The degradation kinetics of monosaccharides during sulfurous acid treatment was compared to hydrochloric acid and to sulfuric acid treatments. Reaction conditions corresponded to the range found in previous research to allow for the production of hemicelluloses-derived monosaccharides through hydrolysis of wood. Degradation behavior of monosaccharides during treatment with each acid was expressed by a second-order reaction rate constant with respect to substrate and acid concentrations, and the activation energy and frequency factor were calculated using the Arrhenius equation. Results demonstrated that the second-order reaction rate of a monosaccharide was dependent on the type of acid, indicating that monosaccharides degrade at different rates under different acids, even when the molar concentration of the acid is the same. The degradation of monosaccharides in sulfurous acid was much slower than that in hydrochloric acid and in sulfuric acid. A comparison of two sequential treatments with sulfuric acid, with and without the bisulfite ion, showed that sulfurous acid has a protective effect on the degradation of monosaccharides.


The recently introduced Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) and related software provide capabilities for the analysis and performance prediction of different types of flexible and rigid pavements. An important aspect of this process is the evaluation of the performance prediction models and sensitivity of the predicted distresses to various input parameters for local conditions and, if necessary, re-calibration of the performance prediction models. To achieve these objectives, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Local Road Research Board (LRRB) initiated a study "Implementation of the MEPDG for New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures for Design of Concrete and Asphalt Pavements in Minnesota." This report presents the results of the evaluation of default inputs, identification of deficiencies in the software, sensitivity analysis, and comparison of results to the expected limits for typical Minnesota site conditions, a wide range of pavement design features (e.g. layer thickness, material properties, etc), and the effects of different parameters on predicted pavement distresses. Since the sensitivity analysis was conducted over a span of several years and the MEPDG software underwent significant modifications, especially for flexible pavements, various versions of the MEPDG software were run. Performance prediction models of the latest version of the MEPDG 1.003 were evaluated and modified or recalibrated to reduce bias and error in performance prediction for Minnesota conditions.


What is the origin of inequality? The Neolithic revolution had kept social inequality to differences in the prestige of clans. People were socially recognized through differences in their technological proficiency, as in their use of the wheel, metals, and weaving. Change in the relationship between knowledge and power took place during the time when Etzi lived. The anthropomorphic steles of the High Adige testify that for posterior generations, new religious conventions were formed, focusing on the dissuasive aspect of copper tools. The metallurgical revolution made the combination of powers increasingly complex, thus creating perennial social hierarchies that lasted very long periods of time. JEL code: D63


This work presents a methodology to apply space vector modulation to a three-phase three-switch two-level Y-connected unidirectional pulsewidth modulation (PWM) rectifier. Converter switching stages are analyzed to determine switch control signals for space vector modulation. A switching sequence is proposed in order to minimize the number of switch commutations and to reduce the switching losses. Duty cycle functions are determined and the desired switching sequences are performed by a simple PWM modulator with no need of to determine the present sector of vector. For this propose is just necessary to impose the desired current sectors from input voltage references. The vector control structure used with the proposed modulation technique is also described. In order to validate the proposed modulation technique, experimental results are presented for a 20 kW prototype.


The essential similarity in the responsive reactions of plants and animals which has been demonstrated in my previous works leads us to expect that the study of the simpler phenomena of irritability in the vegetal organism may help in the elucidation of the more complex physiological reactions of the animal. New methods of investigation found successful in the case of plants may, moreover, prove to be equally applicable to the study of reactions in animal tissues. This anticipation has been fully justified, since it was my previous discovery of a method of inducing variation in the conducting power of vegetable tissues that led me to the discovery of a similar means of control of the excitatory impulse in the animal nerve. My investigations on plant-irritability have hitherto been carried out with entire plants. The most suitable plant for these researches is Mimosa pudica , which can be obtained in all parts of the world. An impression unfortunately prevails that the excitatory reaction of this plant can be obtained only in summer and under very favourable circumstances, which has militated against its extensive use in physiological experiments, but this misgiving is without any foundation, for I found no difficulty in demonstrating even the most delicate experiments on Mimosa before the Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science held last Christmas at Philadelphia. The prevailing outside temperature at the time was considerably below the freezing point. With foresight and care it should not be at all difficult to maintain in a hot-house a large number of these plants in a sensitive condition all the year round.


A study of the experiments comprising the first group of animals permits the deduction that these animals succumb to the acute poisoning as a result of the shock which the poison induces through its corrosive action in the stomach and intestine. The animals die before the mercury, acting as such during its elimination by the kidney, can induce an acute nephropathy and before the mercury, by inducing an acid intoxication, can lead to an acute kidney injury. The remaining animals of the series, Groups II, III, and IV, have withstood the corrosive action of the poison. These animals have shown the same type of delayed intoxication from the poison. The intoxication, however, has varied in time of appearance, duration, and severity. The animals classified as Group II have developed during the stage of improvement from the gastroenteritis a rapid and severe type of acid intoxication, have become rapidly anuric, and have died either in a state of air-hunger or in convulsions. The animals of Group III, either during or after their recovery from the gastroenteritis, have developed a mild grade of acid intoxication. During the following days of the experiments the animals succeeded in reestablishing their normal acid-base equilibrium. All the animals of this group recovered. The animals of Group IV have shown a recovery from the mercury enteritis. Following a period during which there was an attempt on the part of the animals to return to normal, as indicated by an increase in the alkali reserve of the blood and by an increased output of phenolsulfonephthalein and urine, the members of the group developed a delayed acid intoxication, and, like the animals of Group II, became anuric.


There are concerns that reefs will transition from net calcifying to net dissolving in the near future due to decreasing calcification and increasing dissolution rates. Here, we present in situ rates of net ecosystem calcification (NEC) and net ecosystem production (NEP) on a coral reef flat using a slack‐water approach. Up until dusk, the reef was net calcifying in most months but shifted to net dissolution in austral summer, coinciding with high respiration rates and a lower aragonite saturation state (Ωarag). The estimated sediment contribution to NEC ranged from 8% to 21% during the day and 45% to 78% at night, indicating that high rates of sediment dissolution may cause the transition to reef dissolution. This late afternoon seasonal transition to negative NEC may be an early warning sign of the reef shifting to a net dissolving state and may be occurring on other reefs.


A number of calculations of bending-torsion wing flutter are made at two Mach numbers, m=0 (incompressible case) and m=0.7, and results are compared. The air forces employed for the case of m=0.7 are based on Frazer's recalculation of Possio's results, which are derived on the assumption of small disturbances to the main flow. For ordinary wings of normal density and of low bending frequency in comparison with torsion frequency, the compressibility correction to the flutter speed appears to be of the order of a few percent; whereas the correction to flutter speed for high-density wing sections, such as propeller sections, and to the wing-divergence speed in general, may be based on a rule using the (1 - m(2))1/4 factor and, for m=0.7, represents a decrease of the order of 17 percent.


This paper identifies several unsolved questions about solar flares, which can potentially be answered or at least clarified with mm/submm observations with ALMA. We focus on such questions as preflare phases and the initiation of solar flares and the efficiency of particle acceleration during flares. To investigate the preflare phase we propose to use the extraordinary sensitivity and high spatial resolution of ALMA, which promises to identify very early enhancements of preflare emission with high spatial resolution and link them to the underlying photospheric magnetic structure and chromospheric flare ribbons. In addition to revealing the flare onsets, these preflare measurements will aid in the investigation of particle acceleration in multiple ways. High-frequency imaging spectroscopy data in combination with the microwave data will permit the quantification of the high-energy cutoff in the nonthermal electron spectra, thus helping to constrain the acceleration efficiency. Detection and quantification of secondary relativistic positron (produced due to nonthermal accelerated ions) contribution using the imaging polarimetry data will help constrain acceleration efficiency of nonthermal nuclei in flares. Detection of a "mysterious" rising spectral component with high spatial resolution will help determine the emission mechanism responsible for this component, and will then help in quantifying this either nonthermal or thermal component of the flaring plasma. We discuss what ALMA observing mode(s) would be the most suitable for addressing these objectives.


We study two video surveillance problems in this thesis including people counting and person re-identification.

To address the problem of people counting, we first propose a method called Random Projection Forest to utilise rich hand-crafted features.
To achieve computational efficiency and scalability, we use random forest as the regression model whose tree structure is intrinsically fast and scalable. Unlike traditional approaches to random forest construction, we embed random projection in the tree nodes to simultaneously combat the curse of dimensionality and to introduce randomness in the tree construction thus making our new method very efficient and effective.

We have also developed a deep learning model for people counting. We propose a multi-task deep learning model to simultaneously predict people number and the level of crowd density, which makes our method invariant to the image scale. To deal with problem of insufficient size of training dataset, we propose an "ambiguous labelling" strategy to create various labels for the training images. In a series of experiment, we show that creating ``ambiguous label" is a simple but effective method to improve not only the deep learning model but also the Random Projection Forest model based on hand-crafted features.

For the problem of person re-identification, we have developed a novel deep learning framework called Deep Augmented Attribute Network (DAAN) to learn augmented attribute features for person re-identification. We first manually label two large datasets with pre-defined mid-level semantic attributes. We then construct a deep neural network with two output branches. The first branch predicts the attributes of the input image, while the second branch generates complement features that are fused with the output of the first branch to form the augmented attributes of the input image. We optimize the attribute branch with multiple-label classification loss and apply a 'Siamese' network structure to ensure that the augmented attributes of images from the same person are close to each other whilst those from different persons are far apart. The final learned augmented attribute features are then used for person re-identification based on Euclidean distance. As manually labelling images is a time-consuming process, we have also extended our method to datasets with only person ID information but without attribute labels. We have conducted comprehensive experiments and results show that our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods.

