability present health professionals with unprecedented opportunities. Good health is the bedrock upon which social progress, personal attainment, and individual happiness are built. If health professionals are personally accountable and if they work cooperatively, they can transform the energy now expended in lamenting about crises of confidence, crises of control, and crises of performance into positive action directed toward improving the nation's health. Their rewards will indeed be great.


We investigate possible factors of change in employment between 1998 and 2003 in 220 companies from four industries of Polish manufacturing (food, electronics, automotive and pharmaceuticals), that were subject to an enterprise survey. We also seek to explain the differences in performance among companies. We find that firms that were more competitive and more innovative laid off relatively less workers. Ownership status and history seem to be relevant factors too, as companies that were started as private businesses slightly increased employment, while the state-owned enterprises experienced proportionally the largest employment cuts; as for privatized companies, those taken over earlier performed better in terms of employment than those privatized later. However, econometric analysis of premia of early privatization and foreign ownership showed that only the latter factor played a significantly positive role for companies' revenues, productivity, profitability and the level of wages.


Piezoelectric FETs (PeFETs) are a promising class of ferroelectric devices that use the piezoelectric effect to modulate strain in the channel. They present several desirable properties for on-chip memory, such as non-volatility, high-density, and low-power write capability. In this work, we present the first effort to design and evaluate cache architectures using PeFETs. Two key goals in cache design are to maximize capacity and minimize latency. Accordingly, we consider two different variants of PeFET bit-cells - a high-density variant (HD-PeFET) that does not use a separate access transistor, and a high-performance 1T-1PeFET variant (HP-PeFET) that sacrifices density for lower access latency. We note that at the application level, there exists significant heterogeneity in the sensitivity of applications to cache capacity and latency. To enable a better tradeoff between these conflicting design goals, we propose a hybrid PeFET cache comprising of both HP-PeFET and HD-PeFET regions at the granularity of cache ways. We make the key observation that frequently reused blocks residing in the HD-PeFET region are detrimental to overall cache performance due to the higher access latency. Hence, we also propose a cache management policy to identify and migrate these blocks from the HD-PeFET region to the HP-PeFET region at runtime. We develop models of HD-PeFET and HP-PeFET caches using the CACTI framework and evaluate their benefits across a suite of PARSEC and SPLASH-2X benchmarks. We demonstrate 1.11x and 4.55x average improvements in performance and energy, respectively, using the proposed hybrid PeFET last-level cache against a baseline with traditional SRAM cache at iso-area.


Technology has been a mandatory subject in Swedish compulsory school the last 30 years. The last 18 years it has been a subject of its own, with specific syllabus and grading of the students. Nevertheless, the schools did not really get hold on how to teach the subject. Moreover, there are very few of the teachers with training in Technology. Most of the teachers giving Technology in the later years of compulsory school are traditional Science teachers and in earlier years they are not even trained in Science.Municipalities have found that girls are not stimulated by the Technology subject. This is seen in gender-sensitive statistics of the transition from compulsory school to the upper secondary school. As a result, some municipalities offer 14-year old girls a voluntary summer school between 8th and 9th grade. The summer school is a cooperation between the municipality and the nearest university. Examples of activities in the summer school project are Geomatics, GPS measurements, CAD construction, Graphic design, Automatic control, Image processing, Energy conversion, and Electronics.In this presentation, the summer school of a Swedish small-sized town was selected. The activity has been followed during 6 years between 2005 and 2010. Statistics of how the participants have chosen upper-secondary school education was gathered for each year, compared to the statistics for all girls of the same age in this municipality. The results vary between years for different educational programs in upper secondary school, but the general trend is that the participants of the summer school are more inclined to select a technical (theoretical or practical) or Science education (theoretical) than the other girls in the same age group.


During the 'long summer of migration' (Kasparek and Speer, 2015) a set of collective practices of solidarity with refugees in many European cities became (gradually) coined in public discourse as a 'culture of welcome'. This article focuses on the volunteers in Germany who created structures out of the first spontaneous practices by building so-called welcome initiatives. Based on empirical research about these initiatives in Germany we share our first reflections about the attitudes toward migration policies, right-wing protests and the notion of integration held by these volunteers in order to illustrate what they think of the society of migration and its potential chances and conflicts.


Two analogues of nitrilotris(methylene-phosphonic acid) (NTMP), namely L1 = N-(methylene-2-pyridine)-N,N,-di-(methylenephosphonate) and L2 = N-(methylene-1H-benzimidazol)-N,N,-di-(methylenephosphonate) in which one of the phosphonic arms was replaced by a heterocyclic moiety, pyridine and benzimidazole, were studied in terms of coordination chemistry towards transition (Cu2+, Ni2+, Zn2+) and alkaline-earth metal ions (Ca2+ and Mg2+) by means of potentiometry, UV-vis spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The cytotoxicity of the ligands as well as their Zn2+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ complexes was tested against various cell lines (human melanoma A375 and human colon adenocarcinoma HT29) revealing a selective antitumor effect in vivo. Both of the ligands exhibit a potent inhibitory effect on tumor cell migration and experimental metastasis. Potentiometric and ESI-MS measurements have shown the existence of monomeric species only, without the presence of biscomplexes or polynuclear species. The conditional stability constants (log Kc) of the Zn2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ complexes were determined independently by two methods for both of the studied ligands and are a first example of comprehensive potentiometry/ITC studies made for phosphonic acid complexation. No significant differentiation in coordination models for the studied set of metal ions was noticed; however, as expected due to the different metal ion natures, the complexes revealed dissimilar thermodynamic stability and behavior, depending on the metal ion and pH used. The possible structures of the complexes formed are discussed on the basis of spectroscopic and spectrometric results.


THE BATTLE OF DEER CREEK CROSSING:A Case Study of Rhetorical Exigence and Environmental RhetoricMichael John Bannon, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh, 2006 This dissertation is a case study that analyzes rhetorical tactics and strategies surrounding the environmental public argument over the fate of Deer Creek Crossing, a proposed commercial development in Western Pennsylvania's Allegheny River valley within three miles of the birthplace of pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson. Drawing predominantly from primary sources, it contributes to our understanding of how lengthy rhetorical processes evolve and what influences them. The study shows that the analysis of context as manifested in the rhetorical situation and analyzed through a rhetorical history framework can clarify both singular events and prolonged argumentative processes by uncovering aspects of those events and processes which may be less apparent in a more narrowly focused study of individual rhetorical artifacts. The opening chapter provides necessary background and lays out the theoretical foundation supporting the analysis of the Deer Creek Crossing controversy. Chapter two analyzes the use and misuse of public forums, including the press, in governmental decision-making associated with the Deer Creek Crossing case. Chapter three investigates the adaptation of arguments and changes in tone in response to exigencies and constraints arising from the denial of the first permit application. Chapter four reconstructs the rhetorical decision-making process that led to the deployment of Rachel Carson's name, analyzes the argumentation arising in opposition, and examines the fight for scientific authority. Chapter five evaluates the decision-making processes of regulatory agencies charged with approving environmental permits, as well as the intricate and highly structured legal processes that dominated courtrooms, in which the last and most decisive actions were undertaken. Chapter six explores the implications of the Deer Creek Crossing case for environmental rhetoric and for the effect of particular strategies and tactics on environmental public argument from the perspective of environmental activists, of developers, and for rhetorical scholarship.


