Purpose
Drawing on signalling theory and focusing on independent restaurants, this study aims to investigate how business signals (transparency information and exposure) affect business transparency, food authenticity and, ultimately, purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach
Using a 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design, Study 1 examines the recipe and an internet-famous restaurant, and Study 2 assesses the food supply chain and a celebrity-owned restaurant. Analysis of covariance and PROCESS are used to analyse the data.

Findings
The results suggest that while revealing information on recipes and food supply chains positively affects business transparency, exposure has no significant impact. Additionally, secret recipes and revealed food supply chains contribute to higher food authenticity, whilst being a celebrity owner or internet-famous restaurant negatively affects food authenticity.

Research limitations/implications
Restaurant managers must be strategic and selective about the kinds of business signals they wish to reveal to customers. Secret recipes lead to higher food authenticity, whereas the revealed recipes and revealed food supply chains elicit higher business transparency. Independent restaurants should not rely on celebrity owners or seek internet fame, as neither type of exposure contributes to transparency or authenticity.

Originality/value
This study advances the theoretical understanding of signalling theory relating to the determinants of transparency and food authenticity in a hospitality context. Contrary to previous studies, it reveals that exposure, as a transparency signal, has no impact on either business transparency or food authenticity. It extends knowledge and understanding of different types of independent restaurants, especially internet-famous restaurants.


Laser endophotocoagulation is an important technique in vitreoretinal surgery. We performed successful retinal endophotocoagulation in the eyes of Dutch-belted rabbits, using high-power phased-array semiconductor lasers, emitting at 808 and 817 nm. The laser itself measured 25 X 30 X 21 mm, was air cooled, and was portable. At a treatment power of 100 mW, uniformly white photocoagulation lesions were seen at exposure durations of 0.2 to 1.0 s. Lesions were similar in appearance to argon laser photocoagulation lesions, as determined by ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein angiography. Thin-section histologic examination of acute lesions revealed injury localized to the outer retina; chorioretinal scar formation was noted ten days after photocoagulation. To our knowledge, this study is the first in which therapeutically useful lesions were produced using a diode laser and demonstrates the feasibility of using these highly efficient and compact laser sources for ophthalmic photocoagulation.


The central focus of this project is to discover children's understanding of the semantics, or meaning, of negation. Children's knowledge of negation develops, in part, by directing attention away from a word to something else (i.e., contrast classes), yet little is known about to what attention is directed. Two possible relations upon which contrast classes operate are taxonomic and thematic relations. For example, when looking at the concept of a "dog", a thematic relation could be a dog bone, while a taxonomic relation would be a cat. Two experiments were completed to look at children's use of thematic and taxonomic relations in negations. Experiment 1 examined thematic and non-thematic relations while Experiment two compared thematic and taxonomic relations. Results demonstrated that children did not make use of thematic relations and preferred taxonomic to thematic relations. The results suggest that initial contrast classes appear to be formed via taxonomic but not thematic relations.


Human brucellosis is common in developing countries and is a multi-system disease with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations. Cutaneous lesions associated with brucellosis have been rarely reported in the literature. Here we present a case of a 32-year-old man with history of consumption of cheese made from raw milk seen with occurrence of pancytopenia and diffuse maculopapular rash during the course of Brucella infection. Physical examination showed fever, splenomegaly, mild hepatomegaly and pruritic maculopapular exanthema over the trunk, arms and legs. Laboratory tests revealed pancytopenia. Parasitic examinations and serologic tests for syphilis, salmonellosis, rickettsiasis, toxoplasmosis, Epstein-Barr virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and hepatitis B and C viruses were negative. There was no history of drug consumption.The Brucella agglutination test titer was 1/1280 and histological examination of skin biopsy showed lymphohistiocytic perivascular infiltrates in the upper dermis.Lesions were interpreted as Brucellar dermatitis , The patient was subsequently treated with oral doxycycline and rifampin and was discharged in good health. If there is suspicion of exposure to infected food products, brucellosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of pancytopenia in Brucella-endemic areas; there may be skin lesions other than purpura that can accompany thrombocytopenia.


Political Preferences in Adverse Conditions Giancarlo Visconti Why do voters change their political behavior after negative events such as natural disasters and crime victimization? The extant literature tends to focus on how citizens punish or reward the incumbent based on a model of (mis)attribution of responsibilities. This approach overlooks the fact that affected voters might change their political preferences after the negative shock. Departing from the existing literature, I argue that affected citizens, in addition to evaluating incumbent performance, are also selecting the political leader they believe can most enhance their well-being after the negative event. In particular, I hold that affected voters focus on improving their living conditions, which leads them to pay attention to the policy issues that can help them achieve that goal. As a consequence, victims are more likely to prefer candidates better able to address these new policy preferences. Under adverse conditions, these individuals will vote for political candidates whom they would not select under other circumstances. In each of the three chapters of this dissertation, I provide evidence to support different aspects of this main argument. In the first chapter, I study the political consequences of natural disasters. According to my theory, citizens affected by catastrophes seek to reduce the gap between their living conditions before and after the disaster. This leads them to focus on welfare and social policies – for example, the construction of new housing. Consequently, they are more inclined to vote for parties or persons associated with those measures, typically left-wing candidates. To test this argument, I use a natural experiment created by flash floods that occurred in Chile in 2015, which produced random variation in exposure to the natural disaster. I then measure voters' political preferences using a conjoint survey experiment, and find that disaster victims are more likely to prefer left-wing candidates. In addition, grounded in two months of fieldwork in the affected area, I provide qualitative evidence that illustrates how disaster victims emphasize the importance of welfare policies that can improve their standard of living. In the second chapter, I show how disaster victims after the 2010 earthquake in Chile select housing and not infrastructure as a top priority after the catastrophe. These results help us better understand why disaster victims are more likely to vote for left-wing politicians: affected citizens are particularly concerned about the reconstruction of their houses, and in consequence, should be more likely to vote for candidates who can be linked with those specific welfare policies. To study how the earthquake modified victims' political priorities, I rely on survey data before and after this negative event comparing exposed and unexposed counties. In the third chapter, I study how crime victims change their policy preferences. I show that affected citizens are more likely to support strong-handed measures to reduce crime, such as allowing state repression. These results reveal that exposure to crime can change what people think the state should be allowed to do, which can have important political implications. To study the impact of crime on victims' preferences, I use panel data from Brazil and I implement strategies for reducing sensitivity to hidden biases, such as focusing on individuals who were not crime victims during a previous wave.


This project is concerned with the ways in which senior high school science teachers use microcomputer technology in their regular science instruction programs. The focus of this study is the classroom teacher teacher attitudes and behaviors, and some of the underlying factors connecting what teachers think and do about innovation and change, specifically concerning the applications of micro-computers to senior high school science classroom instruction and management. The intent of this project is to provide some specific information about the ways in which senior high school science teachers in southern Alberta utilize microcomputer technology in their classes; and to identify some of their attitudes about microcomputer technology in senior high school science instruction. The study itself consisted of two components: a survey of high school science teachers, and interviews with four of the survey respondents. The survey component comprised a questionnaire to determine to what extent micro-computers are actually being used in high school science classrooms, the nature of this use, and a simple experience and attitude profile of both users and nonusers. The second facet of this study consisted of interviews with four volunteers from the survey sample, to provide a broader and deeper portrait of the situational and attitudinal environments associated with different degrees of microcomputer use in senior high school science instruction. Primarily, this project focused on determing what senior high school teachers in this region are doing with microcomputers, and what factors appear to influence or predicate these uses. Forty-five teachers responded to the survey. The primary computer use reported by these respondents was word-


Upper extremity motor paradigms during spinal cord functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can provide insight into the functional organization of the cord. Hand-grasping is an important daily function with clinical significance, but previous studies of similar squeezing movements have not reported consistent areas of activity and are limited by sample size and simplistic analysis methods. Here, we study spinal cord fMRI activation using a unimanual isometric hand-grasping task that is calibrated to participant maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Two task modeling methods were considered: (1) a task regressor derived from an idealized block design (Ideal) and (2) a task regressor based on the recorded force trace normalized to individual MVC (%MVC). Across these two methods, group motor activity was highly lateralized to the hemicord ipsilateral to the side of the task. Activation spanned C5-C8 and was primarily localized to the C7 spinal cord segment. Specific differences in spatial distribution are also observed, such as an increase in C8 and dorsal cord activity when using the %MVC regressor. Furthermore, we explored the impact of data quantity and spatial smoothing on sensitivity to hand-grasp motor task activation. This analysis shows a large increase in number of active voxels associated with the number of fMRI runs, sample size, and spatial smoothing, demonstrating the impact of experimental design choices on motor activation.