As labelling identity and attribute for person image is time consuming, we thus propose an unsupervised method to solve person re-identification and apply it to a more challenging problem called partial person re-identification. We first use an established image segmentation method to generate superpixels to construct an Attributed Region Adjacency Graph (ARAG) in which nodes corresponding with superpixels and edges representing correlations between superpixels. We then apply region-based Normalized Cut to the graph to merge similar neighbouring superpixels in order to form natural image regions corresponding to various body parts and backgrounds. To extract feature from segmented patches, we apply a Denoising Autoencoder to learn discriminative representation of image patches in each node of the graph. Finally, the similarity of an image pair is measured by the Earth Mover's Distance (EMD) between the robust image signatures of the nodes in the corresponding ARAGs.


We propose a new methodology for synthesizing satellite or in situ observations with ocean circulation velocity fields from an operational model. This is done by attaching values taken from the satellite observations to virtual particles seeded at the surface in the domain of a circulation model and advecting them in a Lagrangian fashion. It is then possible to track the fate and change in composition of individual water parcels between two satellite images, and hence estimate the change in satellite‐derived properties along the trajectories of water parcels. The power of the method lies in deciphering the change in sea surface properties from satellite data in the Lagrangian (advective) frame. We use this to estimate rates of biological processes. Further, we generate a dynamically correct time‐interpolation of satellite fields by considering the temporal change in water properties as occurring along trajectories of moving water parcels, rather than in a static medium. We use the methodology to interpret and interpolate MODIS satellite fields in the Gulf of Maine, which has notoriously intermittent satellite coverage. The dynamic interpretation is made possible for this region by the availability of time‐specific velocity fields from an operational coastal circulation model.


In this article the design of a prototype of Intelligent Transmitter of Field (T.I.C) is presented. The objective of the work is approaching the engineering students, in the area of Automatic Control, to the functional and technological challenges intrinsic to this type of implementations. Aspects like power consumption of the electronic circuits, energy supply through the wires of communication of the transmitter, the coexistence in these wires of analogical signals of measurement and digital signals of communication, etc., are essential to get the foreseen objective. The article seeks, also, to contribute to a didactic solution for a problem that has been one of the main challenges in instrumentation field.


The dynamic response ofa beam-tip mass-pendulum system subjected to a sinusoidal excitation is investigated. A simple pendulum mounted to a tip mass of a beam is used as a vibration absorber. The nonlinear equations of motion are developed to investigate the autoparametric interaction between the first two modes of the system. The nonlinear terms appear due to the curvature of the beam and the coupling effect between the beam and pendulum. Complete energy transfer between modes is shown to occur when the beam frequency is twice the pendulum frequency. Experimental results are compared with a theoretical solution obtained using numerical integration. The experimental results are in qualitative agreement with the theory.


We discuss the distribution ranges of 57 species of bees (representing 19 genera and 7 subfamilies) within a region including the Sahara and Arabian deserts and their adjacent areas (SAD). More than 8,000 biogeographical records for a total of 291 species of bees were included in this study. We calculated several biodiversity indices and show that the study area is characterised by high species diversity (33%) and endemism (58%) rates. Our results show that composition of the SAD fauna results mainly from a "Nearest Neighbour Effect", implying the adjacent areas. However, the influences of more distant areas, like Central Asia and the sub-Saharan region, are also significant, notably in their contribution to species endemism. The comparison of the distributions of the studied species support the description of diversity hotspots in specific areas: western Atlas (Morocco), eastern Atlas (Tunisia), Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Nile Valley, Jordan Valley and Oman hills. Five distributional patterns, fitting the ranges of the studied species, are described. The local water availability and the historical cycles of ecological changes in SAD are hypothesised powerful explanatory factors of the observed distributions shapes.


This chapter discusses design methodologies for ultra-low-power (ULP) CMOS circuits at different abstraction levels, namely system, architectural, logic, design, and layout. The main techniques to reduce power consumption are introduced such as reduction of circuit activity, operating frequency, switched capacitances and supply voltages. Low-voltage and low-power techniques for microprocessors are reviewed, including cache and interleaved memories. Previous chapters have introduced ULP techniques and possibilities for advanced processes with extremely low supply and threshold voltages. This chapter exploits techniques to achieve ULP consumption without aggressively changing processes. Many opportunities for reducing power consumption at a given throughput are opened by appropriately combining the ULP techniques presented here.


Deep neural network-based classifiers have been shown to be vulnerable to imperceptible perturbations to their input, such as $\ell_p$-bounded norm adversarial attacks. This has motivated the development of many defense methods, which are then broken by new attacks, and so on. This paper focuses on a different but related problem of reverse engineering adversarial attacks. Specifically, given an attacked signal, we study conditions under which one can determine the type of attack ($\ell_1$, $\ell_2$ or $\ell_\infty$) and recover the clean signal. We pose this problem as a block-sparse recovery problem, where both the signal and the attack are assumed to lie in a union of subspaces that includes one subspace per class and one subspace per attack type. We derive geometric conditions on the subspaces under which any attacked signal can be decomposed as the sum of a clean signal plus an attack. In addition, by determining the subspaces that contain the signal and the attack, we can also classify the signal and determine the attack type. Experiments on digit and face classification demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


almost diagnostic of an opiate overdose, this may not always be the case. Two patients recently treated in this intensive care unit have had widely dilated pupils following a dose of narcotic sufficient to depress their consciousness and respiration. The first patient had undergone liver transplantation and received a morphine infusion for postoperative pain relief and to facilitate artificial ventilation. On the ninth day after a stormy postoperative course (which included renal failure) concern was expressed over his conscious state. He had received 225 mg of morphine in this period and was still requiring artificial ventilation. His pupils were noted to be large. Despite this a sample of blood was taken for plasma morphine assay (measured by radioimmunoassay'), and he was given several small doses of naloxone with improvement in his conscious level. The second patient, who had a history of chronic renal failure, was admitted to the unit six days after a road traffic accident. He had received 510 mg of dihydrocodeine for pain relief during this six day period. He was unconscious and was intubated without the use of any drugs; respiratory depression was present, and his arterial carbon dioxide pressure was raised (7-11 kPa (53 mm Hg). His pupils were noted to be dilated. Blood was taken for plasma morphine assay and analysed by the same method. He responded to 0 3 mg naloxone with an increase in conscious level and respiration (arterial carbon dioxide pressure falling to 4-84 kPa (36 mm Hg)) and was subsequently maintained on a naloxone infusion. In both patients the plasma morphine concentrations were very high (1185 ng/ml in the first, 3963 ng/ml in the second), confirming the clinical impression of narcotic toxicity in the absence of small pupils. Renal failure may have contributed to the problems seen in both patients,2 and we hope to report them both in greater detail when further assays ofblood and urine have been undertaken.


This paper presents a study of electrokinetic transport in a nano-fluidic chip that allow for separation and pre-concentration of the molecular mixtures into a high density multi-wall carbon nano tubes (MWCNTs) array of nano-channels. The MWCNTs array was used as an induced-surface charge filter to attract the opposite charged molecules on the wall surface by van der Waals and electrostatic force. The surface charge of MWCNTs is inversely proportional to the channel wall thickness and proportional the dielectric constant of itself and the applied external electric-field. A modified RuOx particles MWCNTs electrode was used as electrochemical sensor to increase the reactive surface area and reduce the redox potential for 0.1 muM insulin detection. 0.5 muM FITC (fluorescein) and Rhodamine 6G dye mixtures during the electrokinetic trapping process, could be easily to separate by the electric property of dyes in a MCNTs filter nanochannel, the concentration capability of FITC as high as 5000-10000 folds have been demonstrated. For electrochemical behavior, the RuOx/MWCNTs electrodes could be efficient to reduce about 0.055-0.06V oxide potential compared with MWCNTs only electrodes.


Swedish rural municipalities has since the end of the eighteenth century experienced an constant population decline, with an much higher intensity than in many other Western countries. Many observers have concluded that is a consequence of the Swedish government's disinterest in rural development. With the European Union accession of Sweden in year 1995 more attention was given to the issue, when the Swedish rural policy became interwoven into the EU's Regional policy and its structural funds. This was a door-opener for the rural municipalities into a unique financial aid opportunity. The aim of this essay is to provide empirical contributions to the understanding of how Alvdalen municipality as a representative case of a Swedish rural municipality works with the EU's structural funds. In order to expand our understanding, the essay draws upon the ideal types of government and governance. The method of this study is a qualitative case study and the material for the study consists of 8 interviews with central people in the policy process. The empirical investigation shows that due to the resource and competence deficiency that exists in the municipality, they hold a disadvantaged position in the policy process. Furthermore exercises the national level still a crucial role in the policy process.


The hippocampal CA1 pyramid neuron has plenty of discharge actions. In the thesis, the dynamic characteristics of the hippocampal neuron model are analyzed and discussed by the neurodynamic theory and methods. Under the current stimulation, the hippocampal CA1 pyramid neuron has plenty of discharge patterns, and can generate many discharge patterns such as period, the chaos, and so on. Under the stimulation current amplitude unchanging, the dynamic characteristics of the hippocampal neuron have something to do with not only the current's stimulation amplitude, but also the stimulation time's length, which isn't the same with common neurons such as the Hindmarsh-Rose neuron. When the stimulation amplitude increases gradually or the stimulation time prolongs, The neuron model's ISI gradually drops off, whose changing trend approximates to an exponential function, that is to say, the discharge frequency gets quicker and quicker. In addition, the hippocampal CA1 pyramid neuron model has class II neural excitability. This investigation is helpful to know and investigate deeply the dynamic characteristics and the bifurcation mechanism of the hippocampal neuron; and it provides a certain theory assist to investigate the neural diseases such as the Alzheimer disease by neurodynamics.