The role and influence of the natural resources abundance on economic growth is considered as a puzzle in the economy. In order to investigate this issue, quality of governance role and the diffusion of information and communication technology as a facilitator of good governance settling have been considered and due to studying topic data for 31 oil-rich countries (proxy for natural resources index), from 1980 to 2015, and dynamic common correlated effects method is used. The results of the study show that the role of natural resources in economic growth depends on the quality of governance in countries. Natural resources in high-quality governance nations have become an important and essential factor for economic growth, but in countries with poor governance, natural resources have deterred economic growth. It means natural resources abundance causes economic activities boosts while there is good governance, and with low quality of governance, natural resources abundance will slow down economic growth. Also, according to the results, it could be said that diffusion of ICT causes resource abundance to improve economic growth in the group of countries that the level of information and communication technology is low. This is because of market transparency, increase public awareness through access to more information and more government accountability towards people.


Packet-switched networks using the Internet Protocol (IP) provide multimedia services through broadband wireless access to mobile and fixed subscribers from an IP core network via bi-directional paths consisting of a hierarchy of high-speed routers, switches, and servers. Packets are aggregated at the nodes that form the ordered links of end- to-end paths between subscriber and gateway. Network resources are allocated at nodes to meet quality of service (QoS) requirements of new and existing calls. If sufficient resources are not available to satisfy a call's QoS, the call is blocked or dropped, reducing network uptime or availability. Packet flows are shared among redundant devices, clustered at nodes, to reduce blocking and dropping and speed failure recovery. A two-stage genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to assign resources to feasible paths to provide calls the best possible resource utilization, availability, and QoS levels, while balancing traffic among devices at nodes. The GA operates on a population of integer-valued vectors of call ID, QoS requirements, and end-to-end paths encoded as node-device pairs. Selection, crossover, and mutation are defined for the GA. At call arrivals and departures, the GA limits the number of candidate paths based on their fitness to provide QoS, path availability, resource utilization, and load balance. Simulation results are discussed for different scenarios.


In a cultural context, the First World War has come to occupy an unusual existential point halfway between history and art. Modris Eksteins has described it as being "more a matter of art than of history;" Samuel Hynes calls it "a gap in history;" Paul Fussell has exclaimed "Oh what a literary war!" and placed it outside of the bounds of conventional history. The primary artistic mode through which the war continues to be encountered and remembered is that of literature—and yet the war is also a fact of history, an event, a happening. Because of this complex and often confounding mixture of history and literature, the joint roles of historiography and literary scholarship in understanding both the war and the literature it occasioned demand to be acknowledged. Novels, poems, and memoirs may be understood as engagements with and accounts of history as much as they may be understood as literary artifacts; the war and its culture have in turn generated an idiosyncratic poetics. It has conventionally been argued that the dawn of the war's modern literary scholarship and historiography can be traced back to the late 1960s and early 1970s—a period which the cultural historian Jay Winter has described as the "Vietnam Generation" of scholarship. This period was marked by an emphatic turn away from the records of cultural elites and towards an oral history preserved and delivered by those who fought the war "on the ground," so to speak. Adrian Gregory has affirmed this period's status as the originating point for the war's modern historiography, while James Campbell similarly has placed the origins of the war's literary scholarship around the same time. I argue instead that this "turn" to the oral and the subaltern is in fact somewhat overstated, and that the fully recognizable origins of what we would consider a "modern" approach to the war can be found being developed both during the war and in its aftermath. Authors writing on the home front developed an effective language of "war writing" that then inspired the reaction of the "War Books Boom" of 1922-1939, and this boom in turn provided the tropes and concerns that have so animated modern scholarship. Through it all, from 1914 to the current era, there has been a consistent recognition of both the literariness of the war's history and the historiographical quality of its literature; this has helped shape an unbroken line of scholarship—and of literary production—from the war's earliest days to the present day.


Soil is a mixture of organic nutrients, which provides nutrients for plant growth. Plants require N, P & K for their growth and vegetative propagation. Among vital nutrients, Phosphorus is less available to plants and microorganisms aid in phosphate solubilization. The present study is an ecofriendly method to induce phosphate solubilization in Rhizosphere soil. Totally 25 isolates were isolated from rhizosphere using Pikovskaya mediumand screened for phosphate solubilization using Tricalcium phosphate supplemented minimal medium.Of these, Aspergillus sp and Penicillium sp were found to produce remarkable solubilization index. Hence these two isolates were used for further assays. Enzyme assay was carried out to determine the enzyme activity using cell free extractsand the activity was analyzed by spectrophotometry.In addition, HPLC also performed to determine the end products of phosphate solubilization.The results of HPLC studies revealed that tricalcium phosphate was solubilized into organic acids like citric acid, gluconic acid and malic acid. The results of present study are an evidence for the production of organic acids by Aspergillus sp and phosphate solubilization which induce crop improvement as well as sustainable agriculture.


This study was conducted to examine antimicrobial resistances, plasmid profiles, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of 80 Salmonella Typhimurium (including var. Copenhagen) DT104 strains (including DT104a and DT104b) recovered from pig and environmental fecal samples on 17 swine farms in Ontario. No resistance was observed to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, apramycin, carbadox, cephalothin, ceftriaxone, ceftiofur, cefoxitin, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, trimethoprim, and tobramycin. However, the isolates exhibited resistance against 4 to 10 antimicrobials with the most frequent resistance being to sulfonamides (Su), ampicillin (A), streptomycin (S), spectinomycin (Sp), chloramphenicol (C), tetracycline (T), and florfenicol (F). Thirteen distinct resistance patterns were determined but 88% of isolates shared the typical resistance pattern "ACSpSSuT." Twelve different plasmid profiles were observed; the 62 MDa virulence-associated plasmid was detected in 95% of the isolates. The 2.1 MDa plasmid was the second most frequent one, which was harbored by 65% isolates. The isolates were classified into 23 distinct genotypes by PFGE-SpeI + BlnI when difference in at least one fragment was defined as a distinct genotype. In total, 39 distinct "types" were observed when defining a "type" based on the combination of antimicrobial resistance, plasmid pattern, and PFGE-SpeI + BlnI for each isolate. The highest diversity was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.92, 0.96) for the "type" described above followed by 0.92 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.93) for PFGE-SpeI + BlnI. The diversity of DT104 isolates indicates there might be multiple sources for this microorganism on swine farms. This knowledge might be used to track these sources, as well as to study the extent of human salmonellosis attributed to pork compared to food products derived from other food-producing animals.