Modern society is facing great challenges due to pollution and increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As part of solving these challenges, the use of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles (EVs) is rapidly increasing. However, increased dynamics have triggered problems in balancing energy supply and consumption demand in the power systems. The resulting uncertainty and unpredictability of energy production, consumption, and management of peak loads has caused an increase in costs for energy market actors. Therefore, the means for studying the balancing of local smart grids with EVs is a starting point for this paper. The main contribution is a simulation-based approach which was developed to enable the study of the balancing of local distribution grids with EV batteries in a cost-efficient manner. The simulation-based approach is applied to enable the execution of a distributed system with the simulation of a local distribution grid, including a number of charging stations and EVs. A simulation system has been constructed to support the simulation-based approach. The evaluation has been carried out by executing the scenario related to balancing local distribution grids with EV batteries in a step-by-step manner. The evaluation results indicate that the simulation-based approach is able to facilitate the evaluation of smart grid– and EV-related communication protocols, control algorithms for charging, and functionalities of local distribution grids as part of a complex, critical cyber-physical system. In addition, the simulation system is able to incorporate advanced methods for monitoring, controlling, tracking, and modeling behavior. The simulation model of the local distribution grid can be executed with the smart control of charging and discharging powers of the EVs according to the load situation in the local distribution grid. The resulting simulation system can be applied to the study of balancing local smart grids with EV batteries. Based on the evaluation results, it is estimated that the simulation-based approach can provide an essential, safe, and cost-efficient method for the evaluation of complex, critical cyber-physical systems, such as smart grids.


The paper derives the transverse forces (the Magnus and the Lorentz forces) in the lattice models of superfluids in the continuous approximation. The continuous approximation restores translational invariance absent in the original lattice model, but the theory is not Galilean invariant. As a result, calculation of the two transverse forces on the vortex, Magnus force and Lorentz force, requires the analysis of two balances, for the true momentum of particles in the lattice (Magnus force) and for the quasimomentum (Lorentz force) known from the Bloch theory of particles in the periodic potential. While the developed theory yields the same Lorentz force, which was well known before, a new general expression for the Magnus force was obtained. The theory demonstrates how a small Magnus force emerges in the Josephson-junction array if the particle-hole symmetry is broken. The continuous approximation for the Bose--Hubbard model close to the superfluid-insulator transition was developed, which was used for calculation of the Magnus force. The theory shows that there is an area in the phase diagram for the Bose--Hubbard model, where the Magnus force has an inverse sign with respect to that which is expected from the sign of velocity circulation.


A simple and very efficient harmonic-balance technique is presented that is suitable for the steady-state analysis of nonlinear microwave and millimeter-wave circuits that require physics-based, fully numerical simulations of charge carrier transport in the solid-state device. The practical integration of a numerical device simulator with a nonlinear circuit simulator requires a robust and fast circuit solution algorithm. The new circuit solution algorithm was applied to a test simulation of a 100- to 300-GHz multiplier circuit, achieving a savings in computational effort of 98% and a reduction in execution time by a factor of 33 over contending harmonic-balance techniques.<<ETX>>


The geochemistry of different till size fractions and studies of heavy minerals have been used in mineral exploration in the ribbed moraine terrain in southern Finnish Lapland. The Peräpohja Schist Belt and layered intrusions along its southern margin have known potential for economic Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Zn, U and PGE mineralization. In till, high element concentrations related to mineralization in the local bedrock preferentially occur in the near-surface (less than 2 to 3 m depth) of ribbed moraine ridges. The ridges formed subglacially by gouging of local bedrock, which favoured the deposition of rock material derived from the local bedrock surface into till on the surficial part of ridges. The short distance of glacial transport (<500 m) is indicated by clast angularity, the abundance of locally derived boulders in the upper till and at the surface, and by the preservation of euhedral pyrite and chalcopyrite crystals and native Au grains in the heavy mineral concentrates. Detailed studies show that ribbed moraine ridge tops can be used for mineral exploration because they are more likely to be composed of local bedrock than are the sediments comprising the ridge core.


A series of metal complexes have been synthesized by the reaction of Schiff base with metal (II) salt solution. The complexes were characterized by UV and FT- IR studies. The study reveals that the geometry of the complexes were octahedral. The electronic spectra of these complexes show a strong absorption band in 550 – 580 nm region. This confirms the coordination of ligand with metal. The FT-IR shows a very strong band at 1606cm-1 assigned to C=N stretching vibration. It is shifted to lower wave number because of the complex formation, suggesting that coordination of the Schiff base groups through N- atoms with the metal ion. The band at 3056cm-1 is due to aromatic O-H stretching, the sharp peak at 750 cm-1 and 688 cm-1 are due to halogens substituted in the para position.


Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and stable isotope measurements have been performed on tests from the planktonic foraminifers Globigerinoides ruber (white), Globigerina bulloides, and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (right coiling) in samples from Ocean Drilling Program site 977A in the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean). The evolution of different water masses between 250 and 150 ka is described. Warm substages were characterized by strong seasonality and thermal stratification of the water column. By contrast, less pronounced seasonality and basin stratification seem to prevail during cold substages. Several periods of stratification due to the low salinity of the upper water mass occurred during the formation of organic‐rich layers and also during a possible Heinrich‐like event at 220 ka. The three foraminifer species studied show a common and large shell Sr/Ca variability in short timescales, suggesting changes in the global ocean Sr/Ca ratio as one of the main causes of variations in shell composition.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of quality management practices on the knowledge production process in industry, mine and trade organization of Ardabil. Considering the purpose of the study, the present research was an applied research and in terms of method, it was a descriptive and correlational one. The population of the study consisted of all employees in industry, mine and trade organization of Ardabil which included 197 individuals. Cochran's formula is used to determine the sample size and according to this formula, the number of obtained samples was 125. Simple random sampling used for the sampling of this group. Two questionnaires were used to collect data. For assessing the process of knowledge management, knowledge management questionnaire and for measuring the quality management practices, the standard questionnaire of Saraph, Benson, and Shroeder, (1989) came into use. For data analysis, S statistical software was applied and univariate regression analysis was used to analyze the hypotheses. The results showed that quality management practices had significant positive impact on the process of knowledge production. Also, support components of senior management, quantitative report, employee training, employee participation, product design, quality of supplier, process management, and the role of quality management all had significant positive effect on the process of knowledge production.


The dynamic interaction between droplets and the airflow around the hemispherical nose of an aircraft was evaluated. The effect of the aircraft nose on droplet sampling for cloud research is explained. The proportion of different droplet sizes and their concentration at each point around the aircraft nose were determined. In a cloud, interaction between droplets is negligible. Each particle acts, for the calculation of the forces applied to it, as if it is alone in the air. The airflow carrying the droplets, on the average, is not influenced by their presence. The trajectory of each droplet was studied separately after calculating dry airflow. Concentrations were found with a Lagrangian method, using two trajectories computed directly close to one another. Theory confirms that to within 3% experimentally measured concentrations are representative of those in a cloud.


In vivo elution rates of Cr51 from red cells containing Hb C and from placental red cells containing large amounts of Hb F have been determined. These were found to be 1.8 and 0.85 per cent per day, respectively, and do not differ greatly from those of normal adult red cells. Therefore, no special correction factors for elution need be used in evaluating Cr51 survival curves in these clinical situations. The in vivo elution rate of 3.5 per cent/day observed for Hb C-S is significantly greater than that of normal red cells.


As translators strive, still, to achieve recognition and emerge from the shadows, translation continues to bubble up to the surface as a theme or stylistic device in literature. This tendency, dubbed "transfiction," is illustrated by the recent novels of New York authors Rachel Cantor and Idra Novey, whose multidimensional stories cross borders, languages, genres and continents. Their protagonists are translators who struggle with issues of selfdoubt and untranslatability, yet manage to overcome their uncertainty and invisibility by taking control of the narrative and writing the story of their translations. In Cantor's Good on Paper and Novey's Ways to Disappear, both published in 2016, the lives of translators and authors are intertwined. Shira Greene, Cantor's heroine, has been chosen by Italian Nobel laureate Romei to translate his novel because he has read a translation of hers as well as her story about Paul Celan. As she works her way through his manuscript, Shira realizes that the plot resembles events in her own life. In an intriguing twist, both content and structure of the original are inspired by the translator's work. Novey blurs the lines between life and fiction and stages translation as central to modern life. Emma Neufeld, an American translator, goes to Brazil when her author, a famous woman writer, disappears mysteriously. In a meditation on relations between the translator and her author, between translating and writing – relations that are depicted in terms of adultery and betrayal – Novey's translator evokes the splendour of translation while at the same time seeking self-expression through her own writing.


Buffel grass [Cenchrus ciliaris L. syn. Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link] is an exotic species that has been widely planted in Australian arid and semi-arid grazing lands, and has become an important resource for livestock. It establishes readily and has expanded into such a diversity of land types beyond grazing lands that it is also regarded as a serious environmental weed. Although there is an abundance of literature on the production benefits of buffel grass, there is relatively little about its influence on native flora and fauna in arid Australia, particularly when its cover levels are low. This study attempted to clarify the influence of buffel grass and environmental patterns on the occurrence of ground vegetation, birds, reptiles and ants in a gneissic hill habitat in central Australia where buffel grass has encroached. Despite poor conditions for growth, we were able to distinguish the influence of buffel grass from that of other variables like overstorey cover, soil pH, fire and transect orientation. Cover of buffel grass did not exceed ~20% but it still accounted for a small amount of the variation in the composition of ground vegetation and birds, and of the 'ground-dwelling' bird guild and the 'hot climate specialist' functional group of ants. There were insufficient reptiles for analysis. We conclude that, even when cover is low, buffel grass can have a detectable influence on some aspects of community dynamics. Given the evidence from published literature and from this study, we expect the influence of buffel grass on the diversity of native flora and fauna to increase, particularly if buffel grass expands into land types previously thought unsuited to its environmental needs.


