Background Leptospira-induced macrophage death has been confirmed to play a crucial role in pathogenesis of leptospirosis, a worldwide zoonotic infectious disease. Intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) elevation induced by infection can cause cell death, but [Ca2+]i changes and high [Ca2+]i-induced death of macrophages due to infection of Leptospira have not been previously reported. Methodology/Principal Findings We first used a Ca2+-specific fluorescence probe to confirm that the infection of L. interrogans strain Lai triggered a significant increase of [Ca2+]i in mouse J774A.1 or human THP-1 macrophages. Laser confocal microscopic examination showed that the [Ca2+]i elevation was caused by both extracellular Ca2+ influx through the purinergic receptor, P2X7, and Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum, as seen by suppression of [Ca2+]i elevation when receptor-gated calcium channels were blocked or P2X7 was depleted. The LB361 gene product of the spirochete exhibited phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C (L-PI-PLC) activity to hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) into inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), which in turn induces intracellular Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum, with the Km of 199 µM and Kcat of 8.566E-5 S-1. Secretion of L-PI-PLC from the spirochete into supernatants of leptospire-macrophage co-cultures and cytosol of infected macrophages was also observed by Western Blot assay. Lower [Ca2+]i elevation was induced by infection with a LB361-deficient leptospiral mutant, whereas transfection of the LB361 gene caused a mild increase in [Ca2+]i. Moreover, PI-PLCs (PI-PLC-β3 and PI-PLC-γ1) of the two macrophages were activated by phosphorylation during infection. Flow cytometric detection demonstrated that high [Ca2+]i increases induced apoptosis and necrosis of macrophages, while mild [Ca2+]i elevation only caused apoptosis. Conclusions/Significance This study demonstrated that L. interrogans infection induced [Ca2+]i elevation through extracellular Ca2+ influx and intracellular Ca2+ release cause macrophage apoptosis and necrosis, and the LB361 gene product was shown to be a novel PI-PLC of L. interrogans responsible for the [Ca2+]i elevation.


Two-day-old suckling rabbits of a selected strain (NZW) imported from a temperate country (France) were suckled in a tropical country (Benin) by does of the local strain (CECURI). The growth performance of the imported and native rabbits was compared after weaning at 31 days, in a 8 weeks fattening trial. Four groups were constituted: 2 x 24 weanlings of each strain were fed either with the local feed (coarsely ground meal + green forage) or with a balanced pelleted diet imported from France. No morbidity was observed during the trial. NZW and CECURI rabbits had the same growth rate when fed pelleted feed: 29.6 and 28.5 g/day respectively. This performance was only 10 to 22% lower than in temperate countries and the main reason was a lowered feed consumption in relation to temperature. The growth rate of CECURI rabbits fed on the local feed was lower than that of the group of the same strain fed on pelleted diet. The difference was only 18 % and mainly carne from a lower dry matter intake (72.5 vs 84.7 g/day for pellets) The imported strain had difficulties of adaptation not to the climate but to the local feed. His growth rate was only 19.4 g/day vs 23.4 g/day for the local rabbits receiving the same feed. A potential effect of the early chemosensory experience (during both gestation and first suckling) of the imported strain is discussed. In their conclusion, the authors emphasised that neither the climate, nor the feed presentation can explain the very low growth rates (10 to 15 g/day) too frequently mentioned in the literature for post weaning growth experiments conducted with New Zealand rabbits raised in tropical conditions.


Volcanic ash-derived soils (VADS, variable-charge soils) are predominant in some regions of the world, being of great importance in the agricultural economy of several emerging countries. Their amphoteric surface charge characteristics confer physical/chemical properties different to constant surface charge-soils, showing a particular behavior in relation to the herbicide adsorption kinetics. Volcanic soils represent an environmental substrate that may become polluted over time due to intensive agronomic uses. Solute transport models have contributed to a better understanding of herbicide behavior on variable- and constant-charge soils, being also necessary to evaluate the fate of herbicides and to prevent potential contamination of water resources. The following chapter is divided into four sections: physi-cal/chemical properties of variable and constant-charge soils, kinetic adsorption models frequently used to obtain kinetic parameters of herbicides on soils, solute transport models to describe herbicide adsorption on VADS, and impact of experimental conditions of kinetic batch studies on solute transport mechanisms.


Abstract. We present the In situ/Remote sensing aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (IRRA) that combines airborne in situ and lidar remote sensing data to retrieve vertical profiles of ambient aerosol optical, microphysical and hygroscopic properties, employing the ISORROPIA II model for acquiring the particle hygroscopic growth. Here we apply the algorithm on data collected from the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) BAe-146 research aircraft during the ACEMED campaign in the Eastern Mediterranean. Vertical profiles of aerosol microphysical properties have been derived successfully for an aged smoke plume near the city of Thessaloniki with aerosol optical depth of  ∼  0.4 at 532 nm, single scattering albedos of  ∼  0.9–0.95 at 550 nm and typical lidar ratios for smoke of  ∼  60–80 sr at 532 nm. IRRA retrieves highly hydrated particles above land, with 55 and 80 % water volume content for ambient relative humidity of 80 and 90 %, respectively. The proposed methodology is highly advantageous for aerosol characterization in humid conditions and can find valuable applications in aerosol–cloud interaction schemes. Moreover, it can be used for the validation of active space-borne sensors, as is demonstrated here for the case of CALIPSO.


SUMMARY Summary: secondary prevention frequently is not appropriate due to difficulties in keeping up with lifestyle changes as well as low therapy adherence. Audit permits to know the health care situation, so a self-audit was performed analyzing the process of care (indication of statins, antiplatelets and beta-blockers) and its results (LDL-cholesterol and blood pressure) in patients in secondary prevention. Method: hundred consecutive selected patients with coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and/or arteriopathy were analized, verifying statins, beta blockers and antiplatelets indication, as well as blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol values. Patients with blood pressure <140/90 mmHg (<130/80 mm Hg in diabetics) and LDL-cholesterol <100mg/dl were considered as controlled. Results: eighty-nine percent of patients had registered indication of statins, 98% of antiplatelets and 62% of beta-blockers. Blood pressure was recorded in 100% of the patients and a lipidogram was carried out in 91% of the patients in the last two years. Both parameters were controlled in 36% of the patients, but the figure dropped to 13.3% among diabetics. Patients who had undergone coronary angioplasty were better controlled than the rest (60,9% versus 28,6% p=0,004). Conclusions: though drugs prescription and performed controls were appropriate, only 36% of patients had LDL-cholesterol and blood pressure acceptable values. The self-audit allowed objectively evaluate the control degree in secondary prevention patients, finding most of them poorly controlled, specially the diabetic ones, being necessary to put measures into practice to improve the present situation.


Arsenic-induced carcinogenesis can result in cancers of the liver in exposed organisms. This study evaluated anticancer potentials of MLF1 and AMF1 extracted from Morinda lucida and Annona muicata leaves respectively in Sodium arsenite (SA)-induced toxicity in rats. Sixty adult female rats were randomly divided into 12 groups (n = 5). Group 1 was control. Group 2 received 5-weeks administrations of 10 mg/kg bodyweight of SA. Groups 3-6 received SA-dose for 2 weeks followed by 3-weeks posttreatments with MLF1-doses and AMF1-doses respectively. Groups 7-10 received only 5-weeks administrations of MLF1-doses and AMF1- doses respectively. Groups 11 and 12 received 5-weeks co-administrations of SA-dose with highdoses of MLF1 and AMF1 respectively. Drugs/ extracts were administered orally. Liver histopathology (Heamatoxylin and Eosin) and ELISA concentrations of sera Melatonin and TNF-alpha were evaluated. Malondialdehyde (thiobarbituricacid assay) and p53 (ELISA) levels were evaluated in liver homogenates. Data were statistically analysed. Results showed normal liver histology in Groups 1-12. Post-treatments of SA-induced toxicity with MLF1 and AMF1 resulted in significant (P≤0.05) and non-significant decreased levels (P≥0.05) of Malondialdehyde, TNF-alpha and p53, but significant (P≤0.05) and non-significant increased Melatonin levels (P≥0.05) in Groups 3-12 compared with Group 2. MLF1 and AMF1 possess anticancer, antioxidant, pro-Melatonin, anti-inflammatory and hepato-protective potentials.


Recent achievements in single molecule detection using near- field optical excitation are presented. By proper control of technology, distinct advantages of near-field optics are exploited: (i) the nanometric excitation/emission volume (10(4)-10(5) nm(3)), which provides high spatial resolution, localization of a single molecule within a few nm, and reduced background; (ii) the sensitivity for single molecule orientation in all three dimensions; (iii) the high local brightness, allowing real-time single molecule detection down to mu s resolution; (iv) the simultaneous colocalization with nanometric surface topography. Real-time quantum jumps between singlet and triplet state of an individual molecule are observed. Distributions for triplet state lifetime and crossing yield are determined. Both triplet state lifetime and crossing yield of a single molecule appear to vary in time, due to the local heterogeneity. Individual dendritic molecules containing a single fluorescent core are investigated. The dendritic assemblies are discriminated from free fluorescent cores on the basis of accurate simultaneous localization of both the fluorescent core and the topography of the surrounding dendritic shell. Intramolecular rotational motion of the fluorescent core is observed. Individual green fluorescent proteins are visualized, both in fluorescence and topography. Photoinduced conformational changes to a nonemissive form of the protein are observed, leading to long dark intervals of several seconds.