A new test was applied to study the function of polymorphonuclear neutrophils according to their ability to form oreols in a hypertonic medium. During inhibition of neutrophil function in vivo (desympathetization, tumor growth), oreol formation increased. Stimulation of neutrophils in vitro by adding noradrenaline to the incubation medium led to a decrease in their oreol-forming ability. The data obtained enabled the authors to offer the test for detecting the functional activity of polynuclear cells.


Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is an emerging technology for the 3D visualization of structural organizations and interactions of subcellular components at near-native state and sub-molecular resolution. Tomograms captured by cryo-ET contain heterogeneous structures representing the complex and dynamic subcellular environment. Since the structures are not purified or fluorescently labeled, the spatial organization and interaction between both the known and unknown structures can be studied in their native environment. The rapid advances of cryo-ET have generated abundant 3D cellular imaging data. However, the systematic localization, identification, segmentation, and structural recovery of the subcellular components have been very difficult due to the structural complexity and imaging limits. For example, the native macromolecular structures are very diverse. They can be inside a very crowded molecular environment. The tomograms are often of low signal-to-noise ratio and have missing values. Therefore, advanced efficient and accurate large-scale image analysis methods are needed for analyzing such tomogram data.


Changes are observed in the renal kallikrein-kinin system in hypertensive disease, which are displayed by compensatory increase in its activity in patients with labile hypertension and decrease in the activity of this system in patients with a stable stage of the disease. An inadequate reaction to a load experienced from walking or from a reduced volume of extracellular fluid and sodium balance in the body was noted in all stages. The absence of a reaction or the inhibition of the activity of the renal kallikrein-kinin system in response to the intake of furosemid may be a manifestation of its altered sensitivity to the electrolyte shifts in the organism and the decrease in the volume of extracellular fluid. The kallikrein-kinin system is concerned with the noted shifts in renal function linked with the transport of sodium and water in patients with the labile stage of the disease, to which the correlative connection between kallikrein excretion and natriuresis and urine excretion attests. It is suggested that the renal kallikrein-kinin system in patients with the initial stage of hypertensive disease contributes to the adaptation of renal function to the altered conditions of hemodynamics and the increased activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.


Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy is used to characterize intermediate species of hydrogenation reactions on the surface of platinum nanoparticle catalysts. In contrast to other spectroscopy techniques which operate in ultra-high vacuum or probe surface species after reaction, SFG collects information under normal conditions as the reaction is taking place. Several systems have been studied previously using SFG on single crystals, notably alkene hydrogenation on Pt(111). In this thesis, many aspects of SFG experiments on colloidal nanoparticles are explored for the first time. To address spectral interference by the capping agent (PVP), three procedures are proposed: UV cleaning, H2 induced disordering and calcination (core-shell nanoparticles). UV cleaning and calcination physically destroy organic capping while disordering reduces SFG signal through a reversible structural change by PVP.Disordering is a dynamic and powerful way to perform SFG experiments on colloidal nanoparticles. Simply adding H2 (a reactant) to Pt-PVP reduces signal of PVP by >90%, making it possible to resolve intermediates. The selection rules of SFG indicate intensity may be reduced by a decrease in concentration or an increase in disorder. As H2 dissociates on Pt, the bond between PVP and Pt is weakened and PVP is able to rearrange into an unstructured geometry. Disordering makes size-controlled SFG studies possible for the first time because with PVP left intact, the nanoparticles are much less likely to aggregate. As evidence that a chemisorbed reaction intermediate is can be monitored, cyclohexene hydrogenation is performed. When PVP is disordered and the particles are solvent-cleaned, the distinct C-H stretch of adsorbed 1,4-cyclohexadiene (1,4-CHD) appears at 2765 cm-1. In addition, the mechanism of hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene (1,3-BD) at 75 °C is characterized using the disordering procedure. For larger Pt-PVP nanoparticles (4.6-6.7 nm), one major pathway is preferred (2-buten-1-yl). However, using smaller nanoparticles (0.9-1.8 nm), two major pathways exist (1-buten-4-yl and 2-buten-1-yl) and coincide with preference for full hydrogenation.Growth in the aliphatic stretch range following H2 dosing shows UV treatment is not able to produce naked nanoparticles. Although outer layers removed quickly, persistent C fragments remain near the Pt surface. The properties of residual fragments of PVP following UV treatment are very mystifying. PVP is known to block active sites on Pt and reduce turnover frequency for ethylene hydrogenation. (After three hours of UV treatment, ethylene hydrogenation increases tenfold.) However, it is shown that for methanol oxidation, residual fragments become impermeable and actually reduce the turnover rate. Under oxidation conditions, the regular capped Pt-PVP nanoparticles are more active than the same particles following PVP removal with UV treatment. As further evidence of this effect, cyclohexene hydrogenation is performed with different level of H2. Residual fragments are permeable with H2 and the 1,4-CHD intermediate appears in the SFG spectrum. However, once H2 is removed, chemisorbed 1,4-CHD completely disappears in favor of molecular (physisorbed) cyclohexene (not bonded to Pt). Even for a strongly bound dehydrogenated intermediate like 1,4-CHD, access to Pt is only possible with H2. Under varying amounts of UV treatment (PVP removal), the mechanism of cyclohexene hydrogenation varies widely among 1,4-CHD, 1,3-cyclohexadiene and pi-allyl. Removing PVP does not simply open equivalent sites but shifts the reaction mechanism in this case.Using Stober encapsulation, a variety of PVP-capped catalysts can be coated in a thin porous SiO2 shell (5-10 nm) and used for in situ characterization. Surrounding the catalyst with SiO2 allows PVP to be thoroughly removed without compromising morphology. It is shown that alloying Pt with Sn (with SiO2 shell) allows a new reaction mechanism of CO oxidation to take place which is not limited by surface O2 concentration (as on pure Pt). In addition, 1,3-BD hydrogenation on 4 nm Pt@SiO2, Pd@SiO2 and Rh@SiO2 is studied with SFG. Previous work shows Pd makes only partially hydrogenated products while Pt makes all products. SFG and kinetic experiments indicate multiple pathways (1-butene-4-yl, butan-1,3-diyl and 2-buten-1-yl) are possible on Pt@SiO2 while only one (2-buten-1-yl) is favored on Pd@SiO2. This work is the first SFG reaction selectivity study on core-shell nanoparticles. Using catalysts inside SiO2 shells in dense 2-D films, it may become possible to assess industrial 3-D catalysts at a molecular level.


We present an accurate analytical expression to compute power and delay of domino CMOS circuits from a detailed description of internal capacitor switching and discharging currents. The expression obtained accounts for the main effects in complex sub-micron gates like velocity saturation effects, body effect, device sizes and coupling capacitors. The energy-delay product is also evaluated and analyzed. Results are compared to HSPICE simulations (level 50) for a 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS technology.


