The management of biosolids, the major by-product from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), exists as a main global challenge which takes up most of WWTP operating costs. Self-sustaining smouldering is a new method for organic waste treatment, where the waste (i.e., biosolids) is destroyed in an energy efficient way after mixing it with porous medium (i.e., sand). Column experiments, utilising biosolids generated from a WWTP, were used to detect whether smouldering combustion was able to be utilized for biosolids treatment or not. According to the peak tempertures of thermocouples obtained from the experiments, it can be identified whether the smouldering reactions are self-sustaining (SS) or non-self-sustaining (NSS). In addition, the average front velocity (AFV) can be calculated then. In this study, Self-sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation applied ex-situ (STARx) refers to the commercial technology which utilizes smouldering combustion to destroy organic wastes (i.e., biosolids). An economic consideration would be completed to estimate the expected payback period and cost savings for considering STARx as a biosolids treatment retrofit in a large WWTP in Australia. The cost savings and payback period concerning replacing either landfill or incineration were considered as these are the most popular disposals for biosolids treatment. Finally, it is obtained that STARx is a good option to be employed in the WWTPs which have employed typical disposal methods (e.g., landfill and incineration) for recent decades.


We conducted an experiment with 30,000 users of a virtual nanotechnology facility, nanoHUB.org. We investigate the effect of virtual points and message framing on user participation in a survey. In one treatment, users receive points for completing the survey. In another treatment, users are exposed to a visual observation cue. We vary the social message, either emphasizing the private benefit to the user or the social benefit to the community of participation. Participation rates are increased through virtual points and for users receiving the private benefit messaging. The observation cue doesn't have an effect.


Purpose: The size of the Greek VAT Gap has been consistently high throughout the last two decades in comparison with the European Union's (EU) average. In order to better understand which specific productive sectors in the Greek economy play a more significant role in VAT revenue collection, VAT evasion and in measuring and limiting the Greek VAT Gap, an attempt to quantify and analyze the Gross Value Added/Gross Domestic Product (GVA/GDP) ratio of each productive sector was made. Design/Methodology/Approach: Specifically, using the NACE Revision 2 standard used by Eurostat, the various Greek productive sectors were broken down into fifteen (15) categories and examined for a period of 21 years (between 1997 and 2018) using econometric models based on time series data. In addition, the VAT Revenue Ratio (VRR) was used as a proxy dependent variable in order to measure the Greek VAT Gap. Findings: The analysis revealed that of the fifteen (15) economic sectors examined in this paper, four (4) were found to be statistically significant in regards with the Greek VAT gap. Specifically, the Catering and Accommodation services sector (I), the Public Administration sector (O) and the Agriculture sector (A), had a positive relationship, with the increase of their share in GDP being associated with an increase in the VAT gap. On the other hand, the Industrial sector's (B, D, E) share of GDP is associated with a reduction in the VAT gap. Practical Implications/Originality/Value: The results of this paper can shed light into the complexity of identifying the economic activities that influence the Greek VAT Gap, as well as produce more sector-specific countermeasures for limiting VAT non-compliance and evasion.


Polymorphism, a phenomenon which is important for speciation, can be found in wide range in species. Conspicuous colour and pattern polymorphisms are widely observed among spiders, including the spiny backed spiders (Gasteracantha spp., Micrathena spp. and Thelacantha spp.), which belong to the family Araneidae. These spiders are described as "spiny backed" because of the presence of prominent spines on their abdomen. Thelacantha brevispina is often mistaken as crab spider. They are a scientifically less known spider species and have been categorised as an endangered species in Sri Lanka according to the Red List of 2012. The present study aims to characterise the polymorphism among theses spiders in Northern Sri Lanka. The samples, the exuviae and dead female spiders were collected from the islands and mangroves in and around the Jaffna Peninsula. The museum specimens deposited in the zoology museum at the University of Jaffna were also used in the analysis. Two different pattern morphs were observed. Morph A has the round shaped white marking on the middle of the carapace and morph B has half-moon like white markings on the carapace. Length, width and distance between spines were measured for the statistical analysis using a venire scale (least count 0.1 mm). Morph A is relatively bigger than morph B with the average length of 11.8 mm and average width of 4.0 mm. Morph B has an average length of 6.7 mm and average width of 4.6 mm. The measured lengths and widths were significantly different (p<0.05) among the morphs in student t-test. The evolutionary basis for the size and colour differences between the two morphs is not known but could be due to environmental pressures in the wet land of mangrove area. It is also now known whether or not there is any reproductive isolation between the morphs which could even belong to separate subspecies. A comparison between DNA based analysis along with the morphological data might reveal this. Establishing the relationship between spiders with different morphs will be immensely helpful in designing conservation measures for these endangered spiders. Keywords: Polymorphism, Spiders, Mangrove


QoS provisioning is a complex and challenging issue in mobile ad hoc networks, especially when there are multiple QoS constraints. In this paper, we propose an adaptive QoS routing scheme supported by cross-layer cooperation in ad hoc networks. The cross-layer mechanism provides up-to-date local QoS information for the adaptive routing algorithm, by considering the impacts of node mobility and lower-layer link performance. The multiple QoS requirements are satisfied by adaptively using forward error correction and multipath routing mechanisms, based on the current network status. The complete routing mechanism includes three parts: (1) a modified dynamic source routing algorithm that handles route discovery and the collection of QoS-related parameters; (2) a local statistical computation and link monitoring function located in each node; and (3) an integrated decision-making system to calculate the number of routing paths, coding parity length, and traffic distribution rates. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the overall performance of our scheme. Our results indicate that our adaptive routing scheme provides suitable QoS performance that is less sensitive to network conditions (i.e., node mobility, transmission power, channel characteristics, and the traffic pattern) than a nonadaptive routing strategy.


This paper describes the Survivor Buddy human-robot interaction project and how it was used by four middle-school girls to illustrate the scientific process for an episode of "SciGirls", a Public Broadcast System science reality show. Survivor Buddy is a four degree of freedom robot head, with the face being a MIMO 740 multi-media touch screen monitor. It is being used to explore consistency and trust in the use of robots as social mediums, where robots serve as intermediaries between dependents (e.g., trapped survivors) and the outside world (doctors, rescuers, family members). While the SciGirl experimentation was neither statistically significant nor rigorously controlled, the experience makes three contributions. It introduces the Survivor Buddy project and social medium role, it illustrates that human-robot interaction is an appealing way to make robotics more accessible to the general public, and raises interesting questions about the existence of a minimum set of degrees of freedom for sufficient expressiveness, the relative importance of voice versus non-verbal affect, and the range and intensity of robot motions.


To increase their firms' competitiveness, information technology (IT) managers are adopting a strategy that many deemed risky in the past. Recent IT advances combined with certain firm and industry characteristics are prompting firms to move toward a unified procurement strategy for enterprise software solutions. Unified procurement occurs when a firm elects to purchase all compatible products and services from a single vendor. Key benefits of unified procurement involve motivating managers to alter their procurement strategy. At the top of the list of benefits is transferred risk, which includes risks that can be transferred from one participating party to another during a transaction. In the case of unified procurement, they include technology risks and integration costs that are transferred from the procurement firm to its vendor. Firms have been shifting toward a unified procurement strategy for enterprise software solutions. We discuss the evolution of procurement practices in an industry that exemplifies a manifestation of Clemons et al.'s [10] "move to the middle" hypothesis predictions. The adoption of unified procurement is being driven by changes in IT, firm, and industry structure. We explore the "move to the middle," transaction cost economics, and industry clockspeed theory to explain this phenomenon. We present a series of propositions that extend the prior theory to the more specific setting of enterprise software procurement—an example of middle range theory development—and use mini-cases to validate the various perspectives that we offer.


The House of Lords in Lonsdale v Howard & Hallam Limited has confirmed that on termination of a commercial agency agreement the agent's statutory entitlement is, unless the parties have agreed an indemnity, to compensation reflecting the value of the goodwill of the agent's business as at termination. In doing so, the House of Lords has rejected the approach, based on apparent French practice, of a payment based on two years' net commission. Commercial principals will now have to factor in the value of the goodwill of their commercial agent's business when the relationship is terminated.


The specificity of Type II pneumococcus determined by its capsular polysaccharide (S II) may be separated into three partial specificities, each characteristic of one of the three component sugars of S II, namely, glucuronic acid, glucose, and rhamnose. By far the largest portion of antibodies in Type II antipneumococcus horse sera which cross-react with carbohydrates containing one or more of these sugars are reactive with those characterized by multiple groupings of glucuronic acid. This confirms, extends, and explains earlier observations. In confirmation of predictions based upon existing information tamarind seed polysaccharide (jellose), in which much of the glucose exists as 1,4,6-branch points, was found to react in Type II antisera. Several instances are given of cross-reactions in these antisera apparently due to the L-rhamnose component of the reacting polysaccharides. The antisera contain far more antibody capable of precipitating with substances with multiple units of glucuronic acid than with those so far tested containing multiple 1,4,6-branch points of glucose or multiple groupings of rhamnose. The long known increase of titer of gum arabic on partial hydrolysis is now fully explained and discussed, and a chemical picture is given of the change in "avidity." The sum of the partial specificities measured does not equal the whole. Quantitative data illustrating these points are given.