This paper will present an analysis of a tracked-based skid steer mobile robot (SSMR) following a defined path on a class of non-planar surfaces. The analysis will define a method to approximate the position and orientation of each track on a climbing surface in a manner that ensures opposing, symmetric components of the robot are geometrically even in their positioning relative to the base surface. The analysis will assume the robot chassis travels along the path with an orientation defined by the vectors tangent to the path and normal to the climbing surface, and that the centerline distance and longitudinal displacements between the tracks units are fixed. It will be shown that for general paths, three rotational degrees of freedom are required between the tracks to maintain line contact with the surface along the length of the track. This implies that the tracks do not remain parallel while following paths on non-planar surfaces. It will further be shown that relative lateral slipping between the left and right tracks result when traversing non-planar surfaces. Two subsets of paths are shown to require one rotational degree of freedom only and avoid lateral slipping. The model will then be used to define the required relative motion between the tracks which can be used to design a kinematic arrangement for connecting track modules to a central chassis in a manner to minimize slip and maximize surface contact when climbing on non-planar surfaces.


Glycolytic metabolism in meiotic and post-meiotic spermatogenic cells shows differentiation-related changes. The developmental and physiological significance of these metabolic changes is not known. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that glucose and lactate metabolism can modulate intracellular calcium [Ca2+](i) in spermatogenic cells in an opposing and dynamic manner. Fluorescent probes were used to measure [Ca2+](i) and pH(i), and HPLC was used to measure intracellular adenine nucleotides and mitochondrial sensing of ATP turnover. [Ca2+](i) in pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids was modulated by changes in lactate and glucose concentrations in the media. The kinetics and magnitude of the [Ca2+](i) changes induced by lactate and glucose were different in meiotic and post-meiotic spermatogenic cells. The presence of glucose in the medium induced a decrease in pH(i) in spermatogenic cells. This glucose-induced pH(i) decrease occurred later than the changes in [Ca2+](i), which were also observed when the pH(i) decrease was inhibited, indicating that the glucose-induced [Ca2+](i) increase was not a consequence of pH(i) changes. Hexose phosphorylation in glycolysis was part of the mechanism by which glucose metabolism induced a [Ca2+](i) increase in spermatogenic cells. The sensitivity of [Ca2+](i) to carbohydrate metabolism was higher in round spermatids than in pachytene spermatocytes. Thus, differentiation-related changes in carbohydrate metabolism in spermatogenic cells determine a dynamic and differential modulation of their [Ca2+](i) by glucose and lactate, two substrates secreted by the Sertoli cells.


Summary form only given. The major issue today on cluster and grid computing is the efficient resource management. The evaluation of scheduling strategies is hard because of the generation of jobs under realistic scenario. This is true for rigid jobs (where the number of processors is fixed) and even more for moldable ones. We present an approach to generate realistic workloads for this kind of jobs. The model we propose is based on the analysis of one year of utilization of the I-cluster, a 225 processors cluster. From this log we extract a typical load for this kind of parallel machines and introduce a way to generate synthetic realistic workloads in an automatic way. This work was done as a way to test scheduling strategies taking into account both rigid and moldable jobs so as the workload generator may handle moldable jobs.


Numerous high-profile publications have confirmed that an individual tumor contains hundreds of mutations, that a tumor will continue to acquire mutations as it progresses, and that significant tumor heterogeneity exists not only between tumors but also within a tumor. Because of these challenges, prevention of cancer should be more effective than treating end-stage disease. Mouse models are useful tools for developing new drugs and strategies for cancer prevention, and we have used mouse models of breast, pancreas, and lung cancer to ask different types of questions. Our data demonstrate the benefits of early intervention in the process of carcinogenesis. Moreover, multifunctional drugs that target key regulatory nodes are more effective than targeted therapies for prevention, and combining drugs that target different pathways or cell types can enhance the potency and reduce the toxicity of individual drugs. Citation Format: Karen T. Liby. Using mouse models to develop new drugs and strategies for prevention. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr ED02-04.


Forty adults with closed diaphyseal femoral fractures and no previous knee injury were prospectively studied to determine the incidence of concomitant ipsilateral extraand intraarticular knee injury. After intramedullary nailing, examination under anesthesia and arthroscopy were performed. The mechanism of injury was high-energy trauma. Femoral fixation included 30 interlocked nails. The results of the examination showed laxity > Grade I in 52.5% of the patients. Significant arthroscopic findings included 19 partial (48%) and two complete (5%) anterior cruciate injuries; two partial (5%) and one complete (2.5%) posterior cruciate injuries; and five medial (1 2%) and eight lateral (20%) meniscus tears. Significant arthroscopic findings (anterior cruciate ligament or posterior cruciate ligament injuries, meniscal tear, osteochondral fracture) were noted in conjunction with effusion or laxity > Grade I in more than half of the group, and such findings were present in one third despite absence of effusion or laxity. This study documented the incidence and array of findings noted at arthroscopy. In all, 22 patients (55%) had significant arthroscopic findings. A high incidence of knee injuries, including many that were occult, occurred in conjunction with ipsilateral femoral shaft fractures. Based on these findings, the authors recommend a high index of suspicion for coexisting knee injuries with ipsilateral femoral fracture and use of appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic measures.


Northern circumpolar permafrost thaw affects global carbon cycling, as large amounts of stored soil carbon becomes accessible to microbial breakdown under a warming climate. The magnitude of carbon release is linked to the extent of permafrost thaw, which is locally variable and controlled by soil thermodynamics. Soil thermodynamic properties, such as thermal diffusivity, govern the reactivity of the soil‐atmosphere thermal gradient, and are controlled by soil composition and drainage. In order to project permafrost thaw for an Alaskan tundra experimental site, we used seven years of site data to calibrate a soil thermodynamic model using a data assimilation technique. The model reproduced seasonal and interannual temperature dynamics for shallow (5–40 cm) and deep soil layers (2–4 m), and simulations of seasonal thaw depth closely matched observed data. The model was then used to project permafrost thaw at the site to the year 2100 using climate forcing data for three future climate scenarios (RCP 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5). Minimal permafrost thawing occurred until mean annual air temperatures rose above the freezing point, after which we measured over a 1 m increase in thaw depth for every 1 °C rise in mean annual air temperature. Under no projected warming scenario was permafrost remaining in the upper 3 m of soil by 2100. We demonstrated an effective data assimilation method that optimizes parameterization of a soil thermodynamic model. The sensitivity of local permafrost to climate warming illustrates the vulnerability of sub‐Arctic tundra ecosystems to significant and rapid soil thawing.


Background. Disturbed speech in schizophrenia may reflect pragmatic deficits of expressive language. Pragmatic comprehension deficits also occur in schizophrenia. This study investigated whether poor 'mind-reading' (i.e. a general difficulty with inferring and monitoring other people's thoughts) causes pragmatic language impairments of both expression and comprehension in patients with schizophrenia. Method. Mind-reading (or theory of mind) was tested in patients with schizophrenia and in healthy controls using a false-belief picture-sequencing task. Pragmatic comprehension skills were assessed using a test of non-literal speech interpretation. Clinical ratings of formal thought disorder (FTD) indexed the expressive language deficits of patients. To control for possible contributory effects of executive dysfunction, inhibitory control was tested using capture picture-sequences and executive-planning was tested using the Tower of London task. Results. False-belief picture-sequencing, understanding of irony and understanding of metaphors were all selectively impaired in the patients. Poor mind-reading (indexed by high error rate in sequencing false-belief stories) was associated with poor understanding of irony, but was unrelated to poor understanding of metaphors. Whereas poor appreciation of irony and poor mind-reading were associated with high ratings of positive formal thought disorder, high ratings of negative formal thought disorder were associated with poor understanding of metaphors and executive dysfunction. Conclusions. Whereas poor mind-reading may contribute to positive aspects of formal thought disorder and impaired appreciation of irony in patients with schizophrenia; negative features of formal thought disorder and poor understanding of metaphors appear better explained by abnormal semantics. Overall, the findings of this study support the view that the functional basis of formal thought disorder in schizophrenia is not unitary.


In high arterial hypertension conditioned by main renal arteries stenosis of different genesis, 21.1% of patients were found to have a combination of renovascular hypertension with parenchymatous renal diseases, most often chronic pyelonephritis. The incidence of development of the malignant hypertension syndrome in combined lesions was noted to be 1.5 times higher than in isolated renovascular hypertension and makes 38.8% of patients. The described features of the clinical course, laboratory, radiological and radionuclide data as well as morphologic state of kidneys make it possible to distinguish this form of symptomatic hypertension as a special one, that is renovascular-parenchymatous hypertension.


Recently, trends in the market and discussions in marketing literature signal the changing roles of customers. Marketing literature not only emphasizes the importance of devising customer-focused strategies for organizations to stay competitive in the market, but also, to a great extent, makes an attempt to theorize consumers as co-producers and co-creators of value (Lusch and Vargo 2006; Cova and Dalli 2009). Many different terms have been suggested to signal this new role of consumers: prosumers (Toffler 1980), consumeractors, etc., all of which characterize consumers as able and willing to actively engage in the construction of value through experiences and relationships with organizations. Therefore, the concept of co-creation surfaces, suggesting that consumers can enter into and engage in production and innovation processes with companies.