The main objectives of the present study are to develop/manufacture SiC reinforced aluminium matrix composite (SiCp/AMC) with different reinforcement combinations using stir casting method and investigate the effects of heat treatment on wear performance. AMCs were prepared using 20 vol% SiC with three different reinforcement combinations into aluminum matrix. Stir casting is a primary process of composite production whereby the reinforcement ingredient material is incorporated into the molten metal by stirring. The reinforcement combination consists of 20% (single particle size), 7% and 13% (double particle size) and 5%, 5% and 10% (triple particle size). The triple particle size (TPS) composite consist of SiC of three different sizes viz., coarse, intermediate and fine. The solution heat treatment was carried out on cast specimens at 540 0C for four hours followed by precipitation treatment. The wear test was carried out using a pin-ondisc type tribo-test machine under dry sliding condition. The wear morphology of the damaged surface was also studied using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) in this investigation.


This paper deals with the problem of efficiency in warranty management programs, where efficiency is understood as provisioning an effective product warranty service to the lowest cost. For that purpose, this paper first defines the concept of warranty and its interaction with other disciplines. It introduces all the necessary stages that should be included within a framework for warranty management. This brief introduction will help the reader to place the work presented in this paper within a context of tools and methods already developed in the literature for similar areas management. Later on, an analysis on risk and cost is presented applying these methodologies to the development of a warranty program. We show how generic tools developed for project management can now be adapted, in a very useful way, to organize and control the technical assistances to customers during the warranty period. Finally, conclusions of the work are presented, where the main concepts of the paper are summarized and further potential research is suggested.


Purpose. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' flipped learning readiness and their learning engagement, critical thinking, and autonomy.
Methods. The participants comprised 520 EFL learners studying at various language institutes in the context of Iran. They were chosen according to convenience sampling. In this study, four instruments were used: flipped learning readiness questionnaire, learner autonomy scale, critical thinking inventory, and learning engagement questionnaire. To analyze the relationships among the variables, Pearson's correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling (SEM) was run.
Results. The results revealed that flipped learning readiness correlated positively and significantly with three variables: learning engagement, critical thinking, and autonomy. In addition, based on the results, flipped learning is a positive significant predictor of critical thinking, learning engagement, and autonomy. Moreover, engagement is positively predicted by both critical thinking and autonomy. Finally, the results and their implications in the context of language learning were discussed.


Abstract. With advances in computing and sensor technologies, onboard systems can deal with a large amount of data and achieve real-time process continuously and accurately. In order to further enhance the performance of positioning, high definition map (HD map) is one of the game changers for future autonomous driving. Instead of directly using Inertial Navigation System and Global Navigation Satellite System (INS/GNSS) navigation solutions to conduct the Direct Geo-referencing (DG) and acquiring 3D mapping information, Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) relies heavily on environmental features to derive the position and attitude as well as conducting the mapping at the same time. In this research, the new structure is proposed to integrate the INS/GNSS into LiDAR Odometry and Mapping (LOAM) algorithm and enhance the mapping performance. The first contribution is using the INS/GNSS to provide the short-term relative position information for the mapping process when the LiDAR odometry process is failed. The checking process is built to detect the divergence of LiDAR odometry process based on the residual from correspondences of features and innovation sequence of INS/GNSS. More importantly, by integrating with INS/GNSS, the whole global map is located in the standard global coordinate system (WGS84) which can be shared and employed easily and seamlessly. In this research, the designed land vehicle platform includes commercial INS/GNSS integrated product as a reference, relatively low-cost and lower grade INS system and Velodyne LiDAR with 16 laser channels, respectively. The field test is conducted from outdoor to the indoor underground parking lot and the final solution using the proposed method has a significant improvement as well as building a more accurate and reliable map for future use.


INTRODUCTION: Coronal leakage seems to play an important role in the failure of endodontic treatment. A double seal over root canal filling has been suggested as a means of improving the coronal seal. Several restorative materials have been used in an attempt to produce a coronal barrier. The purpose of this study was to assess gray-coloured mineral trioxide aggregate (GMTA), white-coloured mineral trioxide aggregate MTA (WMTA), and Principle (a resin-modified glass ionomer) as coronal barriers to bacterial leakage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one human anterior teeth were cleaned and obturated with gutta-percha and sealer. In group 1, teeth received a 3 mm barrier of GMTA. In groups 2 and 3, samples received WMTA and Principle, respectively. Obturated teeth without barrier were used as positive control and obturated teeth covered with epoxy resin were used as negative control. A leakage model utilizing Enterococcus faecalis used for the evaluation. Leakage was recorded when turbidity was observed. RESULTS: All controls behaved as expected. Three samples in group 1, three samples in group 2, and four samples leaked in group 3. There was no statistically significant difference in leakage between GMTA and WMTA or between GMTA and Principle. CONCLUSION: It seems that GMTA, WMTA and Principle can be recommended as a coronal barrier for up to 90 days.


The controlled target extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation generated by serine protease and regulated by serine protease inhibitor and ovarian paracrine/autocrine factors is an event that affects a wide variety of physiological and pathological processes in the ovary. Evidence cumulated in the past decade clearly showed that the hormone-induced coordinated expression of the tissue-type PA (tPA) produced mainly by granulosa cells and oocyte, and its inhibitor PAI-1 secreted by theca cells in the preovulatory follicles may be responsible for a controlled and directed proteolysis leading to the rupture of selected follicles in the rat, monkey and other mammals. In recent years increasing evidence further demonstrated that oocyte maturation and ovulation may also be modulated by other serine protease and inhibitor, as well as endogenously- produced ovarian paracrine/autocrine factors. Thus, it is important to identify the interrelationship between the serine protease system and the multiple factors, and to know how they regulate the ovarian physiological and pathological processes during oocyte maturation and ovulation.


At the last term of the circuit court of Wood County, W. Va., was tried a suit for damages for malpractice in the treatment of a patient suffering from an ovarian cyst, which case attracted much attention in our medical and legal circles, as well as in our community. The plaintiff was the husband of the deceased patient, bringing suit as administrator in behalf of her estate for benefit of her children. The defendants were Drs. T. A. Harris and W. C. Keever of Parkersburg and A. T. Keever of Belleville, Wood County, W. Va. The surgical history of the case is as follows: Mrs. T., living eight miles from Belleville and twenty-five from Parkersburg, was a patient of Dr. Deem, a physician practicing in that neighborhood. She had an ovarian cyst, which Dr. Deem had tapped twice; the last time was about January 1. Her condition became worse. At


In order to enhance the applications of SCR devices for deep-submicron CMOS technology, a novel SCR design with "initial-on" function is proposed to achieve the lowest trigger voltage and the highest turn-on efficiency of SCR device for effective on-chip ESD protection. Without using the special native device (NMOS with almost zero or even negative threshold voltage) or any process modification, this initial-on SCR design is implemented by PMOS-triggered SCR device, which can be realized in general CMOS processes. This initial-on SCR design has a high enough holding voltage to avoid latchup issues in a VDD operation voltage of 2.5 V. The new proposed initial-on ESD protection design with PMOS-triggered SCR device has been successfully verified in a fully-silicided 0.25-mum CMOS process