There is perhaps no more vital an issue to a healthy democracy than its attitude towards political speech. Because political speech—and particularly political advertising—has a profound influence on the outcomes of elections, most vibrant democracies recognize the need to avoid arbitrary distinctions among political advertisers that might sway elections for reasons other than the popularity of the candidates. The First Amendment avoids arbitrary distinctions by ensuring a free and open marketplace of ideas in the political speech realm, with almost no restrictions on political advertising. The United Kingdom, by contrast, addresses the problem by way of an outright ban on political advertising. This Note explores the recent, and controversial, Citizens United decision in the context of avoiding such groundless distinctions. In particular, this Note compares the American approach to the British approach, and argues that Citizens United is a correct reaction, within American constitutional law and case law, to the problem of arbitrary distinctions in the political


In this paper, We have proposed an Heterodyne technique to generate millimeter-wave signal. Microwave signals in cellular broadband mobile communication networks and distributed networks can favorably be generated and distributed by optical techniques. In principle, these techniques have already been investigated for optical control of phase-array antennas, characterization of photo-detector and phase locking of millimeter-wave oscillators and now being applied to wireless communications. The generation and transmission of millimeter-wave radio signals by optical means is of interest for future pico-cell broadband mobile communication system, especially for systems operating at frequencies of 300GHz.


In many medical studies, event times are recorded in an interval-censored (IC) format. For example, in numerous cancer trials, time to disease relapse is only known to have occurred between two consecutive clinic visits. Many existing modeling methods in the IC context are computationally intensive and usually require numerous assumptions that could be unrealistic or difficult to verify in practice. We propose a flexible and computationally efficient modeling strategy based on jackknife pseudo-observations (POs). The POs obtained based on nonparametric estimators of the survival function are employed as outcomes in an equivalent, yet simpler regression model that produces consistent covariate effect estimates. Hence, instead of operating in the IC context, the problem is translated into the realm of generalized linear models, where numerous options are available. Outcome transformations via appropriate link functions lead to familiar modeling contexts such as the proportional hazards and proportional odds. Moreover, the methods developed are not limited to these settings and have broader applicability. Simulations studies show that the proposed methods produce virtually unbiased covariate effect estimates, even for moderate sample sizes. An example from the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) Trial VI further illustrates the practical advantages of this new approach.


One of the Dodd–Frank Act's improvements to the asset-backed securitization process is known as the "skin in the game" provision because it requires issuers of some types of asset-backed securities to retain at least 5% of the fair value of the issued interests. The thinking is that an issuer will be less likely to lower its underwriting standards if it must retain some of an ABS's credit risk. This article explains two ways in which an ABS issuer can satisfy the 5% requirement: the vertical method and the horizontal method. Also, the article raises the possibility of diverse practices in valuing the 5% requirement if the issued interests contain embedded derivatives. This is because there are two ways under U.S. GAAP of valuing financial instruments that contain certain embedded derivatives. The article also suggests that the final rule consider the possibility that ABS issuers could use the cash flow hedge accounting technique to manipulate when changes to bifurcated embedded derivatives affect their income statements.


This study presents the effects of adding an array of protrusions in a microchannel for heat transfer enhancement. The presence of mini-channels increases the overall heat transfer area and boosts the mixing development near the solid-fluid interaction; therefore, it can remove more heat than conventional mini-channels without protuberances. A numerical study proved that protuberances in a mini-channel increase the heat transfer performance by disturbing the relative fluid motion near the solid wall. The numerical simulation was performed with three different protuberances arrays: aligned, staggered, and angular. Each array consists of a thin flat plate with a hemispherical shape; the working fluid and the solid materials were water and copper. The study also includes the effect of different Reynolds numbers: 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000. Three heat inputs were applied in the numerical simulation; these were 1W, 3W, and 5W. The study was compared with a simple microchannel with non-protuberances to analyze the microchannel performance regarding heat removal and pressure drop. For heat transfer performance, the best array was the staggering array with a maximum heat removal increase of 5.26 percent. In terms of pressure drop performance, the best array was the aligned array, with a maximum increase of 34.73 percent.


Potting media plays an important role in the growth of any horticultural crop in the nursery. In Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.), both nutmeg (kernel) and mace are used as condiments particularly in sweet foods, baking, etc. Softwood grafting is a commercially adopted propagation method followed in nutmeg. However, the growth of such grafts in the nursery is slow and takes more time to attain a salable stage. This increases the maintenance cost during the nursery stage. Hence, it is necessary to find out the solution to hasten the growth to reduce the maintenance cost. In this context, the potting medium is one of the most important and responsible inputs for uniform and vigorous graft growth. It helps to produce quality planting material on a large scale and get good market value. With this view the experiment on the effect of potting media on the growth of softwood grafts of nutmeg was laid out at College of Horticulture, Dapoli during the year 2018. The six different media were replicated four times in Randomized Block Design. The different media combinations namely T1: Soil + FYM + Sand (2:1:1) (Control),T2:Soil + FYM + Sand (2:1:1) with 1" cocopeat at top, T3: Soil + Vermicompost + Sand (2:1:1) with 1" Cocopeat at top, T4: Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Sand (1:1:1:1) with 1" Cocopeat at top, T5:Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Rice husk (1:1:1:1) with 1" Cocopeat at top, T6: Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:1:1) were tried. The results revealed that treatment T5 i.e. the media having Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Rice husk (1:1:1:1) with 1" Cocopeat at the top had maximum survival percentage of grafts (82.00 %), and maximum absolute growth rate (AGR) (0.0646 cm/day). The grafts grown on this media were light in weight (2.050 kg/ bag) and economically viable resulting in the highest net returns of Rs. 4815.80 with benefit-cost ratio (B:C) ratio of 1.64. Hence, Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Rice husk 1:1:1:1 with 1". Cocopeat at the top is the most economically viable media for enhancing the growth of nutmeg grafts and also light in weight for transport.


Topological approaches to studying equivalence classes of trajectories in a configuration space have recently received attention in robotics since they allow a robot to reason about trajectories at a high level of abstraction. While recent work has approached the problem of topological motion planning under the assumption that the configuration space and obstacles within it are explicitly described in a noise-free manner, we focus on trajectory classification and present a sampling-based approach which can handle noise, which is applicable to general configuration spaces and which relies only on the availability of collision free samples. Unlike previous sampling-based approaches in robotics which use graphs to capture information about the path-connectedness of a configuration space, we construct a multiscale approximation of neighborhoods of the collision free configurations based on filtrations of simplicial complexes. Our approach thereby extracts additional homological information which is essential for a topological trajectory classification. By computing a basis for the first persistent homology groups, we obtain a multiscale classification algorithm for trajectories in configuration spaces of arbitrary dimension. We furthermore show how an augmented filtration of simplicial complexes based on a cost function can be defined to incorporate additional constraints. We present an evaluation of our approach in 2, 3, 4 and 6 dimensional configuration spaces in simulation and using a Baxter robot.


This article discusses potential reasons for the continuities in the broader policy agendas of capitalist states, despite radical shifts in economic policies, by employing the state-rescaling framework. Its main thrust is that, even though centrally designed policy programs mainly aim to give direction to the dynamics of the market economy, the institutional (re)structuring needed to operationalize such policy measures has been shaped around a politics of redistribution, a product both of the exclusionary results of past policies and the negative results of the newly introduced policy programs. This dialectical tension turns state rescaling into a political exercise in solving, and reproducing, 'systemic crises'. The article examines the history of state rescaling in Turkey to develop these arguments.


In this paper, I will focus on Nenets reindeer herders' changing perception of their environment after conversion to evangelical Christianity. Until recently they regarded the landscape to be populated by numerous sentient beings with their own differing agendas. I suggest that conversion of Nenets families has led them to reinterpret much of the earlier intricate forms of agency into largely one kind of demonic agency in which more or less respectful reciprocity with spirits is discontinued. This shift informs directly how people navigate on the land and water, perceive their environment and talk about their relationship with it. I discuss these issues using a pair of notions, i.e. the practical mastery of one's surroundings and the mental map-reading. My central argument is that conversion creates a certain shift in these perceptions and practices related to the environment and the spirit world.


Since there is no standard naming convention for genes and gene products, gene symbol disambiguation (GSD) has become a big challenge when mining biomedical literature. Several GSD methods have been proposed based on MEDLINE references to genes. However, nowadays gene databases, e.g. Entrez Gene, provide plenty of information about genes, and many biomedical ontologies, e.g. UMLS Metathesaurus and Semantic Network, have been developed. These knowledge sources could be used for disambiguation, in this paper we propose a method which relies on information about gene candidates from gene databases, contexts of gene symbols and biomedical ontologies. We implement our method, and evaluate the performance of the implementation using BioCreAtIvE II data sets.


Currently, combined community/content environments gain increasing importance in different areas of life, ranging from private to educational to corporate contexts. However, since they are still a novel achievement it is not so clear how they should be organised in order to their successful operation. For gaining a deeper insight in what makes such an environment work, the authors systematically analysed two public environments by evaluating user data and an online questionnaire covering the following areas: intensity of content consumption and production, preference of content types, information needs, motivation and trust, and importance of quality criteria. From the results a number of recommendations for providers were derived.