The efficacy of nine oral antibiotics were analyzed by the agar dilution method against clinical isolates consisting of 87 beta-lactamase positive and negative Haemophilus influenzae and Branhamella catarrhalis strains and 30 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains. The following drugs were tested: cefaclor, cefalexin, cefadroxil, cefradin, phenoxymethylpenicillin, ampicillin, amoxycillin, erythromycin and doxycycline. Inoculations of 10(4) bacteria/plate were made with a Steers inoculator on Mueller-Hinton agar containing 5% blood. Cefaclor was more effective than the other cefalosporins against all H. influenzae and B. catarrhalis strains, regardless of their beta-lactamase production. Cefaclor and cefradin were more effective than cefalexin and cefadroxil against S. pneumoniae strains. Cefaclor was less effective than erythromycin against pneumococci, B. catarrhalis and beta-lactamase positive H. influenzae strains and equally effective against beta-lactamase negative H. influenzae strains. Cefaclor was less active than doxycycline against the B. catarrhalis and H. influenzae strains and showed similar efficacy as doxycycline against pneumococci.


Purpose: The purpose was to compare the oral health quality of life (OHRQoL) of pediatric cancer survivors with healthy controls, and to assess the OHRQoL of pediatric cancer survivors.
Methods: Structured telephone interviews of child cancer survivors and their parents, with a control group of UIC outpatient children were completed. Parents provided demographic information and their assessment of the child's health. Children completed the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP).
Results: Forty-one child-parent pairs participated in each group. Sixty- three percent of the cancer survivors were female, 44% Caucasian, and 49% of families reported an annual income of less than $50,000. Excellent oral health was reported by 56% of the cancer survivor's caregivers, and 37% by the healthy controls. Pediatric cancer survivors had lower quality of life scores than control subjects on OHRQoL (Mean1 = 64 vs Mean2 = 71, SD1 = 10, SD2 = 6, P value <.001. The differences were in Social-Emotional Well-being, School Environment and Self-Image scores.
Conclusions: Even though parents were more likely to report excellent oral health in the cancer survivors, those children reported lower OHRQoL scores.


In this paper we study a model of information consumption where consumers sequentially interact with a platform that offers a menu of signals (posts) about an underlying state of the world (fact). At each time, incapable of consuming all posts, consumers screen the posts and only select (and consume) one from the offered menu. We show that in the presence of uncertainty about the accuracy of these posts, and as the number of posts increases, adverse effects such as slow learning and polarization arise. Specifically, we establish that, in this setting, bias emerges as a consequence of the consumer's screening process. Namely, consumers, in their quest to choose the post that reduces their uncertainty about the state of the world, choose to consume the post that is closest to their own beliefs. We study the evolution of beliefs and we show that such a screening bias slows down the learning process, and the speed of learning decreases with the menu size. Further, we show that the society becomes polarized during the prolonged learning process even in situations where the society's belief distribution was not a priori polarized.


Objective To analyze the long-term outcomes of antebrachial flap using a pedicle of the dorsal interosseous artery. Methods Ninety cases were followed up for 1-16 years, in which the indications, long-term outcomes and dorsal aspect of the forearm were assessed retrospectively. Results Eighty-nine cases survived with satisfactory contour of the forearm and hand. Conclusions Antebrachial flap using a pedicle of the dorsal interosseous artery is an optimal method for repair of soft tissue defects in the hand.


With the advent of public, broadband, data service offerings such as Frame Relay and Switched Multi-megabit Data Service (SMDS), the frontier for customer network management must expand. Customer Network Management (CNM) capabilities must keep pace with these new services. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)-based CNM services are being defined for publicly-offered data. The CNM service architecture, management protocol, service capabilities, access mechanisms, and management information for Frame Relay, SMDS, and other potential ATM-based services are discussed.


This thesis assessed the risk of cancer in relation to exposure from benzene at work. The thesis is in three major sections. The first section consisted of a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the risk of leukemia from occupational exposure to benzene. The systematic review confirmed leukemia to be important in relation to benzene exposure; 15 selected studies yielded 16 effect estimates with an overall statistically significant effect size (relative risk) of 1.40 (95% CI, 1.23-1.57). A dose response analysis was performed and provided evidence for a strong positive trend between leukemia risks and estimated exposure to benzene. The risk of all leukemia combined increased with a dose-response pattern with a summary effect size (ES) of 1.64 (95% CI 1.13-2.39) for low ( 100 ppm-years). The risk of AML also increased from low (ES 1.94, 95% CI 0.95-3.95), medium (ES 2.32, 95% CI 0.91-5.94) to high exposure category (ES 3.20, 95% CI 1.09-9.45), but the trend was not statistically significant. The second section used the same method to assess other cancer risks by conducting a systematic review and further meta-analysis. The most common other cancer sites for which a possible occupational involvement from benzene has been suggested were lung, bladder, melanoma, stomach and kidney cancer. Consequently, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on each of these cancer sites. The results obtained did not show any clear evidence of risk for lung cancer (ES 0.99, 95% CI 0.96-1.03), bladder cancer (ES 1.00, 95% CI 0.96-1.03), or stomach cancer (ES 0.96, 95% CI 0.90-1.03). However increased risks were shown for melanoma (ES 1.25, 95% CI 1.09-1.44) and kidney cancer (ES 1.14, 95% CI 1.04-1.25). The systematic review and meta-analysis for melanoma was based on 7 available studies reporting 8 cohorts. It was not possible to conclude that benzene exposure is a cause of melanoma as many other chemicals were also used in the factories. There was no significant heterogeneity in the study-specific findings for melanoma (P=0.26). The systematic review and meta-analysis for kidney cancer was based on 22 available studies reporting 24 cohorts. There was also no significant heterogeneity in the study-specific findings for kidney cancer (P=0.41). Therefore, further research is needed to establish a strong link between exposure to benzene and risk of kidney cancer. The final section of the thesis examined the risk of leukemia, lung cancer and all cause mortality in workers exposed to benzene in a large cohort of workers employed at 233 factories during 1966/67 in England & Wales. The results however provided no clear evidence of a dose response effect for leukemia risks in relation to estimated cumulative exposure from benzene. The major limitations of the study related to the recording of limited work histories and the collection of incomplete or limited exposure assessments. The method used in recording the levels of exposure were not clear as different factories were measured by individual personnel at differing times over the years, and at differing areas within factory to factory. It was not possible, therefore, to gain a comprehensive and consistent exposure assessment throughout the factories. To obtain an accurate and viable outcome there needs to be a sound measurement of exposure technique implemented such as taking personal samples using a personal sampler for each individual and indicating specific areas where low, medium and high exposures are evident alongside adequate ventilation. Job exposure matrix also needs to be considered alongside socio-economic classification and ethnicity as this may show some effect on how different minorities may be better or worse adapted to certain chemical exposures.


Objective: To examine the role of stoicism, self-efficacy and perceived stigma in predicting help-seeking by rural residents, for mental health problems. Method: A cross-sectional community survey was conducted with a sample of 467 rural residents (58% female), who completed self-report questionnaires assessing current levels of symptomatology, disability, perceived stigma, self-efficacy, stoicism, attitudes towards and experience of seeking help for psychological problems. Results: Overall, 27.6% (n = 129) of respondents had sought help from a general practitioner and/or mental health professional for psychological problems or a mental health issue. More women than men reported having sought such help. Lifetime helpseeking for a psychological problem or mental health issue was positively associated with higher levels of distress and lower levels of stoicism and, to a lesser extent, lower levels of self-efficacy. Conclusions: Efforts to improve help-seeking by rural residents for mental health problems should focus on understanding and addressing attitudes, such as stoicism which act as barriers to help-seeking.


Asphaltenes, the base components in asphalt used for pavements and roads, are high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with long aliphatic chains and polar functionalities. Significant efforts have been made to develop representative asphalt models for molecular simulations, and several molecular structures have been proposed for asphaltenes based on experimental results and theoretical predictions. Many properties, such as viscosity, depend on the underlying detailed chemical structure of asphaltenes, since it defines the interactions at the nanoscale that dominate the formation of nanoaggregates. Among these interactions, π–π stacking plays a central role in the formation of clusters at the nanoscale level, with strong dependence on the electronic arrangement of π electrons in the polycyclic aromatic core of asphaltenes. Here, based on Clar sextet theory and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we propose asphaltene molecules that optimize the distribution of π electrons in the polycyclic aromatic core and minimize geometrical strain within the molecule. Accordingly, more stable isomers than the asphaltene molecules used in current asphalt models are proposed. These new isomers include a more representative arrangement of the π electrons, crucial for further description of intermolecular interactions and formation of nanoaggregates. Considering these basic guidelines in future molecular modeling of asphalt will improve the development of more accurate models that describe the behavior of these complex materials at the nanoscale.


The stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP) develops increased left ventricular mass index (LVMI) prior to the onset of hypertension, making it a fundamental model to better understand human cardiovascular disease. We identified a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for LVMI on chromosome 14 and, by using chromosome 14 congenic strains and gene profiling, have identified osteopontin (Spp1) as a positional candidate gene. Here, we show 1) that Spp1 may promote cardiac remodelling via extracellular vesicle (EV) signalling and 2) provide phenotypic and molecular characterisation of a CRISPR/Cas9 Spp1-knockout rat on the SHRSP genetic background (SHRSP-Spp1 KO). 1) Briefly, H9c2 cells were seeded 24 hours prior to transfection with Spp1 cloned into pcDNA1 (5 ug) for 48 hours. EVs were isolated from conditioned media (CM) via ultracentrifugation, verified by NanoSight, re-suspended in PBS and placed onto fresh H9c2 cells for 48 hours. Crystal violet stained H9c2 cells were analysed using ImageJ. Cells transfected with Spp1 cDNA derived from the SHRSP rat displayed a significant increase in cell size compared with cells transfected with empty pcDNA vector (pcDNA 107.9±1.4 vs SHRSP 141.8±2.3, p<0.001). Similarly, conditioned media (CM) taken from SHRSP transfected cells produced a significant increase in fresh H9c2 size compared with empty pcDNA vector (pcDNA 67.9±1.1 vs SHRSP 133.0±2.9, p<0.001). EVs isolated from media conditioned from cells transfected with SHRSP significantly increased fresh H9c2 cell size compared to empty pcDNA vector (pcDNA 96.6±1.5 vs SHRSP 152.9±2.6, p<0.001). Collectively these data suggest that over-expression of Spp1 promotes an increase in cell size via EV signalling. Further studies are required to characterise EV content and the downstream mechanisms leading to hypertrophy. 2) Hemizygous rats were bred and confirmation of Spp1 gene knockout was confirmed in resultant pups by a restriction fragment length polymorphism, Sanger sequencing and ELISA. Echocardiography and radiotelemetry were used to assess cardiac function and blood pressure, respectively. Male rats were assessed over 5–16 weeks of age. Cardiac fibrosis was assessed by picro-sirus red staining of total collagen and Col1a1 mRNA expression was assessed by qRT-PCR. LVMI, calculated from either echocardiography or post-mortem, showed no significant difference in SHRSP-Spp1 KO compared to its SHRSP littermate controls (p>0.05). Similarly, no difference was observed in LV relative wall thickness in SHRSP-Spp1 KO compared to SHRSP (p>0.05). Cardiac fibrosis assessed by both histology and qRT-PCR showed no significant difference in SHRSP-Spp1 KO compared to SHRSP (p>0.05). Overall, these data suggest that the cardiac phenotype of the SHRSP-Spp1 KO rat is no different from SHRSP at baseline. Further studies are required to determine whether a cardiac stress will unmask a difference in phenotype in the SHRSP-Spp1 KO compared to littermate controls.


The development of technology gives opportunity to reach information in a reasonably short amount of time. Ease of access to information does not only create positive consequences, but also provides an easy way to access to information by unauthorized parties. As a result, the requirement of protecting data from different aspects of security turns into a significant issue of the information systems. Another issue in such systems is safeguarding the access permissions in order not to allow public accesses to private data. Protecting the data from disclosure, tempering or destruction as well as prevention of unauthorized use of any resource are important aspects of the security in medical environments since the medical data is private data. In this thesis, we introduce a novel access control mechanism in order to safeguard privacy of medical data of patients in dynamic environments. Our access control model, called MAR-BAC (Medically Adaptive Role Based Access Control), takes advantages from role-based access control (RBAC) and criticality-aware access control (CAAC). Our original approach allows the medical professionals with di erent roles to be granted access to medical records of patients automatically and without explicit request in case of a medical emergency. In this context, we design secure and privacy aware protocols from initial login to patients' medical data transmission and retrieval by the medical professionals. We mostly take a formal approach in our access control model definitions and procedures. The medical awareness feature of our MAR-BAC model comes from the fact that medical data of the patients are analysed in near real-time. Each such analysis yields automatic updates in the access control rules for the sake of urgent medical attention. We carry out simulation based performance evaluation to determine the delay characteristics of our MAR-BAC model. We also analyse the scalability of the system. Our results show that MAR-BAC scales linearly under moderate system load. Again under moderate load and in a hospital with 500 inpatients, the maximum end-to-end delay to react a medical emergency is less than 12 seconds.


SUMMARY The diversity of criteria and indicators (C&I) sets is often a cause for uncertainty and confusion, and probably one of the reasons for the still unsatisfactory acceptance of C&I as a support for implementation of sustainable forest management. In order to address this erosion of confidence in C&I this paper evaluates the diversity of five C&I sets (CIFOR, ACM, FSC, ITTO and Tarapoto) relevant for the Brazilian Amazon by analysing frequencies of C&I in relation to parameters about content and quality. The study demonstrated that the C&I sets, although addressing the social, technical, ecological and economic dimensions of sustainability, exhibit different thematic foci. A general lack of validity was attested as well as missing specificity and practicability of the indicators. In order to increase objectivity and transparency, the C&I have to reflect more clearly and unambiguously what is actually assessed. It is recommended to include a discussion about verifiers and assessment methods in the development of C&I sets. To avoid misunderstandings and to introduce the possibility for less complex and more practicable C&I sets, the authors recommend constriction of the objective of the assessment to more clearly serve the potential clients and frame-conditions for its application.


The accurate implementation of quantum gates is essential for the realisation of quantum algorithms and digital quantum simulations. This accuracy may be increased on noisy hardware through the variational optimisation of gates, however the experimental realisation of such a protocol is impeded by the large effort required to estimate the fidelity of an implemented gate. With a hierarchy of approximations we find a faithful approximation to the quantum process fidelity that can be estimated experimentally with reduced effort. Its practical use is demonstrated with the optimisation of a three-qubit quantum gate on a commercially available quantum processor.


It is well known that cognitive decline in older adults is of smaller amplitude in longitudinal than in cross-sectional studies. Yet, the measure of interest rests generally with aggregated group data. A focus on individual developmental trajectories is rare, mainly because it is difficult to assess intraindividual change reliably. Individual differences in developmental trajectories may differ quantitatively (e.g., larger or smaller decline) or qualitatively (e.g., decline vs improvement), as well as in the degree of heterogeneity of change across different cognitive domains or different tasks. The present paper aims at exploring, within the Geneva Variability Study, individual change across several cognitive domains in 92 older adults (aged 59–89 years at baseline) over a maximum of seven years and a half. Two novel, complementary methods were used to explore change in cognitive performance while remaining entirely at the intra-individual level. A bootstrap based confidence interval was estimated, for each participant and for each experimental condition, making it possible to define three patterns: stability, increase or decrease in performance. Within-person ANOVAs were also conducted for each individual on all the tasks. Those two methods allowed quantifying the direction, the amplitude and the heterogeneity of change for each individual. Results show that trajectories differed widely among individuals and that decline is far from being the rule.


This NACE International standard represents a consensus of those individual members who have reviewed this document, its scope, and provisions. Its acceptance does not in any respect preclude anyone, whether he or she has adopted the standard or not, from manufacturing, marketing, purchasing, or using products, processes, or procedures not in conformance with this standard. Nothing contained in this NACE International standard is to be construed as granting any right, by implication or otherwise, to manufacture, sell, or use in connection with any method, apparatus, or product covered by Letters Patent, or as indemnifying or protecting anyone against liability for infringement of Letters Patent. This standard represents minimum requirements and should in no way be interpreted as a restriction on the use of better procedures or materials. Neither is this standard intended to apply in all cases relating to the subject. Unpredictable circumstances may negate the usefulness of this standard in specific instances. NACE International assumes no responsibility for the interpretation or use of this standard by other parties and accepts responsibility for only those official NACE International interpretations issued by NACE International in accordance with its governing procedures and policies which preclude the issuance of interpretations by individual volunteers.


The occurrence of endotoxaemia in 46 surgical patients has been investigated using a sensitive preparation of limulus lysate. Altogether 23 patients with local and systemic Gram-negative infections were shown to have endotoxaemia. An overt infection is not a prerequisite for a positive limulus test result, since endotoxin can be absorbed via the peritoneal cavity in patients with "chemical" peritonitis. Over 70% of the tests performed during episodes of Gram-negative infection or peritonitis gave positive results. In 23 patients without clinical evidence of infection or peritonitis only 15% of the limulus test results were positive. The implications of these findings and the use of the test in clinical practice are discussed.


In the context of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, the manufacturing industry plays a dual role, namely (i) as consumer of energy and (ii) as producer of energy-consuming technologies. Although the manufacturing industry has been subject to extensive research, knowledge gaps still exist regarding (i) a detailed and accurate accounting of the use of fossil fuels for non-energy purposes (e.g., as feedstock in the chemical industry) and the resulting emissions as well as (ii) with respect to the rate at which cost decline occurs for novel and efficient energy demand technologies. In the first part of this thesis, we develop bottom-up models that quantify non-energy use of fossil fuels and related emissions at various levels of detail. We quantify in Chapter 2 worldwide non-energy use in the year 2000 to be 20 2 EJ, thereby accounting for 5% of the global total primary energy supply. In Chapter 3, we estimate that in the year 2000, non-energy use leads on a global scale to emissions of 700 90 Mt CO2. The forty industrialized Annex I countries account for 51% (360 50 Mt CO2) of this total, where as the remaining non-Annex I countries account for 49% (340 70 Mt CO2). Chapter 4 shows that yearly non-energy use emissions in Germany increased on average by 1.8% per year between 1990 and 2003. Our non-energy use emission estimates help closing major gaps in the German GHG inventory. We conclude that our bottom-up models allow a more detailed, complete, and accurate accounting of non-energy use emissions in comparison to existing methodologies. To address the second research question, we apply the experience curve approach to model prices (as proxy for actual production costs) of energy demand technologies as power-law function of cumulative production. We quantify the change in productions costs by so-called learning rates (LR), which represent the percentage of cost decline with each doubling of cumulative production. In Chapter 5, we estimate that prices of condensing gas combi boilers decline at a learning rate of 14 1%. For large appliances, we find in Chapter 6 a robust long-term price decline for wet and cold appliances at learning rates of, on average, 29 8% and 9 4%, respectively. These results are in line with the findings of our literature review (Chapter 7), where we identify that learning rates of energy demand technologies are approximately normally distributed around a mean of 18 9%. By modelling the specific energy consumption of large appliances as function of cumulative production, we extend the conventional experience curve approach and quantify technological learning from a broader perspective. The resulting energy experience curves indicate a robust decline in the specific energy consumption of wet appliances (LR of 18 3% to 35 3%) and cold appliances (LR of 13 3% to 17 2%). We conclude that our results indicate that technological learning helps to achieve a more efficient use of energy at declining costs.