OF DISSERTATION CHINA'S MUSICAL REVOLUTION: FROM BEIJING OPERA TO YANGBANXI This study seeks to investigate the modern derivative of Beijing opera, known as yangbanxi, through macro and micro approaches. The first part of the thesis surveys the development of Beijing opera under the historical context and in its social, political, and cultural perspectives. The second part, taking a microscopic perspective, undertakes an in-depth analysis of the compositions that were solely created by composer Yu Huiyong. First, it assays the application of Yu's theory to his compositions of various Beijing opera arias. Second, it analyzes Yu's instrumental music in compositional dimensions such as material, structure, and techniques, considering the larger implications of Yu's approach. Third, it explores the highly acclaimed opera Azalea Mountain as a case study, integrating compositional analysis and sociopolitical perspective in order to give a relatively full picture of Yu's final work as sole composer. The analysis also focuses on three aspects of the yangbanxi. The first aspect is the role of composers, in which Yu Huiyong was largely responsible for shaping the musical language and influencing the direction of Beijing opera. The second aspect is the role of politics, focusing on Jiang Qing, who had a clear vision to transform Beijing opera along revolutionary lines and the artistic and political wherewithal to implement that transformation. The third aspect is the role of culture in shaping society, with an emphasis on yangbanxi, as the artistic centerpiece of the Cultural Revolution, and special consideration is given to its role in creating a new mass culture. Beijing opera, as a living art form, had been undergoing a process of modernization throughout the first half of the twentieth century, but it was Yu Huiyong who clearly articulated what needed to be done to make the traditional art form relevant to modern audiences. In particular, the most significant achievement of yangbanxi was its music development, which achieved a new height in artistic development thanks to Yu Huiyong's fully constructed music theory and newly established music and performance system. As the main composer, designer, theorist, and organizer of yangbanxi, Yu Huiyong made the greatest contribution to these developments. His academic research laid the theoretical framework of the further development of opera music, and his handson practice and music innovation provided valuable experience for the younger generation.


Abstract Background Major international guidelines state that norepinephrine should be used as the first-line vasopressor to achieve adequate blood pressure in patients with hypotension or shock. However, recent observational studies report that in the United Kingdom and Australia, metaraminol is often used as second line medication for cardiovascular support. Aim of the study The aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review of metaraminol use for management of shock in critically unwell patients and carry out a survey evaluating whether UK critical care units use metaraminol and under which circumstances. Methods A systematic review literature search was conducted. A short telephone survey consisting of 6 questions regarding metaraminol use was conducted across 30 UK critical care units which included a mix of tertiary and district general intensive care units. Results Twenty-six of thirty contacted centres responded to our survey. Metaraminol was used in 88% of them in various settings and circumstances (emergency department, theatres, medical emergencies on medical wards), with 67% reporting use of metaraminol infusions in the critical care setting. The systematic literature review revealed several case reports and only two studies conducted in the last 20 years investigating the effect of metaraminol as a stand-alone vasopressor. Both studies focused on different aspects of metaraminol use and the data was incomparable, hence we decided not to perform a meta-analysis. Conclusions Metaraminol is widely used as a vasopressor inside and outside of the critical care setting in the UK despite limited evidence supporting its safety and efficacy for treating shock. Further service evaluation, observational studies and prospective randomised controlled trials are warranted to validate the role and safety profile of metaraminol in the treatment of the critically unwell patient.


Objective: To describe the first case of infantile Pompe disease to be treated in Brazil. Description: Pompe disease is a glycogen storage disease related to defects in the acid alpha-glucosidase enzyme, leading to an intracellular accumulation of glycogen, mainly in muscles. Two forms are described: infantile and juvenile. Since 2006, treatment with recombinant human acid alpha-glucosidase has been available. This article describes the first case of infantile Pompe disease treated in Brazil. A girl presented at 2.5 months of age with rapid disease progression, exhibiting severe hypotonia, loss of movements in both upper and lower limbs and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, progressing to respiratory failure by the age of 7 months. After 10 months of treatment, she exhibited a good clinical response, with remission of the respiratory failure, partial recovery of arm and leg movements and improvement of cardiologic condition. Comments: Despite its low incidence, infantile Pompe disease is lethal. The availability of an effective treatment has created an urgent need to improve knowledge and early diagnosis of this disease.


This paper presents an exfiltration attack that targets systems with tight security measures; no connectivity and no ability to mount external devices. Our approach utilizes a mobile camera or a screen recorder to capture video while hexdump'ing a file using pre-installed utilities found in most operating systems. The captured video is analyzed at the attacker side using optical character recognition engines and the recognized letters are used to reconstruct the files. Our approach provides a 100% reconstruction rate given that console fonts can be perfectly recognized by OCR engines. We measure the exfiltration speed of our attack and show that we achieve up to 410 KBps when capturing video via mobile phones. We propose a set of defenses that can negate the attack while maintaining usability of the console.


Auroraand Ipll-like midbody-associated protein \IM-li is a serine/ threonine kinase that is structurally related to Drosopliila aurora and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ipil, both of which are required for chromo some segregation. A kinase-negative form of AIM-1 inhibits the formation of cleavage furrow without affecting nuclear division, indicating that the gene controls entry into cytokinesis during M phase in mammalian cells. A human gene that encodes the protein AIM-1 was overexpressed in coloréela!and other tumor cell lines. The regulation of AIM-1 expression was cell cycle dependent in normal and tumor cells, and the maximum accumulation was observed at G2-M. Exogenous overexpression of wildtype AIM-1 produced multinuclearity in human cells, suggesting that the excess amount of AIM-1 had a dominant-negative effect on the overexpressing cells. In long-term culture of AIM-1-overexpressing cells, multi ple nuclei in a cell were occasionally fused, and then an increased ploidy and aneuploidy were induced. Thus, the overexpression of AIM-1 in colorectal tumor cell lines is thought to have a causal relationship with multinuclearity and increased ploidy. Cytokinesis error caused by AIM-1 overexpression is a major factor in the predisposition of tumor cells to the perturbation of chromosomal integrity that is commonly observed in human neoplasia. Thus, defects of pathways essential for mitotic regula tion are important during human cancer development.


In present work, two combined wind turbine (WT) and wave energy converter (WEC) systems have been concerned. One is a fixed-bottom system, referred as "MWWC" (monopile-WT-WEC combination); the other is a floating system, referred as "TWWC" (TLP-WT-WEC-combination). Comparative study of the hydrodynamic responses of the two combined systems has been done by numerical simulations in the time domain. Hydrodynamic loads of the supporting structures and the WEC are calculated by the AQWA code, which is available for modeling multi-body systems including both mechanical and hydrodynamic couplings between the supporting tower and the WEC floater. Firstly, the effect of different power-take-off (PTO) parameters, wave periods and the displacements of the WEC on the performance of the WEC's wave energy production of the two combined systems under typical wave cases has been investigate, and preliminary optimal values for the PTO damping stiffness of the two combined systems have been obtained and compared; secondly, the effect of the horizontal contact force between the supporting tower and the additional WEC floater of the two combined systems have been further investigated, which is important for both the fatigue and extreme loads design of the supporting tower. Finally, a new strategy for MWWC system by adding horizontal PTO dampers between the supporting tower and the WEC floater has been proposed and investigated, which is helpful for both reducing the horizontal contact force and using the relative horizontal motion to produce power.