Dolphinfish in the Caribbean are fast growing and short-lived, living for about 12 to 18 months in the southern Caribbean and a maximum of 2-3 years in the north of the region. They are believed to be highly migratory, are seasonally abundant, and likely to have a more complex stock structure than the larger oceanic epipelagic species. Most of the information on dolphinfish in the western central Atlantic comes from studies in the waters of the USA and the eastern Caribbean, and there is a general paucity of information particularly for stock-based management of this species. No Caribbean country undertakes regular assessment of dolphinfish, or has put in place any species-specific management program. Yield-per-recruit analyses for this species in the eastern Caribbean suggest that maximization of Y/R is likely to lead to very low levels of mature stock biomass. A stock recruitment analysis does not show any dependency of recruitment on stock size within the observed stock size range. This suggests that recruitment failure could be sudden at some threshold below the minimum observed stock size, probably at about one third of the average observed stock size. Given the trends observed in landings of dolphinfish, a precautionary approach to management is needed for this species in the western central Atlantic. Given the migratory, shared nature of the dolphinfish resource, a regional approach to assessment and management is required. However, the institutional basis for this approach does not currently exist within the region in a form that is functional. The membership of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) does not include any of the small island states where dolphinfish is of primary importance. ICCAT would need to establish a regional presence in order to serve the needs of Caribbean states. The FAO Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) does not operate in a mode which would allow it to address this issue. The Association of Caribbean States is too new to address it within the near future. Subregional organizations with fisheries programs, such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), represent only a subset of states. However, given the ratification of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the recent International Agreement on Highly Migratory Stocks and Straddling Stocks, these organisations could take the initiative to establish a regional management programme for dolphinfish.


A.-Arguments about the relative merits of the two preparations are usually based on theoretical considerations rather than on any observed difference in therapeutic potency. After an intramuscular injection of 600,000 units of procaine penicillin a bacteriostatic level in the blood is maintained for 24 hours as a rule, whereas after an injection of the same dose of crystalline penicillin the concentration in the blood rises to a much higher peak, but rapidly declines to a level which is too low to be assayed. The ability of procaine penicillin to maintain a significant bloodconcentration over a prolonged period would suggest that it was the preparation of choice for prophylactic use-for example, as a protective screen for the patient with valvular disease of the heart who requires dental extraction. On the other hand, in the treatment of established infection's the high initial concentration of penicillin in the blood achieved with the crystalline salt may facilitate penetration of the antibiotic into the diseased tissues, where high concentrations may be found many hours after the blood level has fallen to zero. In practice the injection of 500,000 units of crystalline penicillin twice a day gives satisfactory therapeutic results. Reports of alarming, even fatal, responses to the administration of procaine penicillin (probably due to inadvertent intravenous injection) should be viewed against the background of the millions of injections that have been given without mishap; the incidence of dangerous sideeffects is far too low to justify condemnation of procaine penicillin on this score.


This study examines symbolic landmarks in Hong Kong architecture reflects the local identity. This examination is undertaken with a view to understanding the relationships between architecture, place and identity in Hong Kong. To achieve this goal, a case study approach has been taken using Norman Foster's Hong Kong Shanghai Bank and Leoh Ming Pei's Bank of China building as cases for study. These buildings have been chosen because they are considered as symbolic landmarks representing both political and cultural narratives. The respective buildings of Foster and Pei, both of whom suggested an insight into Hong Kong vernacular, have been drawn upon in this thesis. Foster's Hong Kong Bank proclaimed his building informed the spirit of place, while Pei's Bank of China stated his building was more rooted in the traditional Chinese vernacular. Exemplified by the feng shui and the banking hall design, it is argued that both Foster and Pei have achieved on integration of the vernacular traditions into the architectural modernity. However, the Hong Kong Bank and the Bank of China cannot truly represent the identity of Hong Kong, derived from the fact that they constitute continuities in Foster's and Pei's architectural styles, rather than the creation of cultural forms within the regional environment. In the search for Hong Kong identity, it is suggested that the practicing local architects use the metaphor of nostalgia to reconstruct the collective abandoned past and a sense of local communities for a place.


Background Value-added modeling (VAM) has been used to rank teachers and assess teacher and school quality. The apparent relationship between value-added teacher rankings and gains in student performance provide a foundation for the view that the contribution of teachers to student performance is the largest factor influencing student achievement, suggesting that differences in teacher quality might explain the persistence of the gap in student achievement as students advance throughout the K–12 years. However, several studies raise questions about the reliability and validity of VAM. Purpose The purpose of this article is to reconcile the evidence that the contribution of teachers to student achievement is large with the evidence that value-added rankings are unreliable and possibly invalid. Design The method involves an analytical review of the available evidence, development of a theoretical explanation for the contradictory results, and a test of this explanation using path analysis with three longitudinal datasets involving nationally representative samples of schools and students. Conclusion The hypothesis that the contribution of teachers to student performance is the strongest factor influencing student achievement is not supported. A stronger factor is the degree to which students believe that they are proficient students. This is consistent with the view that the persistence of the achievement gap is better explained as the outcome of structural factors embedded in the conventional model of schooling that undermines the self-efficacy, engagement, effort, and achievement of students who enter kindergarten performing below the level of their more advantaged peers.


At the 1962 meeting of the Pacific Coast Oto-Ophthalmological Society, the ophthalmologic program covered many subjects of timely interest. Dayton and Straatsma reported favorable results in the treatment by photocoagulation of eight patients with Eales' disease. These authors state that at any one treatment the extent and degree of photocoagulation should be carefully controlled. Haas' case discussions point out the unsolved problems related to low tension glaucoma and to the effect of elevated intraocular pressure upon outflow and trabecular structure. Laughlin's studies indicate that the insertion of the internal rectus muscle may be from 3-6 mm from the limbus, the average distance being 4.5 mm. This investigator finds that ideally the internus should be recessed 9-10 mm from the limbus. Other pertinent papers include "Strontium 90 (Yttrium 90) in Pterygium Surgery" by Pinkerton, "Clinical Applications of Experimental Scleral Healing" by Thornfeldt and Reeh, "Clinical and Laboratory Studies of Developmental Abnormalities


Livingmulchesgrowingbelowasparagus(Asparagusofficinales)ferncanimprove soil health and suppress weeds but may also suppress asparagus through competition for water or nutrients. The central objective of this research was to test whether cereal rye (Secale cereale) living mulch, in combination with overhead irrigation, could provide comparable weed suppression to standard residual herbicides without reducing asparagus yields. Afield experiment was conducted from 2008 to 2010 in a mature asparagus planting on sandy soils in western Michigan to evaluate the effects of irrigation (none vs. overhead) and weed management systems (standard herbicides vs. rye living mulch) on weed suppression, soil moisture content, and asparagus yield. Rye living mulch and herbicide treatments were established immediately after asparagus harvest in late June of each year. Rye living mulch reduced soil-available water in early August by 26% to 52% compared with herbicide treatments but had no detectable effect on asparagus yields. Compared with herbicide treatments, rye living mulch reduced fall-germinating weed emergence and resulted in lower densities of horseweed (Conyza canadensis) during asparagus harvest. However, in 2 of 3 years, the living mulch system resulted in higher densities of summer annual weeds—including Powell amaranth (Amaranthus powellii) and longspine sandbur (Cenchrus longispinus)—during the fern growth period com- pared with herbicide treatments. After 3 years, the density of summer annual weeds was more than 10-fold greater in rye living mulch treatments compared with standard residual herbicidestreatments. Ourresults suggest that1)soil-improving ryecovercrops can partially suppress weeds but may also compete with asparagus for soil moisture in dry years unless irrigation is used; and 2) successful use of rye living mulches for weed management will depend on identification of complementary weed management practices to avoid build-up of the summer annual weed seedbank.


Three proteins expressed early in the replicative cycle of polyomavirus also play an essential role during virus-mediated tumorigenesis. One of the proteins, middle-T antigen, has been shown to bind cellular proteins involved in cell signalling such as c-Src, phosphatase 2A, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and SHC. Association of middle-T antigen with cellular membranes has been shown to be essential for middle-T-mediated cell transformation. A mutant virus encoding a truncated form of middle-T lacking a carboxy-terminal hydrophobic sequence mediating membrane association is not oncogenic. This mutant middle-T still binds phosphatase 2A through amino-terminal sequences common to small-and middle-T and is localized in the nucleus, although the protein does not contain a classical nuclear targeting sequence. Mutations introduced into the amino-terminal domain affecting the ability of truncated middle-T to bind phosphatase 2A prevented accumulation of the protein in the nucleus and led to localization in the cytoplasm. This suggests that nuclear localization of truncated middle-T may be a consequence of binding to phosphatase 2A.


This paper evaluates the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy as an additional treatment modality for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects approximately 1% of the world's population and most of the individuals diagnosed with it never fully recover. Due to the severity of this disorder, it is important to discover effective treatment modalities that could aid in symptom management, such as dialectical behavior therapy. Some articles used in this review describe background information on schizophrenia and dialectical behavior therapy; the other articles describe primary research conducted using dialectical behavior therapy. This paper explains the symptoms and current treatment for schizophrenia. Likewise, dialectical behavior therapy is explained through its incorporation of the ideas of acceptance and change by using specific stages of treatment, modes of treatment, and skills training. Dialectical behavior therapy studies of an experimental or quasi-experimental nature are examined to evaluate its effectiveness on the following disorders: borderline personality disorder, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Using the conclusions gathered from these studies, dialectical behavior therapy is proposed as a possible treatment option for those who suffer from schizophrenia.