This phase II trial examined the efficacy and toxicity of first-line treatment with everolimus, paclitaxel, and carboplatin in patients with advanced melanoma. Seventy patients with metastatic or locally advanced unresectable melanoma who had been untreated previously with chemotherapy or targeted agents received first-line treatment with everolimus (5 mg, orally, daily), paclitaxel (175 mg/m2, intravenous, every 3 weeks), and carboplatin (area under the curve 6.0, intravenous, every 3 weeks). Response to treatment was assessed every 6 weeks; responding and stable patients received six cycles of paclitaxel and carboplatin, and subsequently continued single-agent everolimus until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Twelve patients (17%) showed objective responses (all partial); an additional 27 patients showed measurable tumor shrinkage. After a median follow-up of 15 months, the median progression-free survival was 4.0 months (95% confidence interval 2.8–5.0 months); the median survival for the entire group was 10.1 months. Myelosuppression was the most common grade 3/4 toxicity; 70% of patients experienced at least one episode of grade 3/4 toxicity while on study. Although this regimen was active in the first-line treatment of advanced melanoma, there was no suggestion of improved efficacy when compared with previous results with paclitaxel/carboplatin alone. Further study of this combination is not recommended.


: Seasonal variations and distribution of holotoxins in tissues of the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus have been studied. It was shown that holotoxin content in the ovaries is higher than that in other organs during the breeding season. In the course of a year, the amount of glycosides in other holothurian organs changed a little. It has been found out that high concentrations of glycosides inhibit oocyte maturation in the holothurian Stichopus japonicus.


Composites made by dispersing a ferroelectric ceramic powder in a polymer host have been
fabricated and evaluated for their pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties.
Lead zirconate titanate (PZT5A), calcium modified lead titanate (PTCa) and lanthanum doped
lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) have been used as the electroactive dispersoid while the polymer
polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF and its copolymer with trifluorethylene P(VDF/TrFE), have been used
as hosts.
It has been found that the electro-active properties were highest in the composite using PTCa
powder obtained through a quenching process dispersed in P(VDF/TrFE). The pyroelectric coefficient
p, in this composite was 1301.1C/m 2K, while its Figure Of Merit pie, where E is the permittivity, had
a value around 2 pE/m2K the latter value being comparable to that of the pure ceramic. The
piezoelectric constant d33 in the same composite had a value of 48 pC/N, the thickness mode
electromechanical coupling factor kt was 0.24 and the acoustic impedance was equal to 16 MRayl.
These piezo-properties are not so attractive for an ultrasonic transducer because PZT5A has better
characteristics for an emitter while P(VDF/TrFE) on its own performs better as a receiver.
In this work a measurement technique has been developed which has been applied successfully
to the measurement of the polarization hysteresis in composites. A value of 0.15 C/m 2 for the
remnant polarization has been found for the composite mentioned above, while its coercive field was
18 MV/m.
A model, so-called mixed connectivity cube, has also been described which attempts to predict
the properties of the composites based on the properties of the constituent materials with an emphasis
on their connectivity.


While reparative angiogenesis improves outcome of stroke and myocardial infarction; pathological angiogenesis aggravates tumors, psoriasis and diabetic retinopathy. We have previously shown that low levels of peroxynitrite (PN, 1µM) are required to mediate VEGF's angiogenic signal. Prior studies showed that low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMW-PTP) can regulate activation of VEGFR2 and focal adhesion kinase (FAK), key proteins involved in VEGF angiogenic signal. Here, we test the hypothesis that VEGF-induced peroxynitrite regulates LMW-PTP activity via reversible S-glutathiolation. Our results using human microvascular endothelial (HME) cells showed that VEGF (20 ng/ml) caused immediate (1,5 min) and transient negative shift in redox-state assessed by reduced-glutathione (GSH) level that was restored back to baseline by 15–30 minutes. In parallel, total free thiols of LMW-PTP; assessed by 5-iodoacetamide; were immediately oxidized (1, 5 min) and recovered after 15–30 minutes. PN (1μM) mimicked VEGF' actions by inducing oxidative inhibition of LMW-PTP and FAK phosphorylation that peaked at 15 min. Studies using anti-GSH antibody demonstrated strong s-glutathiolation of LMW-PTP thiols that peaked at (5–10min) under non-reducing conditions and were completely abrogated in DTT-treated samples. These effects were associated with impaired tyrosine phosphorylation of LMW-PTP. PN caused concentration-dependent significant inhibition of LMW-PTP phosphatase activity reaching maximum at 0.5mM. Under pathological conditions recapitulated by combining with peroxynitrite (0.5mM), VEGF caused immediate yet permanent negative shift in cellular redox-state, LMW-PTP inactivation and sustained FAK activation in HME cells. Modulating cellular redox-state to reductive stress using N-acetyl cysteine (NAC, 1mM) or FeTPPS (2.5μM) prevented VEGF-induced angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo using hypoxia-induced neovascularization mouse model. Taken together, shifting redox-state to oxidative stress or reductive stress can impair VEGF's signal and achieving a balanced redox-state is critical to facilitate VEGF' angiogenic signal.


In this paper, polyester fibers (PET) were treated with low temperature plasma firstly. Then, these plasma treated PET fibers were coated with polypyrrole (PPy) by pyrrole deposition polymerization to impart conductive property to the fibers. Interfacial shear strength (ISS) between PET fiber and asphalt was measured by single fiber pull out test. XPS and SEM were used to characterize the fibers' surface configuration and analysis the functional groups. The results show that plasma-treatment has a strong effect on the surface morphology, surface elements, electrical property and the ISS.


The study analyzed the reactivity of wood with water-based systems containing methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMOS) and an acrylic binder. A structural analysis of wood treated with organosilanes and then extracted with water, was performed using (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In the FTIR spectra, the analyzed bands included 1250 cm-1which are responsible for vibrations of SiC and/or SiO groups. These bands are characteristic for silicon bonds with atoms of carbon and oxygen originating from the methoxy groups found in organosilanes. The presence of these bands in the spectra proves the occurrence of a reaction between wood and MTMOS. The concentration of silicon was determined by Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in treated wood and then extracted with water.


The buffer-rock barriers system is widely proved to be one of the most promising options for isolating high-level radioactive waste from the human environment. To certify the efficiency and provide the additional development regarding design and assessment of this barriers system, it is essential to understand the complex Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) behavior of confining buffer under a variety of environmental conditions. To this end, a case of buffer-rock barriers system is studied using a THM finite element approach. The contributions of different processes, including the vapor diffusion process, the water saturation dependent thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity as well as the temperature dependent water properties, involved in the TH couplings are investigated in details. Based on all the simulation results, the key factors of design and assessment of buffer-rock barriers system are also analyzed.


Deep hypersaline anoxic basins in the Mediterranean Sea are a legacy of dissolution of ancient subterranean salt deposits from the Miocene period. Our study revealed that these hypersaline basins are not biogeochemical dead ends, but support in situ sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, and heterotrophic activity. A wide diversity of prokaryotes was observed, including a new, abundant, deeply branching order within the Euryarchaeota. Furthermore, we demonstrated the presence of a unique, metabolically active microbial community in the Discovery basin, which is one of the most extreme terrestrial saline environments known, as it is almost saturated with MgCl2 (5 M).


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of oocyte quality and activation protocols on the in vitro developmental competence of bovine embryos after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Bovine oocytes were grouped as being of excellent, good, and poor quality. All of the oocytes were activated using a calcium ionophore only, ethanol only, and 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) following calcium ionophore. For the excellent quality oocytes, cleavage rates after ICSI were 70% in the Ca ionophore + 6-DMAP activation group, 47% in the ethanol activation group, 41.82% in the Ca ionophore group, and 30% in the nontreated control group. Cleavage rates for the good quality oocytes after activation with these different agents were 31%, 16.03%, 19.8%, and 12.9%, respectively, while the rates for the poor quality oocytes were lower (7%, 6%, 2%, and 1%, respectively). In conclusion, using Ca ionophore + 6-DMAP improves the in vitro developmental competence for bovine embryos after ICSI. Furthermore, the results for the excellent quality oocytes indicate the importance of the preselection of the oocytes and activation methods.


Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a chronic kidney disease that develops in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Renal dysfunction and persistent proteinuria are the main clinical features of DN. Podocyte injury is an important cause of persistent proteinuria and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) progression. Traditional Chinese patent medicines can improve renal function by enhancing autophagy and promoting apoptosis. Keluoxin is a Chinese patent medicine that has the effect of invigorating qi and nourishing yin, activating blood, and eliminating blood stasis. Therefore, we hypothesized that Keluoxin may have a protective effect against diabetic nephropathy in rats with type 2 DM. Rats induced with diabetes through streptozocin (STZ) injection and a high-fat and high-sugar diet were treated with Keluoxin (0.63 g/kg/day) for 8 weeks, and renal function, biochemical indicators, and histopathological changes in renal tissues were observed. Immunofluorescence staining and western blot analysis were used to detect the expression of autophagy-related proteins. The results showed that Keluoxin reduced blood glucose and lipid levels, improved renal function, and alleviated renal histopathological changes in rats with DN. The therapeutic effect was similar to that of Irbesartan (15.6 mg/kg/day). It is inferred that the mechanism works through reducing the obstruction of downstream pathways of autophagy by improving the lysosomal degradation function and alleviating podocyte injury. This study demonstrates that Keluoxin could regulate autophagy in podocytes, alleviate kidney injury in rats with DN, and have a protective effect on renal function; its mechanism can thus be a potential therapy for DN.