Testosterone and androstenedione were measured in testicular and epididymal tissue of 37 previously healthy infants between 1 and 24 months of age who died suddenly. In half of the patients elevated plasma levels of cortisol and androstenedione suggested preterminal stress. Plasma testosterone levels, however, did not differ from those in healthy infants. Testicular testosterone concentrations were maximal in boys from 1-3 months of age (median, 36.6 ng/g; range, 7-380 ng/g) with peak values similar to those found in pubertal or even adult testes. Thereafter testicular testosterone concentrations decreased and after the age of 6 months all values were below 12.5 ng/g, which corresponds to the low normal range of older prepubertal boys. Plasma testosterone and testicular testosterone correlated significantly (P less than 0.001). On average the testicular concentrations were 36.4 times higher than the corresponding plasma concentrations. Testicular androstenedione was low but correlated significantly with testicular testosterone (P less than 0.001). Epididymal testosterone concentrations were surprisingly high (1-3 months: median, 10.3 ng/g; range, 4-42.7 ng/g) and averaged 30% of the testicular testosterone concentration. Thus, epididymal testosterone concentrations were significantly higher than the circulating plasma testosterone levels, indicating the capacity of the infant epididymis to accumulate androgens. These findings suggest that high local testosterone concentrations during early infancy are important not only for the testis itself but particularly for the developing epididymis.


325 patients radically operated on for cancer of the breast, stomach, colon and rectum were given a rehabilitative treatment at a specialized out-patient department of the Dispensary. As a result, postoperative disorders were eliminated in 55% of breast cancer patients, 83.8% of cases of colonic and rectal cancer and 76.6% of gastric cancer patients. These indexes appeared to be significantly higher than those in controls who had not received rehabilitative treatment.


Background The incidence of SCD in Minnesota high school athletes was recently reported from 1 in 416,666 to 917,069 athlete-years based on search of catastrophic insurance claims data. The low rate of SCD was attributed to the effectiveness of a standardized pre-participation screening program using American Heart Association recommendations. However, in college age populations insurance claims data identified only 20% of SCDs. Objective To determine the incidence of SCA/SCD in Minnesota high school athletes using media reports and compare this to incidence using insurance claims data. Design Retrospective review of the Parent Heart Watch database generated from systematic search of media reports. Each case was reviewed for details. Sport participation numbers were from the National Federation of High Schools. Setting Minnesota. Participants 1 906 014 high school athletes ages 14–18 from 2002–2012. Interventions None. Main outcome measurements Incidence of SCA. Results Media reports identified 14 SCAs, (7 SCDs /7 SCAs who survived), during the 10 year period examined, all in male athletes. The death rate in Minnesota high school athletes was 1 in 102 485. The SCA rate (death+arrests) was 1 in 51 243 athlete-years and 1 in 33 480 athlete-years in males. 43% of events and 29% of deaths identified occurred while participating on a school sponsored team. Seven of 14 events (50%) occurred in male basketball players for an SCA rate of 1 in 17 465 athlete-years. During the same time period there was one death (14%) identified using catastrophic insurance claims data. Conclusions SCA/SCD rates in Minnesota high school athletes are significantly higher than previously reported and the incidence in male basketball players is disproportionately high. Media reports have been shown to underestimate SCD rates by almost 50% so these numbers represent a low estimate. Insurance claims grossly underestimate the incidence of SCD and cannot be used to measure cardiovascular endpoints in athletes or evaluate screening programs.


It is proposed that the design and operation process of the automatic position block for the holes punching used for the angle steel of transmission tower structure. It consists of position block, slide block, screw, nut, motor, and controller. If the anchor points have been set, the hole punching position can be anchored automatically, and setting the anchor points are easy operated. It can equipped in punching press, and improve greatly the current hole punching process.


Does the behavioral approach system (BAS) relate to the experience of any negative affects, or are all negative affects tied to the behavioral inhibition system (BIS)? In Study 1, self-reported Fun Seeking predicted reports of greater frustration and sadness after frustrative nonreward. In Study 2, self-reported Reward Responsiveness predicted reports of greater anger in response to scenarios. In Study 3, self-reported Drive predicted reports of greater anger after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In no case did BIS sensitivity contribute uniquely to these affects, though BIS predicted nervousness in Study 2 and fear in Study 3. Discussion focuses on the role of frustration and anger in effortful pursuit of goals and depressed affect in disengagement from goals.


In this article, a technique to relax particle image velocimetry (PIV) based on the analysis of motion blurring of particles is proposed in order to reduce the frame rate required for measurement of particle velocities. Another advantage is the relaxation of the requirements of the measurement setup while retaining the principle of measurement analysis. This technique is based on convolutions with 5×5 spatial filters that can be computed in linear time, independently from the contents of the image. Due to multi-scale processing, the technique adapts its parameters autonomously, according to the image and particle properties to provide accurate results. The accuracy of the results is guaranteed by integrating the filter parameters, the measured angle and eventually the measured size of the particles into a linear model. The low complexity and high parallelizability of this method enable the online measurement of particles' velocities.


Understanding the economic value of avoided soil erosion in New Zealand is an important factor in policy decision making enabling the acknowledgement of the costs of erosion to the economy. This paper focuses on potential for afforestation to mitigate erosion risks on marginal agricultural hill country lands. Spatial economic modelling is undertaken to determine the net private and public benefit due to the avoided soil erosion from afforesting these areas. The study indicates that in some cases forestry is not viable and thus the public benefit from avoided erosion (and other ecosystem services) will not be forthcoming in these areas. Afforestation of these areas may therefore require positive incentives or improvements in forest and farm systems and technologies, depending on the relative weight of the public and private net benefits.


A great deal of research has repeatedly demonstrated that piezoelectric energy harvestershold the promise of providing an alternative power source that can enhance or replaceconventional batteries and power wireless devices. Also, ambient vibrations have been the focus as a source due to the amount of energy available in them. By using energy harvesting devices to extract energy from their environments, the sensors that they power can be self-reliant and maintenance time and cost can be reduced. In order to harvest the most energy with the device, the beam's fundamental mode must be excited. However, this is not always possible due to manufacturing of the device or fluctuations in the vibration source. By being able to change thefrequencies of the beam, the device can be more effective in harvesting energy. This workutilizes a shunt capacitor-tuning concept on a piezoelectric bimorph energy harvester. Designparameters are investigated and discussed to achieve the most tuning from the device. Static and dynamic beam and plate models are derived to predict natural frequencies and power and arelater used to compare to experimental results. Results are presented for the tunability of a square cantilever bimorph. In addition, the amount of power able to be harvested from each layer of the bimorph is tested. Finally, several other tuning methods are discussed.


Some common diseases are known to have an inherited component, however, their population- and familial-incidence patterns do not conform to any known monogenic Mendelian pattern of inheritance and instead they are currently much better explained if an underlying polygenic architecture is posited. Studies that have attempted to identify the causative genetic factors have been designed on this polygenic framework, but so far the yield has been largely unsatisfactory. Based on accumulating recent observations concerning the roles of somatic mosaicism in disease, in this article a second framework which posits a single gene-two hit model which can be modulated by a mutator/anti-mutator genetic background is suggested. I discuss whether such a model can be considered a viable alternative based on current knowledge, its advantages over the current polygenic framework, and describe practical routes via which the new framework can be investigated.


Autonomous robotic boats are devised to transport people and goods similar to self-driving cars. One of the attractive features specially applied in water environment is to dynamically link and join multiple boats into one unit in order to form floating infrastructure such as bridges, markets or concert stages, as well as autonomously self-detach to perform individual tasks.In this paper we present a novel latching system that enables robotic boats to create dynamic united floating infrastructure while overcoming water disturbances. The proposed latching mechanism is based on the spherical joint (ball and socket) that allows rotation and free movements in two planes at the same time. In this configuration, the latching system is capable to securely and efficiently assemble/disassemble floating structures. The vision-based robot controller guides the self-driving robotic boats to latch with high accuracy in the millimeter range. Moreover, in case the robotic boat fails to latch due to harsh weather, the autonomous latching system is capable to recompute and reposition to latch successfully. We present experimental results from latching and docking in indoor environments. Also, we present results in outdoor environments from latching a couple of robotic boats in open water with calm and turbulent currents.


Jos, a central Nigerian city engulfed by deadly violence in September 2001, offers a unique case study for exploring what happens when a modern metropolis lacks the institutional capacity to regulate its competing groups, and latent rivalries ignite into widespread, systematic brutality. Emerging from combined political and cultural dynamics radically different from those of better-known examples, such as Jerusalem and Belfast, Jos provides fresh insights into the roles of group concentration and conflict framing in engendering territoriality and violence in the city. As this paper shows, Jos' colonial history in tin mining, waves of migration, and an urban policy of sociospatial differentiation have shaped and intersected with the contemporary politics of ethnicity to foster explosive relations between Christians and Muslims. Building on literature and primary data from interviews and discussions with surviving residents, the paper explicates how group geography and conflict became so entangled, leading to the so-called 'Jos crisis'. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 31 March 2015 Accepted 24 November 2017


This study aims to research on the validity and reliability of concept maps and structured communication grids used to assess students' achievement regarding the unit called "Newton's Laws of Motion". The sampling consisted of 102 students studying in their Year One at Science Teaching and Physics teaching departments during 2009 – 2010 academic year. The responses to the short-answer test consisted of the main measure in checking the validity of the concept map and the structured communication grid. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient between the scores of the shortanswer test and the concept map was calculated to be 0.57. In order to find the reliability state of the concept map, the calculation concluded as 0.69. The degree of the relationship between structured communication grid and short answer test scores was calculated (0.69; p<0.05). For the reliability of the structured communication grid, Cronbach Alpha was calculated 0.77. A positive, medium level and significant relationship was observed between the structured communication grid and the concept map (0.51; p<0.05).