The Precambrian banded iron-formations and the manganese ores of the Singhbhum region of eastern India occur within a sequence of predominantly volcanogenic metasediments (Iron Ore Supergroup) which occur around a central granitic platform. A review of the stratigraphy and tectonic history of these rocks indicates that they are made up of four separate groups, representing successive phases of sedimentation and deformation, spanning a time range between 2,700 and 950 m.y. ago. Two banded iron-formations occur within these rocks, of which the older one, occurring in the northern, eastern, and southern parts of the platform, is of the Algoma type whereas the younger one, occurring in the western part, is of the Lake Superior type. An offshore zone of deep-seated fracture and volcanism has been envisaged to have supplied the major part of the materials of the Iron Ore Supergroup and associated banded iron-formations and manganese ores which were deposited in the inner shallow sea (miogeosyncline), marginal to the platform. The banded iron-formations are considered to represent exhalative phases of volcanism along the fracture zone, when iron and silica were discharged into the inner sea and were precipitated out in alternating bands. Manganese, in significant amounts, was discharged along with iron only during the deposition of the younger banded iron-formation. Its separation from iron may have been controlled by slowly rising pH of sea waters, through progressive contamination with volcanic exhalations, as a result of which iron oxide precipitated out first, followed by manganese oxide under favorable Eh. The upper parts of the banded iron-formations and the manganese orebodies were subsequently lateritized to give rise to patches of secondarily enriched massive hematite and manganese ores.


This paper focuses on studying the fatigue crack growth (FCG) characteristics and fracture behaviours of 30 wt% B4C/6061Al composites fabricated by using powder metallurgy and hot extrusion method. Compact tension (CT) specimens having incisions parallel to the extrusion direction (T-D) and perpendicular to the extrusion direction (E-D) were investigated through FCG tests. Results show that, at low/medium stress-intensity factor range levels (ΔK ≤ 9), crack propagation rate in E-D specimens is lower than that in T-D specimens because the elongated B4C particles parallel to the extrusion direction in E-D specimens can deflect the crack. The scanning electron microscope micrographs of the fractured surface illustrate that crack mainly propagates in the matrix alloy at the initial stage of its propagation and propagates more remarkably near the particle-matrix interface with the increase of ΔK value. B4C particles are also found to be easy to fracture during the rapid crack propagation. Based on fracture analyses, considering the impacts of factors like crack deviation, plastic zone size at the crack tip, and crack driving force, a 2-D crack propagation model was developed to study the fatigue crack propagation mechanism in the 30 wt% B4C/6061Al composite.


Commuting to work is one of the most important and regular routines of transportation in towns and cities. From a geographic perspective, the length of people's commute is influenced, to some degree, by the spatial separation of their home and workplace and the transport infrastructure. The rise of car ownership in Australia from the 1950s to the present was accompanied by a considerable decrease of public transport use. Currently there is an average of 1.4 persons per car in Australia, and private cars are involved in approximately 90% of the trips, and public transportation in only 10%. Increased personal mobility has fuelled the trend of decentralised housing development, mostly without a clear planning for local employment, or alternative means of transportation. Transport sector accounts for 14% of Australia's net greenhouse gas emissions. Without further policy action, Australia's emissions are projected to continue to increase. The Australian Federal Government and the new Department of Climate Change have recently published a set of maps showing that rising seas would submerge large parts of Victoria coastal region. Such event would lead to major disruption in planned urban growth areas in the next 50 years with broad scale inundation of dwellings, facilities and road networks. The Greater Geelong Region has well established infrastructure as a major urban centre and tourist destination and hence attracted the attention of federal and state governments in their quest for further development and population growth. As a result of its natural beauty and ecological sensitivity, scenarios for growth in the region are currently under scrutiny from local government as well as development agencies, scientists, and planners. This paper is part of a broad research in the relationship between transportation system, urban form, trip demand, and emissions, as a paramount in addressing the challenges presented by urban growth. Progressing from previous work focused on private cars, this present paper investigates the use of public transport as a mode for commuting in the Greater Geelong Region. Using a GIS based interaction model, it characterises the current use of the existing public transportation system, and also builds a scenario of increased use of the existing public transportation system, estimating potencial reductions in CO2 emissions. This study provides an improved understanding of the extent to which choices of transport mode and travel activity patterns, affect emissions in the context of regional networks. The results indicate that emissions from commuting by public transportation are significantly lower than those from commuting by private car, and emphasise that there are opportunities for large abatment in the greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector related to efforts in increasing the use of existing public transportation system.


Introduction: Even though cervical tubercular lymphadenitis is common in our country, there are few reports on studies regarding its association with lung involvement. This study was carried out with an aim to analyze chest Roentgenography (chest X-ray) abnormalities in FNAC confirmed cases of tubercular cervical lymphadenitis. Materials and Method: Patients attending the OPD's of Mcgann Teaching District Hospital, Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences, Shimoga, Karnataka, India, of all age groups and both genders having confirmed tubercular cervical lymphadenitis from June 2016 to June 2017 were included in the study. In all patients history, clinical examination, haemogram, sputum for AFB, FNAC of cervical lymph node with AFB staining and chest X-ray PA view was performed (n=78). Results: This study has shown that the incidence of tubercular cervical lymphadenitis is more in the age group of 2 and 3 decade. Normal chest X-ray was found in 66 cases (84.61%) and abnormal chest X-ray in 12 cases (15.39%). Parenchymal infiltration, the commonest radiological finding was detected in 6 cases (7.69%) and hilar enlargement in 3 cases (3.84%). Pleural effusion, cavitations and miliary mottling was found in one case each (1.28%). Predominance of lung parenchymal infiltrations in upper zones was noted in 33.33%. Single zone was affected in 33.33% cases and multiple zones were involved in 16.66% cases. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the role of chest Roentgenography in tubercular cervical lymphadenitis which is not being done in routine practice. Chest X-ray should be done in all tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis before categorization and starting of treatment which was enforced in recent Index TB Guidelines for extra pulmonary Tuberculous-2016.


Abstract. We describe the first high precision real-time analysis of the N2O site-specific isotopic composition at ambient mixing ratios. Our technique is based on mid-infrared quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS) combined with an automated preconcentration unit. The QCLAS allows for simultaneous and specific analysis of the three main stable N2O isotopic species, 14N15N16O, 15N14N16O, 14N14N16O, and the respective site-specific relative isotope ratio differences δ15Nα and δ 15Nβ. Continuous, stand-alone operation is achieved by using liquid nitrogen free N2O preconcentration, a quasi-room-temperature quantum cascade laser (QCL), quantitative sample transfer to the QCLAS and an optimized calibration algorithm. The N2O site-specific isotopic composition (δ15Nα and δ15Nβ) can be analysed with a long-term precision of 0.2‰. The potential of this analytical tool is illustrated by continuous N2O isotopomer measurements above a grassland plot over a three week period, which allowed identification of microbial source and sink processes.


Globally, there is growing demand for increased agricultural outputs. At the same time, the agricultural industry is expected to meet increasingly stringent environmental targets. Thus, there is an urgent pressure on the soil resource to deliver multiple functions simultaneously. The Functional Land Management framework (Schulte et al., 2014) is a conceptual tool designed to support policy making to manage soil functions to meet these multiple demands. This paper provides a first example of a practical application of the Functional Land Management concept relevant to policy stakeholders. In this study we examine the trade-offs, between the soil functions 'primary productivity' and 'carbon cycling and storage', in response to the intervention of land drainage systems applied to 'imperfectly' and 'poorly' draining managed grasslands in Ireland. These trade-offs are explored as a function of the nominal price of 'Certified Emission Reductions' or 'carbon credits'. Also, these trade-offs are characterised spatially using ArcGIS to account for spatial variability in the supply of soil functions. To manage soil functions, it is essential to understand how individual soil functions are prioritised by those that are responsible for the supply of soil functions – generally farmers and foresters, and those who frame demand for soil functions – policy makers. Here, in relation to these two soil functions, a gap exists in relation to this prioritisation between these two stakeholder groups. Currently, the prioritisation and incentivisation of these competing soil functions is primarily a function of CO2 price. At current CO2 prices, the agronomic benefits outweigh the monetised environmental costs. The value of CO2 loss would only exceed productivity gains at either higher CO2 prices or at a reduced discount period rate. Finally, this study shows large geographic variation in the environmental cost: agronomic benefit ratio. Therein, the Functional Land Management framework can support the development of policies that are more tailored to contrasting biophysical environments and are therefore more effective than 'blanket approaches' allowing more specific and effective prioritisation of contrasting soil functions. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND


Purpose Children with autism have an increased likelihood of reading difficulties. The reasons for this are numerous and varied, but many children with autism can learn to read when they are provided with evidence-based early reading instruction. Method Here, we provide an overview of some of the factors that impact early reading development for children with autism and a rationale for the provision of comprehensive early reading instruction consistent with the recommendations of the National Reading Panel (NRP). We discuss research on NRP instruction for children with autism, including some of our own empirical studies. We also discuss some areas of research that were not emphasized by the NRP but that we view as important. We offer recommendations that extend beyond NRP guidelines in order to advance knowledge and improve practice. Conclusions Comprehensive early reading instruction holds great promise for children with autism, but there are gaps in our understanding that need to be addressed. These include the most effective method(s) for tailoring reading instruction to the needs of the individual while optimizing delivery to small groups of children, supporting skills and making other accommodations not outlined by the NRP, and consideration of bilingualism and of reading instruction in languages other than English, among other issues. While our focus in this review article is early reading instruction for children with autism who use oral language, we acknowledge that there is a major gap in the literature concerning reading instruction for those who do not use oral language. We hope that this review article will be helpful to clinicians, educators, and researchers alike, as well as children with autism and their families, friends, and support networks.


