The reliability issues have been converted to the underfill adjacent interfaces since the introduction of the underfill to flip chip package in 1990's. Both thermal cycling and hygrothermal conditioning severely attack the interfaces to de- laminate. The moisture migrating into the underfill decreases the adhesion strength, swells to deform the assembly, and weakens the mechanical and thermal properties of the material. In this study, interfacial reliability of a silicon/underfill/FR-4 assembly exposed at 85degC/85%RH was studied using moire interferometry and micro-digital image speckle correlation (mu-DiSC) techniques. A thermal aging study was simultaneously performed to understand the long-term reliability of the assembly. The results showed that the thermal aging relieved the stresses induced by hygrothermal swelling mismatch between dissimilar materials involved, whereas increased the strains induced by hygrothermal swelling. It indicated the time effect is not negligible when the assembly is subjected to the moisture conditioning, otherwise, the deformation induced by the swelling could be overestimated. The mu-DiSC technique was applied to measure the critical interfacial fracture toughness of the silicon/underfill interface. The results showed that the moisture could significantly reduce the interfacial strength due to the break of hydrogen bonding. By combining the moire and mu-DiSC results, it was concluded that the hygrothermal loading could increase the possibility of interfacial delamination in a flip chip package. Finally, the morphologies of the fractured surface were studied with the aid of scanning electron microscope. Remarkable changes of the failure mode were observed.


The modular one-pot synthesis of a large family of bi- and tridentate 2,5-dimethyl- and 2,5-diphenyl-substituted phospholanes employs air-stable chiral phospholanium chloride salts and primary amines or NH(4)Cl as starting materials. These were transformed into the C(2)-symmetric dimethyl- and diphenylphospholane ligands, which reacted with [Rh(cod)(2)]BF(4) (cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene) to yield the rhodium complexes [Rh(L)(cod)]BF(4) (L=bisphospholane ligands). The corresponding trisphospholane complexes, 11 and 12, were obtained in high yields (81 and 92%, respectively), and fully characterised by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. Whilst in the C(3)-symmetric complex 11, containing the tridentate 2,5-dimethylphospholane, the ligand is bound symmetrically, different coordination behaviour was found for the diphenyl-substituted complex 12, in which the coordination of only two of the three phospholane moieties to the metal centre was observed. A DFT study at the B3PW91 level established minimum energy structures consistent with experimental findings in solution and in the solid state. The non-coordinated phospholane unit present in 12 allowed further modification of the complex through the coordination of Au(I)-X (X=Cl, C(6)F(5) and tris(trifluoromethyl)phenyl ((F)Mes)) fragments to the pendant phosphane. To investigate the potential of the new ligands, the enantioselective hydrogenation of a series of prochiral olefins as benchmark substrates, using isolated Rh complexes as catalysts, was studied. The substrates included methyl esters of three dehydro-α-acetamido acids and two itaconic acid derivatives. In general good to excellent enantioselectivities (of up to >99% ee) were observed. Ligand backbone modification by coordination of bulky Au-X substituents to the free phospholane unit in complex 12 led to an outstanding enhancement of the catalyst performance and there was a clear correlation between the properties of the complex periphery and the enantioselectivity.


Biosimilars, also known as follow-on biologics, continue to be an area of great interest in oncology because of the potential cost savings and improved access related to their use, yet significant confusion remains regarding their introduction in the United States. The regulatory and legal hurdles remain poorly defined, and companies producing branded products have been battling their introduction. The European Union provided a pathway for approval in 2004, with various agents reaching the market since that time. It is important to understand the nuances of the discussion and experiences and for clinicians and policy makers to take an active part in defining the role of biosimilars. Several outstanding questions remain, including the degree to which physiochemical, biologic, quality, and clinical end points must be demonstrated in clinical trials compared with the use of analytic data for approval; whether off-label indications should be embraced; and the regulatory rules around areas such as marketing and interchangeability. This article highlights tbo-filgrastim, an agent currently marketed as a biosimilar in Europe, because its pending introduction in the US market provides insights into the potential of these agents.


Scholarly organisational research effort to explain variability in operational performance, in the context of organisational disruptions, has focused largely on organisations' risk management and crisis management capacity. Whilst research into risk and crisis management has provided interesting insights into how organisations deal with threats and disruptions to operations, scholarly knowledge on how and when organisational resilience helps sustain organisations' operational performance under conditions of turbulence is limited. This is despite continuous calls on organisational researchers to examine the conceptual domain of the organisational resilience construct and its relations to key organisational outcomes. To address this deficiency, this study conceptualises organisational resilience as a multidimensional construct comprising the behavioural capabilities of monitoring and responding in relation to actual disruptions to operations, and anticipating, planning, implementing, and learning in relation to potential threats to operations. Given that knowledge is lacking on how organisational resilience is operationalised, this study follows established psychometric procedures to empirically measure the organisational resilience construct. The study then draws insights from resource based theory, contingency fit theory, resource orchestration, and social capital to investigate how organisational resilience is related to operational performance outcomes, under varying degrees of environmental turbulence and organisational resource conditions. To empirically examine the psychometric properties of the organisational resilience construct, 189 for-profit businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) were studied. Findings from the study show that organisational resilience is a superordinate multidimensional construct comprising the ability to monitor and respond, and anticipate, plan, implement, and learn, with respect to disruptions and threats to operations. Furthermore, findings show that increases in organisational resilience are associated with stronger operational performance. Additionally, the study finds the effect of organisational resilience on operational performance is strengthened when levels of environmental turbulence, and facets of socio-technical resources are high. However, findings show that the relationship between organisational resilience and operational performance is weakened under conditions of high organisational communication. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. In addition, opportunities for future research into organisational resilience from both management and applied psychology perspectives are outlined.


Background: The elbow is the second most commonly dislocated major joint in the general population. Previous studies that focused on emergency department populations indicate that such injuries occur most frequently among adolescent athletes. Purpose: To describe the epidemiological rates and patterns of sports-related elbow dislocations in high school athletes. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Sports-related injury data for the 2005-2006 through 2013-2014 academic years from a national convenience sample of high schools participating in the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study (High School Reporting Information Online [RIO]) were analyzed. Results: Certified athletic trainers participating in High School RIO reported 115 of 1246 (9.2%) elbow injuries as elbow dislocations. A total of 30,415,179 athlete exposures (AEs) were reported during the study period, resulting in a dislocation rate of 0.38 per 100,000 AEs. The majority of the dislocations resulted from boys' wrestling (46.1%) and football (37.4%). Elbow dislocation rates were higher in competition than in practice. Also, 91.3% of dislocations occurred in boys' sports. Among both boys (60.4%) and girls (88.9%), the majority of injuries occurred during varsity sports activities. Contact with another person was the most common injury mechanism (46.9%), followed by contact with the playing surface (46.0%). Dislocations more commonly resulted in removal from play for more than 3 weeks (23.4% vs 6.9%, respectively) or medical disqualification (36.9% vs 7.0%, respectively) compared with other elbow injuries. Dislocations were also more likely to result in surgical treatment than other elbow injuries (13.6% vs 4.7%, respectively). Conclusion: In high school athletes, elbow dislocations result in longer removal from play and are more likely to require surgical treatment than nondislocation-associated elbow injuries. Rates and patterns of elbow dislocations vary by sport. In high-risk sports, focused sport-specific prevention strategies may help to decrease the rates and severity of elbow dislocation injuries.


This paper examines why a larger share of COVID-19 deaths occurs among young and middle-aged adults in developing countries than in high-income countries Using novel data at the country, city, and patient levels, we investigate the drivers of this gap in terms of the key components of the standard Susceptible-Infected-Recovered framework We obtain three main results First, we show that the COVID-19 mortality age gap is not explained by younger susceptible populations in developing countries Second, we provide indirect evidence that higher infection rates play a role, showing that variables linked to faster COVID-l9 spread-such as residential crowding and labor informality-are correlated with younger mortality age profiles across cities Third, we show that lower recovery rates in developing countries account for nearly all of the higher death shares among young adults, and for almost half of the higher death shares among middle-aged adults Our evidence suggests that lower recovery rates in developing countries are driven by a higher prevalence of preexisting conditions that have been linked to more severe COVID-19 complications, and by more limited access to hospitals and intensive care units in some countries


Numerical simulation based on a new regularized phase field model was performed to describe the dendritic growth of an isothermal alloy with a strong anisotropy in the presence of a forced flow. These results indicate that a crystal grow into an equiaxial facet dendritic in the absence of a forced flow and into an asymmetrical facet dendritic in the presence of a forced flow. With increasing a flow velocity, the tip steady velocity of upstream dendritic arm increases, that of the downstream arm decreases, and that of the perpendicular arms increases at first, and then decreases, the perpendicular arms gradually grow toward the incoming flow direction. In the certain range of anisotropy parameter, when γ is larger than 0.14, dendritic tip steady velocities in all direction are expected to reach their own saturation values. In addition, the effect of a compound forced flow on an isothermal facet dendritic is similar to experimental results.