Dense prediction tasks are a fundamental class of problems in computer vision. As supervised methods suffer from high pixel-wise labeling cost, a few-shot learning solution that can learn any dense task from a few labeled images is desired. Yet, current few-shot learning methods target a restricted set of tasks such as semantic segmentation, presumably due to challenges in designing a general and unified model that is able to flexibly and efficiently adapt to arbitrary tasks of unseen semantics. We propose Visual Token Matching (VTM), a universal few-shot learner for arbitrary dense prediction tasks. It employs non-parametric matching on patch-level embedded tokens of images and labels that encapsulates all tasks. Also, VTM flexibly adapts to any task with a tiny amount of task-specific parameters that modulate the matching algorithm. We implement VTM as a powerful hierarchical encoder-decoder architecture involving ViT backbones where token matching is performed at multiple feature hierarchies. We experiment VTM on a challenging variant of Taskonomy dataset and observe that it robustly few-shot learns various unseen dense prediction tasks. Surprisingly, it is competitive with fully supervised baselines using only 10 labeled examples of novel tasks (0.004% of full supervision) and sometimes outperforms using 0.1% of full supervision. Codes are available at https://github.com/GitGyun/visual_token_matching.


The microstructure and the texture evolutions of partly recrystallized samples of pure Al and the Al-1%wt.Mn alloy have been characterized by a high resolution SEM/EBSD. The single crystals of the Goss{110}<001> and brass{110}<112> orientations, stable in the plane strain compression, were deformed in a channel-die up to 60% to develop a homogeneous structure composed of two sets of symmetrical primary microbands and then shortly annealed. It is documented that the orientations of the initial nucleus were scattered but not accidental. The disorientation axes in the orientation relationship across the recrystallization front usually coincide with one of the <112>, <221>, <102> or <111> crystallographic directions and were rather rarely close to the <110> or <001> directions. The disorientation axis of the <111>type is only one of the few most often observed.


This projects seeks to characterise the landscape of Cambridgeshire during the Early Anglo-Saxon period. In particular it aims to re-assess existing models of landuse and test the traditional views of continuity and change between the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. These aims will be accomplished through a contextual study of the archaeological information, the underlying methodology of which will consist of the following: Examining the ways in which different sites are recovered and assessing the extent of any biases within the data set. Identifying and categorising different forms of settlement by examining evidence for surviving features. Analysing the pattern of settlement through space and time by placing sites within their own cultural and historic landscapes. In particular, the extent of localised variation in land use, site abandonment and settlement shift will be assessed in order to appreciate the dynamics of the landscape and to examine critically the narratives of this period. Research will concentrate on the modem county of Cambridgeshire, drawing upon all available data from both published and unpublished sources. The archaeological data for this period forms a rich and varied resource, many aspects of which are now well understood. However, research is typically conducted within a framework of historical periods, each of which has its own agendas. This has left certain aspects of the archaeology relatively under studied and makes an examination of the relationships between periods problematic. The proposed project will adopt a more uniform approach to the data, examining both the nature of settlement sites and their cultural and historical context. This will allow a re-evaluation of historical narratives relating to the changes in the cultural landscape through time.


Fuenterrabía (Hondarribia) is a town located on the Franco-Spanish border. Between the 16th and 19th centuries it was considered to be one of the most outstanding strongholds in the Basque Country due to its strategic position. The bastion system of fortification was extremely prevalent in this stronghold. It was one of the first Spanish towns to adopt the incipient Renaissance designs of the bastion. The military engineers subsequently carried out continuous fortification projects that enabled the structure to withstand the advances being made in artillery and siege tactics. After the construction of the citadel of Pamplona had begun in 1571, following the design of the prestigious military engineer, Jacobo Palear Fratín and being revised by Viceroy Vespasiano Gonzaga, the afore-mentioned engineer undertook an ambitious project commissioned by Felipe II to modernise the fortifications of Fuenterrabía. Neither the plans nor the report of this project have been conserved, but in the year 2000, César Fernández Antuña published the report written by Spannocchi on the state of the fortifications of Fuenterrabía when he arrived to the Spanish peninsula, discovered in the Archivo Histórico Provincial de Zaragoza. This document conducts an in-depth analysis of Spannocchi's project and how it was related to Fratín's previous project. It concludes that this project encountered problems in updating the new bastions at the end of the 16th century, and identifies the factors which prevented the stronghold from being extended as was the case in Pamplona after Fratín's project.


Tungiasis is a neglected parasitic skin disease caused by the permanent penetration of the female sand flea (also called jigger flea) Tunga penetrans into the skin of its host. After penetration, most commonly on the feet, the flea undergoes an impressing hypertrophy, and some days later the abdominal segments of the flea have enlarged up to the size of about 1 cm. The flea infestation is associated with poverty and occurs in many resource-poor communities in the Caribbean, South America and Africa. In this review, a historical overview on tungiasis is given. The natural history, pathology, epidemiology, diagnosis, therapy and control of the parasitic skin disease are discussed. It is concluded that tungiasis is an important parasitosis causing considerable morbidity in affected populations. Future studies are needed to increase the knowledge on the biology, pathophysiology, epidemiology, therapy and control of the ectoparasite.


This thesis deals with the application of analytical and numerical tools to
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) management in railways. Analytical
and numerical tools are applied to study the electromagnetic coupling from an
alternating current (AC) electrified railway line, and to study the electrical
properties of concrete structure - a widely used component within the railway
infrastructure. An electrified railway system is a complex distributed system
consisting of several sub-systems, with different voltage and current levels,
co-located in a small area.
An analytical method, based on transmissions line theory, is developed to
investigate railway electromagnetic coupling. The method is used to study an
electrified railway line in which the running rails and earth comprise the
current retum path. The model is then modified to include the presence of
booster transformers. The analytical model can be used to study the railway
current distribution, earth potential and electromagnetic coupling - inductive
and conductive coupling - to nearby metallic structures. The limiting factor
of the analytical model is the increasing difficulty in resolving the analytical
equation as the complexity of the railway model increases.
A large scale railway numerical model is implemented in Transmission Line
Matrix (TLM) and the electromagnetic fields propagated from the railway
model is studied. As this work focuses on the direct application of TLM in
railway EMC management, a commercially available TIM software package is
used. The limitation of the numerical model relates to the increased
computation resource and simulation time required as the complexity of the
railway model increases.
The second part of this thesis deals with the investigation of the electrical
properties of concrete and the development of a dispersive material model
that can be implemented in numerical simulators such as TIM. Concrete is
widely used in the railway as structural components in the construction of
signalling equipment room, operation control centres etc. It is equally used as
sleepers in the railway to hold the rails in place or as concrete slabs on which
the whole rail lines are installed. It is thus important to understand the
contribution of concrete structures to the propagation of electromagnetic
wave and its impact in railway applications.
An analytical model, based on transmission line theory, is developed for the
evaluation of shielding effectiveness of a concrete slab; the analytical model is
extended to deal with reinforced concrete slab and conductive concrete. The
usefulness and limitation of the model is discussed. A numerical model for
concrete is developed for the evaluation of the effectiveness of concrete as a
shield. Initially, concrete is modelled as a simple dielectric material, using the
available dielectric material functionality within TLM.
It is noted that the simple dielectric model is not adequate to characterise the
behaviour of concrete over the frequency range of interest. Better agreement
is obtained with concrete modelled as a dispersive material having material
properties similar to that exhibited by materials obeying Debye equation. The
limitations of the dispersive material model are equally discussed.
The design of conductive concrete is discussed, these have application in the
railway industry where old existing structures are to be converted to
functional rooms to house sensitive electronic system. A layer of conductive
concrete can be applied to the facade to enhance the global shielding of the
structure.


The past decades have witnessed advances in genomic technology; and this has allowed laboratories to generate vast amount of biological data, including microarray gene expression data. Effective analysis of the data helps in better understanding the mechanisms behind the complex behavior of the cell. Actually, a huge body of research focuses on the role of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in controlling the cell. However, studying the heterogeneous interactions between mRNA and miRNA has received less attention. Fortunately, revealing the targets of miRNAs started to gain some consideration from the research community. Further, integrating mRNA gene expression and miRNA expression data is receiving more attention; the target is to understand the role of miRNA in regulating mRNA in different cell contexts; this could lead to predicting miRNA targets and constructing miRNA-mRNA interaction networks. On the other hand, we have already demonstrated the power of constraint-based learning as a promising technique to learn the structure of GRN , which are homogeneous in the sense that they contain one type of nodes, namely, genes. In this study, we extend our previous work to show how constraint-based learning can be effectively applied to tackle a more challenging problem, namely, to learn the structure of heterogeneous networks, like mRNA-miRNA network. In other words, to build the whole picture of the heterogeneous interactions, we used constraint-based learning algorithms which usually perform well on sparse graphs to predict the interactions within heterogeneous networks, namely, miRNA-mRNA interactions. We are able to achieve this by extending our PCPDPr algorithm, which works on homogeneous networks. The extended version named htrPCPDPr is capable of handling networks connecting two heterogeneous sets of nodes into a bipartite graph. This way, we propose a new learning mechanism to predict miRNA targets from expression profiles of both mRNA and miRNA, in addition to sequence-based prior knowledge about the interactions. The method has been applied to different set of genes related to the Alzheimer disease; the results reported in this paper demonstrate the novelty, applicability, and effectiveness of the proposed approach.