In this paper we analyze the degree of competition in the Hungarian household credit and deposit markets. We estimate discrete-choice, multinomial logit deposit service and loan demand functions for each bank and calculate the corresponding price elasticities. Two models of the banking industry are considered: a static, differentiated product Nash-Bertrand oligopoly (as non-collusive benchmark) and a cartel. With estimated marginal costs and observed interest rates we calculate the price-cost margins and compare these to the theoretically implied ones. We find that in our sample period the competition in the Hungarian banking sector is low, i.e. price-cost margins are high.


The eastern oyster once provided major societal and ecosystem benefits, but these benefits have been threatened in recent decades by large declines in oyster harvests. In many areas, recovery of oyster aquaculture faces significant societal opposition and spatial constraints limiting its ability to meet expectations regarding future food needs and provision of ecosystem services. In Virginia, oyster aquaculture has begun to expand, concurrent with an increase in subaqueous leased areas (over 130,000 acres of grounds are currently leased). Though private leases must in theory be used for oyster production, in practice, they can be held for other reasons, such as speculation or intentional exclusion of others. These factors have led to large variation over time and space in the use of leases in lower Chesapeake Bay; and privately leased grounds are now thought to be underutilized for oyster production. This research examined potential barriers to expansion of oyster aquaculture in Virginia. We first evaluated if a lack of space was limiting industry expansion and quantified temporal and spatial trends in the use and productivity of leases. Then, differences in used and non-used leases were investigated in relation to variables thought to be related to "not in my backyard" attitudes, congestion, speculation, local economic and environmental conditions. Finally, the performance of the Virginia leasing system was compared with those in other states along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts. We found limited evidence for spatial constraints on aquaculture leasing, but strong evidence for social and regulatory inefficiencies. Although rates of lease use increased from 2006 to 2016, only 33% of leases were ever used for oyster production and about 63% of leaseholders reported no commercial harvests. Non-used leases tended to be smaller, and were found in more populated, high-income regions, consistent with both speculative and exclusionary uses. Virginia had the second lowest level of total production of cultured oysters per leased acre among the states on the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States. These results indicate that there is room for oyster aquaculture expansion in Virginia if societal, regulatory, and economic barriers can be reduced or if existing leased areas are used more efficiently.


Tiger Beetles are one of the most studied caraboid groups in the world which includes highly predacious active adults and sedentary larvae. Over 2300 species of tiger beetles have been described and are found worldwide except in Antarctica, the Arctic and very remote isolated oceanic islands. The Indian subcontinent is reported to have a rich diversity of tiger beetles with over 150 described species belonging to a single genus Cicindela (sensu lat.) . Sri Lanka is considered as a global hot spot of tiger beetle diversity with 32 species out of the 55 recorded species being endemic to the country despite the smaller land extent compared to other countries of the Indian subcontinent. The recorded species belong to thirteen genera of which sub genus Ifasina consists of eight species of which the majority are endemic to Sri Lanka . Cylindera ( Ifasina ) waterhousei Horn 1900 is an endemic tiger beetle species which belongs to sub-genus Ifasina Jeannel, 1946. Examination of past distribution records available from 1984 to 2011 indicates the occurrence of C. waterhousei from six locations in the western Province and sabaragamuwa Province-kitulgala, Kegalle district, sabaragamuwa Province (1979); Karawanella, Kegalle district, sabaragamuwa Province (1979); Awissawella, Colombo district, western Province (1979); Labugama, Colombo district, western Province (1979); Ratnapura district, sabaragamuwa Province (1979), Bopath Ella, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province (2003). In the present study conducted in August 2014, fifteen specimens of this species were collected from sandy banks of a tributary of Kalu Ganga in Ingiriya and Domabagaskanda Forest Reserve in Kalutara district where it has not been recorded before despite the extensive surveys conducted in the past. Further, specimens were also collected from Bopath Ella, Ratnapura district. This is the first time that C. waterhousei has been recorded from Kalutara district even though the species has been recorded in other locations of the western Province. Sampling was conducted by visual encounter surveys (VES) along 100 m transect. During 2003 to 2010 period this endemic species was reported only from the sandy banks of Bopath Ella in Ratnapura District. These new records indicate a possible range expansion for the species and contribute largely to the knowledge on distribution of C. waterhousei in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Tiger Beetles, Endemic, Cylindera ( Ifasina ) waterhousei, Kalutara district


Epoxy ecocomposites reinforced with recycled paper (rP) and nano-kaolinite (nK) have been synthesized. The effect of seawater soaking on the flexural and impact properties have been characterized. This new but cost-effective approach has been developed to improve the physical and mechanical properties of polymeric materials without adversely affecting their processing characteristics. The micromechanisms of toughening and failure processes are discussed.


Purpose: To evaluate the refractive results of Vivinex© toric intraocular lenses after a cataract surgery. Methods: We performed a prospective study including 50 eyes of 25 patients, who had a cataract surgery, operated by a unique surgeon, using Callisto© Zeiss with automated conjunctival recognition for the alignment of Vivinex© toric lenses (Hoya). Preoperative corneal astigmatism was evaluated using both corneal topography (OPDII, Nidek) and IOL master 700R keratometry (Carl Zeiss Meditec)). The lens power calculator was performed by the on line Toric calculator (V4 Hoya). Postoperative criteria where uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), residual subjective astigmatism and lens rotation objected with a photography (Eyesuite©, Luneau). Results: Patients mean age was 69.5 years. Lens distribution was: 45.5% of T3 models, 45.5% of T4 models, and 9% of the T5 one. Mean preoperative astigmatism was 1.53 D. Mean postoperative UCVA was 7.7/10, including all lenses. Mean BCVA was 9.8/10. A BCVA>8/10 was obtained in more than 1/3 of patients (36%). The medium residual subjective astigmatism was 0.43 D. The mean lens rotation was measured at 4.6°. Thanks to premium lenses, we are now able to perform cataract surgery as a refractive surgery. Toric Vivinex© lens recently arrived in France during 2017 summer. This lens is a new preloading monobloc hydrophobic IOL, which permits to correct corneal astigmatism from 0.75 D to 4 D. Refractive results are comparable to those obtained with other toric lenses as SN6AT (Alcon) and 709 MP (Carl Zeiss Meditec), which are already available, and recently reported by the same author. Conclusions: This preliminary study shows satisfactory refractive results and lens stability after one month.


This paper addresses the issue of interactive adaptation knowledge acquisition. It shows how the expert's involvement in this process can improve the quality and usefulness of the results. The approach is defended in the context of \taaable, a \cbr system which adapts recipes to user needs. In \taaable, adaptation knowledge takes the form of substitutions. A datamining process allows the discovery of specific substitutions in recipes. A second process, that must be driven by an expert, is needed to generalise these substitutions to make them usable on other recipes. For that, we defend an approach based on closed itemsets (CIs) for extracting generic substitutions starting from specific ones. We focus on a restrictive selection of objects, on a specific filtering on the form of the CIs and on a specific ranking on support and stability of the CIs. Experimentations demonstrate the feasibility of our approach and show some first results.


The American Joint Committee on Cancer has stated that a major goal of staging cancer patients is providing estimates of prognosis. The TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) system is based solely on tumor morphology and does not include patient-based factors, such as comorbidity. Comorbidity, which refers to the presence of nonneoplastic diseases in patients with cancer, has been shown to have a dramatic impact on prognosis for patients with several types of cancer. Instruments created to measure comorbidity from information contained in the medical record include the Kaplan-Feinstein Index, the Charlson Comorbidity Index, and the Index of Coexistent Disease. Additional instruments have been developed to use the secondary data contained in administrative and financial databases. Studies using both types of instruments have demonstrated a significant prognostic impact when comorbidity is present. Inclusion of host factors has been shown to improve the prognostic estimates of a staging system for cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract. With the availability of standard instruments for classifying comorbidity, the continued exclusion of this information is unjustified and hampers a physician's ability to interpret clinical studies and make treatment recommendations.


We examine vertical integration and exclusive behavior in health care markets in which insurers and hospitals bilaterally bargain over contracts. We employ a bargaining model of two hospitals and two health insurers competing on premiums. We show that asymmetric equilibria exist in which one insurer contracts one hospital whereas the other insurer contracts both hospitals, even if all players are equally efficient in their production. Asymmetric equilibria arise if hospitals are sufficiently differentiated. In these cases, total industry profits increase and consumer welfare decreases in comparison to the case in which both insurers have contracts with both hospitals. Vertical integration makes these equilibria possible for a wider range of parameters.