Human footprint fossils have provided essential evidence about the evolution of human bipedalism as well as the social dynamics of the footprint makers, including estimates of speed, sex and group composition. Generally such estimates are made by comparing footprint evidence with modern controls; however, previous studies have not accounted for the variation in footprint dimensions coming from load bearing activities. It is likely that a portion of the hominins who created these fossil footprints were carrying a significant load, such as offspring or foraging loads, which caused variation in the footprint which could extend to variation in any estimations concerning the footprint's maker. To identify significant variation in footprints due to load-bearing tasks, we had participants (N = 30, 15 males and 15 females) walk at a series of speeds carrying a 20kg pack on their back, side and front. Paint was applied to the bare feet of each participant to create footprints that were compared in terms of foot length, foot width and foot area. Female foot length and width increased during multiple loaded conditions. An appreciation of footprint variability associated with carrying loads adds an additional layer to our understanding of the behavior and morphology of extinct hominin populations.


Abstract Changes in marine upwelling can affect the radiocarbon content of seawater and thus affect the marine radiocarbon reservoir age, R. These radiocarbon variations are preserved in mollusk shell carbonate. Shell-based estimates of R in a variable-upwelling environment can be biased by (1) changes in molluscan growth rates due to fluctuating environmental conditions and (2) time averaging during sampling due to homogenization of days or weeks of precipitated carbonate. We modeled the growth, radiocarbon content, and radiocarbon sampling of two Peruvian mollusks, Argopecten purpuratus (bay scallop) and Mesodesma donacium (surf clam), to quantify these potential biases. Argopecten purpuratus grows year round, but M. donacium prefers cold conditions and its growth rate decreases in summer. Radiocarbon assays by accelerator mass spectrometry on multiple ∼1 mg samples of a model A. purpuratus shell can capture the full range of annual R variation; similar sampling of a model M. donacium shell only captures ≤75% of this range. Given an annual R variation of 530 14C yr, the mean R calculated using a group of ∼1 mg carbonate samples from an A. purpuratus shell is within 30 14C yr of the actual mean R; that of a M. donacium shell may be skewed up to 140 14C yr older than the actual marine mean. If growth tolerances and parameters of mollusks used for R analyses are considered, it may be possible to correct for these biases and improve the accuracy of marine radiocarbon chronometry.


The effects of cholera toxin on the coupling of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor to a guanine nucleotide-binding (G) protein were examined in a GH3 clonal strain of rat pituitary tumor cells. Incubation of the cells with cholera toxin (50 ng/ml) for 16 hr caused a decrease in [3H]methyl-TRH binding to 59% of the control level and in TRH-stimulated low Km GTPase activity from 143 to 107% of the control level in the membrane-containing fraction. The effects of cholera toxin were time dependent; TRH-stimulated GTPase activity was reduced after a 3-hr incubation, whereas cholera toxin decreased [3H]methyl-TRH binding in the membrane-containing fraction after a 5-hr incubation. These results suggest that the inhibition of TRH-stimulated GTPase activity by cholera toxin treatment is not due to the decrease of receptor binding caused by this toxin. On the other hand, incubation of GH3 cell membranes with preactivated cholera toxin and NAD+ did not substantially alter the binding of [3H]methyl-TRH. In contrast, the cholera toxin-treated membranes demonstrated a partial reduction in the activity of TRH-induced low Km GTPase activity and a 10-fold increase in the concentration of guanine nucleotide required for a half-maximal effect in regulating the TRH receptor affinity for [3H]methyl-TRH. These data suggest that cholera toxin may act directly on a G protein that is associated with TRH-receptors.


In this communication, we present the measurements of electrical resistivity (ρ), thermal conductivity (κ), thermopower (S), and specific heat (CP) on Mn doped compounds EuBa2(Cu1−xMnx)3O7−δ for 0≤x≤0.02. The transition temperature TC and the upper critical field HC2(0) in this series of compounds are found to decrease quasi-linearly as the Mn concentration increases. All the currently investigated samples show a hump in thermal conductivity below their transition temperatures. Thermopower measurements exhibit an electron-like behaviour for pure samples; however, a hole-like behaviour is seen in all the doped samples. A small jump in specific heat is observed in the pure samples. It is seen that replacing 0.5% Cu by Mn has little effect on the transition temperature, but there is a nearly twofold suppression in the CP jump for this sample. These results demonstrate that the impurities are being incorporated as a whole and not as a cluster.


The educational system annually provides society with young professionals all over the world, forming the future and creating new connections. This structure became an orderly part of the modern lifestyle, that brings a wide range of possibilities, but at the same time adds particular challenges. One of the issues that universities worldwide have discovered is the decline of student mental health and increase in severe psychological disorders among the student population. In the past two decades, this problem has received more publicity among the general public as well as attracted attention in the academic world.
Ben Bulsink in collaboration with Parvis Sassanian have been developing a breathing wearable that is capable of accurately tracking breathing patterns in order to support the wearer in developing healthier breathing habits. Breath as a Key to life is an ongoing project that has been passed on to Creative Technology students that have found scientific proof of benefits of abdominal breathing, showing that it can significantly improve both physical and mental health. Combining the motivation of the clients of this project and the student mental health issue it was decided to create a video awareness campaign that introduces breathing practices to university students as a possible solution for mental health treatment. This led to the research question: "How should an awareness campaign be designed in order to introduce breathing practices as a possible solution for mental health treatment for university students?"
Background research collected information on the problem, providing insights on student mental health, as well as the existing support system. The research also includes a target audience analysis, describing general interests and design preferences of millennials. In addition to that information on current marketing trends and principles of persuasion were collected in order to support the future design of the film and message. Using the background research and feedback sessions with the client and representatives of the target audience a final film concept was chosen and the functional and non-functional requirements were formed. The final film had to be inspiring, motivating, relatable, truthful and focused on real personal stories.
The evaluation of the campaign proved that the preferences of the target audience were included and the final film was a success. In conclusion, the report provides valuable insights on student mental health, the wellness market, existing marketing strategies and methods that can be used to develop a successful awareness campaign. The report also gives a detailed guideline of the ideation and realization process that can be used by scholars in future similar projects. The final film is evaluated through a user test and describes how the requirements were executed. It showed the importance of direct communication with the audience and client and how it greatly contributes to the result.
For future work, a set of guidelines for designing awareness campaigns for university students is presented as well as suggestions that explain how a similar project can potentially be improved through adjustments in the planning and organization.


Purpose Although the lamina cribrosa (LC) is the primary site of axonal damage in glaucoma, adequate methods to image and measure it are currently lacking. Here, we describe a noninvasive, in vivo method of evaluating the LC, based on swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), and determine this method's ability to quantify LC thickness. Methods This study comprised 54 eyes, including normal (n = 18), preperimetric glaucoma (PPG; n = 18), and normal tension glaucoma (NTG; n = 18) eyes. We used SS-OCT to obtain 3 x 3 mm cube scans of an area centered on the optic disc, and then synchronized reconstructed B- and en-face images from this data. We identified the LC in these B-scan images by marking the visible borders of the LC pores. We marked points on the anterior and posterior borders of the LC in 12 B-scan images in order to create a skeleton model of the LC. Finally, we used B-spline interpolation to form a 3D model of the LC, including only reliably measured scan areas. We calculated the average LC thickness (avgLCT) in this model and used Spearman's rank correlation coefficient to compare it with circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (cpRNFLT). Results We found that the correlation coefficient of avgLCT and cpRNFLT was 0.64 (p < 0.01). The coefficient of variation for avgLCT was 5.1%. AvgLCT differed significantly in the groups (normal: 282.6 ± 20.6 μm, PPG: 261.4 ± 15.8 μm, NTG: 232.6 ± 33.3 μm). The normal, PPG and NTG groups did not significantly differ in age, sex, refractive error or intraocular pressure (IOP), although the normal and NTG groups differed significantly in cpRNFLT and Humphrey field analyzer measurements of mean deviation. Conclusion Thus, our results indicate that the parameters of our newly developed method of measuring LC thickness with SS-OCT may provide useful and important data for glaucoma diagnosis and research.


We consider the interaction between passing to finite covers and ergodic properties of the straight-line flow on finite-area translation surfaces with infinite topological type. Infinite type provides for a rich family of degree- $d$ covers for any integer $d>1$ . We give examples which demonstrate that passing to a finite cover can destroy ergodicity, but we also provide evidence that this phenomenon is rare. We define a natural notion of a random degree $d$ cover and show that, in many cases, ergodicity and unique ergodicity are preserved under passing to random covers. This work provides a new context for exploring the relationship between recurrence of the Teichmüller flow and ergodic properties of the straight-line flow.


Learning environment plays an important role in the quality of the learning process, particularly in teaching archaeology. Museum environment is among the active environments contributing to this process in which it enables students to acquire skills different from those they acquire in the traditional classroom. Museums generally consist of a variety of artefacts and material that are displayed to the public, preserved, maintained and studied. University museums have an additional function: they are used as spaces for teaching and training students at all levels, particularly in the field of archaeology. Students in the museum can deal with its collections, as well as educational programs offered by their professors. A university museum offers university students with materials suitable for the study and research. It has the ability to hold a variety of educational activities, and it stimulates students' interest and motivates them to think creatively. This studyassumes that studying archaeology courses within the university museum is more useful for students than teaching within the traditional classroom of the university. To test this hypothesis, the Department of Archaeology in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University and its archaeology museum were taken as a case study. A number of archaeological courses are taught within this museum, while other courses are taught in traditional classrooms. In order to determine the impact of teaching of archaeological courses in the University Archaeology Museum, a questionnaire was designed to measure the degree of such an effect. It was distributed to all students studying archaeology courses in the spring of the academic year 2019 in the Department of Archaeology. The results indicate that the majority of students believe that the courses they studied at the museum contributed significantly to increasing their academic achievement and understanding of their contents more than those they studied in the normal classroom. The study has suggested the importance of using the university museum as a teaching environment that motivates students. Such environment is an important interactive source of teaching and its development and quality .