In this contribution we demonstrate that estimating a low order model (leaving some dynamics unmodeled) by L2 model reduction of a higher order estimated model may give smaller variance and mean square error than directly estimating it from the same data that produced the high order model. It will also be shown in a quite general case that the reduced model will reach the Cramér-Rao bound if no undermodeling is present. From the derivations of this result it follows that L2 model reduction is optimal, meaning that the reduced model possesses the lowest possible variance.


Performance of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) with mixed composite top coat (MCC) were investigated in thermal shock conditions. To produce MCCs, firstly, the powders are mixed with the specified weight ratio, and then the prepared mixture is fed to the plasma stream of the atmospheric plasma spray (APS) machine. Ceria-yttria stabilized zirconia (CSZ) and microand nano-structured yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ and YSZ-N) were used to produce coating samples. The coatings were grouped in Y-C and YN-C classes, and each class was produced with two different weight ratios and two different thicknesses. The results show that the presence of YSZ-N plays an important role in increasing the life of the samples and decreasing the thickness of the thermally grown oxide layer.


BACKGROUND
Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease of the elderly that rarely occurs in children. Most adult BP serum samples react with epitopes within the NC16A domain of BP180, a glycoprotein of the cutaneous basement membrane zone.

OBJECTIVES
To characterize the autoimmune response in childhood BP using recombinant forms of BP180 and to determine the subclass distribution of autoantibodies and their correlation with disease activity.

OBSERVATIONS
Serum samples from 2 infants with BP, aged 4 and 5 months, reacted by immunoblot analysis with 4 epitopes clustered within the N-terminal 45 amino acids of the NC16A domain. The same 4 epitopes have previously been shown to be the target in adult BP. Childhood BP antibodies to BP180 NC16A belonged to IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 immunoglobulin subclasses. IgE reactivity was not detected. Serum levels of antibodies targeting BP180 NC16A paralleled disease activity as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

CONCLUSIONS
The fine specificity of autoantibodies to BP180 is the same in BP of childhood and adulthood. Childhood BP is a true variant of BP.


We prove a complexity dichotomy theorem for counting weighted Boolean CSP modulo k for any positive integer k > 1. This generalizes a theorem by Faben for the unweighted setting. In the weighted setting, there are new interesting tractable problems. We first prove a dichotomy theorem for the finite field case where k is a prime. It turns out that the dichotomy theorem for the finite field is very similar to the one for the complex weighted Boolean #CSP, found by [Cai, Lu and Xia, STOC 2009]. Then we further extend the result to an arbitrary integer k.


The Supreme Court's decision in Ashcroft v. al-Kidd was a tempest in a teapot. The Court concluded only that a witness was no less susceptible to arrest under the Federal Material Witness Statute if the government was interested in prosecuting the witness himself. Unremarkably under the holding, it is no more difficult to detain an al-Qaeda member who witnessed a crime than it is to detain an innocent bystander who witnessed a crime. The fact that a criminal suspect can be held, however, raises concerns beyond the scope of the narrow question before the Court. If the government's real interest is bringing a case against the witness, the government will be far less circumspect in its decision to seek an arrest warrant for the witness and will not have an incentive to hold the witness in the least restrictive conditions. Vague standards that assume the government's good faith may be sufficient when the prosecution's principal interest is the witness' effective testimony. These standards are insufficient when material witnesses are potentially suspects. The egregious facts of the al-Kidd case reveal that Congress must establish clearer criteria for the arrest and treatment of material witnesses.


Symptoms and laboratory studies provide only limited assistance in the diagnosis of small pancreatic carcinomas. Ultrasound and computed tomography are best suited for screening small pancreatic carcinomas because of their ease and accuracy. When findings of ultrasound and computed tomography suggest small pancreatic carcinomas, MR cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic ultrasound should be indicated. Both techniques can show very small tumors. Follow-up of 77 patients with pancreatic carcinoma in whom the tumor was resected showed a 100% 5-year survival rate of patients with tumor limited to the duct epithelium. The majority of these tumors were <1 cm. These tumors are considered early pancreatic carcinoma.


The pregnancy-specific glycoproteins (PSG) form a large family of essential pregnancy proteins, but their biological function is unknown. We have investigated whether one function of the PSG is to interact with cells of the maternal immune system. Normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, activated with phorbol ester, are shown to bind to purified placental PSG. This binding activity can be mimicked using a chemically synthesized peptide ligand containing the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif present in the N-terminal domain of PSG11s. The PSG11s receptors are present on cells of the myeloid cell lineage but not of the T cell or B cell lineages. The binding is mediated in part by the RGD motif and can be competed against by appropriate RGD-containing, but not Arg-Ala-Asp (RAD)-containing, ligands. Ligand binding requires a functional cytoskeleton. By examining the U937 and THP-1 promonocyte cell lines, the presence of receptors with two different binding characteristics are demonstrated. The THP-1 receptor is identified by chemical cross-linking as a protein of 46 kilodaltons (kDa), and affinity chromatography demonstrates the presence of three protein species of 32 kDa, 16.8 kDa, and 15.9 kDa, suggesting the receptor has multiple subunits.


In West Europe countries, the consultative services had developed for decades backwards, so today are active numerous consultative organizations which differ one from another by organization, financing model and process of consulting. However, the consultative services market in Serbia is very atypical, with massive number of small consultative organizations and extremely small number of big companies. Taking into consideration other well defined markets, the consultative market is susceptible to continuous changes, which is normal regarding specificity of businesses they do, and emergency to research permanently new forms of organization and to be ahead of a practice.


Consider the problem of estimating the parameters in a continuous-time autoregressive (AR) model given measurements taken at arbitrary time instants. In this paper the Cramer-Rao bound for this problem is derived by using a technique based on the Slepian-Bang's formula and residue calculus. Furthermore, we investigate by means of numerical experiments how different sampling schemes can affect the accuracy. Interestingly enough, however, for the examples studied, the estimation accuracy is relatively insensitive to the choice of sampling strategy.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to assess the association between self-reported appetite and gastrointestinal symptoms in chronic hemodialysis patients.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional study was carried out.

SETTING
The study was carried out at an outpatient hemodialysis service center.

PATIENTS
A total of 110 patients were included in this study.

INTERVENTION
The first question of the Hemodialysis Study Appetite questionnaire was used to assess the appetite of the HD patients. The multiple-choice answers for the first question "During the past week, how would you rate your appetite?" were as follows: (1) very good, (2) good, (3) fair, (4) poor, or (5) very poor. At the same time, each patient was invited to answer the following questions: Did you have any of the following symptoms (hiccups, feeling full after a few bites of food, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, abdominal pain, bloating, and constipation) in the last 2 weeks? Are there particular foods that you used to like but now do not? Did you have changes in smell in the last 2 weeks? Did you have taste changes in the last 2 weeks?

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Possible associations between appetite and gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed in this study.

RESULTS
In 52 (47.2%) HD patients, the appetite was very good or good (group A), in 28 (25.4%) fair (group B), and in 30 (27.3) poor or very poor (group C). The most frequent symptoms were bloating and constipation. The frequency of food aversion and early satiety were 23.6% and 18.2%, respectively. The frequency of changes in smell and taste were 3.6% and 7.2%, respectively. The frequency of early satiety, food aversion, changes in smell and taste was significantly higher in group C as compared with group A. Similarly, the frequency of early satiety, food aversion, and changes in taste were higher in group B than in group A. The other frequencies did not differ significantly among group A, B, and C.

CONCLUSION
Food aversion, early satiety, changes in taste and smell were significantly more frequent in HD patients with poor or very poor appetite as compared with those with good or very good appetite.


BACKGROUND/AIMS Landmines have long been used in conventional warfare. These are antipersonnel mines which continue to injure people long after a ceasefire without differentiating between friend or foe, soldier or civilian, women or children. This study focuses on Afghan non-combatants engaged in mine clearing operations in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Russo-Afghan war. The patterns and types of injuries seen are described and experiences in their management, ways, and means to prevent them, and recommendations for the rehabilitation of the affected individuals are given. METHODS It is a retrospective and analytical study of 84 patients aged 19–56 years who sustained mine blast injuries during mine clearing operations in Afghanistan from November 1992 to January 1996. The study was carried out at a military hospital with tertiary care facilities. The patients were divided into three groups on the basis of their injuries. Group 1 required only general surgical attention, group 2 sustained only ocular injuries, while group 3 had combined ocular and general injuries. Patients in groups 2 and 3 were treated in two phases. The first phase aimed at immediate restoration of the anatomy, while restoration of function wherever possible was done in subsequent surgical procedures in the second phase. RESULTS It was observed that 51 out of 84 patients (60.7%) had sustained ocular trauma of a variable degree as a result of the blasts. The mean age of the victims was 29 years and they were all male. A total of 91 eyes of 51 patients (89.2%) had been damaged. Bilaterality of damage was seen in 40 (78.4%) patients. Most, 34 (37.3%), eyes became totally blind (NPL). Only a few escaped with injury mild enough not to impair vision. Foreign bodies, small and multiple, were found in the majority of eyes; most, however, were found in the anterior segment, and posterior segment injuries were proportionally less. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of blindness caused by mine blast injuries is quite high. The resulting psychosocial trauma to the patients and their families is tremendous and has not been adequately highlighted. These injuries are a great drain on the country's resources. Enforcement of preventive measures and the use of protective gear and sophisticated equipment by the mine clearing personnel would prove to be far more economical in terms of human life as well as medical and economic resources. There is also need for greater attention towards the establishment of support groups and rehabilitation programmes for these individuals.