In this work, to reduce the drag of a van body truck, an aerodynamic device is fixing on the aft-body with different angle of declination and shape of the wing. The effects of reducing drag are studied by the methods of Numerical Simulation. And then the mechanism is discussed. The paper selects four rear add-on devices with different obliquity by 5deg, 10deg, 15deg and 20deg. And the shape of the wing is defined as straight line and curve, respectively. Seen from the results of numerical simulation, the rear add-on device can reduce the drag effectively. When the declination angle is 15deg, the effect is the best and the drag of the truck model is reduced by 8.9%. Furthermore, when the add-on plate is changed from contouring with straight line into Witozinsky curve in the same declination angle, the drag can reduce about another 3%. With the optimum declination angle and wing shape, the drag of the truck model is reduced 11.98%.


Since their foundation in 2004, hundreds of Confucius Institutes have been established across the globe. Confucius Institutes, Sponsored by the Office of Chinese Language Council International or Hanban, are non-profit organizations whose stated goal is to act as ambassadors for Chinese language and culture. Most recently, Confucius Institutes have attracted controversy because of their presentation of Chinese history and identity. This project explores how the Confucius Institutes materials and central message are problematic; specifically how the message they promote bolsters China's territorial claims. Recognizing, however, that the Confucius Institutes are realistically unlikely to leave anytime soon, this project explores the salient differences between Confucius Institutes that mitigate the problematic nature of the Confucius Institute's materials and those that remain sources of tension.


Wound healing occurs by regeneration or repair in which the damaged tissue at the wound site is replaced with fibroblastic mediated scar tissue. However, inadequate cell repair due to poor vascularity at the wound site results in non-healing wounds. This study evaluated the effect of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) therapy in six patients with non-healing wounds. The wound was cleaned and washed with normal saline and cotton gauze. The ready to use form of hESCs was sprayed on the wound and final dressing was done with antibiotics, vaseline gauze and cotton pads. The wounds of all the patients healed after receiving hESC therapy. Reduction in the size of wounds and granulation was observed among all the patients. hESC therapy showed improved and faster wound healing in non-healing wounds of different etiologies.


SIR,-During the last five or six years it fell to my lot to operate on large numbers of recently acquired inguinal herniae in young men. Not'infrequently the history was of the sudden appearance of a swelling in the groin consequent 'upon some particular effort. In these cases it was no uncommon thing to find, after removal of the sac, that the internal ring was much enlarged, and on displacement of the cord it was apparent that this enlargement was caused by an actual tear of the transversalis fascia, which extended through the thickened inner margin of the ring for a variable distance across the canal. The tear exposed the deep epigastric and iliac vessels and allowed a finger-tip to slip back quite easily into the extraperitoneal cellular planes of the pelvis. Moreover, its edges were clearly defined, and a single line of suture uniting them was sufficient to restore the normal anatomy of the canal. Oddly enough, the resulting hernia was not always " direct." Protrusion still took place laterally to the deep epigastric vessels, which, of course, offered no resistance and were displaeod medially. Obviously, with a lesion of this kind the first step towards cure after removal of the sad must be directed towards closing the tear, preferably with unabsorbable material. To hope for success by building up a barrier at an anterior level would be on a par with trying to keep the horse in the stable by shutting the yard gate. The other point that arises in connexion with these cases concerns liability. I believe that with a clear history and the operative findings which I have described the surgeon would have no choice but to describe the lesion as "attributable."-I am, etc., London, W.I. STEPHEN POWER.


Firms that outsource production to supply partners are at risk if those suppliers engage in unethical behavior. Such issues have been particularly acute in the apparel industry. If suppliers engage in unethical practices, firms may suffer brand and reputation damage, lost sales, cancelled contracts, legal penalties, lower employee morale, and more. An innovative program, originated at Reebok and expanded to become an interorganizational non-profit, the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, leverages technology to improve industry standards, lower costs, and reduce risks. The Fair Factories Clearinghouse offers an information systems-based solution that allows members to record, capture, and share audit information. This case study discuses the genesis of the FFC, the functionality and benefits of the system, and highlights an area where globally-focused technology can be used for deep and lasting social impact.


Based on specimens collected during several sampling programmes along the Iranian coast, Persian Gulf, a new species of the genus Terebellides (Polychaeta, Trichobranchidae) is herein described as Terebellides persiae spec. nov. The new species is primarily characterised by the presence of a large dorsal thoracic hump in larger specimens and ciliated papillae on the branchial lamellae. The new species is compared with other taxa belonging to Terebellides described or reported with any of both characters. SEM and micro-CT have been used to study T. persiae spec. nov. and provide several new details on external characters and internal organs, respectively. A key for the identification of the species of Terebellides with dorsal hump is provided.


Nanocomposite materials consisting of a nanocrystalline Ni matrix with grain size ranging from 23 to 40 nm, and nano-size SiO2 particles with average particle size of 7 nm, have been produced by pulse electrodeposition. Grain size was controlled by peak current density. It was observed that SiO2 particles precipitated within grain interior by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Hardness and tensile strength of nanocomposites with a grain size larger than 35 nm was higher than that of nanocrystalline pure Ni possibly as a consequence of Orowan precipitation hardening. However, hardness of Ni-SiO2 nanocomposites with a grain size smaller than 30 nm was the same as that of nanocrystalline pure Ni. It was considered that the SiO2 particles do not contribute to hardening because deformation occurs by a grain-boundary-mediated mechanism such as grain-boundary sliding.


Single crystal of potassium hexacyano ferrate (PHF) have been successfully grown by the slow evaporation technique at room temperature which has dimensions 13 ×10 ×3 mm3. The grown crystal was characterized structurally, optically, thermally, mechanically and electrically. Lattice parameters of the grown crystal were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The functional groups present in the crystal were identified using Fourier Transform Infrared spectral analysis. UV-Vis-NIR spectrum was recorded to estimate the UV cut-off wavelength and transparency. Second harmonic generation study confirms the NLO property. Thermal stability and decomposition of the crystal has been studied by TG/DTA analysis. Microhardness measurement indicates that the grown crystal exhibits normal indentation size effect. The frequency and temperature dependence of dielectric constant and dielectric loss were also studied.


Two small masterpieces in one volume. First, "The Double", a surprisingly modern hallucinatory nightmare that foreshadows Kafka and Sartre. A minor official named Goliadkin becomes aware of a mysterious doppelganger - a man who has his name and his face and who gradually and relentlessly begins to displace him with his friends and colleagues. In the dilemma of his increasingly paranoid hero, Dostoevsky makes vividly concrete the inner plurality of consciousness that would become a major theme of his work. Second, "The Gambler", a stunning psychological portrait of a young man's exhilarating and destructive addiction, a compulsion that Dostoevsky - who once gambled away his wife's wedding ring - knew intimately from his own experience. In the disastrous love affairs and gambling adventures of Alexei Ivanovich, Dostoevsky explores the irresistible temptation to look into the abyss of ultimate risk that he believed was an essential part of the Russian national character.


Urban geophysics ups the ante in the world of applied geophysics, if for no other reason than the settings. The objectives and associated challenges are the same as other applications: to characterize, image, delineate, detect, resolve, etc. But it is the arena that makes the job of the urban geophysicist not one for the timid. It is a job that requires innovative thinking and seemingly off-the-wall approaches. Geophysical warriors who take on these daunting missions are cut from a unique cloth, the Team 6 of the applied geophysical community. Well, maybe that is a bit over the top, but as you will see in this special section, meeting the data challenges of urban settings and dealing with associated human sprawl requires problem-solving that clearly steps well beyond anything they tried to teach us in school.


World business has transformed from sellers' market to buyers' market. This has led to an increase in competition within the domestic market. Domestic companies are now looking for overseas markets for their survival and growth. Information and technology have played a very vital role in bringing the world closer. Access to foreign markets is virtually at the fingertips of producers. Domestic companies are increasingly using this technology to seek their access. Australia is one of the biggest users of information technology. The Australian economy is fairly stable. The opening up of the Australian economy and its economic growth have attracted many foreign companies. There are enormous opportunities in Australia which are yet to be tapped by Indian companies. Hence, Somani Fabrics has a fair chance to take advantage of the growing Australian market. The clothing export industry in India has shown an inspired growth and performance in a short span of time, reaching an export figure of 4.5 billion US$ during 1995-96 leaving all the other products far behind and by contributing over 16% of the national foreign exchange earnings. It is also credible that phenomenal export growth in this sector has been possible despite quota restrictions. However, such restriction would no longer be there beyond 2005. A golden opportunity exists for Indian garment industry to penetrate new markets. The study begins with an introduction identifying the purpose, benefits and scope of study etc. In the subsequent chapters, the study reviews theories relating to strategic management, internal and external environment analysis and theories relating to various tools for development of different strategies. With the help of SWOT analysis many strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Somani Fabrics are analysed. This information is used for the development of an appropriate strategy, which could eliminate these weaknesses and threats. TOWS matrix and SPACE Matrix generates several strategies for Somani Fabrics. Each of these strategies is evaluated for selection purposes. In conclusion, a strategy is recommended to Somani Fabrics. It is also recommended that Somani Fabrics should undertake future research before entering Australian market.