What produces a happy society and a happy life? Thanks to the new science of wellbeing, we can now answer this question using state-of-the-art empirical evidence. This transforms our ability to base our decisions on the outcomes that matter most, namely the wellbeing of us all including future generations. Written by two of the world's leading experts on the economics of wellbeing, this book shows how wellbeing can be measured, what causes it and how it can be improved. Its findings are profoundly relevant to all social sciences, including psychology, economics, politics, behavioural science and sociology. A field-defining text on a new science that aims to span the whole of human life, this will be an invaluable resource for undergraduate and graduate students, policy-makers and employers, who can apply its insights in their professional and private lives. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.


In this study we investigate the effect of random point disorder on the surface states of a topological insulator with out-of-plane magnetization. We consider the disorder within a high order Born approximation. The Born series converges to the one branch of the self-consistent Born approximation (SCBA) solution at low disorder. As the disorder strength increases, the Born series converges to another SCBA solution with the finite density of states within the magnetization induced gap. Further increase of the disorder strength leads to a divergence of the Born series, showing the limits of the applicability of the Born approximation. We find that the convergence properties of this Born series are closely related to the properties of the logistic map, which is known as a prototypical model of chaos. We also calculate the longitudinal and Hall conductivities within the Kubo formulas at zero temperature with the vertex corrections for the velocity operator. Vertex corrections are important for describing transport properties in the strong disorder regime. In the case of strong disorder, the longitudinal conductivity is weakly dependent on the disorder strength, while the Hall conductivity decreases with increasing disorder.


Introduction: Even as antimicrobial resistance is a serious public health concern worldwide, the uncertainties of diagnosis and treatment of fever strongly influence community practitioners toward prescribing antibiotics. To help community practitioners resolve their diagnostic questions and reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics for viral fevers, thus helping to contain antibiotic resistance, we suggest fever‐charting and monitoring fever patterns for two days. Methods: This was a qualitative study, with relevant quantitative descriptions. Patients presenting with recent onset fever to the Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) and Research Centre, Bangalore, India, were monitored with simple fever charting and managed based on their fever patterns for two days. Initially only antipyretics were given in optimal doses; if the fever showed a continuous pattern suggestive of septicemia, antibiotics were instituted for typhoid, the commonest organism to cause sepsis in a community setting short of pointers to other causes. The different clinical profiles of these patients of viral and enteric fevers were circulated among the community practitioners, and an assessment of their approach was made. Finally, it was revealed to the practitioners how successful management of the patient was possible without antibiotics. Results: During the study period, 4289 patients presented to VIMS. The antibiotic prescribing rate when given the clinical profiles of true patients with viral fevers was high among community practitioners. Community practitioners agreed that in a controlled hospital setting, the results could be spectacular, but the challenges were different in community practice. There was an initial reluctance to use fever charting due to fear of patient noncompliance. Discussion: Fever charting can be an invaluable means to help differentiate viral and enteric fevers and thus help reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for viral fevers.


Flying animals resort to fast, large-degree-of-freedom motion of flapping wings, a key feature that distinguishes them from rotary or fixed-winged robotic fliers with limited motion of aerodynamic surfaces. However, flapping-wing aerodynamics are characterized by highly unsteady and three-dimensional flows difficult to model or control, and accurate aerodynamic force predictions often rely on expensive computational or experimental methods. Here, we developed a computationally efficient and data-driven state-space model to dynamically map wing kinematics to aerodynamic forces/moments. This model was trained and tested with a total of 548 different flapping-wing motions and surpassed the accuracy and generality of the existing quasi-steady models. This model used 12 states to capture the unsteady and nonlinear fluid effects pertinent to force generation without explicit information of fluid flows. We also provided a comprehensive assessment of the control authority of key wing kinematic variables and found that instantaneous aerodynamic forces/moments were largely predictable by the wing motion history within a half-stroke cycle. Furthermore, the angle of attack, normal acceleration and pitching motion had the strongest effects on the aerodynamic force/moment generation. Our results show that flapping flight inherently offers high force control authority and predictability, which can be key to developing agile and stable aerial fliers.


Abstract Objectives: To investigate the relationship between maternal race/ethnicity, maternal age at delivery, and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Research design: Patients of Henry Ford Health System who delivered a live singleton child and were diagnosed with or without GDM in 2010–2015 were included. Maternal race/ethnicity, age, body mass index (BMI), parity, GDM in previous pregnancy, smoking status, and insurance membership were collected from the electronic health records. Neighborhood median family income data were obtained from US Census Bureau. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the effects of maternal race/ethnicity and age at delivery on the GDM outcome after adjusting for covariates including maternal BMI, parity, previous GDM, smoking status, and neighborhood family income. Results: There were 16,258 women included in the study. Of those, 1801 women (12.5%) were diagnosed with GDM. Delivery at older ages (≥23 years) was associated with a significantly higher risk of a GDM diagnosis than younger ages [<23 years, OR (95% CI) = 2.24 (1.84, 2.73)−5.02 (4.18, 6.03)], however, the risk was not as profound in African American women (OR = 1.65) compared to non-African American women (OR = 2.07). In a multivariable model controlling for age, BMI, parity, previous GDM, smoking status, and the neighborhood family income, the risks of a GDM diagnosis were significantly higher in Asians [OR (95% CI) = 2.81 (2.28, 3.48)], Hispanics [OR (95% CI) = 1.27 (1.05, 1.55)], and Arab Americans [OR (95% CI) = 1.46 (1.20, 1.78)] and lower in African Americans [OR (95% CI) = 0.64 (0.56, 0.74)] as compared to whites. Conclusions: Asians, Hispanics, and Arab Americans have higher risk and African Americans have lower risk of a GDM diagnosis compared to whites. Delivery at an older maternal age increases the risk of GDM diagnosis. Race/ethnicity moderates the association between older maternal age and risk of GDM diagnosis. This study provides information for public health professionals, health practitioners, and pregnant women to be aware of and better understand the risk of GDM as related to race/ethnicity and maternal age.


This is a guide to the practical art of plausible reasoning, this book has relevance in every field of intellectual activity. Professor Polya, a world-famous mathematician from Stanford University, uses mathematics to show how hunches and guesses play an important part in even the most rigorously deductive science. He explains how solutions to problems can be guessed at; good guessing is often more important than rigorous deduction in finding correct solutions. The book as a whole is organized around the central thesis that a good guess is quite as important as a good proof. – Volume I, on [i]Induction and Analogy in Mathematics[/i], covers a wide variety of mathematical problems, revealing the trains of thought that lead to solutions, pointing out false bypaths, discussing techniques of searching for proofs. Problems and examples challenge curiosity, judgment, and power of invention. The function of the first volume in the theory of plausible reasoning is to provide some concrete mathematical raw material. – If the first volume is more the mathematician's volume, the second is the philosopher's. Volume 2, on [i]Patterns of Plausible Inference[/i], is more interested in an abstract philosophical discussion of the patterns that the first volume indicates. M.-M. V.


In this paper, a hollow-core negative curvature fiber (HC-NCF) with high birefringence is proposed for low refractive index (RI) sensing based on surface plasmon resonance effect. In the design, the cladding region of the HC-NCF is composed of only one ring of eight silica tubes, and two of them are selectively filled with the gold wires. The influences of the gold wires-filled HC-NCF structure parameters on the propagation characteristic are investigated by the finite element method. Moreover, the sensing performances in the low RI range of 1.20–1.34 are evaluated by the traditional confinement loss method and novel birefringence analysis method, respectively. The simulation results show that for the confinement loss method, the obtained maximum sensitivity, resolution, and figure of merit of the gold wires-filled HC-NCF-based sensor are −5700 nm/RIU, 2.63 × 10−5 RIU, and 317 RIU−1, respectively. For the birefringence analysis method, the obtained maximum sensitivity, resolution, and birefringence of the gold wires-filled HC-NCF-based sensor are −6100 nm/RIU, 2.56 × 10−5 RIU, and 1.72 × 10−3, respectively. It is believed that the proposed gold wires-filled HC-NCF-based low RI sensor has important applications in the fields of biochemistry and medicine.


Extracorporeal shock wave therapy has been used increasingly in musculoskeletal disorders although its biologic mechanisms are not understood completely. The current study evaluated the effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on human osteoblastlike cells by using an electrohydraulic shock wave generator and comparing three energy levels. (Group A, 14 kV and 0.15 mJ/mm2; Group B, 21 kV and 0.31 mJ/mm2; Group C, 28 kV and 0.40 mJ/mm2; Control Group, no energy) and two total impulses (500, 1000) for each level. At the end of treatment, a reduction by approximately 76% was observed in Group C cell number versus basal value when compared with the other groups. Viability, biochemical activity, and gene expression of cultured cells were evaluated 24 and 48 hours after treatment. The viability test showed a decrease in Group C viability of approximately 54% at both culture times as compared with the other groups. Significant increases in nitric oxide, osteocalcin, and transforming growth factor-β1 production ranging from 10% to 35% were found in Group A. All treated groups had lower C-terminal procollagen Type I values than the Control Group, but important increases were observed between 24 and 48 hours in all groups except Group C. This particular finding reveals that osteoblast differentiation in Group A is enhanced strongly during the first 24 hours after exposure leading after another 24 hours to an increase in C-terminal procollagen Type I production and consequently in bone matrix deposition. The current study showed that one of the most important aspects to be considered is not the total number of impulses used, but the energy level of the shock waves, therefore confirming that extracorporeal shock wave therapy has a dose-dependent initial destructive effect on cells when the selected energy is higher than 21 kV.