This paper presents the optimized fuzzy logic controller (FLC) with on-line tuning of scaling factors for vibration control of thin-walled composite beams. In order to improve the performances and robustness properties of FLC, the proposed method adjusts the input scaling factors via peak observer. The membership functions of the proposed FLC are optimized using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The composite beam is modeled by the third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT) and discretized by using the finite element method. Several numerical examples are provided for the cantilever composite beam under a periodic excitation and periodic excitation with an unexpected disturbance. In order to present the efficiency of the proposed controller, the obtained results are compared with the corresponding results in the cases of the optimized FLCs with constant scaling factors and LQR optimal control strategy.


Gearbox system, as the main component of the marine power plant, is the closed drive unit that connects the main engine to the shaft. The operation state of the gearbox system has great influence for the safety and reliability of the ship. Shock loading is one of the most common external excitation for the ship and often destroys the devices and structures. Then, according to a mass of numerical calculations, this investigation develops some parameterizations for shock responses of the marine gearbox. The system modeling procedure is based on 3D finite element method which considers the effects of transient dynamic, geometrical nonlinear and impact/contact problems. Typical shock loads, which have the shape of double peak and triangle wave, were applied alone the three perpendicular directions on the bottom surface of the gearbox system to simulate the process of base excitation. The load can be described by two parameters: amplitude and wave length. Responses of the system were calculated with different load parameters and the maximum deformations were taken out by using Von Mises yield criterion. The relationship between shock parameters and structure stress were finally expressed by simulation data curve.


To make variational level set method applicable to the application of tongue segmentation, this article introduced a kind of color tongue image fast segmentation method based on level sets. The early variational level set method is improved from the following aspects: the boundary feature weight function is improved to make this method adaptable to color tongue image segmentation, and a kind of variable time step method is introduced to increase the efficiency and accuracy of segmentation. As the comparison experiment results show, our method is about 1 time faster than the early method, and its accuracy is higher than the early one.


Research Findings: The purpose of this article is to examine how dimensions of the preschool instructional context predict child–teacher relationship quality. A total of 118 low-income, predominantly Latino/a children and their teachers participated in this study. Children were observed in their 1st preschool classroom. Measures of instructional context included the classroom instructional climate and teacher instructional strategies with individual children. Measures of child–teacher relationships included both observed and teacher-perceived child–teacher relationship quality. Our findings suggest that aspects of classroom instructional context do influence child–teacher relationships. Children are more likely to have secure, positive relationships with teachers who are more skilled at setting up appropriate classroom environments and giving children high-quality feedback to stretch their emerging knowledge and skills. Practice or Policy: These data provide preliminary support for the notion that high-quality early education can and should develop children's academic skills in a context that is deeply rooted in positive and supportive social interactions.


In this work, Ti/Al bilayer sputtered ohmic contacts on n-type Gallium Nitride films were studied as a function of process parameters such as Ti thickness, surface cleaning procedure or annealing temperature. Epilayers, with doping concentration of 5.8x1018 at.cm-3, were grown on sapphire using AlN buffer layer. Electrical characterizations were made using circular Transfer Length Method (cTLM) patterns with a four probes equipment. Specific Contact Resistance (SCR) was then extracted for all the process conditions. Our results show that surface treatment is not a critical step in the ohmic contact process while annealing temperature has a larger impact. Finally, SCR values of 1x10-5 Ω.cm2 can be reproducibly achieved, which is of high interest for future devices fabrication using this material.


A well-known finding of research on illegal markets is that drug-dealing organisations operate in risky and uncertain market and intra-organisational conditions that considerably limit their size and their survival time. Yet, little is known about the organisations or individual dealers who are more successful than others at avoiding arrest and incarceration, especially in regard to dealers operating in groups of various sizes. This article proposes to fill this gap in the literature by fitting a Cox proportional hazard model to 'time to failure' data in a sample of 112 incarcerated male inmates who were active as drug dealers in the 3 years preceding their incarceration. The results show that organisational size is unrelated to survival. Instead, the size of dealers' core criminal networks emerged as a key factor in increasing survival in the drug trade. Other results indicate that involvement in markets for certain drugs (cocaine) is more risky than others (cannabis) and that hard drug users are arrested faster than others.


UNLABELLED
To our knowledge, no study investigating the usefulness of cardiac PET for detection of myocardial involvement of sarcoidosis is available. We investigated whether (13)N-NH(3)/(18)F-FDG PET could identify cardiac involvement in patients with sarcoidosis.

METHODS
Seventeen patients with cardiac sarcoidosis underwent cardiac (13)N-NH(3)/(18)F-FDG PET under fasting condition. Systemic sarcoidosis was diagnosed by histologically proven noncaseating epithelioid granuloma, and cardiac sarcoidosis was diagnosed according to the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare guidelines for diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis.

RESULTS
Only 6 patients exhibited myocardial (201)Tl defects and only 3 patients exhibited abnormal (67)Ga accumulation in the heart. Thirteen patients exhibited (13)N-NH(3) defects, and 14 patients exhibited increased (18)F-FDG uptake in the heart; 12 patients exhibited both (13)N-NH(3) defects and increased (18)F-FDG uptake, 2 patients exhibited increased (18)F-FDG uptake but no (13)N-NH(3) defect, and 1 patient exhibited (13)N-NH(3) defects but no increased (18)F-FDG uptake. (13)N-NH(3) defects were observed frequently in the basal anteroseptal wall of the left ventricle, and increased (18)F-FDG uptake was observed frequently in the basal and midanteroseptal-lateral wall of the left ventricle. Involvement of the apex was rare. Seven patients were treated with steroid hormone and underwent follow-up cardiac PET 1 mo after steroid therapy. (13)N-NH(3) defects exhibited no significant change after steroid therapy, whereas increased (18)F-FDG uptake was markedly diminished in size and intensity in 5 patients and disappeared completely in 2 patients.

CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that cardiac (13)N-NH(3)/(18)F-FDG PET is the most useful method both for the identification of cardiac involvement of sarcoidosis and for the assessment of cardiac sarcoidosis disease activity.


In this paper, an innovative method for CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) self-calibration is proposed. In contrast to conventional CMM calibration that relies heavily on a high precision reference standard such as a laser interferometer, the proposed calibration method is based on a low-cost artefact which is fabricated with commercially available precision ball bearings. By optimizing the mathematical model and rearranging the data sampling positions, the experimental process and data analysis can be simplified. In mathematical expression, the samples can be minimized by eliminating the redundant equations among those configured by the experimental data array. The section lengths of the artefact are measured at arranged positions, with which an equation set can be configured to determine the measurement errors at the corresponding positions. With the proposed method, the equation set is short of one equation, which can be supplemented by either measuring the total length of the artefact with a higher-precision CMM or calibrating the single point error at the extreme position with a laser interferometer. In this paper, the latter is selected. With spline interpolation, the error compensation curve can be determined. To verify the proposed method, a simple calibration system was set up on a commercial CMM. Experimental results showed that with the error compensation curve uncertainty of the measurement can be reduced to 50%.


Background Antipig antibodies are a barrier to clinical xenotransplantation. We evaluated antibody binding of waitlisted renal transplant patients to 3 glycan knockout (KO) pig cells and class I swine leukocyte antigens (SLA). Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from SLA identical wild type (WT), &agr;1, 3-galactosyltransferase (GGTA1) KO, GGTA1/ cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase (CMAH) KO, and GGTA1/ CMAH /b1,4 N-acetylgalactosaminyl transferase (B4GalNT2) KO pigs were screened for human antibody binding using flow cytometric crossmatch (FCXM). Sera from 820 patients were screened on GGTA1/CMAH/B4GalNT2 KO cells and a subset with elevated binding was evaluated further. FCXM was performed on SLA intact cells and GGTA1/SLA class I KO cells after depletion with WT pig RBCs to remove cell surface reactive antibodies, but leave SLA antibodies. Lastly, human and pig reactive antibodies were eluted and tested for cross-species binding and reactivity to single-antigen HLA beads. Results Sequential glycan KO modifications significantly reduce antibody binding of waitlisted patients. Sera exhibiting elevated binding without reduction after depletion with WT RBCs demonstrate reduced binding to SLA class I KO cells. Human IgG, eluted from human and pig peripheral blood mononuclear cells, interacted across species and bound single-antigen HLA beads in common epitope-restricted patterns. Conclusions Many waitlisted patients have minimal xenoreactive antibody binding to the triple KO pig, but some HLA antibodies in sensitized patients cross-react with class I SLA. SLA class I is a target for genome editing in xenotransplantation.


Abstract. The concern of present-day conservation of eco-environment and its approach is to diminish the vulnerability, which demands focus region identification and protection. The identification of the focus region needs greater expertise and management. However, assessment of eco-environmental vulnerability requires numerous variables. The variables are categorised under four extensive aspects namely, hydro-meteorology, land resources, topography and socio-economic factors. The Pombar watershed enfolds three main urbanised cities Bargur, Thirupattur and Uthangarai connected by state-highway (SH-179A) and most of the settlements are situated near foothill regions. Thus, the cultural features persisting in the watershed are subjected to eco-environment vulnerable conditions. Therefore, extraction of variables is carried out using Landsat 8 OLI, Sentinel-2B, ALOS PALSAR DEM and IMD rainguage data respectively. The generated parameters affecting the environment are weighed and ranked through the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) with Geospatial technology for eco-environment vulnerability assessment. Then vulnerability level is categorised into five classes like very high, high, moderate, low and very low with an area of 10%, 12%, 37%, 23%, and 18% respectively. The very high and high classes are distributed in low lying plain regions, where there is high anthropogenic activities, urbanisation and industrialisation, a moderate vulnerable class is more in plateau region due to deforestation and over exploitation. However, very low and low classes are sparsely distributed in higher altitude. The integration of Geospatial technology with AHP makes a powerful tool to assess the eco-environment vulnerability and therefore, three focus regions are demarcated to devote a massive concern on protection and management in the essence of sustainable development.