We introduce a novel unsupervised domain adaptation approach for object detection. We aim to alleviate the imperfect translation problem of pixel-level adaptations, and the source-biased discriminativity problem of feature-level adaptations simultaneously. Our approach is composed of two stages, i.e., Domain Diversification (DD) and Multi-domain-invariant Representation Learning (MRL). At the DD stage, we diversify the distribution of the labeled data by generating various distinctive shifted domains from the source domain. At the MRL stage, we apply adversarial learning with a multi-domain discriminator to encourage feature to be indistinguishable among the domains. DD addresses the source-biased discriminativity, while MRL mitigates the imperfect image translation. We construct a structured domain adaptation framework for our learning paradigm and introduce a practical way of DD for implementation. Our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods by a large margin of 3%~11% in terms of mean average precision (mAP) on various datasets.


The paper must have abstract not exceeding 200 words. Brand management is considered in the current literature of marketing as one of the most important business strategies and it is a relatively new topic that is increasing its adepts among researchers, scholars, and professionals in the field of marketing since brand management allows organizations more and better results as well as to increase innovation activities. However, despite the importance of brand management and innovation, there are relatively few investigations focused in the analysis and discussion of the relation between both construct. That is why it is necessary to produce more research papers that provide empirical evidence of the effects of brand management in innovation. For this reason the main goal of this empirical investigation is the analysis and discussion of the effects of brand management in the innovation of small enterprises. The results obtained show that the brand management of products or services of small enterprises have positive, significant effects in the innovation activities carried out by small enterprises. JEL classification numbers: M31Keywords: Brand management, innovation, small business


A new development for the treatment of domestic wastewater is a technology based on aerobic granular sludge. Granular sludge can be developed under specific process conditions. Because of the unique properties of this granular sludge, high volumetric loading rates of aeration tanks can be applied. Thanks to excellent settling properties, the separation of treated wastewater and granular sludge can take place at high hydraulic loading rates.

Depending on the chosen process configuration good effluent quality can be obtained, complying with the stringent effluent requirements regarding nitrogen and phosphorus, which can be expected in the future. In this way aerobic granular sludge has the potential to contribute significantly to wastewater treatment management.

This report describes the results of research carried out at the Technical University of Delft.

This title belongs to Water and Wastewater Practitioner Series

ISBN: 9781843390671 (Print)

ISBN: 9781780402901 (eBook)


The use of industrial high-temperature heat pumps (HTHP) is particularly interesting for heat recovery applications and various industrial processes such as steam generation, drying, sterilization, paper production, or food preparation. The application of new synthetic hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) and hydrochlorofluoroolefin (HCFO) refrigerants with low environmental impact is becoming increasingly important in future HTHP. At our university in Switzerland, a laboratory-scale HTHP has been developed as part of the SCCER-EIP project (Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research – Efficiency of Industrial Processes). The developed heat pump is single-stage, operates with a variable speed piston compressor, and contains a continuously adjustable internal heat exchanger (IHX) for superheating control. A viscous POE oil (173 mm2/s at 40 °C) is used to achieve sufficient lubrication at high temperatures with the refrigerants. This paper presents the experimental performance of the HCFO and HFO refrigerants R1224yd(Z), R1233zd(E), and R1336mzz(Z) as drop-in replacements for the fluorinated hydrocarbon (HFC) R245fa in the same laboratory HTHP with 10 kW heating capacity. Starting from a reference point at W60/W110 (50 K temperature lift), a parameter study was performed to investigate the operating maps (i.e. heating capacity and COP) of the heat pump in the range from 30 to 80 °C heat source and 70 to 150 °C supply temperature. Besides, an overview of the thermophysical, environmental, and safety aspects of the refrigerants is given. At W60/W110 COPs of 3.2, 3.1, 3.0, and 3.1 for R1224yd(Z), R1233zd(E), R1336mzz(Z) and R245fa were measured. Up to about 110 °C, R1224yd(Z), R1233zd(E), and R245fa presented a slightly higher COP than R1336mzz(Z) due to higher heating capacities and lower relative heat losses at the same temperature conditions. Due to higher critical temperatures, R1336mzz(Z) was more efficient at 150 °C heat supply temperature. Otherwise, the differences in COP were within the measurement uncertainty of maximum ± 0.22 COP. The integration of the IHX in the heat pump cycle significantly increased the COP and the heating capacity over the entire operating map compared to a basic cycle. A further COP increase was achieved by a higher temperature glide on the heat supply side from 5 to 30 K (increased subcooling), which is promising in processes with low return temperatures. The drop-in tests also showed that the heating capacity of R1224yd(Z) was on average 9% higher than that of R1233zd(E), which in practice requires slightly smaller compressors to achieve a comparable heating capacity. Overall, the very low GWP, the non-flammability, and the negligible environmental impact (i.e. low trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) formation during atmospheric degradation) of the investigated HCFO and HFO refrigerants indicate a high potential for future use in HTHP applications and retrofit systems.


One aspect of the present subject matter relates to a method for forming a transistor. According to an embodiment, a fin of amorphous semiconductor material is formed on a crystalline substrate, and a solid phase epitaxy (SPE) process is performed to crystallize the amorphous semiconductor material using the crystalline substrate to seed the crystalline growth. The fin has a cross-sectional thickness in at least one direction less than a minimum feature size. The transistor body is formed in the crystallized semiconductor pillar between a first source/drain region and a second source/drain region. A surrounding gate insulator is formed around the semiconductor pillar, and a surrounding gate is formed around and separated from the semiconductor pillar by the surrounding gate insulator. Other aspects are provided herein.


Case-publication bias, the possibility that certain legal outcomes may be more likely to be published or observed than others, carries significant implications for both legal actors and researchers. In this article, I propose a method for detecting and correcting case-publication bias based on ideas from multiple-systems estimation, a technique traditionally used for estimating hidden populations. I apply the method to a simulated data set of admissibility decisions to confirm its efficacy, then to a newly collected data set on false-confession expert testimony, where the model estimates that the observed 16 percent admissibility rate may be in reality closer to 28 percent. The article thus draws attention to the problem of case-publication bias and offers a practical statistical tool for detecting and correcting it.


The transcription factor E2F1, a critical target of the tumour suppressor pRb, is deregulated in most human cancers. Oncogenes have been shown to deregulate E2F1 through inhibition of pRB and deregulation of E2F1 is an event that occurs in most human cancers. The essential role of E2F1 in apoptosis is well documented and deregulated E2F1 can enhance drug induced death. E2F1 is induced by various chemotherapeutic drugs and this induction, in addition with oncogenic stress, contributes to increased chemosensitivity.
Cells expressing the adenovirus early region 1A (E1A) oncogene have been used as a tool to identify cellular regulatory pathways that modulate chemosensitivity. E1A sensitises cells to the induction of apoptosis by diverse stimuli, including many chemotherapeutic drugs. These E1A activities are mediated through binding the RB family proteins (pRb, p107 and p130) and via the E1A N-terminal domain that interacts with different cellular protein complexes including the p300/CBP transcriptional activator and p400/TRRAP chromatin-remodeling complex.
The results presented here illustrate novel mechanisms of E2F1 induction both by oncogenes and chemotherapeutic drugs. Two minimal domains of E2F1 are described that are induced following DNA damage via mechanism(s) not previously identified. In addition, data are presented which show that E1A expression not only deregulates E2F1, but also elevates E2F1 levels. E1A is dependent on interaction with RB protein to induce E2F1 levels and this elevation contributes to cell death. Using previously described protein binding deficient truncations of E1A, we demonstrate that E1A binding to the p400/TRRAP protein complex is also critical for the induction of E2F1. E1A binding to p400/TRRAP was also critical in sensitizing these cells to drug induced apoptosis. Suppression of p400 using siRNA had similar affect on E2F1 induction and caused an increase in drug sensitivity indicating that E1A inhibits p400 function.
These results contribute to the understanding of how activation of the E2F1 pathway may be targeted therapeutically to enhance chemotherapy-induced tumour cell death.


Modern gas turbine engines provide large amounts of thrust and withstand severe thermal-mechanical conditions during the load and mission operations characterized by cyclic transients and long dwell times. All these operational factors can be detrimental to the service life of turbine components and need careful consideration. Engine components subject to the harshest environments are turbine high-pressure vanes and rotating blades. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a turbine component three-dimensional life prediction system, which accounts for mission transients, anisotropic material properties, and multi-axial, thermal-mechanical, strain and stress fields. This paper presents a complete life prediction approach for either commercial missions or more complex military missions, which includes evaluation of component transient metal temperatures, resolved maximum shear stresses and strains, and subsequent component life capability for fatigue and creep damage. The procedure is based on considering all of the time steps in the mission profile by developing a series of extreme points that envelop every point in the mission. Creep damage is factored into the component capability by debiting thermal-mechanical accumulated cycles using the traditional Miner's rule for accumulated fatigue and creep damage. Application of this methodology is illustrated to the design of the NASA Energy Efficient Engine (E3 ) high pressure turbine blade with operational load shakedown leading to stress relaxation on the external hot surfaces and potential state of overstress in the inner cold rib regions of the airfoil.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


Emergence is a profound subject that straddles many scientific disciplines, including the formation of galaxies and how consciousness arises from the collective activity of neurons. Despite the broad interest that exists on this concept, the study of emergence has suffered from a lack of formalisms that could be used to guide discussions and advance theories. Here, we summarize, elaborate on, and extend a recent formal theory of causal emergence based on information decomposition, which is quantifiable and amenable to empirical testing. This theory relates emergence with information about a system's temporal evolution that cannot be obtained from the parts of the system separately. This article provides an accessible but rigorous introduction to the framework, discussing the merits of the approach in various scenarios of interest. We also discuss several interpretation issues and potential misunderstandings, while highlighting the distinctive benefits of this formalism. This article is part of the theme issue 'Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies'.