The intrinsic hydrogenated silicone layers with embedded silicon nanoparticles were grown in-situ at 250°C on glass substrates by the radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from silane highly diluted in hydrogen. The changes in the optical absorption coefficient were detected by the photothemal deflection spectroscopy (PDS). The transition from amorphous to crystalline phase for samples deposited at 5 6 % silane concentration correlates to the crystalline volume fraction about 50 % as detected by Raman spectroscopy and the high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The room temperature photo-luminescence increases significantly with increased crystallinity volume fraction but diminishes abruptly when crystallinity volume fraction exceeds above 80 %. The photoluminescence intensity strongly correlates with the presence of isolated silicon nanoparticles in the mixed amorphous and crystalline phase. The strongest photoluminescence was found in the sample with mixed phase of amorphous matrix and isolated silicon nanoparticles and the crystalline volume fraction about 50 %.


The present study examined the relationship between personality and individual differences in multi-tasking ability. Participants enrolled at the University of Utah completed measures of multi-tasking activity, perceived multi-tasking ability, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. In addition, they performed the Operation Span in order to assess their executive control and actual multi-tasking ability. The findings indicate that the persons who are most capable of multi-tasking effectively are not the persons who are most likely to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously. To the contrary, multi-tasking activity as measured by the Media Multitasking Inventory and self-reported cell phone usage while driving were negatively correlated with actual multi-tasking ability. Multi-tasking was positively correlated with participants' perceived ability to multi-task ability which was found to be significantly inflated. Participants with a strong approach orientation and a weak avoidance orientation – high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking – reported greater multi-tasking behavior. Finally, the findings suggest that people often engage in multi-tasking because they are less able to block out distractions and focus on a singular task. Participants with less executive control - low scorers on the Operation Span task and persons high in impulsivity - tended to report higher levels of multi-tasking activity.


Background:For women, the order of penile insertion, condom use, and ejaculation by orifice during sexual events affects the probability of HIV transmission and design of HIV prevention methods. Methods:From October 2006 to June 2009, 431 women in Los Angeles and Baltimore in a rectal health study reported the sequence of penile insertion, condom use, and ejaculation by orifice location by computer-assisted self-interview. Multinomial logistic regression identified predictors of condom use by orifice among women who reported vaginal intercourse (VI) during their last anal intercourse (AI) event. Results:Of the 192 reporting on a last AI event, 96.3% (180/187) reported VI. Of these, 83.1% had VI before AI. Including the 36% who ejaculated in both the rectum and vagina, 66% report any ejaculation in the vagina and 45% in the rectum. One-third used a condom for both VI and AI, <10% for VI only or AI only, and half used no condoms. After adjusting for race, partner type, and substance use, compared with women who used condoms for both VI and AI at last AI, being older (units = 5 years) [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.76; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60 to 0.96], with serodiscordant partners (AOR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.61), and HIV-positive with seroconcordant partners (AOR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.54) were associated with not using condoms. Conclusions:For most of the women in our study VI accompanied AI, with AI usually occurring after VI. This evidence for use of multiple orifices during the same sexual encounter and low use of condoms across orifices supports the need for a multicompartment HIV prevention strategy.


Gender Based Violence (GBV) is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person's will and that is based on socially ascribed (gender) differences between men and women. Methodologically, the article starts by redefining the terms, exploring the possible causes of Gender Based Violence, the effects of GBV, and eventually attempts at exploring the possible methods of combating it. Can appealing to the legal channels be the panacea? Can appealing to international bodies such as USAID, WHO, UNDS, UNHCR among others be the solution to this inhumanity of humanity against humanity itself? Can we use local resources to deliver the promise? The materials in this article have been methodologically gathered through participant observation, reading of relevant literature, and sampling some cases within the city of Nairobi which largely speaks for Kenya and the larger East Africa.


Abstract Air pollution control (APC) facilities at waste incinerator plants produce large quantities of solid residues rich in salts and heavy metals. Heavy metals are readily released to water from the residues and it has, therefore, been found suitable to apply a rapid co-precipitation/adsorption process as a means to immobilize the toxic elements. In the 'Ferrox process', this immobilization is based on co-precipitation with an Fe(III) oxide formed by oxidation of Fe(II) by air in an aqueous slurry with the APC residue at alkaline pH. In this work we have undertaken a Mössbauer spectroscopy study of the Fe oxide phase formed by precipitation at room temperature and of the oxides present after heating to 600 and 900°C. The only Fe oxide observed in the Ferrox product at room temperature is a very poorly crystalline ferrihydrite. Analytical transmission electron microscopy showed that the main elements associated with the ferrihydrite are Si and Ca. Following heating to 600°C the oxide is still characterized as an amorphous Fe oxide, and it is probable that Si associated with the ferrihydrite is decisive in preventing crystallization. After the 900°C treatment a transformation into defect maghemite is observed. Reducing gases produced from carbon in the samples probably induces this transformation. It eases, thus, the reduction of Fe(III) and the consequent formation of magnetite that eventually oxidizes to maghemite during cooling in air.


Recently, it seems as if hacking-related stories can be found in the news every day. To study, and hopefully prevent, this new type of crime, the field of cyber criminology has emerged. This study adds to the existing cybercrime literature by examining hacking behavior specifically. It determines if there is a relationship between the age, gender, and nationality of hackers and characteristics of the cyberattacks that they perpetrate. To do this, this study analyzes 122 United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) press reports from January 2019 to December 2021. Some key results include the finding that older hackers and international hackers are more likely to build/maintain software in their cyberattacks. Also, older hackers are less likely to use follow-up access in their hacks compared to younger hackers. Finally, international hackers are more likely to have more sophisticated attacks than nationals, and individual hackers are less likely to have sophisticated hacks than those working in groups. Implications of this study are that law enforcement can create a more accurate profile of hackers based on their hacks to guide them in investigations.


Author(s): Joshua Widmann | Abstract: The Spare the Air/Free Morning Commute (Spare the Air) program in the San Francisco Bay Are funds up to five mornings of weekday transit when air quality is forecasted to exceed federal 8-hour ozone levels during the summer months. Spare the Air has existed for two years and data is limited to three fare free morning commute days. A similar program exists in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area known as Code Red Air Quality Action Days, which funds free transit with the exception of rail and buses within the District of Columbia. These two programs are contrasted with one another along with the Los Angeles region transportation related air quality strategy in order to provide insight on which programs are most effective and appropriate for each region. In order to determine policy appropriateness, a literature review of transit fare elasticity and major air quality strategies in the three regions is undertaken. Lastly, the current Spare the Air program evaluation and the ridership collection, analysis, and reporting methodology are reviewed in order to make suggestions for more effective program administration.


Vertically aligned GaN nanocolumn arrays were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Gallium coated silicon substrate. The dense packing of the NCs gives them the appearance of a continuous film in surface view, but cross-sectional analysis shows them to be isolated nanostructures. The GaN nanocolumns have uniform diameters of 85 nm, lengths up to 720 nm and possess a pyramid like tip. Photoluminescence measurements of NCs show excitonic emission with a dominant, narrow peak centered at 363 nm and FWHM of 68 meV. From the Raman spectrum, peaks at 566.9 and 730 cm-1 are assigned to the E2 and A1(LO) GaN phonons modes which clearly indicates that the grown nanocolumns are highly crystalline. The grown nanocolumns are highly oriented and perpendicular to the growth surface.


The aim of this study is to explain topography in- duced spatial variations in the diurnal cycles of assimilation and latent heat of Mediterranean forest. Spatial variations of the fluxes are caused by variations in weather conditions and in vegetation characteristics. Weather conditions reflect short-term effects of climate, whereas vegetation character- istics, through adaptation and acclimation, long-term effects of climate. In this study measurements of plant physiology and weather conditions are used to explain observed differ- ences in the fluxes. A model is used to study which part of the differences in the fluxes is caused by weather condi- tions and which part by vegetation characteristics. Data were collected at four experimental sub-Mediterranean deciduous forest plots in a heterogeneous terrain with contrasting as- pect, soil water availability, humidity and temperature. We used a sun-shade model to scale fluxes from leaf to canopy, and calculated the canopy energy balance. Parameter values were derived from measurements of light interception, leaf chamber photosynthesis, leaf nitrogen content and 13 C iso- tope discrimination in leaf material. Leaf nitrogen content is a measure of photosynthetic capacity, and 13 C isotope dis- crimination of water use efficiency. For validation, sap-flux based measurements of transpiration were used. The model predicted diurnal cycles of transpiration and stomatal con- ductance, both their magnitudes and differences in afternoon stomatal closure between slopes of different aspect within the confidence interval of the validation data. Weather condi- tions mainly responsible for the shape of the diurnal cycles, and vegetation parameters for the magnitude of the fluxes. Although the data do not allow for a quantification of the two effects, the differences in vegetation parameters and weather among the plots and the sensitivity of the fluxes to them sug- gest that the diurnal cycles were more strongly affected by spatial variations in vegetation parameters than by meteo- rological variables. This indicates that topography induced variations in vegetation parameters are of equal importance to the fluxes as topography induced variations in radiation, humidity and temperature.