In wireless ad hoc networks, IEEE 802.11 power management may completely fail if power-saving (PS for short) stations are out of synchronization. To fix this problem, Haas and Perlman (2001) proposed various cyclic quorum-based power management (CQPM) protocols, which, however, may also completely fail if some PS stations have different schedule repetition intervals (SRIs). To conquer all these problems, in this paper, we propose the AAPM (adaptive asynchronous power management) protocol, which has the following attractive features, (i) By using the novel AA-quorum space, AAPM ensures that any two asynchronous PS neighbors can discover each other in finite time regardless of their individual SRIs. (ii) The idle duty cycles of AAPM for all eligible SRI values are minimal, (iii) The time complexity of AAPM neighbor maintenance is constant, (iv) Two cross-layer SRI adjustment schemes are proposed such that a PS station in AAPM can dynamically vary its SRI according to the residual battery power or traffic QoS requirements. Primary numerical results show that AAPM achieves better energy efficiency than existing CQPM protocols.


Current theoretical approaches to inflectional morphology make extensive use of the two concepts of abstract feature decomposition and underspecification. Psycholinguistic models of inflection, in contrast, generally lack such more differentiated morphological analyses. This paper reports a series of behavioral experiments that investigate the processing of grammatical gender of nouns in German. The results of these experiments support the idea that elements in the mental lexicon may be underspecified with regard to their grammatical features. However, contrary to all established morphological and psycholinguistic approaches, we provide evidence that even the lexical representation of bare noun stems is characterized by underspecified gender information. The observation that the domain of underspecification of grammatical features extends from inflectional markers to noun stems, supports the idea that underspecification is a more general characteristic of the mental lexicon. We conclude that this finding is mainly driven by economical reasons: a feature (or feature value) that is never used for grammatical operations (e.g., inflectional marking or evaluation of agreement) is not needed in the language system at all.


With the infusion of emerging technologies into highway construction practices, state departments of transportation (DOTs) can make better informed decisions that positively influence cost, schedule, quality, and safety. DOTs are increasingly using instrumentation and sensor technologies for delivering highway projects across the U.S.A. Instrumentation devices and sensors include such technologies as remote sensing, real-time kinematics, global positioning systems, digital handheld devices, ground penetrating radar, and intelligent compaction/thermal profiling. These technologies are becoming commonplace in highway construction because of their capabilities to improve the construction process by making activities more efficient and more productive. However, the practices in using instrumentation and sensor technologies for highway construction vary among state DOTs. Therefore, this study investigates how DOTs employ the use of instrumentation and sensor technologies for highway construction. This study engaged a research methodology that included an extensive literature review, survey questionnaire, and case studies of state DOTs. Results show that 31 state DOTs use instrumentation and sensor technologies for monitoring work progress, conducting quality control and quality assurance, performing construction inspections, identifying optimal conditions and recording the placement of work, and locating utilities. The main barriers to using instrumentation and sensor technologies include analyzing the large amount of data, verifying the accuracy of the data, ensuring staff have the skills and knowledge to use the technologies efficiently, and assisting smaller contractors to gain the knowledge to use these technologies. The findings from this study provide recommendations and strategies for DOTs to implement instrumentation and sensor technologies effectively for highway construction.


The origami-like self-folding process is an intellectually stimulating technique for realizing three-dimensional (3D) polyhedral free-standing graphene oxide (GO) structures. This technique allows for easy control of size, shape, and thickness of GO membranes, which in turn permits fabrication of free-standing 3D microscale polyhedral GO structures. Unlike 2D GO sheets, the 3D polyhedral free-standing GO shows a distinct optical switching behavior, resulting from a combination of the geometrical effect of the 3D hollow structure and the water-permeable multilayered GO membrane that affects the optical paths.


Jacopo Strada (1515–1588) is probably best known for his concern with antiquarianism and architecture. But like many other artists, scholars, and entrepreneurs of his day, Strada had interests that may be described as encyclopedic, ranging from his effort to compile a polyglot dictionary, to his assembling books of designs for goldsmiths' works, to his compilation of a book on mills. Many of these interests were represented in a large corpus of drawings, some of which Strada had collected from a number of important sources, including the workshops of Perino del Vaga and Giulio Romano, and which along with these original drawings consisted mainly of drawings after his own designs, largely known from multiple copies, either made by himself or by assistants or others he commissioned to do the work. Strada's corpus served in the preparation of manuscripts made by his workshop and by other draftsmen that were presented to illustrious patrons, what Strada called libri di disegni; they also were intended to be the basis for an immense project to publish a series of books on a variety of subjects. Among these drawings are designs for costumes and related trappings for animals; some woodcuts that can be demonstrated to have been made after Strada's inventions also represent his festival designs.

A volume in the manuscript collections of the Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, provides the most direct evidence for Strada's engagement in various sorts of festivities, including processions, dance, fireworks, banquets, musical performances, as well as tournaments, frequently held at the Habsburg courts in Central Europe during the sixteenth century. The manuscript contains drawings for costumes that are executed in pen and brown ink, many with brown wash, and in eight cases with watercolor. Since the discovery and first publication of the festival drawings in Vienna over thirty years ago, these designs have occasionally been described or mentioned in subsequent scholarship on Strada, and have been noted in relation to the prints by Amman. They have often been associated in particular with a tournament held in Vienna in 1571. A recent publication of some documents from the Mantuan archives allows for a general revision of the assessment and attribution of Strada's festival designs.


This paper addresses the problems of the blind channel identification and signal extraction in a linear mixture of bounded complex sources. We present a blind criterion that solves these two related problems by confining a linear component of the observations into a convex-hull of minimum volume. The proposed criterion has its minima only at identification of the subspace of one of the unmixed components of the observations, allowing, therefore, a robust channel identification and signal recovery.


The concept of fractals is often considered to describe surface roughness. Fractals retain all the structural information and are characterized by a single descriptor, the fractal dimension, D. Fractal dimension is an intrinsic property of the surface and independent of the filter processing of measuring instrument as well as the sampling length scale. This book cover fractal analysis of surface roughness in different machining processes such as Computer Numeric Control (CNC) end milling, CNC turning, electrical discharge machining and cylindrical grinding. The content here presented adds a significant contribution to the existing literature, with interest to both industrial and academic public.


The papers in this special issue and the one preceding it have their roots in a panel titled "Ethnography, Misrepresentations of Islam, and Advocacy," which Timothy Daniels and I organized for the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. We were joined on this panel by Alisa Perkins, Katrina Thompson, Robert Hefner, and Yamil Avivi, where we all grappled with our struggles with the increasingly political nature of our work on Islam. Although we work in a variety of geographic regions, with diverse subjects, we all shared similar concerns regarding the complexity of accurately depicting the Muslim communities we study while challenging the anti-Muslim stereotypes that exist in popular culture and contemporary news media. At the same time, we did not wish to reify popular divisions between "good" and "bad" Muslims or inaccurately depict the lives of our research subjects in order to cater to that popular division.
To download full editorial, click on PDF.


In the preface to this very Scholarly – and sometimes almost confusingly well-informed - book the author tells us that his aim is to offer "a fresh view of the change in educated attitudes towards magical beliefs that occurred in Britain between about 1650 and 1750." In this he unquestionably succeeds. Actually the book continues somewhat beyond the later date, but there can be no doubt that there were changes – mostly declines - during the designated period in many of the miscellaneous human beliefs and activities that have for whatever reason been labelled as 'magic' or 'magical'.
Hunter begins the body of his book with a chapter–length Introduction entitled The Supernatural, Science and 'Atheism'. This opens with an attempt to define what he means by 'magic', based, he says, on the similar attempt made by Sir Keith Thomas in his classic Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971), though unlike Thomas he very wisely does not include alchemy and astrology. Even so he includes quite a wide variety of topics, so wide indeed that it is hard to see what if anything these phenomena – if they do indeed occur – could have in common except that they are difficult to explain, or to explain away, in ordinarily accepted terms. The proposed list includes such matters as witchcraft, witch covens, involvement with the spiritual realm (good or evil, angelic or demonic, benevolent or pestilential) possession. conjuration, prophesies, ghosts, apparitions, fairies, omens and lucky charms, and what would now be called poltergeists. Other varieties of curious events linked to or supposedly similar to the above could in practice no doubt get included.


A dedicated sample processing line for the extraction of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from seawater and groundwater for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon analysis has been developed at CEDAD, the Center for Dating and Diagnostic of the University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. The features of the new system are presented together with tests carried out to determine its functionality and background levels. The first results obtained at CEDAD for analyzing seawater samples taken from the Northern Adriatic compare well with results obtained for the same samples analyzed at ETH Zurich.


This bulletin describes characteristics of low-income households that had very low food security in 2005. The U.S. Department of Agriculture monitors the food security of low-income households to assess how effectively the Government's domestic nutrition assistance programs meet the needs of their target populations. In 2005, 12.6 percent of low-income households—those with annual incomes less than 130 percent of the Federal poverty line—had very low food security. USDA seeks to reduce that prevalence rate as one of its strategic planning goals established under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). To achieve the USDA food security target, the food security of households with incomes that are less than 130 percent of the poverty line (less than $26,000 annual income for a family of two adults and two children) will need to surpass the current level of food security of households with incomes in the range of 130 to 150 percent of the poverty line ($26,000 to $30,000).