Multicarrier direct sequence-code division multiple access (MC DS-CDMA) is a novel radio access scheme that combines time domain spreading and multicarrier modulation. However, MC DS-CDMA systems suffer strongly from the interference among users, which is called as multiple access interference. This interference depends mainly on the correlation properties of the spreading sequences as well as the shape of the chip waveforms employed. In this paper, bit error rate (BER) performance analysis of the generalized MC DS-CDMA system that employs Blackman chip waveform over Nakagami-m fading channels is realized. Simulation results show that the use of Blackman chip waveform can improve the BER performance of the generalized MC DS-CDMA system, as compared to the performances achieved by using different chip waveforms such as rectangular, half-sine and raised cosine.


The purpose of this guide is to serve as a introductory guide to the Holocaust for undergraduate students studying World History.


Hereditary multiple exostoses (EXT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by multiple bony outgrowths from the juxtaepiphyseal region of long bones. In a small proportion of cases, these exostoses progress to malignant chondrosarcomas. Genetic linkage of this disorder has been described to three independent loci on chromosomes 8q24.1 (EXT1), 11p11-13 (EXT2), and 19p (EXT-3). The EXT1 and EXT2 genes were isolated recently and show extensive sequence homology to each other. These genes are deleted in exostoses-derived tumors, supporting the hypothesis that they encode tumor suppressors. We have identified a third gene that shows striking sequence similarity to both EXT1 and EXT2 at the nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels, and have derived its entire coding sequence. Although the mRNA transcribed from this gene is similar in size to that from EXT1 and EXT2, its pattern of expression is quite different. We have localized this gene by fluorescence in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes and by whole genome radiation hybrid mapping to chromosome 1p36.1 between DIS458 and DIS511, region that frequently shows loss of heterozygosity in a variety of tumor types. This gene, EXTL (for EXT-like), is therefore a new member of the EXT gene family and is a potential candidate for several disease phenotypes.


Purpose. The aims of this work were: (i) to profile and compare pelvic and cervical microbiota from patients with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID); (ii) to test the ascending infection hypothesis that the microbes in the vagina or cervix spread to the upper genital tract and cause PID. Methodology. Thirty‐eight PID patients and 19 control patients were enrolled in this study and received salpingectomy or salpingo‐oophorectomy. Both pelvic and cervical samples were collected during surgery, which were subject to culture diagnosis and next‐generation sequencing (NGS)‐based 16S rRNA profiling. Results. For the PID group, the NGS‐based method revealed that half of the pelvic samples were dominated by a single organism while the other half exhibited a polymicrobial infection. The pelvic and cervical microbiota were similar in terms of both taxonomic richness and evenness. Pelvic microbiota was dominated by Acinetobacter, Escherichia, Sneathia and Streptococcus whereas cervical microbiota was dominated by Lactobacillus and Gardnerella. Only six pelvic samples were positive by culture diagnosis, three of which matched the NGS‐based results. The PID group was further divided into 23 hydrosalpinx and 15 pyosalpinx samples according to the pelvic mass collected during surgery, the former showing a richer bacterial composition than the latter. Conclusion. The NGS‐based method provides a more informative profile of pelvic microbiota than the culture method. The pelvic and cervical microbiota from the same patient were inconsistent with each other, and thus therapeutic decisions based on cervical microbiota may lead to antimicrobial misuse.


Resonant in situ photoemission from Mn 3d states in Ga1-xMnxAs is reported for Mn concentrations down to the very dilute level of 0.1%. Concentration-dependent spectral features are analyzed on the basis of first-principles calculations for systems with selected impurity positions as well as for random alloys. Effects of direct Mn-Mn interaction are found for concentrations as low as 2.5%, and are ascribed to statistical (nonuniform) distribution of Mn atoms.


Global portfolio management faces two critical decisions: portfolio selection and currency exposure. A growing number of pension funds have employed currency overlay programs to manage currency risk, but in our survey and interviews, only on closed-end country fund has adopted the currency overlay strategy and was converted to an open-end mutual fund. This article finds that funds invested in Europe are more likely to hedge currency risk, while Latin American funds and country funds invested in South Africa and the Middle East do not use currency hedging. This may be attributed to costly but limited choices of derivative instruments for hedging currency risk in emerging markets. For hedged funds, the most popular of the currency hedging instruments is the forward contract. The findings indicate that the performance of closed-end country and international equity funds, on average, is affected by risk, discount/premium, and currency hedging.


Rationale: Seizure clusters may be related to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). Two or more generalized convulsive seizures (GCS) were captured during video electroencephalography in 7/11 (64%) patients with monitored SUDEP in the MORTEMUS study. It follows that seizure clusters may be associated with epilepsy severity and possibly with SUDEP risk. We aimed to determine if electroclinical seizure features worsen from seizure to seizure within a cluster and possible associations between GCS clusters, markers of seizure severity, and SUDEP risk. Methods: Patients were consecutive, prospectively consented participants with drug-resistant epilepsy from a multi-center study. Seizure clusters were defined as two or more GCS in a 24-h period during the recording of prolonged video-electroencephalography in the Epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). We measured heart rate variability (HRV), pulse oximetry, plethysmography, postictal generalized electroencephalographic suppression (PGES), and electroencephalography (EEG) recovery duration. A linear mixed effects model was used to study the difference between the first and subsequent seizures, with a level of significance set at p < 0.05. Results: We identified 112 GCS clusters in 105 patients with 285 seizures. GCS lasted on average 48.7 ± 19 s (mean 49, range 2–137). PGES emerged in 184 (64.6%) seizures and postconvulsive central apnea (PCCA) was present in 38 (13.3%) seizures. Changes in seizure features from seizure to seizure such as seizure and convulsive phase durations appeared random. In grouped analysis, some seizure features underwent significant deterioration, whereas others improved. Clonic phase and postconvulsive central apnea (PCCA) were significantly shorter in the fourth seizure compared to the first. By contrast, duration of decerebrate posturing and ictal central apnea were longer. Four SUDEP cases in the cluster cohort were reported on follow-up. Conclusion: Seizure clusters show variable changes from seizure to seizure. Although clusters may reflect epilepsy severity, they alone may be unrelated to SUDEP risk. We suggest a stochastic nature to SUDEP occurrence, where seizure clusters may be more likely to contribute to SUDEP if an underlying progressive tendency toward SUDEP has matured toward a critical SUDEP threshold.