Acquiring perceptual motor skill capabilities is an important element of successful sport performance. Perceptual motor skills have shown to be trainable in an adult population; however, less is known about perceptual motor skill training at earlier, developmental stages of long term athlete development. The purpose of this systematic review was to critically evaluate the available evidence for the trainability of perceptual motor skills in children and youth. Original research articles were retrieved systematically through searching electronic databases (PubMed (OVID), PsychInfo (EBSCO), EMBASE (OVID), and SPORTDiscus (EBSCO)) and articles examining perceptual motor training interventions in children and youth were included in the analysis. Twelve articles were identified, including 638 participants with an average age of 11 y. Primary outcome measures varied with an emphasis on the training of anticipatory skills, coincident anticipation time, simple reaction time, and choice reaction time. Findings showed that 10 out of the 12 investigations showed post-intervention improvements in the respective perceptual motor skill when compared to baseline. While there has been a limited number of studies examining perceptual motor skill training in children and youth cohorts to date, this systematic analysis suggests that perceptual motor skill training in childhood/youth may have benefits in sport development. Further research is warranted into examining perceptual motor skill development and training protocols in the context of long term athlete development in children and youth for optimizing sport performance.Acknowledgments: Funding is provided by a University of British Columbia Graduate Fellowship to the first author.


ABSTRACT
 Panicle caterpillars comprise an economically important insect pest complex of sorghum throughout the Great Plains of the United States, particularly in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The sorghum panicle caterpillar complex consists of larvae of two polyphagous lepidopteran species: the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Sampling for panicle caterpillars in sorghum fields is usually accomplished by the beat bucket sampling technique with a fixed sample size of 30 beat bucket samples of one sorghum panicle each per 16.2 ha of field. We used Wald's sequential probability ratio test for a negative binomial distribution to develop a sequential sampling plan for panicle caterpillars. In total, 115 sorghum fields were sampled in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas from June to August 2010. Panicle caterpillars had an aggregated distribution of counts confirmed by Pearson's chi-square statistic for lack of fit to the negative binomial distribution for each sampled field. A sequential sampling plan was developed using a high threshold (an economic threshold) of 0.5 caterpillars per sorghum panicle, a low threshold (a safe level) of 0.20 caterpillars per panicle, and fixed error rates (&agr; = 0.10 and &bgr; = 0.05). At caterpillar densities >0.45 and <0.12 per panicle, the average number of panicles inspected to make a decision was less than the current recommendation of 30. In a 2013 validation test of 25 fields, the expected number of samples taken from average sample number curve was in close agreement with the number of samples required using the sequential plan (r 2 = 0.93), and all fields were correctly classified when compared with a fixed sample size result. The plan improved upon current sampling recommendations for panicle caterpillars in sorghum because at known acceptable fixed error rates fewer samples were required when caterpillars are scarce or abundant, whereas more samples were required to make decisions with the same acceptable error rates when densities were near the economic thresholds.


As computer hardware becomes increasingly powerful, there is an ongoing trend towards integrating complex, legacy real-time systems using fewer hosts through virtualization. Especially in embedded systems domains such as avionics and automotive engineering, this kind of system integration can greatly reduce system weight, cost, and power requirements. When systems are integrated in this manner, network communication may become local inter-domain communication (IDC) within the same host. This paper examines the limitations of inter-domain communication in Xen, a widely used open-source virtual machine monitor (VMM) that recently has been extended to support real-time domain scheduling. We find that both the VMM scheduler and the manager domain can significantly impact real-time IDC performance under different conditions, and show that improving the VMM scheduler alone cannot deliver real-time performance for local IDC. To address those limitations, we present the RTCA, a Real-Time Communication Architecture within the manager domain in Xen, along with empirical evaluations whose results demonstrate that the latency of communication tasks can be improved dramatically from ms to μs by a combination of the RTCA and a real-time VMM scheduler.


Purpose:A qualitative study was conducted in 2013 with hospital psychiatrists working in two psychiatric hospitals of different regions in order to document the quality of work life of public hospital psychiatrists.

Method: Semi-guided interviews were conducted with psychiatrists using an interview guide. Physicians were randomized according to health institution, age, gender and adult or paediatric psychiatry speciality. Data were analysed with the Alceste software and interpreted.

Results: Sixteen psychiatrists were interviewed. Four themes, composed of sub-themes, were highlighted. The first them concerned medical and social patient care, with the child's social and family environment, structural constraints and interactions with the care network The second them concerned quality of care with the training of healthcare workers and the relational dimension. The third them concerned working in the public hospital system with the role of the "physician-administrator", loss of the meaning of work and job satisfaction. The last theme refers to the specificity of working in psychiatry with forensic aspects and violence issues.

Conclusion: This study suggests that psychiatrists are globally satisfied with their jobs. The main factors to be improved are working time organization to allow more time to listen to the patient, interprofessional exchanges and paramedical staff training. These data should be assessed by means of a quantitative study.


The authors discuss a case of malignant small round cell tumor of the thoracopulmonary region (Askin tumor) in which the initial pathological diagnosis was "sarcoma". Only a review of the histological specimens and the clinical features and evolution revealed the correct diagnosis of "Askin tumor". A 15 year old girl with fever, dyspnoea, cough underwent thoracentesis, which revealed hemothorax. At surgery, a large mass not involving the lung, with pleural thickening, was found in the left hemithorax and excised, without rib resection. No metastasis was observed at that time. Histological findings revealed features of malignant small round cell tumors, with occasional pseudo-rosettes. Chemotherapy was performed. 16 months after clinical presentation the girl died with abdomino-thoracic metastatic disease.


This paper demonstrates the promise of augmenting interactive multivariate representations with information from statistical processes in the domain of weather data analysis. Statistical regression, correlation analysis, and descriptive statistical calculations are integrated via graphical indicators into an enhanced parallel coordinates system, called the Multidimensional Data eXplorer (MDX). These statistical indicators, which highlight significant associations in the data, are complemented with interactive visual analysis capabilities. The resulting system allows a smooth, interactive, and highly visual workflow. The system's utility is demonstrated with an extensive hurricane climate study that was conducted by a hurricane expert. In the study, the expert used a new data set of environmental weather data, composed of 28 independent variables, to predict annual hurricane activity. MDX shows the Atlantic Meridional Mode increases the explained variance of hurricane seasonal activity by 7–15% and removes less significant variables used in earlier studies. The findings and feedback from the expert (1) validate the utility of the data set for hurricane prediction, and (2) indicate that the integration of statistical processes with interactive parallel coordinates, as implemented in MDX, addresses both deficiencies in traditional weather data analysis and exhibits some of the expected benefits of visual data analysis.


Marinated chicken meat is an ideal substrate for the growth of microorganisms. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of high-intensity ultrasound on the microbial flora of chicken meat marinated in oregano oil. Three concentrations of oregano oil (0%, 0.1%, and 0.3%) and two types of marination (traditional and highintensity ultrasound) were tested. Microorganisms were enumerated immediately after marination and on 7, 14, and 21 days of chilled storage. Marination in oregano oil resulted in significant differences (P<0.05) in the numbers of anaerobic, lactic acid bacteria, and mesophiles. Ultrasound with 0.1% OEO did not show any effect on the three types of bacteria. The treatment with 0.3% oregano oil and ultrasound had the greatest effect on controlling microbial growth. Therefore, a combination of ultrasound and oregano oil is the most appropriate option for reducing the growth of mesophilic, anaerobic, and lactic acid bacteria in vacuum-packed marinated chicken breasts during chilled storage.


This study aims to explain (1) the effect of entrepreneurial attitude of SME managers on SME organizational performance and (2) the effect of business manager's ability on SME organizational performance. Data are collected using questionnaires with a sample size of 35 respondents. The data come from the respondents as SME owners or representatives who are familiar with the SME operational and management activities. Research data are processed using multiple regression analysis. The results show that entrepreneurship attitude has an effect on the performance of SME organization, while business ability has no effect at all.


This case study unravels Turkey's path to universal coverage. It outlines both the transformation of the health system and the performance of the 'Yesil Kart', the Green Card, program, a noncontributory health insurance scheme for the poor. Initially launched in 1992, the Green Card program has seen a rapid expansion in the number of beneficiaries and program benefits since the implementation of the Health Transformation Program, or HTP in 2003, with the number of beneficiaries more than tripling, from 2.5 million beneficiaries in 2003 to 9.1 million beneficiaries in 2011. In addition, both the coverage and targeting of the program improved substantially. While the Green Card program initially began as a separate targeted scheme for the poor, in January 2012 it became part of the UHI scheme managed by Social Security Institution, or SSI. As this study will show, gradual steps were taken over the years to expand coverage, improve targeting, and expand benefits of the Green Card program to align it with the UHI. This, combined with the improvements in service delivery within a comprehensive reform of the health sector, makes Turkey a unique example of universal coverage for quality health services. The study is organized as follows. Section two briefly outlines Turkey's health reform and how health care is currently organized and delivered. Section three describes the Green Card Program, it evolution, and its performance. The final section discusses the pending agenda.