Acute experiments on cats demonstrated a suppression of the cerebral vessels reaction to hypercapnia under condithacin, while the reaction to hypocapnia persisted. It is assumed that the effects of hypo- and hypercapnia on the cerebral vessels were realized by different mechanisms, i. e. reduction of prostaglandin concentration decreased the cerebral vessels sensitivity to hypercapnia and increased their sensitivity to hypocapnia.


The paper is based upon ongoing research on professionals' conversations with children in legal conflicts regarding child custody, contact or residence, with particular focus on children whose father is violent to the mother. Drawing upon group interviews with staff at four work places in Sweden specialised in family law investigations and mediation, we outline different work group characteristics, and discuss what these may mean for learning processes regarding a topic relatively new to the profession, such as men's violence to women and children's position in these families. It is argued that the types of groups identified – 'homogenous and maintaining', 'heterogeneous and maintaining', and 'homogenous and development-oriented' may represent different stages of a learning process in this field. Furthermore, that work group characteristics may enable or obstruct further change in a somewhat surprising pattern. We also link the different types of work groups and their learning processes to the wider societal context, specifically discursive shifts in Sweden as regards family law and men's violence to women.


An important but relatively less studied class of network layer protocol for sensor networks is geocast. It allows a sensor node to send messages to all nodes in a given geographical area without the sender node having any knowledge about which nodes are present in that area. Developing a robust geocast protocol for practical sensor networks poses several challenges. Geocast messages should be reliably delivered to the destination area in the presence of unreliable wireless links, a typical characteristic of practical sensor network deployments. The protocol should minimize the number of radio transmissions and avoid control traffic to save energy, which is a scarce resource in sensor networks. The protocol should be robust against a wide range of network densities. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of SGcast — a reliable, robust, and energy-efficient geocast protocol that achieves these goals. For a wide range of experiments conducted using networks of real sensor nodes and simulations, we show that compared to a recent geocast protocol, SGcast achieves up to 11.08x reduction in energy consumption and up to 2.17x improvement in successful delivery of geocast messages to the destination area, while being robust against a wide variability in network densities.


Searching for vertebrae in a large collection of spine X-ray images that are relevant to pathology is potentially important for providing assistance to radiologists and bone morphometrists. Developing appropriate methods for such searching tasks is very challenging due to the high similarities among vertebral shapes in contrast to the subtle dissimilarities that characterize the pathology. In this paper, we target two aspects of this problem: first, we develop mathematical features that can effectively represent the biomedical characteristics of interest; second, we exploit similarity learning to enhance and try to optimize the retrieval performance. We evaluate our proposed method on an expert-annotated dataset of 856 vertebrae and demonstrate its retrieval performance by precision-recall and average-precision graphs. We also demonstrate how we have integrated our method into our Web-accessible spine X-ray image retrieval system.


We present preliminary results from a virtual reality (VR)-based system for hand rehabilitation that uses a CyberGlove and a Rutgers Master II-ND haptic glove. This system trains finger range of motion, finger flexion speed, independence of finger motion and finger strength. Eight chronic post-stroke subjects participated. In keeping with variability in both the lesion site and in initial upper extremity function, each subject showed improvement on a unique combination of movement parameters in VR training. These improvements transferred to gains on clinical tests, as well as to significant reductions in task completion times for the prehension of real objects. These results are indicative of the potential feasibility of this exercise system for rehabilitation in patients with hand dysfunction resulting from neurological impairment.


Foundation treatment of expansive soils is a complex worldwide problem. Herein engineering behaviors of expansive soils and improved expansive soils with lime (IESL) in the runway area of Xinqiao international airport of Hefei were investigated by means of laboratory experiments and field tests. It was concluded that the expansive soils of mean plasticity index 24.2, and optimum moisture content of 16% in the engineering area, behaved weak and medium expansive potential. The plastic index of improved expansive soil of 7% lime mixed indoor and of 8% lime incorporated on site dropped to 20 and 13. At the same time, the free swelling ratios of IESL reduced up to 6.31 % and 3% relative to 46.5% of expansive soil, and the swelling pressure also decreased from 67.5 kPa to 4.05 and 11.28 kPa, respectively. The mean unconfined compression strength of improved expansive soil of 7 % lime on site was 853 kPa, 71% stronger of that of expansive soils. And the soil response modulus was up to 235.2 MN/m3, 9 times of expansive soils. It was also found form the immersion tests on site that the swell value of IESL was only 30% at most of expansive soils at the same depth. These results indicate that the compacted IESLs have a good bearing capacity, strength and water stability, so the engineering behaviors of IESLs are much better than those of expansive soils, and prove that the modification plan, expansive soils incorporated 7% lime on site could meet the design requirements.


Garshasp has peregrinated an agelong path from Avesta epoch to the time of preparation of old historical context and Iran's national epic. Garshasp, who is the unique hero of Iran's old mythology, that his brave acts, such as killing the Dragon and ogre lobbing are important parts of the heroic themes included in the Avesta, through the advent of Pahlavi literary context because of reasons such as fairies deception and outrage against fire, has lost a part of his honour and Avesta's shining. In frequently historical context and national epic in the Islamic epoch of Iran, except for Garshasbnameh – it has disappeared due to the neglect of Garshasp's myth by the formulators of deity books, priest's shrug which affected Esfandiar's closeness to Sam's family, Garshasp's athletics in Zahhak's crown, etc. In this paper we try to explain and determine the quality of the event.

Key words: Garshasp, behavioural analysis, myth, epic, Avesta, historical context.


Orexins are produced specifically by neurons located in the lateral hypothalamus. Recent results suggested peripheral actions of orexins. Therefore, we analyzed the mRNA expression of prepro-orexin and the orexin receptor subtypes OX(1) and OX(2) in peripheral rat tissues. Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR we detected significant amounts of prepro-orexin mRNA in testis, but not in ovaries. OX(1) receptor mRNA was highly expressed in the brain and at lower levels in the pituitary gland. Only small amounts of OX(1) receptor mRNA were found in other tissues such as kidney, adrenal, thyroid, testis, ovaries, and jejunum. Very high levels of OX(2) receptor mRNA, 4-fold higher than in brain, were found in adrenal glands of male rats. Low amounts of OX(2) receptor mRNA were present in lung and pituitary. In adrenal glands, OX(2) receptor mRNA was localized in the zona glomerulosa and reticularis by in situ hybridization, indicating a role in adrenal steroid synthesis and/or release. OX(1) receptor mRNA in the pituitary and OX(2) receptor mRNA in the adrenal gland were much higher in male than in female rats. In the hypothalamus, OX(1) receptor mRNA was slightly elevated in female rats. The differential mRNA expression of orexin receptor subtypes in peripheral organs indicates discrete peripheral effects of orexins and the existence of a peripheral orexin system. This is supported by the detection of orexin A in rat plasma. Moreover, the sexually dimorphic expression of OX(1) and OX(2) receptors in the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands suggests gender-specific roles of orexins in the control of endocrine functions.


Given a collection of strings S = fs 1 ; : : :; s n g over an alphabet , a superstring of S is a string containing each s i as a substring; that is, for each i, 1 i n, contains a block of js i j consecutive characters that match s i exactly. The shortest superstring problem is the problem of nding a superstring of minimum length. The shortest superstring problem has applications in both data compression and computational biology. In data compression, the problem is a part of a general model of string compression proposed by Gallant, Maier and Storer (JCSS '80). Much of the recent interest in the problem is due to its application to DNA sequence assembly. The problem has been shown to be NP-hard; in fact, it was shown by Blum et al.(JACM '94) to be MAX SNP-hard. The rst O(1)-approximation was also due to Blum et al., who gave an algorithm that always returns a superstring no more than 3 times the length of an optimal solution. Several researchers have published results that improve on the approximation ratio; of these, the best previous result is our algorithm ShortString, which achieves a 2 3 4 {approximation (WADS '95). We present our new algorithm, G-ShortString, which achieves a ratio of 2 2 3. It generalizes the ShortString algorithm, but the analysis diers substantially from that of ShortString. Our previous work identied classes of strings that have a nested periodic structure, and which must be present in the worst case for our algorithms. We introduced machinery to descibe these strings and proved strong structural properties about them. In this paper we extend this study to strings that exhibit a more relaxed form of the same structure, and we use this understanding to obtain our improved result.


A decision tree can be used for clustering of frequently used attributes to improve tuple reconstruction time in column-stores databases. Due to ad-hoc nature of queries, strongly correlative attributes are grouped together using a decision tree to share a common minimum support probability distribution. At the same time in order to predict the cluster for unseen attribute set, the decision tree may work as a classifier. In this paper we propose classification and clustering of unseen attribute set using decision tree to improve tuple reconstruction time.