A Brazilian National Registry was established in 1999 to investigate the incidence of risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized medical and surgical patients and to investigate the use of thromboprophylaxis in these populations. A 4-year pilot study confirmed the feasibility and value of a registry project in this region, showing a dramatic increase in the use of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) over the study period, associated with a sixfold reduction in the incidence of symptomatic VTE. Data on more than 27,000 patients from the Brazilian Registry have revealed that almost 25% of high-risk patients and 45% of those at moderate risk currently receive no thromboprophylaxis. Among the high-risk patients-in whom general measures alone are not considered appropriate prophylaxis-42% of patients did not receive pharmacological prophylaxis with either LMWH or unfractionated heparin. The Brazilian Registry highlights the need to raise awareness of VTE risk factors and recommended prophylactic regimens in Latin America.


Objective This metaresearch of the clinicaltrials.gov database aims to evaluate how clinical research on palliative care is conducted within the setting of advanced cancer. Methods Clinicaltrials.gov was searched to identify registered studies recruiting patients with cancer, and investigating issues relevant to palliative care. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C15-PAL (Quality of Life in palliative cancer care patients) questionnaire was taken into account to define the research domains of interest. Studies investigating cancer-directed therapy, management of cancer treatment-related adverse events and diagnostic tests were excluded. Publication status was crosschecked using PubMed. Results Of 3950 identified studies, 514 were included. The most frequent reason for exclusion was cancer-directed therapy (2491). In 2007–2012, 161 studies were registered versus 245 in 2013–2018. Included studies were interventional (84%) or observational (16%). Most studies were monocentric (60%), sponsored by academia (79%), and conducted in North America (57%) or Europe (25%). Seventy-nine per cent of studies evaluated a heterogeneous population (>1 tumour type). Interventional studies most frequently investigated systemic drugs (34%), behavioural interventions (29%) and procedures for pain (24%). Pain, quality of life and physical function were the most frequently studied research domains (188, 95 and 52 studies, respectively). The most applied primary outcome measures were efficacy/symptom control (61%), quality of life (14%) and feasibility (12%). Only 16% of the closed studies had published results in PubMed. Conclusions Our study describes the heterogeneous landscape of studies conducted to address the issues of patients with advanced cancer in palliative care. Albeit the observed increase in the number of studies over the last decade, the generalisation of the results brought by the existing trials is limited due to methodological issues and lack of reporting. A greater effort is needed to improve clinical research that supports evidence-based palliative cancer care.


Currently, there is a national push for a smarter electric grid, one that is more controllable and flexible. The full control of transmission assets are not currently built into electric network optimization models. Optimal transmission switching is a straightforward way to leverage grid controllability: to make better use of the existing system and meet growing demand with existing infrastructure. Previous papers have shown that optimizing the network topology improves the dispatch of electrical networks. Such optimal topology dispatch can be categorized as a smart grid application where there is a co-optimization of both generators and transmission topology. In this paper we present a co-optimization formulation of the generation unit commitment and transmission switching problem while ensuring N-1 reliability. We show that the optimal topology of the network can vary from hour to hour. We also show that optimizing the topology can change the optimal unit commitment schedule. This problem is large and computationally complex even for medium sized systems. We present decomposition and computational approaches to solving this problem. Results are presented for the IEEE RTS 96 test case.


Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States has generated intense debates. Some welcome it for the immediate benefits such as job creation; others view Chinese investments, especially those controlled by the Chinese government, as a critical threat. The debates have so far missed an important question: how do Chinese companies investing in the US react to the host country's law? Ji Li formulates a novel analytical framework to examine the adaptation of Chinese companies to general US institutions and their compliance with US laws governing tax, employment equality, and national security review of foreign investments. The level of compliance varies, and this variation is examined in relation to company ownership, including state ownership. Li's analysis is based on interviews and a unique and comprehensive dataset about Chinese companies in the United States that has never been systematically explored.


We investigated contemporary and historical influences on the pattern of genetic diversity of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). The study was conducted in northeastern Poland, a zone where vast areas of primeval forests are conserved and where the European roe deer was never driven to extinction. A total of 319 unique samples collected in three sampling areas were genotyped at 16 microsatellites and one fragment (610 bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. Genetic diversity was high, and a low degree of genetic differentiation among sampling areas was observed with both microsatellites and mtDNA. No evidence of genetic differentiation between roe deer inhabiting open fields and forested areas was found, indicating that the ability of the species to exploit these contrasting environments might be the result of its phenotypic plasticity. Half of the studied individuals carried an mtDNA haplotype that did not belong to C. capreolus, but to a related species that does not occur naturally in the area, the Siberian roe deer (C. pygargus). No differentiation between individuals with Siberian and European mtDNA haplotypes was detected at microsatellite loci. Introgression of mtDNA of Siberian roe deer into the genome of European roe deer has recently been detected in eastern Europe. Such introgression might be caused by human-mediated translocations of Siberian roe deer within the range of European roe deer or by natural hybridization between these species in the past.


The study presented in this article investigates the practice of validation, which is not supported by the current literature. In this study, data was collected from subject matter experts through phone interviews. A multiple case study method was leveraged to characterize validation through the analysis of empirical data from remarkable project validation efforts. Project validation aims at proving or disproving with limited or no design whether the team can deliver a project that satisfies the owner's business case and scope within the owner's allowable constraints of cost and schedule and with an acceptable level of risk. During validation, multidisciplinary innovation clusters within the team investigate, compare, and propose distinct options for major project components, and enable the team to collaboratively select an option for the conceptual estimate without committing to the design of such option. Exploring solutions with a multidisciplinary lens without committing to their design enables the team, later on during design, to make decisions on solutions that ensure the cumulative impact of such solutions and further increase value to the owner. Validation culminates in a go/no-go decision, is undertaken following the business case and precedes the contractual agreement, and must have a dedicated budget, schedule, and project team. This article characterizes what validation is, when it is performed, how it should be implemented, and its benefits. Lessons learned are also discussed. When properly implemented, subject matter experts express that validation virtually eliminates cost and schedule deviations.


Background—Black tea is known to be a potent inhibitor of intestinal absorption of non-haem iron at least in healthy subjects. Aims—To investigate this effect in patients with genetic haemochromatosis, and, more importantly, the effect of regular tea drinking on the accumulation of storage iron in these patients over one year. Patients—Investigations were carried out on 18 patients with clinically proven genetic haemochromatosis. For the study of storage iron accumulation, they were separated into a group instructed to drink a particularly tannin rich tea regularly with meals and a control group. Methods—Intestinal iron absorption from a test meal was measured using whole body counting. Body iron stores were evaluated quantitatively by exhaustive phlebotomy, using haemoglobin, saturation of serum iron binding capacity, and serum ferritin for the assessment of body iron status. Results—A significant reduction in iron absorption was observed when the test meal was accompanied by drinks of tea instead of water. In the tea drinking group, the increase in storage iron was reduced by about one third compared with that of the control group. Conclusions—Regular tea drinking with meals reduces the frequency of phlebotomies required in the management of patients with haemochromatosis.


In the realm of the philosophy of sounds and auditory experience there is an ongoing discussion concerned with the nature of sounds. One of the contestant views within this ontology of sound is that of the Property View, which holds that sounds are properties of the sounding objects. A way of developing this view is through the idea of dispositionalism, namely, by sustaining the theory according to which sounds are dispositional properties (Pasnau 1999; Kulvicki 2008; Roberts 2017). That portrayal, however, is not sufficient, as it has not inquired the metaphysical debates about dispositions beyond the conditional analysis. In this paper, I try to advance this view by including recent developments (for instance Bird 2007; Vetter 2015) in the field of dispositionalism and I analyse whether this new version can sort out known and new objections to Property View.


The object of this thesis is a) to examine the importance of the "Compendium of Histories" as a work of Muslim scholarship and as an early example of the composition of a universal history, and to indicate the significance of the text as a source for Mongol History, its relation to the original Mongol sources, their Far Eastern versions and other contemporary sources; b) to assess the author's approach to history and historical composition, the consequences of his views on the subject, and the reasons which led to the compilation of the Tarikh-i Mubarak-i Gazani; c) to present the results, including additional passages, of an exegetical study of Book I of the text, made on the basis of two leading and two subsidiary manuscripts of the Tarikh-i Mubarak-i Gazani, and the genealogical tables known as the Nasab-nama-yi Muluk and the "Mu'izz al-ansab" in conjunction with the available Mongol historical writings and the appropriate scientific literature; d) to present the results of a detailed examination of the onomastic material, including numerous vowelled and pointed forms of names and titles recovered from the manuscripts, together with their proposed readings; a systematic identification of tribal affiliations and genealogical lineages is given and an attempt is also made to demonstrate the importance of the tribal and family themes in Mongol history as disclosed by the text; e) to show the need for a careful consideration of the author's symbiosis of Mongol and Islamic terminology, based on actual usage in the text; f) to display the linguistic peculiarities of the text as regards both the Mongol and Persian elements of the author's style; g) to present a translation of Book I of the Tarikh-i Mubarak-i Gazani, which has been made on the basis of the results obtained under the headings enumerated above; h) to defend the thesis that the Tarikh-i Mubarak-i Gazani, as the fundamental Muslim text for Mongol history, must be subjected to the same critical and analytical treatment, as has been applied in the West, for example, to the production of classical texts; only then will it be possible to make full use of it as a source for the comparative study of the social and political evolution of Mongol institutions, in conjunction with the various other early sources, upon which the final generalizations in the field must ultimately be based.