Congenital heart disease (CHD) contributes to the rate of birth defects in the population with an incidence of nearly 1% of all live births (1). CHD has significant Public Health importance due to its high incidence, clinical severity, and complexity of medical management. In some cases, efficiently diagnosing the underlying cause of CHD is essential to providing optimal clinical care. The etiology of CHD is hypothesized to be largely multifactorial in nature, but chromosome abnormalities account for 8-13% of all CHD (2, 3). It has recently been recognized that submicroscopic chromosome abnormalities known as copy number variants (CNVs) may also play a role in causing CHD. Array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) has recently been added as a first-tier test for neonates with CHD at our institution, due to its ability to detect CNVs which were previously undetectable by classical cytogenetic analysis. Our study is a prospective chart review of data from neonates with CHD admitted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy of array CGH as a first-tier test in this population. Our results show that array CGH increases the detection rate of chromosome aberrations by 20% above classical cytogenetic analysis alone. However, the majority of CNVs detected in our study had unclear clinical significance. For this reason, collaboration between Cardiology and Medical Genetics is essential to interpreting the clinical relevance of array CGH results in order to provide an accurate, timely genetic diagnosis and ultimately improve the clinical care of neonates with CHD.


Xenopus laevis oocytes injected with simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA synthesize abundant quantities of viral late region RNA. In a previous analysis of the 5' ends of oocyte SV40 late RNAs, it was observed that, in contrast to the majority of the late RNA species, an abundant class of viral late RNAs, whose 5' ends mapped at or near nucleotide 294, was not polyadenylated. The structure of this RNA class has now been characterized further. We have shown that this species consists of a class of small uncapped RNA molecules with heterogeneous 3' ends mapping between nucleotides 417 and 433. This corresponds well with the position of a 139-nucleotide intron within the leader region of late 168 RNA (nucleotides 294-433). The identification of this RNA class as an excised intron was strongly supported by the fact that it displayed anomalous mobilities on different percentage polyacrylamide gels, a property of lariat introns. Furthermore, incubation of oocyte RNA with a HeLa cell extract with lariat debranching activity converted the small RNA to a class that now migrated as :S140 nucleotides in length in 8% gels, consistent with the size of the linear intraleader intron. Additional analysis of this RNA showed that it is primarily nuclear in localization and is probably the most stable viral RNA species in the oocyte. These data suggest that oocytes accumulate large quantities of the 168 intraleader intron because of their failure to debranch this RNA efficiently.


In studying the beta-xylosidase production by yeast Cryptococcus podzolicus (Basidiomycetes), it was shown to be an inducible secretory enzyme. Xylooligosaccharides generated from xylan and methyl beta-xyloside were found to induce the beta-xylosidase synthesis. The enzyme activity in the medium containing xylan or methyl beta-xyloside was 1.0 and 1.5 U/ml, respectively; this production level is similar to that achievable at the beta-xylosidase production by mycelial fungi.


The main concern of the Agricultural Extension Agent's contact with farmers is the creation of favourable attitude toward specific production recommendations. Assessment of farmers' attitude to an extension system will, more likely than not, provide an indication of how effective the system has been or is likely to be. The study investigated attitude of farmers towards the Training and Visit (T&V) extension management system in Abia and Akwa-Ibom States of Nigeria. The sample comprised 244 Representative Contact Farmers (RCFs) and Other Contact Farmers (OCFs) selected through multistage sampling procedure. A 24-item attitude to T&V system of managing extension interview schedule that adopted Likert-type scales was administered to the study sample. Data were subjected to descriptive and t-test statistics. The findings reveal that while 32.3% of sampled farmers exhibit negative attitude to the T&V extension management system, 67.7 % belong to the positive attitude category. This implies that most of farmers in Abia and Akwa-Ibom States still have positive attitude to the T&V system. The mean attitude to T&V ratings by RCFs was significantly higher than those of OCFs. Females exhibit a more negative attitude to T&V system than male farmers. Farmers in Abia State expressed significantly higher level of positive attitude to T&V system than their counterparts in Akwa-Ibom State. It is more likely than not, that these farmers who exhibit positive attitude to the extension system would be potential adopters of extension recommendations. It was recommended that the current status of extension services in Abia and Akwa-Ibom States be sustained and improved upon while putting intervention programmes in place to improve the attitude of the 32% of farmers whose attitude to the extension system is still at low ebbs. Key Words: Attitude, Training and Visit Extension Management System, Contact Farmers, Extension Agents


In order to solve the problem of building deformation caused by subway construction, the equations for the calculation of the surface subsidence were deduced, on the basis of the probability integration method. Aiming at one experimental subway, a prediction program was worked out. The surface subsidence was calculated, the deformation curves were drawn out, the building deformation and damage classes caused by the subway construction were predicted according to the equations and the prediction program, and the corresponding safeguards were put forward. The study and the results will provide an useful reference to similar projects.


A drug can be used to deal more than one diseases and to deal an illness often need a combination of more than one drugs. This paper present how to discover a pattern of a combination of medicines related to a diagnosis of diseases using FP-Growth one of frequent pattern mining algorithm. We use FP-Growth because it has better performance than Apriori and Eclat. Data is collected from outpatients pharmacy of Sukoharjo state hospital, Central Java, Indonesia during January 2015 to June 2016 and obtain 526,195 records of prescription data and use a diagnosis of diseases base on the ICD-10 standard. This studies just apply on the top ten of the most frequently occurred illness in the outpatient's services of Sukoharjo state hospital. Then the pattern of association between diseases and combination of drugs was reviewed by pharmacist committed to being validated. These studies result in some combination of medicines for to top ten of the most frequent diseases. We also found 21 similar combinations of drugs for various diseases. In the future, this finding can be used to provide suggestions to physicians to select an appropriate mix of the drug to deal some diseases.


Law enforcement officials have tremendous discretion to determine the amount and style of policing that occurs in their jurisdiction. These decisions — concerning whom to police and how much — are primarily matters of distributive justice, and are made at the level of the police department rather than on the street. These departmental decisions spread a variety of important social resources across communities, as well as imposing certain burdens on those communities as part of the prevention or investigation of crime.The police decide to apportion social resources through making policy, just as any other administrative agency concerned with resource-allocation might. Yet these policy decisions are mostly unregulated by the courts, and (unlike other some other agencies) closed to public input. Community members lack the ability to participate in — and especially, to challenge — police policy at the front-end during the equivalent of the drafting and comment process. The resulting policy is often based solely on law enforcement's own internal assessment of the appropriate goals and values to pursue, independent of the interests of the community they police. The police remain immune from democratic challenge during the policy-making stage, and isolated from the deliberative insights of the community at the sharp end of police policy-making. These deliberative deficits have the potential to undermine the legitimacy and accuracy of the departmental policy-making process, and render the police politically remote from the community they patrol. The distributive consequences of police policy-making, expressed in the amount and style of policing on the ground, include a range of social harms that can generate friction between the police and the public. These harms are often concentrated in communities subject to the most intensive and invasive policing. Recent public demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, among others, have emphasized the harms of policing and community alienation from politically remote police decision-making. Yet these distributive concerns are neither captured nor allayed by the judicial system's individualized focus on the reasonableness of police activity, and the remedies of exclusion or civil damages. In the light of these concerns, I employ the political theory of civic republicanism to advance one remedy: the possibility of public challenge to police policy-making. I propose some ways in which republican political structures can undermine the remoteness and fragmentation of the police and their policy-making process, to produce a more inclusive, egalitarian, and accurate set of police policies.


The aim of this study is to illustrate the various aspects of social and ethnic differentiation in Kuwait. In order to understand these aspects, the study will investigate two main elements: (1) analysing the origin and the current aspects of differentiation through time, i.e. 1710-1980, and (2) tracing the spatial aspects of socio-ethnic differentiation over the inhabited area of the country. The study as a whole is a contribution to social and spatial studies of Kuwait society. In addition, it also contributes to other branches of geography like social, urban and electoral geography as it examines related aspects of group segregation and other socio-ethnic aspects. The study consists of 7 chapters each of which examines separate aspects but all with one common feature in relation to the theme of the study. The first chapter is primarily an introduction, concerned with three main elements, i.e. the importance of such studies to Kuwait, the objective and approach to the study, and the relation of such studies to the field of social geography. Chapter two is a socio-geographical perspective about the area under study. Chapter three examines the aspects of differentiation in Kuwait since its appearance on the map of the Peninsula until the discovery of oil, i.e. 1710-1946. Chapter four keeps on the same approach of chapter three but for the oil era i.e. from the year 1946 until 1980. Chapter five is about the segregation of the groups over the inhabited area of Kuwait. It also involved a field work study in relation to the spatial aspects of differentiation in the oil era. Chapter six, follows the year of National Assembly elections and other related aspects, i.e. early features of legislative participation, voting potential of each group and election returns for the election years 1963-67, 1967-71, 1971-75 and 1975-76. Finally chapter seven gives a summary of findings and the conclusion of the study.