Abstract Objectives Total surgical resection is the gold standard in the treatment of craniopharyngioma. However, there is concern that aggressive surgical resection might result in high rates of endocrinologic, metabolic, and behavioral morbidities. Subtotal resection (SR) with subsequent radiation therapy (RT) may reduce surgical complications, but it may also increase the risk of tumor recurrence and radiation-induced side effects. Therefore, the optimal surgical strategy remains debatable. Methods To determine the optimal surgical strategy, we assessed the clinical courses of 39 patients (19 male patients and 20 female patients) with newly diagnosed craniopharyngioma who were treated at our institute. The median age at diagnosis was 34 years (range: 0–76 years). The median follow-up period was 8.5 years (range: 3–160 months). Our treatment strategy comprised gross total resection (GTR) for craniopharyngioma in patients that were not at surgical risk. Conversely, after adequate tumor decompression, we used RT, mainly Gamma Knife radiosurgery, in patients at risk. We divided the patients into the following three groups depending on the treatment course: GTR, SR with RT, and SR with staged surgery. We compared tumor characteristics, as well as patients' conditions at the preoperative stage and last follow-up, among the three groups. Results There were 8, 21, and 10 patients in the GTR, SR with RT, and SR with staged surgery groups, respectively. There were no differences in the maximum tumor diameter, tumor volume, composition, and presence of calcification among the groups. Among the 39 patients, 24 underwent transcranial microsurgery and 15 underwent trans-sphenoidal surgery as the initial treatment. No cases involving surgical mortality, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, severely deteriorated visual function, or severe hypothalamic damage were observed. No tumor recurrence was noted in the GTR group. One patient required additional RT, and one patient underwent second surgery for tumor recurrence in the SR with RT group. In the SR with staged surgery group, 8 of the 10 patients eventually underwent RT, but tumor control was achieved in all patients at the latest follow-up. In this group, the third trans-sphenoidal surgery caused a severe vascular injury in one patient. At the final follow-up, 33 (85%) patients were undergoing anterior pituitary hormone replacement, and the rate of diabetes insipidus was 51%. There was no significant difference in the pituitary dysfunction rate among the groups. Conclusions We observed a low rate of surgical complications and a sufficient tumor control rate in response to our treatment strategy. Despite attempting preservation of the pituitary stalk, we found it difficult to rescue anterior pituitary function.


Abstract Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a major role in the regulation of strawberry fruit ripening; however, the origin of the ABA signal is largely unknown. Here, we report an autocatalytic mechanism for ABA biosynthesis and its synergistic interaction with auxin to regulate strawberry fruit ripening. We demonstrate that ABA biosynthesis is self-induced in the achenes but not in the receptacle, resulting in its substantial accumulation during ripening. ABA was found to regulate both IAA transport and biosynthesis, thereby modulating IAA content during both early fruit growth and later fruit ripening. Taken together, these results reveal the origins of the ABA signal and demonstrate the importance of its coordinated action with IAA in the regulation of strawberry fruit development and ripening.


Multi-step greedy policies have been extensively used in model-based Reinforcement Learning (RL) and in the case when a model of the environment is available (e.g., in the game of Go). In this work, we explore the benefits of multi-step greedy policies in model-free RL when employed in the framework of multi-step Dynamic Programming (DP): multi-step Policy and Value Iteration. These algorithms iteratively solve short-horizon decision problems and converge to the optimal solution of the original one. By using model-free algorithms as solvers of the short-horizon problems we derive fully model-free algorithms which are instances of the multi-step DP framework. As model-free algorithms are prone to instabilities w.r.t. the decision problem horizon, this simple approach can help in mitigating these instabilities and results in an improved model-free algorithms. We test this approach and show results on both discrete and continuous control problems.


During the immediate postnatal period, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract undergoes profound growth, morphological changes and functional maturation. The oesophagus shows an accelerated cell proliferation in the epithelium and an increased production and accumulation of mucus in the glands. The stomach shows a rapid tissue growth and a marked increase in acid secretion capacity. The intestine shows increased tissue growth and marked epithelial modifications; the latter include the loss of the ability by the epithelial cells of the small intestine to absorb macromolecules, and the loss of the ability by the epithelial cells of the large intestine to synthesize digestive enzymes and to absorb amino acids and glucose. These changes are apparently related to the onset of colostrum ingestion, because starved or water-fed newborns showed little changes in the GI tract. A number of hormones and growth-promoting peptides, such as insulin, cortisol, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), have been found at high concentrations in the maternal colostrum. There is evidence that colostrum-bone EGF and IGF-I play a role in postnatal GI development in newborns. The role of other colostrum-borne hormones and growth-promoting peptides remains to be assessed. Further studies are also required to demonstrate if colostrum-borne EGF and IGF-I can be used therapeutically to those newborns with immature or diseased GI tract, such as in cases of premature birth or prenatal growth retardation or cases requiring total parenteral nutrition.


The objective of this study was to investigate the chemical constituents of essential oil of Elettaria cardamomum leaves and assess its anti-scabies potential. Essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of fresh leaves of E. cardamomum, subjected to gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for identification and quantification of components. Anti-scabies potential of essential oil of E. cardamomum leaves against S. scabiei was investigated by contact bioassay method. GC and GC-MS analysis results revealed the presence of 44 compounds, representing 96.42% of the oil. The volatile components in leaves of E. cardamomum were made up of largely of oxygenated monoterpenes including terpinen-4-ol, eucalyptol, p-cymene, trans-phytol and cis-sabinene. The anti-scabies study revealed that 10% E. cardamomum oil showed 100% mortality within 60 min. This study demonstrated the potential of E. cardamomum leaves essential oil as a scabicidal agent, therefore can be used as an alternative for the cure and effective control of S. scabiei.


OBJECTIVE--To compare the efficacy of two glibenclamide regimens in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes who were fasting during Ramadan and regular glibenclamide treatment in the non-fasting group. DESIGN--Non-randomised control group of patients who did not fast during Ramadan and two groups of patients who fasted randomised equally to one of two regimens: to take their usual morning dose of glibenclamide in the evening and their usual evening dose before dawn; or to follow this pattern but to reduce the total dose by a quarter. SETTING--Two university hospitals, one private hospital, and two private clinics in Casablanca and Rabat, Morocco. SUBJECTS--591 diabetic patients (198 men, 391 women, two unspecified) with similar duration of diabetes and length and amount of glibenclamide treatment, of whom 542 completed the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Serum fructosamine and total glycated haemoglobin concentrations and number of hypoglycaemic events. RESULTS--At the end of Ramadan there were no significant differences between the groups in fructosamine concentration (400 mumol/l in controls and 381 mumol/l and 376 mumol/l in the fasting groups); percentage of glycated haemoglobin (14.7%, 14.0%, and 13.6%); or number of hypoglycaemic events during Ramadan (11, 14, and 10). CONCLUSION--Glibenclamide is effective and safe for patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes who fast during Ramadan. The easiest regimen is to take the normal morning dose (together with any midday dose) at sunset and any evening dose before dawn.