The growth of the nucleus and cytoplasm, and the cytoplasm-nucleus ratio (CNR) were studied in the alga Hydrodictyon reticulatum Lagerch. The nucleus divides at the maximum values of CNR; CNR decreases between divisions. The synthesis of the nuclear matter takes place immediately after the mitosis, the growth of the cytoplasm prevails before the nuclear division. This unusual phenomenon can be presumably explained by the fact that Hydrodictyon is a polynucleate organism.


In The Late Lancashire Witches (1634) Thomas Heywood and Richard Brome depict witches and their work as intelligible, even mundane parts of a society replete with community rituals and ceremonies. In the county of Lancashire depicted in the play, one may find gallants hunting (1.1, 2.4), gentlemen dining and drinking together (1.1, 2.2, 4.5), an elaborate wedding featuring a feast and dancing (3.1, 3.3), and a skimmington ride to mock the conjugal mishaps of the couple married earlier (4.3). The presence of so many community rituals establishes the play's setting in Lancashire, a region that was notorious for its traditionalism due to its significant recusant community and proclivity for older festive practices, such as Morris dances and maypoles. By showing this community already employing a number of traditional practices, several of which are deployed to manage local problems, the playwrights argue that this community—which includes witches—functions perfectly well. Through the depiction of so many festive gatherings in their witch play, Heywood and Brome interrogate the hegemony and exclusion that so often defines witchcraft plays. Instead, The Late Lancashire Witches reveals how the chaos of witchcraft may be incorporated into social coherence.


THE SCOPE of modern orthopedics is both medical and surgical. It is a field that is being cultivated with the newest implements of basic science research. Advances in biological research are being applied to orthopedic surgery now more than ever before in history. Papers in orthopedic surgery during the past few years have dealt with embryonic life and the whole span of childhood, maturity, and senility. Newer knowledge has been sought even in ancient bones and anthropological specimens. 1 Disorders and treatments regarded as purely mechanical in the first half of this century are now more accurately described as biomechanical and are being investigated with the aid of the methods of basic chemistry and physiology of living processes. The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation made an outstanding contribution in organizing multidisciplinary conferences to encourage communication and integration of biological researches on bone and connective tissue. The Conferences on Metabolic Interrelations from


Copy number variants (CNVs) are increasingly acknowledged as an important source of evolutionary novelties in the human lineage. However, our understanding of their significance is still hindered by the lack of primate CNV data. We performed intraspecific comparative genomic hybridizations to identify loci harboring copy number variants in each of the four great apes: bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. For the first time, we could analyze differences in CNV location and frequency in these four species, and compare them with human CNVs and primate segmental duplication (SD) maps. In addition, for bonobo and gorilla, patterns of CNV and nucleotide diversity were studied in the same individuals. We show that CNVs have been subject to different selective pressures in different lineages. Evidence for purifying selection is stronger in gorilla CNVs overlapping genes, while positive selection appears to have driven the fixation of structural variants in the orangutan lineage. In contrast, chimpanzees and bonobos present high levels of common structural polymorphism, which is indicative of relaxed purifying selection together with the higher mutation rates induced by the known burst of segmental duplication in the ancestor of the African apes. Indeed, the impact of the duplication burst is noticeable by the fact that bonobo and chimpanzee share more CNVs with gorilla than expected. Finally, we identified a number of interesting genomic regions that present high-frequency CNVs in all great apes, while containing only very rare or even pathogenic structural variants in humans.


Ophthalmologists, including general practitioners definitely encounter ocular foreign bodies in their clinics. The conjunctival fornices are potential sites of impaction. We report a case of a 9-month infant boy who was referred to us for a persistent lower lid swelling for one month. He had already been to an eye specialist before presenting to us. Upon examination, a round, pink coloured, toy cart-wheel came out of his lower eye lid of the right eye. Surprisingly, there was no associated conjunctival or adnexal damage. The authors wish to emphasize the importance of taking a thorough history and adequate general physical examination. A missing part of a toy, elucidated on history, should always raise the suspicion among parents and/or care givers for a probable foreign body in infants and children.


Economists and Criminologists have very different models of human behavior. A total of 74 out of all 130 academics who published peer-reviewed empirical research on gun issues in criminology and economics journals responded to our survey. That was a 57% response rate. Looking at their views on their views on deterrence and regulations generally, our survey finds that these two groups have very different views on gun regulations that vary in systematic, predictable ways. Our survey results are consistent with those predictions and statistically significant. While economists tend to view guns as making people safer, criminologists hold this position less strongly. Combining all the economists and criminologists together shows that researchers believe that guns are used more in self-defense than in crime; gun-free zones attract criminals; guns in the home do not increase the risk of suicide; concealed handgun permit holders are much more law-abiding than the typical American; and that permitted concealed handguns lower the murder rate. All those results are statistically significant. The survey of economists was conducted from August 25th to September 12th 2014. The survey of criminologists was conducted from May 29th to June 14th 2015.


Wadi Zabid is one of the major agricultural areas of Yemen that faces serious soil
erosion (SE) problem caused by water and wind. Some of the farmers in the area
have constructed retaining walls (RW) and windbreak (WB) to conserve their
farmland soil but many do not. As the SE is becoming serious and soil conservation
activity is not progressing, there is a need to reveal the feasibility of soil conservation
investment, obstructions to soil conservation and farmers SE perception.
Data for this study were collected through questionnaires during the agricultural
season of 199912000. The total sample was 264 comprising four groups; i.e., "with"
and "without" RW and "with" and "without" WB. The financial benefit cost analysis
was the analytical technique and the decision criteria used were the net present value
(NPV), internal rate of return (LRR) and benefit cost ratio (BCR). Order logit and
logistic models have been applied to reveal farmers characteristics related to the
perception of the soil erosion and to the decision of soil conservation, respectively.
The study found that the farmer age, number of family working force and number of
permanent labourers all have positive relations with the serious perception of soil
erosion by water. However, the family size, RW length and farmer experience all
have shown negative relations. The model of RW adoption showed that farm-home
distance, neighbours complaints and the minor perception of soil erosion by water
have positive relation. On the contrary, the size of rented area and farm-market
distance both have shown negative relations with RW adoption. In the perception of
wind erosion model, the farming period, numbers of WB, presence of demoplots and
awareness of soil conservation programmes all have shown positive relations.
However, the farmer experience, WB age and neighbours complaints all have shown
negative relations with the perception. Nonetheless, the farmer will not plant WB
unless he is aged, literate, has more family working force, asked by neighbours and
has attended the extension night gatherings. The size of the family and the size of
rented farm area have shown negative relations with the adoption of WB measure.
In addition, the study found that the investments in RW and WB have been
financially feasible. The farmer who has invested in RW has got Yemen Riyals
(YRs) 33,652 as NPV (US$l= YRs 150). In term of BCR and IRR the farmer returns
are 1.14 and 14 percent, respectively. The farmer who has invested in WB has got
YRs 54,190 as NPV and 1.8 and 27 percent as BCR and IRR, respectively.
Therefore, as RW and WB proved to be financially feasible then government
subsidies are justified and will attract more farmers to conserve their farmland soil. In
addition, as the determinants of the perceptions of water and wind erosion are not
identical then separate strategies and extension programmes are justified.


The nascent literature on the political consequences of technological change studies either left-behind voters or successful technology entrepreneurs ("superstars"). However, it neglects the large share of skilled workers who benefit from limited but steady economic improvements in the knowledge economy. This article examines how workplace digitalization affects political preferences among the entire active labor force by combining individual-level panel data from the United Kingdom with industry-level data on information and communication technology capital stocks between 1997 and 2017. We first demonstrate that digitalization was economically beneficial for workers with middle and high levels of education. We then show that growth in digitalization increased support for the Conservative Party, increased support for the incumbent party, and voter turnout among beneficiaries of economic change. Our results hold in an instrumental variable analysis and multiple robustness checks. While digitalization undoubtedly produces losers (along with some superstars), ordinary winners of digitalization are an important stabilizing force that is content with the political status quo.


Sweet sorghum is a multipurpose crop that comes up well under rainfed conditions in semi-arid tropics. While the stalk juice from sweet sorghum used for ethanol production, its grain is used for food and the bagasse as animal feed. The investigation had four objectives: 1) to popularize sweet sorghum as food, feed and fuel crop; 2) to identify promising sweet sorghum cultivars under on-farm conditions for use as animal feed; 3) to study the associationships between cane yield and stalk sugar traits; and 4) to assess the options for utilizing stover and fresh/dried bagasse as livestock feed. Sweet sorghum cultivation is feasible and profitable under rainfed conditions in the study area with the hybrid CSH 22 SS. Results from on-farm evaluation of elite sweet sorghum hybrids and varieties and correlation studies indicated that dryland farmers gain from whole plant use of sweet sorghum as there is no significant tradeoff between grain yield and sugar/stover yields. The genetic enhancement of sweet sorghum is justifiable as the food and fodder value of the crop is not compromised by its improvement for bio-fuel value. The effective rumen degradable dry matter (ERDDM) for sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) was 40.60 per cent and effective rumen degradable protein (ERDP) value was 55.30 per cent. The nutritive value of SSB in terms of the digestible crude protein (DCP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) in sheep was 1.02, 50.67 per cent where as in buffaloes DCP was 0.98 and TDN 51.78 percent. Results from the limited on-farm animal experiments in milch buffaloes and sheep indicate that the potential of sweet sorghum stalks in the form of stover and bagasse in fresh or ensiled form as a source of roughage is good and further long term experiments are required to confirm the same.