Study Design Case Study. Objectives Establish the role a single inertial sensor may play in the objective quantification of dynamic postural stability following acute ankle injuries. Background The Y Balance test (YBT) is one of the most commonly utilised clinical dynamic balance assessments. Research has demonstrated the utility of the YBT in identifying balance deficits in those with acute ankle injuries and chronic ankle instability. However, reach distances fail to provide information relating to the quality of balance strategy and dynamic stability. Motion capture systems are often employed to provide micro-level detail pertaining to an individual's postural stability. However, such systems are expensive, lack accessibility, hinder natural movement and require extensive processing expertise. The addition of inertial sensors may allow for the inexpensive, accessible quantification of postural stability in an unconstrained environment. Case Description Forty-two elite under-20 rugby union players were recruited as part of a wider study. Two athletes were identified to have sustained acute ankle injuries two weeks previously; one lateral ankle sprain and one deltoid ligament sprain. A single inertial sensor was mounted at the level of the 4th lumbar vertebra. Participants completed four practice YBTs bilaterally, prior to completing 3 recorded YBTs. Reach distance and inertial sensor data were recorded for each reach excursion. Outcomes When compared to the group mean, both athletes demonstrated no clinically meaningful reduction in reach distances for all three reach directions. However, both athletes demonstrated a higher 95% ellipsoid volume of sway than the healthy control group for all three directions of the YBT when completed on their affected limb. Conclusions Preliminary analysis suggests that inertial sensor data may provide information relating to the quality of dynamic postural stability following an acute ankle injury. Further investigation is required to establish the role that such measures may play in the assessment and management of ankle injuries.


This article is designed as the starting point for future research into the implementation of the funds of knowledge concept in the People's Republic of China. Utilizing an exploratory research design, I sketch how the funds of knowledge concept could be used by teachers to empower ethnic minority and city-born migrant children disadvantaged by government policies that restrict access to educational resources and marginalize local languages. The article identifies a number of logistical and cultural constraints that complicate the implementation of the funds of knowledge concept in the Chinese context, including access to minority and city-born migrant students, guanxi, examination pressure, and cultural scripts for teaching that emphasize knowledge transmission. However, it also suggests how teachers can work within these constraints by taking advantage of curriculum reform in China, which has led to more autonomy at the local level and the creation of elective courses. Elective courses could provide the space for the deployment of strategies that draw on students' funds of knowledge. The strategies proposed include neighborhood walks, artifact collection, and pedagogies for teaching that foster collaboration between teachers and students. The article also extends the notion of funds of knowledge by suggesting how the funds of knowledge concept could be of benefit to China's Han ethnic majority.


Adolf Hitler dealt with several rhetorically difficult situations in the years leading up to Word War II. One was his announcement of the invasion of Poland in September 1939. This should not have been a well-received message—public sentiment and general domestic conditions did not create a favorable environment for another war—yet it was. The same phenomenon had occurred five years earlier, after the Night of Long Knives, in July 1934. This analysis looks at the rhetorical strategies Hitler employed in both speeches which contributed to his success, specifically in the context of what Kenneth Burke refers to as Hitler's "unifying device." I conclude by determining that Hitler's use of several rhetorical strategies detailed by figures such as Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, Althusser, Koutsantoni, and Roberts-Miller were key to his rhetorical success.


In this paper, a Growing TASOM (Time Adaptive Self-Organizing Map) network called "GTASOM" along with a peak finding process is proposed for automatic multilevel thresholding. The proposed GTASOM is tested for image segmentation. Experimental results demonstrate that the GTASOM is a reliable and accurate tool for image segmentation and its results outperform other thresholding methods.


gdpc is an R package for the computation of the generalized dynamic principal components proposed in Pena and Yohai (2016). In this paper, we briefly introduce the problem of dynamical principal components, propose a solution based on a reconstruction criteria and present an automatic procedure to compute the optimal reconstruction. This solution can be applied to the non-stationary case, where the components need not be a linear combination of the observations, as is the case in the proposal of Brillinger (1981). This article discusses some new features that are included in the package and that were not considered in Pena and Yohai (2016). The most important one is an automatic procedure for the identification of both the number of lags to be used in the generalized dynamic principal components as well as the number of components required for a given reconstruction accuracy. These tools make it easy to use the proposed procedure in large data sets. The procedure can also be used when the number of series is larger than the number of observations. We describe an iterative algorithm and present an example of the use of the package with real data.


Many of the approaches in petrochronology are rooted in the assumption of equilibrium. Diffusion is an expression of disequilibrium: the movement of mass in response to chemical potential gradients, and isotopes in response to isotopic gradients. It is extremely important that we be aware of how the effects of diffusion can place obstacles across our path towards petrochronologic enlightenment. Conversely the effects of diffusion also provide opportunities for understanding rates, processes, and conditions experienced by rocks. The enormity of the field does not permit us to provide a comprehensive review of either the mathematics of diffusion or quantitative data that have been obtained relevant to the interpretation of diffusive processes in rocks and minerals. Many resources cover these topics, including RiMG volume 72 ( Diffusion in Minerals and Melts ; Zhang and Cherniak 2010) and several textbooks (Crank 1975; Glicksman 2000). Particularly relevant to the discussion of petrochronology are summaries of the theory and controls on diffusion (Brady and Cherniak 2010; Zhang 2010), as well as diffusion rates in feldspar (Cherniak 2010a), accessory minerals (Cherniak 2010b), garnet (Ganguly 2010), mica, pyroxene, and amphibole (Cherniak and Dimanov 2010), and melts (Zhang and Ni 2010; Zhang et al. 2010). Rather than duplicate that material, our goal is to explore the obstacles and opportunities presented by the effects of diffusion as they inform the rates of petrologic processes. To achieve this goal, we emphasize key principles and illustrative examples.

Quantitative interpretation of the effects of diffusion assumes predictability of numerous factors that may affect chemical or isotopic transport, including temperature, initial and boundary conditions, water and oxygen fugacities, activities of other components, multiple mechanisms of diffusion, and crystal chemistry ('coupling' of the substitution of elements into different crystallographic sites). Additionally, the extraction of meaningful ages, durations of events, and temperatures requires …


The 2004 Country Integrated Fiduciary Assessment (CIFA) in Uganda was the first exercise by key development partners, and the government to adopt an integrated, and holistic approach to the assessment of Public Financial Management (PFM), along the lines of the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Program. The overall CIFA process in Uganda took place over a period of nine months, with each individual assessment being conducted over a period of two to three months, and the PER process being carried out during the entire financial year. The CIFA has benefited from strong coordination between the various government-donor diagnostic processes, and the lengthy consultations with key stakeholders throughout the process. The inclusion of a specific local government component has been of considerable value, especially in the decentralized service delivery environment prevailing in Uganda. The CIFA exercise highlighted both the commonalities and the differences between the different levels of government. In retrospect, a more in-depth analysis at the local government level would have provided a clearer understanding of the causes of the problems rather than merely the symptoms.


The aim of present study was to quantify Serum - CRP and microalbuminuria in patients of acute chest pain and to find out correlation between CRP and microalbuminuria with chest pain. A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted on patients admitted in Emergency wards of Medicine Department of SGRRIMHS and Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun (Uttarakhand). A total of 100 participants were included in the study. Out of which fifty patients of acute chest pain (33 male, 17 female) and 50 clinically healthy volunteers (29 male, 21 female) of similar age and sex were included in this study. Patients with respiratory diseases like pulmonary embolism, tuberculosis and pleurisy, gastro esophageal diseases like gall bladder, gastric and/or duodenal ulcer and diabetes mellitus, hypertension were excluded from the present study. All the participants were subjected to urinary examination for microalbuminuria and serum CRP estimation. Fifty patients in the age group 30-70 years and fifty clinically healthy age and sex matched volunteers (mostly staff members, their families and relatives of patients) were included in this study. Microalbumin in urine and CRP in serum was estimated by turbidometric methods. The mean serum CRP levels for male and female chest pain patients was calculated to be 33.91 ± 12.65 mg/l and 33.65 ± 15.57 mg/l respectively which was quite high as compared to the normal males 5.31±3.84 mg/l and female 6.39 ± 4.02 mg/l counter parts. Increase was more marked in female patients in comparison to their healthy counterparts exhibiting a gender differentiation in terms of CRP levels. The mean urinary albumin levels for male and female patients of acute chest pain was 29.39± 10.32 mg/l and 33.47±12.98 mg/l respectively which was found to be increased as compared to normal males with a value of 14.23 ± 9.92 mg/l and normal females 9.86 ± 5.96 mg/l respectively. Here again, the increase was more marked in female patients exhibiting gender differentiation again in terms of measured variables.


In all of six phosphate-resistant strains of Musca domestica L. a mutant gene is present which produces an altered ali-esterase. The modified enzymes are no longer irreversibly inhibited by the oxygen analogs of the insecticides to which the strains are resistant but can slowly convert them. In five of the strains the resistance is caused by this gene only.


There are records of Squires or Squiers in the counties of Bedford and Huntingdon as far back as the fourteenth century, when in the summer of 1313 the Sheriff of Huntingdon was ordered 'to pay 12d. a day to Robert Squier the King's huntsman whom the king is sending into that county to take venison in his forests there during this season of fatness'. A family tree stretching from about 1700 to 1900 shows a concentration of Squires in the districts of Eaton Socon and St Neots. It was of this stock that Brian Squire was born on 13 July 1909, the second son in a family of two of H. E. Squire of Cross Hall, St Neots whose particular branch of the family had been prosperous farmers there for many years. We know little about the early life of this country bred lad of yeoman stock but with a strongly budding intellectual difference. The flat land and quiet waters of the Ouse valley must have planted very early in him the love of lonely country, the need to escape into it, and the necessity of solitude in which to think his own thoughts; characteristics which were part of his lifelong habit.