This study was undertaken in Kucha Woreda to assess the impact of Trypanosoma spp. on cattle and its vector infestation rate using cross-sectional study design. The study was done from November 2016 to June 2017 on 384 local cattle using buffy coat method and tsetse fly density was seen in intervention area with non-controlled area. The overall infection rate 4.17% (N=16) showed an insignificant (p>0.05) difference of prevalence rate in animal with different body condition score. Medium body condition animals were the most affected animal group. The study also revealed that adult (4.22%) and male (6.12%) animals are relatively susceptible to bovine trypanosomosis than young (4.00%) and female (2.95%) animals. Animals with PCV value of 21.56 and 26.32% were found to be parasitaemic and aparasitemic cattle, respectively. In both research site, 20 NGU trap was deployed to see the vector infestation and only Glossina pallidipes was found together with mechanical vectors. 2.86 and 26.27 FTD were found in both controlled and uncontrolled kebele, respectively, this big difference resulted in uncontrolled Kodo Wono kebele due to absence of intervention by Arba Minch tsetse fly suppression site. The total tsetse fly infestation rate in the area was found to be 14.67 FTD.  Due to its adverse effect on cattle production, parasitic and vector control and prevention mechanism should be in place especially in those kebele neighbors to the controlled kebele.

 Key words: Cattle, Kucha, NGU trap, trypanosoma, prevalence, vector.


Introduction: Disinfection of the cavity preparation after caries excavation can lead to the elimination of bacterial remnants that can be responsible for recurrent caries, postoperative sensitivity, and failure of the restoration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two disinfectants on microleakage of composite restorations in primary teeth. Methods:In this experimental study, 40 extracted primary canine teeth without caries were randomly divided into four groups of 10 teeth, namely control group (1), pretreatment group with chlorhexidine 2 (2), pretreatment group with sodium hypochlorite 2/5 (3), and pretreatment group with sodium hypochlorite 5 (4). In addition, class V cavities were prepared on all teeth. The cavities were then restored with composite. The teeth were thermocycled and immersed in 2 methylene blue for 24h. Microleakage was assessed by dye penetration in the incisal and gingival surface of the teeth using stereomicroscope. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 18) through Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: According to the results, the difference among groups was significant (P<0/001). The pair-wise comparison showed significant differences between groups 1 and 2; however, no difference was observed between pretreatment groups with sodium hypochlorite 5 and 2/5. Furthermore, no statistically significant difference was found in terms of incisal and gingival surfaces. Conclusion:Pretreatment with chlorhexidine and sodium hypochlorite increased microleakage in composite restorations in primary teeth.


Pregnant albino mice were administered (ip) embryotoxic doses of three individual teratogens: bromodeoxyuridine, hydroxyurea and mitomycin C on day 10 of gestation. Embryos were removed 4 hr later, a cell suspension was prepared and cultured in the presence of colcemid. Metaphase chromosome spreads were subjected to standard G-banding procedures, and the occurrence and frequency of lateral asymmetry (unequal banding of sister chromatids) was monitored. Embryotoxic levels of all three teratogens produced an increase in the number of asymmetries/karotype. For one of these (mitomycin C), the observed increase was dose-dependent.


Glaucoma is a serious disease that can lead to irreversible loss of vision. Patients with primary congenital glaucoma may have elevated intraocular pressure. Hypertension causes damages to intraocular structures and affects the Schlemm's canal, collector channels, trabecular meshwork, and optic nerve's molecular structures. An important gene that is defective in patients with glaucoma is CYP1B1, a gene associated with optic nerve deterioration. CYP1B1is a key enzyme involved in the metabolism of exogenous and endogenous compounds. Also, it is critical in the detoxification of pre-carcinogens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and estrogen. It catalyzes their conversion into metabolites subsequently eliminated from the body. In malignant tumors, the CYP1B1 promoter is hypomethylated. CYP1B1 overexpression results in the conversion of estrogens to quinone forms, which bind with DNA and create a predisposition for cancer in several organs, such as the brain, breast, and ovary. Increased cytokine interleukin-6 and leptin lead to elevated CYP1B1 activity, which possibly causes cancer. In addition, the expression of aromatic hydrocarbon receptors is increased in tumor tissues, and it elevates oxidative stress and cell growth. TCGA database analysis showed increased survival at bladder and renal carcinoma when CYP1B1 expression is low. Therefore, alteration of CYP1B1 expression may suggest a therapeutic benefit for multiple diseases such as glaucoma and cancer.


Due to the intensive use of mobile phones for different purposes, these devices usually contain confidential information which must not be accessed by another person apart from the owner of the device. Furthermore, the new generation phones commonly incorporate an accelerometer which may be used to capture the acceleration signals produced as a result of owner's gait. Nowadays, gait identification in basis of acceleration signals is being considered as a new biometric technique which allows blocking the device when another person is carrying it. Although distance based approaches as Euclidean distance or dynamic time warping have been applied to solve this identification problem, they show difficulties when dealing with gaits at different speeds. For this reason, in this paper, a method to extract an average template from instances of the gait at different velocities is presented. This method has been tested with the gait signals of 34 subjects while walking at different motion speeds (slow, normal and fast) and it has shown to improve the performance of Euclidean distance and classical dynamic time warping.


Articular cartilage slice explants were stored under various conditions, including freezing-thawing at various rates by using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a cryoprotective agent, incubating in standard tissue culture medium (MEM Eagle:NCTC 135:15% fetal calf serum) in 5% CO2 and air at 4 degrees, 21 degrees, and 37 degrees C, and incubating in standard tissue culture medium containing 200 micrograms/ml alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) at 37 degrees C after first ascertaining a dose-response curve of vitamin E. Results indicated that articular cartilage slice explants did not survive freezing or storage at 4 degrees and 21 degrees C as measured by 35S uptake. When stored at 37 degrees C in standard tissue culture in 5% CO2 and air, the slice explants remained viable for up to 60 days. The addition of alpha-tocopherol to the medium resulted in significantly less release of previously incorporated 35Sin stored cartilage slices and significantly less reduction of the amount of hexosamine present in the stored explants. alpha-Tocopherol in the medium also preserved safranin O staining. Thus, the application of tissue culture techniques to the storage of articular cartilage made it possible to preserve cartilage slice explants in a viable, biochemically "normal" state.


A dc to sinusoidal ac inverter is described in which high-frequency pulse-width modulation is used to provide a low-frequency sine-wave output without the need for either a low-frequency power transformer or for low-frequency filter components. The inverter is physically simple and has low weight and small size. From a practical viewpoint the usefulness of this inverter is further enhanced by its self-regulating property. An analysis of this circuit and its output waveform is also given which provides the mathematical basis for the experimentally observed test results. In addition to the proof of the self-regulating property, it is further proven analytically that the amplitudes of the harmonics of the sinusoidal output voltage are very small with respect to the amplitude of the fundamental voltage.


In Kenya, maize remains an important staple food in every household. Unfortunately, the fungus Aspergillus flavus can infect the maize and produce aflatoxins. While government efforts to remove contaminated maize from circulation are well intentioned, there remain concerns that consumers are still being inadvertently exposed to aflatoxin. The aim of this study was to sample maize in different parts of Kenya and determine if consumers were inadvertently being chronically exposed to aflatoxins. Seventy-five maize samples and 27 samples of maize flour from three regions of Kenya (Nairobi, Eastern and Western) were analysed using an ELISA assay followed by microtiter plate reader (Neogen model) where the optical density of each microwell was read using a 450nm filter. There was a significant difference in aflatoxin levels in maize grains between the three regions and five stores (P 0.05) at 95% confidence interval. Aflatoxin in maize flours were slightly above international upper limit of 5ppb but all the results were lower than the Kenya standard whose upper limit is 10ppb, indicating good manufacturing practices (GMP) by the millers. Samples of maize flours from Eastern Kenya had the highest aflatoxins concentrations at 6.98± 0.53 ppb. In summary, the study found aflatoxin contamination in maize grains especially in Eastern Kenya. The study concluded that measures put in place by government agencies for millers appear to be working. However, samples of maize grains showed variation among the regions and between stores, perhaps due to storage practices, with some levels far exceeding health limits. Due to higher levels of aflatoxin contamination in maize grains in relation to maize flours, the government and relevant stakeholders need to establish further measures to protect consumers. Key words: Maize grains, maize meal, aflatoxin, aflatoxicosis, maize consumption, Aspergillus flavus Key words : Maize grains, maize meal, aflatoxin, aflatoxicosis, maize consumption, Aspergillus flavus


BACKGROUND AND DESIGN
Fifty patients with severe recalcitrant plaque-type psoriasis were randomized to receive treatment with either oral tacrolimus (FK 506) (n=27) or placebo (n=23) for 9 weeks. The two treatment groups were comparable with respect to baseline demographic data. The initial dose was 0.05 mg/kg per day and, in cases of insufficient efficacy, could be increased to 0.10 and 0.15 mg/kg per day at the end of weeks 3 and 6, respectively. Treatment efficacy was based on the percentage reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index compared with baseline data. Patients were defined as responding to therapy if the percentage change in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index from baseline after 3, 6, and 9 weeks was 20% or greater, 45% or greater, and 70% or greater, respectively. Safety was assessed on the basis of all adverse events reported.

RESULTS
At the end of week 9, tacrolimus+-treated patients had a significantly greater reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index than did placebo-treated patients (tacrolimus, -83; placebo, -47; P<.02). Similar numbers of patients in both groups responded to therapy at the end of week 3, but at the end of weeks 6 and 9, more tacrolimus-treated patients responded to therapy (week 6 ,12 tacrolimus- and six placebo-treated patients; week 9, 12 tacrolimus- and three placebo-treated patients). Diarrhea, paresthesia, and insomnia were the most frequently reported causally related adverse events in the tacrolimus-treated group. All of the reported adverse events were mild or moderate in severity, and all resolved without a change in study medication.