The Internet consists of thousands of autonomous networks connected together to provide end-to-end reachability. Networks of different sizes, and with different functions and business objectives, interact and co-exist in the evolving "Internet Ecosystem." The Internet ecosystem is highly dynamic, experiencing growth (birth of new networks), rewiring (changes in the connectivity of existing networks), as well as deaths (of existing networks). The dynamics of the Internet ecosystem are determined both by external "environmental" factors (such as the state of the global economy or the popularity of new Internet applications) and the complex incentives and objectives of each network. These dynamics have major implications on how the future Internet will look like. How does the Internet evolve? What is the Internet heading towards, in terms of topological, performance, and economic organization? How do given optimization strategies affect the profitability of different networks? How do these strategies affect the Internet in terms of topology, economics, and performance?
In this thesis, we take some steps towards answering the above questions using a combination of measurement and modeling approaches. We first study the evolution of the Autonomous System (AS) topology over the last decade. In particular, we classify ASes and inter-AS links according to their business function, and study separately their evolution over the last 10 years. Next, we focus on enterprise customers and content providers at the edge of the Internet, and propose algorithms for a stub network to choose its upstream providers to maximize its utility (either monetary cost, reliability or performance). Third, we develop a model for interdomain network formation, incorporating the effects of economics, geography, and the provider/peer selections strategies of different types of networks. We use this model to examine the "outcome" of these strategies, in terms of the topology, economics and performance of the resulting internetwork. We also investigate the effect of external factors, such as the nature of the interdomain traffic matrix, customer preferences in provider selection, and pricing/cost structures. Finally, we focus on a recent trend due to the increasing amount of traffic flowing from content providers (who generate content), to access providers (who serve end users). This has led to a tussle between content providers and access providers, who have threatened to prioritize certain types of traffic, or charge content providers directly - strategies that are viewed as violations of "network neutrality". In our work, we evaluate various pricing and connection strategies that access providers can use to remain profitable without violating network neutrality.


As we move toward the creation of a networked health information environment, the potential of privacy intrusions increases, with potentially devastating impact on quality and access to healthcare. This paper describes the risks we face and proposes a framework to minimize those risks. In particular, it proposes nine principles to protect privacy in an information age.


ABSTRACT This study assessed the feasibility of partnerships between public libraries and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) for delivery of direct nutrition education and adoption of nutrition and physical activity supports. Reported here are findings from interviews conducted with 14 librarians between December 2015 and February 2016. Librarians spoke of initiatives they were doing around healthy eating and active living and how they would like to do more. They also articulated overlap between their patrons and the program's target audience. Several opportunities for and challenges to building partnerships between public libraries and the SNAP-Ed program surfaced.


Ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia (VAH) increases both (1) the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) to acute decreases in arterial PO₂, and (2) normoxic ventilatory drive when inspired O₂ is returned to normal. Previous studies have shown that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) are involved in the acute HVR of awake rats. We hypothesized that non-NMDA receptors in the NTS are necessary for the complete manifestation of the VAH. To test this, male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: (1) normoxic sea level control (N, n = 13) and (2) chronically hypoxic rats (CH, n = 11) acclimatized in a hypobaric chamber (PIO₂ = 70 Torr) for 7 days. We microinjected artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) as a sham, and a non-NMDA receptor antagonist into the NTS (0.02 mmol NBQX in 50 nL, bilaterally) through a stereotaxically placed guide cannula. We used barometric pressure plethysmography to measure ventilation during acute hypoxia (10% O₂), normoxia (21% O₂) and acute hypercapnia (7% CO₂). We microinjected AMPA into the same location in the NTS of a subset of the same animals to confirm effectiveness of the NBQX. Microinjection sites were identified by colloidal gold or Evan's blue microinjections after the experiment. Non-NMDA receptor blockade with NBQX significantly (P<0.05) decreased the normoxic ventilatory drive after chronic hypoxia, but not in the normoxic control rats. In addition, non-NMDA receptor blockade depressed ventilation for both normoxic and chronically hypoxic rats acutely breathing hypoxic and hypercapnic gas. The ventilatory response to NBQX resulted primarily from significant effects on respiratory frequency, but not tidal volume. Hence, non-NMDA receptors in the NTS play a role in VAH, and are important for ventilatory drive during chronic and acute hypoxia


The biggest challenge in mobile computing is introducing new type of application that has the ability of adapting and exploiting the changing environment. In this paper, a smart phone context-aware crowd-sourcing application SMART ADVENTURE will be presented, offering users context aware services. The main application contexts are location, time and phone orientation. According to users' location, previous usage and current date, application generates information about activities and possible threats. Congruent with the phone orientation, application displays different screen. Motivation for developing this kind of an application lies in constant trend for improving human health by doing different kind of open-air activities. At the same time, the proposed solution represents a high level tourist guide. The main contribution of our work is providing proof of concept of how crowdsourcing can influence few different domains (health, ecology, human culture). The proposed solution is service oriented, implemented in android environment.


Abstract . In the last few years several contributions concerning heterochronic processes have been produced, but only few papers dealing on heterotopy have been published. Material of Natasia boliviensis (Babin and Branisa) from the Early Ordovician of northwestern Argentina includes specimens at different growth stages, from smaller, juvenile individuals with taxodont dentition, to larger adult shells displaying actinodont dentition. Ontogenetic development of dentition is tentatively interpreted as resulting from heterotopic changes from an unknown praenuculid ancestor, whereas changes in shell outline could be explained by mean of heterochrony.


Capital inflow surges destabilize the economy through a maturity shortening mechanism. The underlying reason is that firms tend to make their debt redeemable on demand in order to accommodate the potential liquidity needs of global investors, which makes international borrowing endogenously fragile. Based on a theoretical model and empirical evidence at both firm level and macro level, our main findings are threefold. First, corporate debt maturity shortens substantially during surges, especially for firms with foreign bank relationships. Second, surges change the shape of the interest rate term structure and lead to a more flattened yield curve. Third, the probability of a crisis following surges with a flattened yield curve is significantly larger than following surges without one. Our work suggests that debt maturity is key to understanding the consequences of capital inflow bonanzas.


In studying how societies consider and deal with the human body both as a symbolic as well as a biological entity, anthropology situates itself at the nexus of two axes. These occupy a central epistemological space in the discipline and consist of: the analysis of social facts, ranging from their manifestations in the lives of individuals, to those manifested in the collective life of groups; and the observation of reality, ranging from its material to its immaterial or ideal aspects. This singular position enriches the anthropology of health and opens up theoretical and methodological perspectives that go beyond those of medical anthropology and the anthropology of illness in their restricted focus upon the social parameters of biological disorders, the causes of suffering, and misfortune. This paper attempts to reflect upon examples which encompass the above two axes showing how the anthropology of health can improve our understanding