The reliability of Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) metal–ferroelectric–semiconductor capacitors grown by plasma-assisted atomic oxygen deposition on Ge substrates is investigated with an emphasis on the influence of crystallization annealing. The capacitors show very weak wake-up and imprint effects, allowing reliable operation in excess of 10 years, which is attributed partly to the clean, oxide-free Ge/HZO bottom interface. The weak temperature dependence and the observed asymmetries between polarization up and down states and between positive and negative coercive voltage shifts lead to the conclusion that imprint is controlled by carrier injection at the top electrode interface. The latter mechanism is associated with trapping at interfacial oxygen-vacancy defects. On the other hand, using ultrafast (millisecond) flash annealing improves the leakage current by at least an order of magnitude and the endurance by a factor of 3 compared to conventional rapid thermal annealing, which makes them suitable for low power nonvolatile memory applications where (ultra)thin HZO is an essential requirement.


INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE The appearance of the Geologic Map of New York in 1961 (Fisher and others 1961) focused attention in the Adirondacks on the great variability in the quality and detail with which various parts of the region had been mapped. It became clear that extensive areas of either very old mapping, or only broad reconnaissance mapping undertaken in preparation for the State Geologic Map (Isachsen, unpub. maps), lay in the southern half of the Adirondacks. This situation made the area attractive to new workers interested in geological mapping and structural synthesis, and resulted in numerous new investigations (de Waard, 1962, 1964; Walton and de Waard, 1963; de Waard and Romey, 1963, 1968; McLellahd, 1969, 1972, 1978; Nelson, 1968; Letteney, 1969; Glennie, 1973; Geraghty, 1978).


In evaluating the energy for local elastic deformation in contact field, the surface roughness of GaN of 3 nm which was required for SAB was realized even after surface activation process, and even an improvement in the roughness was obtained by Ar-FAB irradiation of 0 degree incident angle. Moreover, to ease the damage to the composition of the surface when the GaN surface was activated, it was understood that Ar-FAB is effective. Bonding of GaN to Al was carried out at room temperature by the SAB method. As a result, GaN and bulk Al were successfully bonded with high bonding strength of 14.3 MPa.


Background: An outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases  (COVID-19)  in  Wuhan,  Hubei  Province, China has spread quickly nationwide. Here, we report results of a descriptive, exploratory analysis of all cases diagnosed as of February 11, 2020. Methods:  All  COVID-19  cases  reported  through February  11,  2020  were  extracted  from  China's Infectious  Disease  Information  System.  Analyses included  the  following:  1)  summary  of  patient characteristics; 2) examination of age distributions and sex  ratios;  3)  calculation  of  case  fatality  and  mortality rates;  4)  geo-temporal  analysis  of  viral  spread;  5) epidemiological  curve  construction;  and  6)  subgroup analysis. Results:  A  total  of  72,314  patient  records—44,672 (61.8%)  confirmed  cases,  16,186  (22.4%)  suspected cases,  10,567  (14.6%)  clinically  diagnosed  cases (Hubei  Province  only),  and  889  asymptomatic  cases (1.2%)—contributed  data  for  the  analysis.  Among confirmed cases, most were aged 30–79 years (86.6%), diagnosed  in  Hubei  (74.7%),  and  considered  mild (80.9%).  A  total  of  1,023  deaths  occurred  among confirmed cases for an overall case fatality rate of 2.3%. The COVID-19 spread outward from Hubei Province sometime  after  December  2019,  and  by  February  11, 2020,  1,386  counties  across  all  31  provinces  were affected.  The  epidemic  curve  of  onset  of  symptoms peaked  around  January  23–26,  then  began  to  decline leading  up  to  February  11.  A  total  of  1,716  health workers have become infected and 5 have died (0.3%). Conclusions:  COVID-19  epidemic  has  spread  very quickly taking only 30 days to expand from Hubei to the  rest  of  Mainland  China.  With  many  people returning from a long holiday, China needs to prepare for the possible rebound of the epidemic.


Tropical-depression (TD)-type waves are synoptic-scale disturbances embedded with deep convection over the western North Pacific. Studies of these disturbances began over six decades ago; however, some properties of these disturbances remain vague, e.g., the coupling mechanism between the deep convection and the waves. This two-part study aims to examine the rainfall progression in TD-type disturbances and associated tropospheric moisture controlling convective rainfall. Part I investigates the rainfall and moisture characteristics of TD-type waves using TRMM-derived rainfall products and the ERA-Interim data during the period of June–October 1998–2013. The rainfall features a north–south asymmetrical pattern with respect to a TD-type disturbance, with enhanced convective and stratiform rainfall occurring in the southern portion. Along with the northwestward propagation, deep convective and stratiform rainfall occur in phase with the TD-type disturbance without significant preceding shallow convective rainfall. Following the deepest convection, shallow convective rainfall increases in the anomalous southerlies. Such a rainfall progression differs from the paradigm from shallow to deep convection, then to stratiform rainfall, which is suggested in other convectively coupled equatorial waves. The rainfall progression and the atmospheric moisture anomaly are phase locked to the TD-type disturbances such that the relative displacements change little when the disturbances propagate northwestward. The latent heat release in deep convection, which is obtained from the TRMM 3G25 dataset, superposes with a broad warm anomaly in the mid- to upper troposphere, suggesting wave growth through the generation of available potential energy from diabatic heating.


Summary 1. On the south-east coast of Australia there are extensive infestations of the environmental weed bitou bush Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata . This exotic weed is highly invasive and persistent, yet little is known about its impacts and how it dominates coastal vegetation. 2. A field study was carried out with sites selected for having an area heavily invaded by C. monilifera and an uninvaded native shrubland area. The mass and components of the litterfall and ground litter layer were monitored and compared over 12 months. Nutrient analysis was performed on the abscised leaves and mature green leaves. Soil properties and nitrogen content were also examined. 3. There was a greater input of litter to the native areas (4800 ± 450 kg ha − 1 ), which was highly seasonal, compared with the C. monilifera areas (1690 ± 150 kg ha − 1 ). There was also a greater mass of litter on the ground in the native areas (9600 ± 560 kg ha − 1 ) than C. monilifera areas (3750 ± 170 kg ha − 1 ), probably as a result of the higher leaf fall rate and slow decomposition rate. 4. A large proportion of nutrients was withdrawn from the native (48‐80%) and C. monilifera leaves (38‐60%) before abscission. The litterfall was estimated to contain more than twice the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous within the native areas, because of the high leaf fall rate rather than a high nutrient content. 5. The total soil nitrogen was two to five times higher in the invaded areas (average 2570 ± 620 kg ha − 1 ) than within the native areas (730 ± 90 kg ha − 1 ). This was accompanied by an increase in ammonia content. The bulk density was lower in invaded areas, but there was no clear trend in the change in soil pH. 6. Synthesis and applications. The higher soil nitrogen beneath the weed infestations could increase the competitive superiority of C. monilifera directly by increasing growth rate, or indirectly by impairing the establishment of native species that are adapted to growing in nutrient-poor soils. The control technique of spraying C. monilifera with herbicide, then burning and spraying seedlings again, could lead to greater regeneration success for natives species than spraying C. monilifera with herbicide only.


We used log-linear hierarchical models to analyze data from the Atlantic Flyway Breeding Waterfowl Survey. The survey has been conducted by state biologists each year since 1989 in the northeastern United States from Virginia north to New Hampshire and Vermont. Although yearly population estimates from the survey are used by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for estimating regional waterfowl population status for mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), black ducks (Anas rubripes), wood ducks (Aix sponsa), and Canada geese (Branta canadensis), they are not routinely adjusted to control for time of day effects and other survey design issues. The hierarchical model analysis permits estimation of year effects and population change while accommodating the repeated sampling of plots and controlling for time of day effects in counting. We compared population estimates from the current stratified random sample analysis to population estimates from hierarchical models with alternative model structures that describe year to year changes as random year effects, a trend with random year effects, or year effects modeled as 1-year differences. Patterns of population change from the hierarchical model results generally were similar to the patterns described by stratified random sample estimates, but significant visibility differences occurred between twilight to midday counts in all species. Controlling for the effects of time of day resulted in larger population estimates for all species in the hierarchical model analysis relative to the stratified random sample analysis. The hierarchical models also provided a convenient means of estimating population trend as derived statistics from the analysis. We detected significant declines in mallard and American black ducks and significant increases in wood ducks and Canada geese, a trend that had not been significant for 3 of these 4 species in the prior analysis. We recommend using hierarchical models for analysis of the Atlantic Flyway Breeding Waterfowl Survey. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.


Analytical expressions are derived to gain insight in the operating principles of phase shifting transformers (PSTs) in a highly meshed grid. To this extent, the dc load flow algorithm is adapted to account for such devices. This leads to a linear expression for the relation between PST settings and the active power flow in the lines. Based on these equations, the total transfer capacity (TTC) can be described mathematically, which allows for optimization. Furthermore, the linear least squares method is used to distribute a cross-border transport evenly over the interconnectors.


Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) are used for both clinical and research purposes to objectively assess human hearing. A prominent feature of the transient evoked ABR is the level-dependent latency of the distinct peaks in its waveform. The latency of the most prominent peak, wave-V, is about 8 ms at a peak equivalent sound pressure level of 55 dB, and reduces for increasing level by approximately 1 ms / 20 dB. A classical explanation for this finding asserts that an increasing stimulus levels lead to a broadened excitation pattern on the basilar membrane. This results in further activation of the basal regions of the cochlea. Given the physical properties of the basilar membrane, increased basal activation is believed to cause a decreasing ABR latency. An Auditory Nerve (AN) model and the Dual Resonance Non-Linearity (DRNL) filter model are considered as separate front-end cochlear models to simulate ABRs. Even though both models incorporate level-dependent tuning and synapse adaptation, and thus theoretically should be capable of simulating level-dependent latencies, both models under-predict the latencies. The failure to produce accurate simulations suggests, that the level-depending tuning in the models is not accurately modelled. The level dependency of the basilar membrane filter tuning in humans is not well described in the literature and could therefore cause the modelling difficulties.


The purpose of this study is to describe the phenomenon of halal lifestyles in Indonesia, and to add insight of the Indonesian society about halal lifestyles in order to make it easier for them to choose Islamic lifestyle through halal lifestyle. This research method uses a literature research approach that is sourced from authoritative news and current journals which has high credibility to explain the phenomenon of halal lifestyle in Indonesia accurately. Based on the literature research that has been done it can be concluded that the increase of population and purchasing power of Muslims in the world can strengthen the halal lifestyles trend. The halal lifestyle is seen as a new lifestyle for the Muslim population in the world, especially the Muslim population in Indonesia. Even the concept of halal has been accepted by Muslims and non-Muslims, and gradually begins to become a lifestyle. Because the halal concept was universal which contained elements of benefit for all humans, halal was not only cover the needs of sharia, but is also a sustainability concept through all human activities seen from its lifestyle. The implications of the phenomenon of halal practices in Indonesia today were not only focused on the food sector, but has been spread to other sectors. Like halal tourism in Nusa Tenggara Barat and D.I. Aceh, halal cosmetics are pioneered by Wardah, a Sharia Hospital spearheaded by RSI. Sultan Agung Semarang, halal medicines initiated by herbal companies, halal modes promoted by Muslim hijabers and fashion designers, financial institutions pioneered by Bank Muamalat Indonesia, and so on. The halal lifestyles trend in Indonesia can also be seen from many animos of the media that preach about "halal lifestyles" such as halallifestyle.com, republika.co.id, ekonom.kompas.com, marketeers.com, mysalaam.com, and many seminar events that raised "halal lifestyle" theme.


This paper continues the tradition (Courtney et al. 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) of using the principles of inquiring systems design (Churchman, 1971) to suggest how effective learning organizations might be developed. Specifically, the paper proposes that Hegelian inquiring systems are well suited for "wicked" problems and knowledge work, and therefore that Hegelian inquiring organizations are well suited for the wicked environments of the new world of business (Malhotra, 1997, 2000). In addition, the paper shows how extant information technologies can support Hegelian inquiring organizations.


Summary We report the influence of plant fertility, principally nitrogen (N) levels, on plant growth, gas exchange and herbivore abundance in chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev 'Charm') infested with western flower thrips [WFT; Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)]. Four levels of a commercial, soluble fertiliser "15-16-17" (elemental analysis: 15N-6.7P-14.1K) were tested at: 0,38,75 and 375 mg l-1 N [0N, 35N, 75N, 375N], which represented 0%, 10%, 20% and 100% of the recommended N-fertilisation rate, respectively. Adult and immature WFT were most abundant at the highest fertility level (375N). At moderate (38N and 75N) to high fertility (375N), WFT infestation depressed plant vegetative and reproductive growth, and altered carbohydrate partitioning. WFT-infested plants had reduced flower bud dry mass (DM) and flower bud number compared to uninfested plants. While WFT infestation reduced leaf area and leaf mass, the specific leaf area (SLA; i.e., leaf thickness) was not affected. However, high fertility plants had greater reproductive and vegetative biomass, greater leaf elemental levels (N, P, Ca, Mg, B, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn) and a higher SLA (i.e., thinner leaves) than low fertility (0N) plants. Leaf stomatal conductance (gs) was more sensitive to WFT damage than net photosynthesis (Pn). WFT damage caused a reduction in Pn in young and physiologically mature leaves at the highest fertility level, whereas gs was reduced in young, physiologically mature and older basal leaves of plants damaged by WFT at moderate to high fertility. WFT infestation had no effect on leaf macro- and micro-elements, ethylene production or chlorophyll levels. WFT damage reduced vegetative and reproductive growth primarily through reduced Pn and gs.


The relationship between the German Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union is defined by the German Court's controversial claim to review whether EU legal acts are compatible with fundamental rights, whether they stay within the limits of EU competences (ultra vires review), or violate the identity of the German Constitution. While the German Court has developed these three review functions in different ways, the recent decision in the case of Honeywell indicates that the three lines of jurisprudence are deeply interrelated. In Honeywell, the Court developed a remarkably restrictive approach to ultra vires review, thereby following a similar path as in its famous Solange jurisprudence with regard to fundamental rights review. Against this background, Honeywell allows to put the different lines of case law into context in a way that reveals parallel patterns as well as differences in the developments. Evaluating Honeywell in this context illustrates that the Court can also be understood as a political actor that tries to maintain and define its role in the process of European integration and in the European system of multi-level governance.


Serious mental illness (SMI), wrongful convictions, and capital punishment is explored, as having a SMI may heighten an individual's risk of being wrongfully convicted and consequently dealt a capital sentence. In Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court banned the use of capital punishment for individuals with intellectual disabilities, ruling it unconstitutional, due to the diminished moral and intellectual capacity held by these individuals. Based on these Supreme Court findings, an argument is made that SMI is a compelling mitigating factor that ought to disqualify the pursuit of capital punishment. Due to the cognitive and volitional impairments associated with SMI, people with SMI are especially vulnerable to being wrongfully convicted of a crime and further wrongfully sentenced to death. Data to build this argument include that those with SMI are more likely to: 1) falsely confess; 2) struggle with assisting in their defense; 3) be perceived as an unreliable witness; 4) appear as though they lack remorse; and 5) face prejudices from judges and jurors; which all contribute to wrongful convictions. An explanation of these vulnerabilities are discussed in detail by examining 26 case vignettes (derived from the National Registry of Exonerations and other sources) where such individuals were wrongfully convicted due to SMI. Data from the National Registry of Exonerations is further analyzed, leading to discussion of the disproportionate co-occurrence of wrongful convictions that are stimulated by SMI. This paper concludes with an analysis of reforms and a discussion of how to enact safeguards to protect individuals with SMI.


We developed a fragrance and flavor analyzer system that overcomes the drawback of electronic noses using metal-oxide semiconductors, i.e., the nonlinearity of their outputs with respect to the concentration of samples. This was realized by installing a dilution and mixing apparatus and a concentrating system before fragrance and flavor analyses as pretreatment systems, applying feedback to the sensor outputs for each measurement, and adjusting the lengths of vectors comprising the multiple sensor outputs to a certain value in the range where the sensor outputs are relatively linear. When the lengths of the vectors comprising the multiple sensor outputs are adjusted to a certain value for each measurement, the type of odor can be evaluated using the vector direction. The intensity of the odor is calculated from the dilution or concentration rate required to adjust the vector length to a certain value. By modifying this method, we also developed a technique of odor deviation mapping to quantitatively display changes in the type of odor. In odor deviation mapping, a reference odor and one or two odor deviations, which indicate the deviations from the reference odor, are selected while their vector lengths are being adjusted. Deviation axes are prepared on a map using vectors comprising sensor outputs obtained by adding each odor deviation to the reference odor, and the deviations of odors from the reference odor are quantitatively visualized on the map. As examples, applications of the map to the determination of expiration dates of foods and the identification of substances causing unusual odors are also discussed in this paper.


Groundnut is an important component of the national food supply. It does not only have nutritional and dietary value, groundnut also provides cash to farmers; enrich the soil with nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation; and its haulms can be used as fodder and fuel. Groundnut production has not kept up with the demands both local and export markets especially in terms of volumes over time. This has been in part due to low average yields resulting from continuous use of unimproved seed. In turn Malawi's groundnut exports have also generally dwindled over time. The analysis of Malawian groundnut production using the Policy Analysis Matrix methodology shows that both traditional and improved technology groundnut production are both privately and socially profitable. This leads to the conclusion that protectionist policies that would raise domestic groundnut prices above the import parity prices determined in world markets are unnecessary. However, investments in improved technology show profits that are greater than traditional technology. These are likely to be areas in which government investments would yield a significant rate of return and reduce dependence on world markets. In addition to investments in improved seed technology, government should also invest in improved technologies for post harvest handling.