The article deals with the issue of experimental assessment of the dynamics of worm gears. The design of the methodology and the material and technical assurance of experimental tests to determine the impact of the use of various structural modifications on the dynamics of the worm gear are described. In the pilot part of the experiment, a gearbox was tested with an original design solution of bearing the worm wheel shaft in special damping inserts. The goal is to find ways to reduce the dynamic load of the most stressed components of the worm gear and increase their service life.


This work gives a general view of the inertial parameters needed for the biomechanical modelling of the human body from the biomechanical point of view, making an analysis of the past, present situations and future tendencies in this subject. Human body modelling needs to determine several anatomical points and interconnected segments, which should be complemented with inertial information such as the segmentary mass, centre of gravity position vector, axes of the local segmentary reference system, and also the moments of inertia. The process of obtaining this inertial parameters is essential for biomechanical analysis since it enables us to obtain several basic variables needed in any quantitative analysis of movement, for example the centre of gravity (CG) both segmentary and corporal, the moment of inertia (I) and the segmentary and corporal angular momentum (H). KEY WORDS: Biomechanicals, inertial parameters.


Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) on DNA nanoarrays provides billions of reads at relatively low cost and enables a multitude of genomic applications. Further improvement in read length, sequence quality and cost reduction will enable more affordable and accurate comprehensive health monitoring tests. Currently the most efficient MPS uses dye-labeled reversibly terminated nucleotides (RTs) that are expensive to make and challenging to incorporate. Furthermore, a part of the dye-linker (scar) remains on the nucleobase after cleavage and interferes with subsequent sequencing cycles. We describe here the development of a novel MPS chemistry (CoolMPS™) utilizing unlabeled RTs and four natural nucleobase-specific fluorescently labeled antibodies with fast (30 sec) binding. We implemented CoolMPS™ on MGI's PCR-free DNBSEQ MPS platform using arrays of 200nm DNA nanoballs (DNBs) generated by rolling circle replication and demonstrate 3-fold improvement in signal intensity and elimination of scar interference. Single-end 100-400 base and pair-end 2×150 base reads with high quality were readily generated with low out-of-phase incorporation. Furthermore, DNBs with less than 50 template copies were successfully sequenced by strong-signal CoolMPS™ with 3-times higher accuracy than in standard MPS. CoolMPS™ chemistry based on natural nucleobases has potential to provide longer, more accurate and less expensive MPS reads, including highly accurate "4-color sequencing" on the most efficient dye-crosstalk-free 2-color imagers with an estimated sequencing error rate of 0.00058% (one error in 170,000 base calls) in a proof-of-concept demonstration.


A new method of the design of tuned power oscillators, based on the method of the equivalent two-terminal networks, is presented. By the use of the proposed method, a phase shift of the feedback network can be taken into account and the phase condition for oscillation can be fulfilled at the resonant frequency of the output matching network. Hence, it is possible to obtain the output power and the collector efficiency of the oscillator as high as in the corresponding tuned power amplifier. An example of the design of the class C tuned power oscillator is also given. The proposed method is particularly important for the design of tuned power oscillators operating at high frequencies, when the phase shift introduced by the transistor is significant.


Chip scale packaging (CSP) is emerging as a major player within the semiconductor packaging market. Processing in the back-end requires optimizing the use of intermediate carrier configurations such as tape-in-carrier and strip-based substrates. This optimization of carrier configurations must occur in all processes related to CSP assembly, including die attach, wire bond, encapsulation, ball attach, laser mark, singulate, inspect, and test. CSP is considered an SMT and, as such, can be processed using existing lines. However, CSP is different from SMT and has its own assembly problems. One of the critical problems is that, with thinner package profile requirement, thinner substrate is necessary. Another important problem that should be considered is the failure of solder joints because of the coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch among the substrate, lead packages, and the board when the thermal load is severe. To address this point, several studies using moire interferometry have been conducted to measure thermal deformations that accumulate during thermal cycles.


Safety of position mooring system is a prime concern in the marine industry and regulations are in force to prevent faults in equipment from causing failure of the whole system. There are many reasons for failures in elements of a mooring system, e.g. material damage, overload, fatigue, brittle fracture, corrosion, abrasion, extreme environment. For mooring cables, one of the typical reasons for failure is overload due to frequent replacement and inspections. Although a design based on knowledge of structural reliability should ensure safety during a prescribed period of use, the risk of line failure still exists. The normal procedure to remedy these failures involves regular maintenance and replacement and is costly. A supplement to avoid failures is to utilize the technique of dynamic positioning, where thrusters assist to balance external forces.For thruster-assisted position mooring, the main objective is to maintain a vessel's position within a limited region and keep the vessel on the desired heading such that the external environmental load is minimised. The objective of keeping the system in a limited region is to avoid failure of the mooring or riser system. This limited region is normally a circle specified by a centre and radius. A safety factor is used to approximate the margin of environmental effects when designing this circle, and experience from operation with similar systems is also drawn upon. This thesis investigates how the reference position (set point) should be generated within the allowed region, and how control is implemented in the event of failure of part of the mooring system in order to protect the intact parts of the system and of the operation at large. The reference point is generated by minimising a cost function related to mooring line tension or riser angle. A structural reliability index is proposed to involve an on-line short term extreme value evaluation within the system. The magnitude of this index shows the safety level: a higher value means a safer condition and a value lower than a critical magnitude means that the risk is intolerably high. The control target is to avoid that line tension or riser angle exceed critical values. The setpoint chasing algorithm calculates a set-point where the structural index of line tension or riser angle is kept at reasonable levels.After a failure happens, a fault tolerant control strategy is designed to accommodate the effect of the failure. To ensure the safety of the position mooring system, it is necessary to analyse the effects of different faults in advance. These faults include thruster failure, power failure, abrupt signal change, line breakage etc. The focus of this thesis is the failure of mooring lines. A systematic framework for fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control is described. The nonlinear position mooring system is analysed by the structural graph approach and the residuals for line breakage and loss of buoyancy elements are produced to determine the faults from the residual signals. A change detection algorithm is designed to detect the change of the residual signals. Using this change detection algorithm, a line failure is detected and a fault accommodation method is subsequently developed to deal with the particular fault. To avoid other line tensions reaching an unacceptable value, a structural-reliability-based set-point chasing algorithm is proposed to re-generate a new position reference where all remaining lines are kept safe. This work uses diagnosis and fault-tolerant control techniques to utilise available actuators to handle single element failures and prevent the failure from spreading to the entire mooring system.This thesis contributes to ensuring the safety of mooring systems in a certain failure mode. One of the unique features is that the knowledge about structural reliability is combined with the control action by a structural reliability index, which is suggested to evaluate the safety level of the mooring and riser system. In the mooring system, both line breakage and loss of a buoyancy element are discussed in relation to the proposed set-point chasing algorithm. In the top-tensioned riser system, the top and bottom angle is protected from the extreme environmental situation by keeping the index at an acceptable level. In addition, an on-line short term extreme value estimation is incorporated into the estimation of the structural index, which enables this index to be extended to a more general case in the structural response of the system.


Context. The formation, properties, and evolution of massive stars remain subject to considerable theoretical and observational uncertainty. This impacts on fields as diverse as galactic feedback, the production of cosmic rays, and the nature of the progenitors of both electromagnetic and gravitational wave transients.
Aims. The young massive clusters many such stars reside within provide a unique laboratory for addressing these issues. In this work we provide a comprehensive stellar census of Westerlund 1 in order to to underpin such efforts.
Methods. We employed optical spectroscopy of a large sample of early-type stars to determine cluster membership for photometrically-identified candidates, characterise their spectral type, and identify new candidate spectroscopic binaries.
Results. Sixty nine new members of Westerlund 1 are identified via I-band spectroscopy. Together with previous observations, they illustrate a smooth and continuous morphological sequence from late-O giant through to OB supergiant. Subsequently, the progression bifurcates, with one branch yielding mid-B to late-F hypergiants, and cool supergiants, and the other massive blue stragglers prior to a diverse population of H-depleted WRs. We identify a substantial population of O-type stars with very broad Paschen series lines, a morphology that is directly comparable to known binaries in the cluster. In a few cases additional low-resolution R-band spectroscopy is available, revealing double-lined He I profiles and confirming binarity for these objects; suggesting a correspondingly high binary fraction amongst relatively unevolved cluster members.
Conclusions. Our current census remains incomplete, but indicates that Westerlund 1 contains at least 166 stars with initial masses estimated to lie between ∼25 M⊙ and ∼50 M⊙, with more massive stars already lost to supernova. Our data is consistent with the cluster being co-eval, although binary interaction is clearly required to yield the observed stellar population, which is characterised by a uniquely rich cohort of hypergiants ranging from spectral type O to F, with both mass-stripped primaries and rejuvenated secondaries or merger products present. Future observations of Wd1 and similar stellar aggregates hold out the prospect of characterising both single- and binary- evolutionary channels for massive stars and determining their relative contributions. This in turn will permit the physical properties of such objects at the point of core-collapse to be predicted, which is of direct relevance for understanding the formation of relativistic remnants such as the magnetars associated with Wd1 and other young massive clusters.