CONCLUSION
Compared with placebo, tacrolimus is efficacious in the treatment of recalcitrant plaque-type psoriasis.


Abstract This paper describes the concept of didactic communication and verifies the course of teaching selected disciplines of water based recreation, i.e. swimming (at the standard technique level), handling a sailing boat whilst undertaking simple manoeuvres, and the basics of diving. At the same time, research in the area of experiments conducted in the field of teaching methods of these disciplines was reviewed in terms of teaching effectiveness, as well as the health and safety of the participants, and ways of communicating while in, on and under the water. Communication between an instructor and a student in any environment which is different from the norm, is difficult owing to its specificity. Additionally, teaching skills on, in or under water requires strict observance of safety rules. Lack of student's readiness to act in a different water environment, be that based on anxiety or fear, may interfere with or, even prevent didactic communication. Consequently, the effectiveness of teaching decreases. The aim of this work is to search for innovative forms of information transfer that will enable a permanent change in the student's behaviour, especially when acting in a difficult environment – on the water, in the water and under the water. There are premises to believe that immediate verbal instruction and emphasising the metalinguistic function in it should improve the quality and effectiveness of the process of teaching activities in various water based environments.


Preliminary results of a study of 20 patients show a combination of prazosin and polythiazide to be effective in controlling hypertension not responsive to the diuretic alone. The maximum useful dosage of prazosin was not defined, but increasing the dosage above 15 mg a day did not improve control of blood pressure.


Genomic Applications for Crop Breeding: Biotic Stress is the first of two volumes looking at the latest advances in genomic applications to crop breeding. This volume focuses on genomic-assisted advances for improving economically important crops against biotic stressors, such as viruses, fungi, nematodes, and bacteria. Looking at key advances in crops such as rice, barley, wheat, and potato amongst others, Genomic Applications for Crop Breeding: Biotic Stress will be an essential reference for crop scientists, geneticists, breeders, industry personnel and advanced students in the field.


Remote sensing (RS) has played an important role in extensive agricultural monitoring and management for several decades. However, the current spatial resolution of satellite imagery does not have enough definition to generalize its use in highly-fragmented agricultural landscapes, which represents a significant percentage of the world's total cultivated surface. To characterize and analyze this type of landscape, multispectral (MS) images with high and very high spatial resolutions are required. Multi-source image fusion algorithms are normally used to improve the spatial resolution of images with a medium spatial resolution. In particular, pansharpening (PS) methods allow one to produce high-resolution MS images through a coherent integration of spatial details from a panchromatic (PAN) image with spectral information from an MS. The spectral and spatial quality of source images must be preserved to be useful in RS tasks. Different PS strategies provide different trade-offs between the spectral and the spatial quality of the fused images. Considering that agricultural landscape images contain many levels of significant structures and edges, the PS algorithms based on filtering processes must be scale-aware and able to remove different levels of detail in any input images. In this work, a new PS methodology based on a rolling guidance filter (RGF) is proposed. The main contribution of this new methodology is to produce artifact-free pansharpened images, improving the MS edges with a scale-aware approach. Three images have been used, and more than 150 experiments were carried out. An objective comparison with widely-used methodologies shows the capability of the proposed method as a powerful tool to obtain pansharpened images preserving the spatial and spectral information.


Reduction methods of the jet flow associated with simulated blast waves by blast wave simulators are investigated by computational simulations. First, the cause of the jet flow is discussed. After that, the influence of the nozzle angle and the volume of the driver section on the jet flow are investigated. The obtained results show that the jet flow is caused by vortices which are generated at the edge of the nozzle and that the jet can be reduced by decreasing the driver section. Furthermore, the nozzle with the moderate angle reduces the jet flow near the nozzle exit and the nozzle with the widest angle reduces the jet flow far from the nozzle exit. These results indicate reducing the driver section and using the proper nozzle angle according to the distance from the nozzle exit are effective for reducing the jet flow.


Studying gene‐environment (G × E) interactions is important, as they extend our knowledge of the genetic architecture of complex traits and may help to identify novel variants not detected via analysis of main effects alone. The main statistical framework for studying G × E interactions uses a single regression model that includes both the genetic main and G × E interaction effects (the "joint" framework). The alternative "stratified" framework combines results from genetic main‐effect analyses carried out separately within the exposed and unexposed groups. Although there have been several investigations using theory and simulation, an empirical comparison of the two frameworks is lacking. Here, we compare the two frameworks using results from genome‐wide association studies of systolic blood pressure for 3.2 million low frequency and 6.5 million common variants across 20 cohorts of European ancestry, comprising 79,731 individuals. Our cohorts have sample sizes ranging from 456 to 22,983 and include both family‐based and population‐based samples. In cohort‐specific analyses, the two frameworks provided similar inference for population‐based cohorts. The agreement was reduced for family‐based cohorts. In meta‐analyses, agreement between the two frameworks was less than that observed in cohort‐specific analyses, despite the increased sample size. In meta‐analyses, agreement depended on (1) the minor allele frequency, (2) inclusion of family‐based cohorts in meta‐analysis, and (3) filtering scheme. The stratified framework appears to approximate the joint framework well only for common variants in population‐based cohorts. We conclude that the joint framework is the preferred approach and should be used to control false positives when dealing with low‐frequency variants and/or family‐based cohorts.


The preparation and electropolymerization of a new porphyrin monomer with an amino group connecting the porphyrin core and aniline unit were studied. Cyclic voltammetry, FTIR spectroscopy, and a tandem quadrupole/time of flight mass spectrometry with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization source (MALDI-QqTOF) were used for the characterization of poly(5-(4′-aminophenylamino)-10,20-diphenylporphyrin) (PAPADPP). The PAPADPP formed a smooth layer on the Indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and grew perpendicular to the electrode surface. An oligonucleotide (ODN)-probe was physisorbed onto the PAPADPP film and tested for hybridization with complementary and noncomplementary ODN segments. Biological recognition was monitored by comparison of the electrochemical signals (cyclic voltammogram) from single and double strand state oligonucleotides. The morphology of the physisorbed ODN-probe and its hybridization were observed on ITO electrodes using AFM and SEM.


Serious systemic disorders such as hypertension,
cerebrovascular or heart disease, diabetes and psychiatric
problems are common in elderly patients, and lead to the
prescription of different drugs. This may in turn influence oral
health, and the dentist should be familiarized with these
situations when providing dental treatment in elderly patients.
A retrospective study was made of 196 patients over age 65
years to evaluate the type of ambulatory surgery performed
under locoregional anesthesia, taking into account the presence
of background systemic pathology, multiple drug therapy, oral
and dental health, the cause of consultation and the type of
anesthesia used, relating these parameters to the development
of intra- or postoperative systemic and/or local complications.
Some systemic disease was documented in 88% of the patents
' hypertension being the most frequent disorder (in 45% of
subjects with systemic disease). On the other hand, 78% of the
patients used some medication, and 77% presented for hardtissue
treatment (tooth extractions, bone remodeling, etc.); 61%
of all treatments comprised the removal of root fragments (54%
of all hard-tissue interventions), symptomatic third molars (15%)
or other dental inclusions. Only mild or moderate complications
were recorded (13%) ' either local (n = 25) or systemic (n = 1). No significant relation was observed between the development
of intra- or postoperative complications and the type of treatment
provided or the medication used by these patients. Only diabetes
was associated with a significant increase in intra- and
postoperative local complications (p<0.003).


Tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) microwires was successfully synthesized for the fabrication of Alq3 microwires-coated QCM sensors to detect the heavy metal ions in aqueous solution. AT-cut quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) of 10 MHz fundamental resonance frequency having gold electrodes were used as transducers. Typical measuring cycle consisted of repeated flow of target measurands through the flow cell and subsequent washing to return the baseline. The QCM results indicated that the Alq3 microwires exhibit excellent sensitivity, stability and short response-recovery time, which are much attractive for the development of portable and highly sensitive heavy metal ion sensors in water samples.


Air pollution has a significant impact on human health causing around 40,000 deaths annually in the United Kingdom (RCPCH, 2016). This thesis examines the variations in Particulate Matter concentration across areas of different socio-economic status. The research assesses air pollution concentration in different areas of deprivation to determine if communities with lower socio-economic status experience higher pollutant concentrations than areas with higher socio-economic status and consists of three linked studies. The first study was conducted in Greater Manchester across three study areas of high, medium and low deprivation. Three monitoring sites within each area were selected to allow inter-site comparison and comparison between study areas. Particulate matter data was collected using a Dustmate Particle monitor and analysis was undertaken using SPSS. Each monitoring event was analysed separately using descriptive statistics. To analyse the link between socio-economic characteristics and pollution levels all data collected was combined to calculate correlation and analysis of variance. The results demonstrated slight variance in pollution levels between study areas however with no significant link found between pollution and deprivation. The second research study analysed particulate matter concentration across the North West of England using the automatic urban and rural network data, which was analysed to determine descriptive statistics such as mean, maximum and minimum. To assess the link between pollution concentration and socio-economic status all data was combined to calculate correlations. The third research study analysed background modelled data for Greater Manchester. To analyse the data ArcMap was used to assess spatial relationships between PM10 levels and IMD ranking. Road type data was used to create map the road structure in the area and pollution. These two studies demonstrated no significant link between socio-economic status and pollution levels with the AURN study showing the strongest links. Higher concentrations of pollutants were no found to be in the areas of high road traffic. This reasons for the differences found in the link between socio-economic status could be due to limited data availability. It is suggested that for future studies a standardised deprivation level is decided upon.