As one of third generation photovoltaic device, dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) plays important part in search for new and renewable energy resources. As part of this device, dye has a very critical function due to its responsibility in absorbing the photon energy from the sunlight. The more light can be absorbed, the higher the value of photon to electricity conversion efficiency can be obtained. For increasing the absorption capacity of the dye, this work investigated the effect of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) addition into the dye solution with rGO to dye weight % ratio of 1:100; 3:100; and 5:100 respectively. On the basis of investigation, it was found that the ratio of 3:100 produced a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of about 0,02% as compared to the reference cells which displayed a value of 0,005%. It confirms that introducing rGO into the dye can enhance the DSSC performance, though several fabrication handling procedures still need to be improved as well.


Objective: To evaluate the spatial pattern and regional rates of neocortical atrophy from normal aging to early Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods: Longitudinal MRI data were analyzed using high-throughput image analysis procedures for 472 individuals diagnosed as normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or AD. Participants were divided into 4 groups based on Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes score (CDR-SB). Annual atrophy rates were derived by calculating percent cortical volume loss between baseline and 12-month scans. Repeated-measures analyses of covariance were used to evaluate group differences in atrophy rates across regions as a function of impairment. Planned comparisons were used to evaluate the change in atrophy rates across levels of disease severity. Results: In patients with MCI–CDR-SB 0.5–1, annual atrophy rates were greatest in medial temporal, middle and inferior lateral temporal, inferior parietal, and posterior cingulate. With increased impairment (MCI–CDR-SB 1.5–2.5), atrophy spread to parietal, frontal, and lateral occipital cortex, followed by anterior cingulate cortex. Analysis of regional trajectories revealed increasing rates of atrophy across all neocortical regions with clinical impairment. However, increases in atrophy rates were greater in early disease within medial temporal cortex, whereas increases in atrophy rates were greater at later stages in prefrontal, parietal, posterior temporal, parietal, and cingulate cortex. Conclusions: Atrophy is not uniform across regions, nor does it follow a linear trajectory. Knowledge of the spatial pattern and rate of decline across the spectrum from normal aging to Alzheimer disease can provide valuable information for detecting early disease and monitoring treatment effects at different stages of disease progression.


In this paper, a new mathematical model and modeling method of ball-end milling cutter which satisfies the request of physical simulation in virtual NC machining system are proposed. The accurate expressions of the cutting edge are presented. The precise functional surface model of ball-end cutter is developed. And the 3-D visualization for ball-end milling cutter in virtual NC machining is implemented. The model can provide necessary and accurate geometric information for physical simulation and has been applied in milling force simulation. It laid the foundation for integration of geometric simulation and physical simulation.


Vampire stories and folklores have originated from a range of sources; however, it is rather certain that the repulsive but attractive vampiric monster images in present popular culture are primarily derived from Anne Rice s novel Interview with the Vampire . That being said, it was around the end of the eighteenth century that vampires first invaded the popular literary world, with literary vampires growing noticeably more powerful and perpetual than any of their monstrous predecessors in the years since the publication of John Polidori s successful short story The Vampyre in 1819 (Punter and Byron 2004, 268). Due to associated aesthetic transformations, vampirism itself has become increasingly popular, to the extent that it now commands some followers who even worship vampiric rituals and lifestyles in spite of there being no solid, physical evidence of actual vampires, but rather only literary and imaginary examples of the creatures. In order to grasp how this fascination with vampires has turned into a quasi-religious phenomenon and ideology, a proper investigation of vampiric mechanisms and aesthetics should be empirical in nature. Utilizing Interview with the Vampire as an example due to its clearly substantial influence on current vampire imagery, this article examines how the paradoxical interchange between aversion and attraction plays its role in the visceral religion of the vampire-immersed world.


Advanced cyber attacks consist of multiple stages aimed at being stealthy and elusive. Such attack patterns leave their footprints spatio-temporally dispersed across many different logs in victim machines. However, existing log-mining intrusion analysis systems typically target only a single type of log to discover evidence of an attack and therefore fail to exploit fundamental inter-log connections. The output of such single-log analysis can hardly reveal the complete attack story for complex, multi-stage attacks. Additionally, some existing approaches require heavyweight system instrumentation, which makes them impractical to deploy in real production environments. To address these problems, we present HERCULE, an automated multi-stage log-based intrusion analysis system. Inspired by graph analytics research in social network analysis, we model multi-stage intrusion analysis as a community discovery problem. HERCULE builds multi-dimensional weighted graphs by correlating log entries across multiple lightweight logs that are readily available on commodity systems. From these, HERCULE discovers any "attack communities" embedded within the graphs. Our evaluation with 15 well known APT attack families demonstrates that HERCULE can reconstruct attack behaviors from a spectrum of cyber attacks that involve multiple stages with high accuracy and low false positive rates.


Author(s): Giordano, Michael | Advisor(s): Asa-Awuku, Akua | Abstract: Biomass burning is one of the largest contributors of particles and trace gases to the atmosphere. This work focuses on constraining the impacts that biomass burning has on Earth's climate through two effects: scattering or absorption of light by particles and particle impacts on cloud formation. To explore biomass burning light interaction and hygroscopicity, a series of environmental chamber experiments were carried out using fuels common to the southwest U.S. This work includes the effects that photochemical aging has on the emissions to provide a realistic assessment of the emissions' lifetime in the atmosphere.The work done on the cloud formation properties of the emissions shows that two common assumptions applied to the emissions misrepresent their cloud forming abilities. The first assumption, that surface active compounds are negligible in cloud activation, is shown to not apply to biomass burning aerosols. Not accounting for the presence of surface active compounds over estimates the hygroscopicity of the aerosols by up to 30%. The second assumption, that the volume of the particles is well characterized by the electrical mobility diameter, is also shown to not apply to the system. Making the second assumption when parameterizing the hygroscopicity of the aerosols underestimates the hygroscopicity by up to 50%. Accounting for both assumptions is shown to have a greater impact at the point of emission than after six hours of photochemical aging. Therefore, the age of the aerosols must be taken into account when predicting the indirect effects of biomass burning aerosol.This work also explores the light absorption of biomass burning aerosol and its reaction to photochemical aging. The results indicate that the aerosol is light absorbing and the magnitude of absorption can change with photochemical exposure. This work also shows that the absorption of the aerosol evolves with the volatility and surface active compounds present in the aerosol.The final part of this work demonstrates that the local air quality that biomass is grown in can have an impact when that biomass is burned. Biomass grown in a polluted area is shown to emit more NOx than biomass grown in a clean area and that the aerosols are less volatile.


This paper examines how the introduction and utilization of new information technologies including AI, IoT and big data affect the well-being of workers including their mental health and job engagement, in addition to the types of workers and workplaces that are more influenced by the changes, based on worker panel data. First, looking at the situation of the introduction and utilization of new information technologies shows that workplaces that employ workers with more routine tasks, higher wages, longer working hours, and where there is a focus on operational efficiency, tend to introduce and utilize new information technology. Next, panel data estimation shows that well-being indices such as the mental health index and work engagement index tend to increase after the introduction and utilization of new information technology. Thus, the introduction and utilization of new technologies such as AI can be interpreted as improving well-being, including mental health and work engagement, meaning that the effect of supporting workers is greater than the negative effect caused by the extra workload or learning cost that workers must bear due to new technologies. In addition, it is shown that the impact of such new information technology on well-being is more evident for workers with clear job descriptions, high job discretion, frequent, suddenly changing work demands, and employed in workplaces that conduct work-style reform such as improving operational efficiency, reducing overtime work, promoting morning and evening non-work activities, and promoting paid holidays.


Abstract Introduction Management of concomitant use of ART and TB drugs is difficult because of the many drug–drug interactions (DDIs) between the medications. This systematic review provides an overview of the current state of knowledge about the pharmacokinetics (PK) of ART and TB treatment in children with HIV/TB co-infection, and identifies knowledge gaps. Methods We searched Embase and PubMed, and systematically searched abstract books of relevant conferences, following PRISMA guidelines. Studies not reporting PK parameters, investigating medicines that are not available any longer or not including children with HIV/TB co-infection were excluded. All studies were assessed for quality. Results In total, 47 studies met the inclusion criteria. No dose adjustments are necessary for efavirenz during concomitant first-line TB treatment use, but intersubject PK variability was high, especially in children <3 years of age. Super-boosted lopinavir/ritonavir (ratio 1:1) resulted in adequate lopinavir trough concentrations during rifampicin co-administration. Double-dosed raltegravir can be given with rifampicin in children >4 weeks old as well as twice-daily dolutegravir (instead of once daily) in children older than 6 years. Exposure to some TB drugs (ethambutol and rifampicin) was reduced in the setting of HIV infection, regardless of ART use. Only limited PK data of second-line TB drugs with ART in children who are HIV infected have been published. Conclusions Whereas integrase inhibitors seem favourable in older children, there are limited options for ART in young children (<3 years) receiving rifampicin-based TB therapy. The PK of TB drugs in HIV-infected children warrants further research.