This article illustrates a method used in a community empowerment project where community members and university facilitators collaborated to increase the capacity of the community. The method may have practical uses in collaborations with community groups. The six-step process enabled the community groups to accomplish their short-term community goals: developing effective after-school programs and resolving problems of damaged homes and blighted properties in a relatively short time and continuing on their collaborative work. Having a social ecological model as a conceptual framework was helpful for the community to assess their status and develop action plans. Consistent community meetings, open communication, focused community leadership, community networking, and collaboration of community organizations and a university were the factors that reinforced the empowerment process. Challenges such as maximizing limited resources and generating more participation from the community need to be resolved while the reinforcing factors are cultivated.


Abstract: Somatic serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11) also known as liver kinase B1 (LKB1) is a tumor suppressor gene and ranks as the third most frequently mutated gene in lung adenocarcinoma. However, current molecular testing guidelines recommend evaluating for epidermal growth factor receptor mutations and ALK fusions to guide therapy in all patients with advanced stage adenocarcinoma, regardless of gender, race, or smoking history. Identifying alternative "driver" mutations and using actionable targeted pharmacotherapy is a key approach to providing effective individualized medical care. The analytical sensitivity and parallel multigene approach of targeted next-generation sequencing is an attractive methodology for use for cytology specimens. The presented lung adenocarcinoma study revealed that STK11 mutations alone and concomitant KRAS/STK11 mutations were identified in 18.2% and 4.5% of solitary adrenal metastases, respectively. Molecular profiling of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistant tumors may help to identify patients who would most benefit from alternative single or dual pathway inhibition potentially leading to a revision in current molecular testing guidelines.


Objective Intracranial blood blister-like aneurysm (BBA) is a rare type of aneurysm that lacks all layers of the arterial wall. These fragile aneurysms have the propensity to rupture with minimal manipulation, which makes them hazardous and difficult to treat. The present study evaluated the safety and feasibility of endovascular treatment of BBAs with the Willis covered stent. Materials Thirteen patients (7 men and 6 women, age range 28–68 years) who presented with ruptured BBAs and were treated with the Willis covered stent were retrospectively reviewed. Results of the procedures and treatment-related complications were recorded. Angiographic and clinical follow-ups were performed 4–6 months after the procedure. Results Placement of the covered stent was successful in all patients. Immediate angiography showed complete aneurysm occlusion in 12 patients while one patient showed a mild endoleak. This high rate of aneurysm exclusion ensured the security of postoperative antiplatelet treatment. Occlusion of the ophthalmic artery occurred in two patients and occlusion of the anterior choroidal artery occurred in one patient; however, none of them showed acute or delayed clinical symptoms. Thrombosis, aneurysm rupture, and other complications did not develop in any case. Angiographic follow-up showed complete aneurysm exclusion without aneurysm recurrence in any patients. Only two patients showed asymptomatic mild to moderate in-stent stenosis. All patients had satisfactory clinical outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score ≤1). Conclusions Willis covered stent implementation may be safe and feasible for BBAs. This strategy might be a promising option for this high-risk type of aneurysm.


A soil and water conservation (SWC) project has been going on in southern Mali since 1986. Donor support was gradually withdrawn between 1998 and 2002, but no final evaluation was undertaken to learn lessons from this long-term and large-scale experience. The objective of this present research was to find out how to evaluate impact, what the impact in Mali has been, and which recommendations could be made for monitoring and evaluation in SWC projects. A reconstructed logical framework made it possible to find out what was needed for the impact evaluation, what was available from project monitoring and external monitoring, and what additional data and analyses were required. Missing baseline data were substituted by reconstructed baselines and virtual time series. Between 1988 and 2002, agriculture has expanded and intensified, but crop yields have declined and nutrient balances are still negative. Further intensification is needed to halt and reverse the yield decline. The cause-effect chain between project activities and impact showed that the SWC extension approach was effectively increasing farmer adoption of SWC measures. Farmer adoption steadily increased, spread to neighbouring villages and continued after project withdrawal. Erosion control measures (live fences, stone rows, grass strips and check dams) reduced erosion by 50 – 70% and improved crop yields by 5 – 12%. Current annual farmer benefits of increased cotton production largely outweigh the annual SWC extension costs during the project. SWC projects are recommended to complete the logical framework and monitor accordingly, and to collaborate with external monitoring for a more efficient evaluation of impact. Achieving impact may take longer than the project life span. Therefore, project activities should be embedded in a long-term national programme. It also implies that to assess impact after a short project period requires proxy impact indicators that reflect a continuing change, rather than an end-status.


Based on the survey data concerning residents in Hangzhou City, we analyze the main factors influencing consumers' spending decisions, using Probit model. The results show that gender, age, and personal income have a significant positive effect on whether to drink tea; the degree of understanding of the tea, and the number of acquaintances drinking water also have a significant positive effect on whether to drink tea; but individual career, unit characteristics, and educational level have no significant positive effect on whether to drink tea. This research conclusion can provide microscopic evidence for the tea industry's healthy development and formulation of marketing strategies; at the same time, provide a reference for marketing of the other hobby products.


Electric fields have a beneficial effect on protein crystallisation. This is because of amino acids contributing to an overall charge for the protein once they have bonded together via a peptide link. Taking this into consideration crystals are able to form when an electrical field is applied because of the potential gradient the current created which causes the migration of the protein through its media resulting in the build up of crystals. The downside to using only an electric field however is that different proteins have different resistances to a change in voltage, and that the alignment would only be along one field.
Magnetic fields, when applied to proteins induce diamagnetic behaviour. The peptide bond between each individual amino acid plays an important role in this because it has a carbon-oxygen double bond. A double bond has been shown to exhibit a diamagnetic anisotropy and so in turn so would the peptide bond. This diamagnetic behaviour is exhibited in secondary structure proteins.
With the application of simultaneous fields the idea is that one field provides alignment on one plane and the second field on another. From that the protein molecules would be aligned and suspended in the solution at equally spaced intervals in a uniform manor. To further promote this a high protein concentration was used to condense the protein molecules together. The purpose of this research is ultimately to provide insights into how best to solve the structures of different proteins, which would provide us with advances from the application of this multi-field technique.


Time and Transformation brings together a variety of seventeenth-century Dutch paintings and works on paper in a major examination of themes dealing with the transformative effects of time and circumstance. The Dutch were fascinated with this idea and the variety of motifs used to convey it. Included are images of local landscapes with medieval structures left in ruins in the wake of the Spanish wars, depictions of rustic cottages and farmhouses, Dutch Italianate landscapes with Roman ruins, and representations of accidental ruins caused by flood or fire. Non-architectural imagery, such as vanitas still lifes and depictions of ruined trees encourage broader thinking on the meanings and associations of images of the fragmentary. Among the artists included are Rembrandt, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan van Goyen, Abraham Bloemaert, Willem Kalf, Gerard Dou, and Bartholomaus Breenberg.


This paper establishes a new mobile electronic toll collection (m-ETC) by integrating mobile communication with radio frequency (RF) communication on microprocessor control with an e-commerce business model. A simple ETC system architecture and protocol for e-transactions from vehicles to toll stations is proposed to complete toll interaction on wireless environment. A software flow through Internet is developed to link from toll station roadside units (RSU) to car units. A car unit (CU) for vehicle, a pair of roadside units (RSU), and an e-Center are established. A data flow and an interaction protocol are created. The proposed m-ETC system can be applied to different toll/charge systems with appropriate hardware and software. Some simulation test results verify basic system performance on ETC applications. A new business model for the proposed m-ETC is organized and discussed with feasibility analysis in e-commerce demonstration.


The myocardium has a unique architecture, which converts the linear pull of a striated but involuntary muscle into a constrictive action. The left ventricle has also to balance the need to restrict the diameter of its chamber, thereby minimising mural tension, while providing at the same time a wall thick enough to achieve systemic pressure within the cavity. The precise architectural arrangement of the cardiomyocytes that fulfils these requirements is currently a topic of considerable debate. There is a divide between proponents of a counter-wound, single myocardial band,1 and those who describe an arrangement of clefts around thinner lamellar units.2 ,3 In seeking to contribute to this debate, we present here a description of the changes that occur in surface geometry of the ventricle. We will show how the strain indexes of the wall, including mural thickening, are mathematically bound together by this geometry, irrespective of the internal architecture of the wall. We will then relate these indexes to demonstrable features of cardiomyocytic orientation and function.4 In so doing, we provide a relatively simple explanation for left ventricular (LV) twist that does not rely on the presence of a unique myocardial band. We will also reinforce the observation of MacIver and Townsend that hypertrophy of the left ventricle can falsely normalise its ejection fraction (EF) despite falling contractility.5 We conclude by addressing other significant aspects of mural architecture.

Initially, we will regard the LV myocardium as a structure of fixed mass and so, at physiological pressures, of fixed volume. It envelops the cavity, and its surfaces are illustrated in figure 1. The magnitudes of changes in the inner and outer dimension of the wall, and of the distance between them, which is the mural thickness, are linked mathematically by the geometry of this very …


We did aretrospective and descriptive studyto determinethe incidence oftuberculosis in patientsattendingthe pulmonology departmentof the University Teaching Hospital ofPoint"G"in Bamako,Mali between January and December2011.The study populationwascomposedof 704TB patientsall forms, with a sexratioof2 males(66 %) and 1 female(33 %). Sixty four patients (9%) were HIV positive. Extra-pulmonaryforms were most represented with59.6%. Among those, Pott's disease was the most represented with 26.9% followed bypleural andlymph node tuberculosis forms. Tuberculosis is aninfectious and contagious disease, which makes it apublic health concern at both individualand community levelespecially in this era of HIV/AIDS.