Background: In the majority of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) cases, the molecular basis of the disease is due to loss of subtelomeric D4Z4 repeat units at 4q35. Occasionally, an apparent absence of the contracted D4Z4 repeat is associated with FSHD. One explanation for this finding is a deletion in the region proximal to the D4Z4 repeat array that encompasses the p13E-11 (D4F104S1) probe-binding site used in the DNA diagnosis. The frequency of such proximally extended deletions is unknown, and to date, few patients have been described due to the difficulties in the molecular identification of such cases. Methods: We describe a family (DUK 2531) in which a contracted D4Z4 allele and a large proximal deletion of approximately 75 kb are segregating to 11 individuals. This is the largest deletion identified to date. Family DUK 2531 was initially thought to have normal D4Z4 fragment size and therefore unlinked to the 4q35 region (FSHD1B). Results: Further molecular analysis of DUK 2531 reveals the presence of 10 repeat units (33 kb). The extended deletion includes the probe p13E-11 and B31 binding sites, the inverted repeat D4S2463, and genes FRG2 and TUBB4Q. Conclusion: Despite the length of the proximal deletion in this family, the range and severity of the clinical manifestations are typical for the disorder. Because such deletions can lead to misinterpretation in the diagnostic setting, this suggests the need for additional diagnostic tests in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.


teenth century where there were evidences of a new prosperity and growth among the Anabaptists. Much of the contents of this little book consist of extracts from court and other cantonal records showing how they suffered about the middle of the seventeenth century. This is a story of heroic suffering and patient steadfastness, inspiring to all who love religious freedom. We are grateful to Dr. Fluri for bringing out in print these additional evidences of the steadfastness of our spiritual ancestors. W. J. McGLOTHLIN.


Roots require a supply of soil oxygen, water, and mineral nutrients. Oxygen is necessary to maintain aerobic root respiration so as to supply energy needed for mineral uptake, synthesis of protoplasm, and maintenance of cell membranes. In poorly aerated soils the anaerobic respiration of roots does not release enough energy to maintain root functions. Furthermore, many phytotoxic compounds accumulate in poorly aerated soils. Inadequate soil aeration occurs commonly as a result of soil compaction, filling in with soil over roots, impermeable layers (e.g. pavements) around roots, and flooding of soil. Root growth in compacted soils is reduced not only because of unfavorable aeration and moisture conditions, but also because of high mechanical impedance of soil to root growth. Flooding results in elimination of soil oxygen, accumulation of CO2, transformation of nitrogen, and production of toxic compounds. Physiological responses of trees to flooding include closing of stomata, reductions in the rate of photosynthesis and uptake of essential mineral nutrients, as well as alterations in plant growth hormones. These physiological changes lead to inhibition of tree growth. Because root growth is reduced more than shoot growth by flooding, drought tolerance often is reduced after the flood waters drain away. Flood tolerance varies widely among species. Important morphological adaptations for flood tolerance include (1) initiation of adventitious roots which assist in uptake of water and mineral nutrients and (2) production of hypertrophied lenticels which assist in aerating the stem and roots and serve as openings through which toxic compounds are released.


The Taif area occupies 170 km 2 at the western margin of the Saudi Arabian Hijaz plateau, where granitic rocks, which form about 55% of the total outcrop, have been intruded into amphibolites and quartzo-feldspathic gneisses. The host rocks have been metamorphosed to the almandine-amphibolite facies and have petrographic and geochemical features that suggest that they were originally igneous rocks of calc-alkalic affinity. The granitic intrusions have been divided into four groups (G 1 , G 2 , G 3 , and G 4 ) on the basis of field relations, chemistry, and textures; G 1 through G 3 are synkinematic, and G 4 is postkinematic. The granitic rocks are calc-alkalic. Isotopic data suggest that they were emplaced between 595 and 525 m.y. ago; initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios (0.703 to 0.710) indicate an origin by partial fusion of the mantle or anatexis of the lower crust. Field, geochemical, and petrographic studies suggest emplacement in an island-arc environment. This is compatible with other investigations that have led to the conclusion that the crystalline basement of Arabia and northeast Africa is the product of cratonization of island arcs over a period of 600 m.y. (from 1,100 to 500 m.y. ago). The Taif granitic rocks represent final phases in the episodic cratonization process.


Climate change causes warming, decreased O2, and increased CO2 in marine systems and responses of organisms will depend on interactive effects between these factors. We provide the first experimental assessment of the interactive effects of warming (14 to 22°C), reduced O2 (∼3 – 21 kPa O2), and increased CO2 (∼400 or ∼1000 µatm ambient CO2) on four indicators of aerobic performance (standard metabolic rate, SMR, maximum metabolic rate, MMR, aerobic scope, and hypoxia tolerance, O2crit), blood chemistry, and O2 transport (P50) of a marine fish, the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Warming increased SMR and O2crit (i.e. reduced hypoxia tolerance) as well as MMR in normoxia but there was an interactive effect with O2 so that hypoxia caused larger reductions in MMR and aerobic scope at higher temperatures. Increasing CO2 had minimal effects on SMR, MMR and O2crit and did not show interactive effects with temperature or O2 for any measured variables. Aerobic performance was not linked to changes in blood chemistry or P50. Despite lack of effects of CO2 on aerobic performance, increased CO2 induced 30% mortality of fish exercised in low O2 at 22°C indicating important threshold effects independent of aerobic performance. Overall, our results show temperature and O2, but not CO2, interact to affect aerobic performance of sea bass, disagreeing with predictions of the oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance hypothesis.


This research aims to present an overview of an innovative approach for renewing instructional design by offering new form of research in e-learning design. Instructional innovations need to stand back and review the design of innovative components for e-learning system. We postulate in this chapter that the design of learning devices requires the design of complex multifaceted object which supports adaptive learning and lets learners bring into play their knowledge in order to carry out the prescribed tasks. Our approach is centred on the design of this complex object called pedagogi- cal instrument, whose molecules are the smallest collection of the components retaining the properties of that material (according to the teaching intentions). The goal that we have set ourselves is to create the first specification of the micro-instructional engineering design. This specification aims at micro pedagogical technology which needs various types of competencies; our discussion implies that instructional innovation is better likely to succeed if it takes into account the actors, the constraints and the standards required to describe the tools allowing the integration of ICT.


Parametric polymorphism has become a common feature of mainstream programming languages, but software component architectures have lagged behind and do not support this feature. The immediate consequence is that applications cannot naturally combine the functionality exposed by various parameterized modules, if it happens that the implementation language differs. This significant problem surfaced first and most acutely in the computer algebra community, where parametric polymorphism is heavily used for the specification and enforcement of the algebraic interfaces and in the implementation of algorithms that work over various coefficient rings or fields. Complex, specialized mathematical libraries, servicing disjoint areas are implemented in various languages and therefore they cannot yet work together to attack increasingly difficult problems. This thesis examines the problem of accommodating parametric polymorphism, and related optimizations in a multi-language, distributed setting.
We report on a first experiment, where we developed the Alma framework that allows Aldor libraries to extend Maple in a effective and natural way, and constitutes a new approach to structuring computer algebra systems. The motivation for this experiment are twofold: First, we are interested in understanding the issues that arise in matching the compile-time parametric polymorphism of Aldor's dependent types with the dynamic parametric polymorphism of Maple's module-producing functions, and in matching the Aldor's strongly type system with Maple's dynamically typed system. Second, we are interested in the practical problem of using Aldor as an extension mechanism for the popular Maple computer algebra system.
The details of generics, templates or functors, as they are variously called, differ significantly in different programming languages. We investigated how to resolve different binding times and parametric polymorphism semantics in a range of rep resentative programming languages, and identified a common ground that can be suitably mapped to different language bindings.
We explore the possibility of a systematic solution for parametric polymorphism, that should encompass many languages in a simple way. We present a generic component architecture extension that provides support for parameterized components, and can be easily adapted to work on top of various software component architectures in use today: CORBA, JNI, DCOM. We have implemented and tested our extension on top of CORBA.We present Generic Interface Definition Language (GIDL), an extension to CORBA-IDL, supporting generic types, and our language bindings for C++, Java, and Aldor. We describe our implementation of GIDL, consisting of a GIDL to IDL compiler and tools for generating linkage code under the language bindings.
GIDL captures a very general notion of parametric polymorphism such that it can meaningfully be supported by various languages, and has the power to model the structure and semantics of system's components. To test the effectiveness of our model for generics, we have investigated how to expose C++'s STL and Aldor's BasicMath libraries to a multi-language environment, and discuss our mappings in the context of automatic library interface generation.
Our work in the context of exposing generic libraries to a multi-language, potentially distributed environment has revealed several performance issues. First, as different components are separately compiled, the traditional compiler optimizations, such as inlining and parallelization, will fail to perform aggressively. Second, the overhead introduced by the inter-process communication stalls can be quite significant. Finally, this thesis explores speculative optimizations in the attempt to speed up the application performance in distributed environments.


ABSTRACT
Heart failure (HF) is a chronic, progressive medical condition that can quickly cause deterioration of the patient's medical and functional status. Delay of HF diagnosis and improper treatment can lead to catastrophic patient outcomes. This case report describes a 62-year-old with HF with reduced ejection fraction secondary to nonischemic cardiomyopathy, s/p cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator in 2020. He presented to the emergency department for worsening shortness of breath and chest pain for 3 days and subsequently had cardiac arrest. The patient eventually underwent a successful implantation of left ventricular assist device as a bridge to transplant. Timely referral yields a better patient outcome. This case study illustrates a clinical pathway that can be used by primary care providers when considering referral of a patient with advanced HF (AHF) to an AHF center for management and possible advanced therapies.