OF THE THESIS Real-time Image Processing on an FPGA for an Intraoperative Goggle Device by Yiyi Zhang Master of Science in Electrical Engineering Washington University in St. Louis, May 2014 Research Advisor: Professor Viktor Gruev The emergence of near-infrared dyes for fluorescence imaging has had a tremendous impact in the medical field. In particular, indocyanin green (ICG) has been widely used for assessing tumor margins during intraoperative procedures. Typically, the dye is intravenously injected into the patient, and after 24 hours the dye is removed from the patients body, except where binding between the dye and tumor cells has occurred. This selective binding between ICG and cancerous tissue allows for easy and accurate detection of cancer margins as well as detection of metastasis throughout the patients body. In order to detect the binding sites, a near infrared light source at 780nm is used to excite the dye molecules, and emission is observed at 800nm. To take advantage of fluorescent imaging during intraoperative procedures, we have developed a goggle system equipped for real-time imaging in both visible and near infrared spectra. The goggle system has to be light, compact and able to perform real-time image processing to assist the physician for easy detection of tumor margins. To this end, I have developed Verilog code for a Spartan III FPGA that performs the following: 1) Realtime acquisition of both visible and near infrared spectrum images from a pair of CMOS ix imaging detectors; 2) Real-time image processing for both near infrared and color images in order to enhance the captured information; and 3) Real-time display of fused visible-near infrared images in high definition (HDMI) format on a goggle device. The imaging device has been successfully used for intraoperative procedures during tumor resection in animal models.


The emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS‐CoV) led to a rapid response not only to contain the outbreak but also to identify possible therapeutic interventions, including the generation of human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs). hmAbs may be used therapeutically without the drawbacks of chimeric or animal Abs. Several different methods have been used to generate SARS‐CoV specific neutralizing hmAbs including the immunization of transgenic mice, cloning of small chain variable regions from naïve and convalescent patients, and the immortalization of convalescent B cells. Irrespective of the techniques used, the majority of hmAbs specifically reacted with the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein and likely prevented receptor binding. However, several hmAbs that can bind to epitopes either within the RBD, located N terminal of the RBD or in the S2 domain, and neutralize the virus with or without inhibiting receptor binding have been identified. Therapeutic utility of hmAbs has been further elucidated through the identification of potential combinations of hmAbs that could neutralize viral variants including escape mutants selected using hmAbs. These results suggest that a cocktail of hmAbs that can bind to unique epitopes and have different mechanisms of action might be of clinical utility against SARS‐CoV infection, and indicate that a similar approach may be applied to treat other viral infections. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Objectives: To describe health seeking and sexual behaviour including condom use among patients presenting with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and, to identify sociodemographic and behavioural risk factors associated with "no condom use" during the symptomatic period. Methods: A cross sectional study of consecutive new STI cases presenting at the district STI clinic in Thyolo, Malawi. They were interviewed by STI counsellors after obtaining informed consent. All patients were treated according to national guidelines. Results: Out of 498 new STI clients, 53% had taken some form of medication before coming to the STI clinic, the most frequent alternative source being the traditional healer (37%). 46% of all clients reported sex during the symptomatic period (median 14 days), the majority (74%) not using condoms. 90% of all those who had not used condoms resided in villages and had seen only the traditional healer. Significant risk factors associated with "no condom use" included visiting a traditional healer, being female, having less than 8 years of school education, and being resident in villages. Genital ulcer disease (GUD) was the most common STI in males (49%) while in females this comprised 27% of STIs. Conclusions: These findings, and especially the extremely high GUD prevalence is of particular concern, considering the high national HIV prevalence in Malawi (9%) and the implications for STI and HIV transmission. There is an urgent need to integrate traditional healers in control activities, encourage their role in promoting safer sexual behaviour, and to reorient or even change existing strategies on condom promotion and STI control.


This paper examines digitisation of indigenous knowledge as a critical resource for the promotion of effective management of natural resources in Africa. The paper is based on content analysis of primary and secondary data. The primary data were obtained from 12 in-depth interviews conducted among stakeholders in the Nigerian cultural industries while the secondary data were obtained from relevant documents through an electronic search of databases. The paper is grounded in the Theory of Diffusion of Innovations and Afrikology with a focus on the need to intensify the preservation and propagation of African indigenous knowledge for natural resources management. The findings reveal several opportunities and challenges in attempts to promote African approaches to natural resources management since the advent of the digital revolution. Africans' experience of digital revolution is discussed with reference to success stories of digitisation of indigenous knowledge systems. Discussions suggest the need for concerted interest in digitisation of African indigenous knowledge to intensify efforts geared towards natural resources management. Such digitisation should be launched in all virtual communities and educational systems; this is to enhance its effectiveness. Also, governments and NGOs should initiate projects to develop digitisation of indigenous knowledge in order to promote cultures and enhance indigenous capacity for environmental sustainability and effective management of natural resources in Africa.


Antimitotic agents that target the dynamic equilibrium between the microtubule polymer and tubulin heterodimers are key components of chemotherapeutic regimens for various solid tumors. These agents can be divided into two major classes based on their effect on microtubule polymerization and the mass of microtubule polymers: those that inhibit polymerization, such as the vinca alkaloids and those that stabilize microtubules, such as the taxanes and epothilones. The taxanes paclitaxel (Taxol) and docetaxel (Taxotere) were the first antimicrotubule agents approved for use in solid tumors, but their usefulness is often limited by development of drug resistance. The epothilones are distinguished from the taxanes structurally and functionally and have been shown in vitro and in preclinical models to have superior potency to the taxanes. The epothilones are not susceptible to P-glycoprotein-mediated efflux and have shown activity against taxane-resistant tumors. Other natural-product microtubule-stabilizing agents also have promising pharmacologic profiles. This article discusses mechanisms of drug resistance and summarizes scientific and clinical data supporting the potential of novel microtubule-stabilizing agents for achieving broad antitumor efficacy without the emergence of drug resistance. The ability to reduce the development of resistance with the epothilones and other microtubule-stabilizing agents may provide additional treatment options at the time of presentation and in the setting of taxane resistance.


Though few realize it, forced arbitration clauses are endemic in today's marketplace — hidden in credit card agreements, bank accounts, corporate social media pages, even Starbucks gift cards. More than half a billion arbitration provisions infiltrate our everyday lives. Despite their prevalence, few consumers are aware of the forced arbitration clauses they are bound to, and fewer still realize they have been stripped of their constitutional rights.


We should stop and think about the risks of resistance, and ways of minimising them, before increasing access to antiretroviral therapy in Africa

Demands for the introduction of antiretroviral therapy into Africa have been growing over the past few years. On the face of it, the availability of antiretroviral therapy at what seems to be an affordable price is good news. The treatment can produce dramatic clinical improvements in people with symptomatic HIV disease and, when used optimally, can delay the progression of disease. However, the potential short term gains from reducing individual morbidity and mortality may be far outweighed by the potential for the long term spread of drug resistance if the experience of adherence to treatment for tuberculosis is repeated. Without due forethought and planning, antiretroviral therapy is likely to be introduced to Africa in a random and haphazard way, with inconsistent prescribing practices and poor monitoring of therapy and adherence. This risks the rapid development and transmission of drug resistance.

Virus strains with reduced sensitivity to zidovudine, the first drug used to treat HIV infection, were first observed in 1989, three years after it was introduced.1 Subsequently, resistance to every currently licensed antiretroviral drug has been observed.2 Drug resistance within an individual patient is not confined to a single compound, and cross resistance between drugs of the same class is the rule rather than the exception.3

Drug resistance arises by natural selection, mutant strains being selected when the virus replicates in sub-limiting drug concentrations. The only way to prevent resistance is to use a drug regimen that reduces virus replication to virtually zero (commonly equated with a plasma virus load below 50 RNA copies/ml). In this circumstance, the probability of a mutant arising to all the drugs used in a highly active antiretroviral therapy …


Abstract. Soil organic matter is a vast store of carbon, with a critical role in the global carbon cycle. Despite its importance, the dynamics of soil organic carbon decomposition, under the impact of climate change or changing litter inputs, are poorly understood. Current biogeochemical models usually lack microbial processes and thus miss an important feedback when considering the fate of carbon. Here we use a series of modelling experiments to evaluate two different model structures: one with a standard first-order kinetic representation of soil decomposition (DecoChem v1.0, hereafter chemical model) and one with control of soil decomposition through microbial activity (DecoBio v1.0, hereafter biological model). The biological model includes cycling of organic matter into and out of microbial biomass, and simulates the decay rate as a functional of microbial activity. We tested two hypotheses. First, we hypothesized different responses in the two models to increased litter inputs and glucose additions. In the microbial model we hypothesized that this perturbation would prime microbial activity and reduce soil carbon stocks; in the chemical model we expected this perturbation to increase C stocks. In the biological model, responses to changed litter quantity were more rapid, but with the residence time of soil C altering such that soil C stocks were buffered. However, in the biological model there was a strong response to increased glucose additions (i.e. changes in litter quality), with significant losses to soil C stocks over time, driven by priming. Secondly, we hypothesized that warming will stimulate decomposition in the chemical model and loss of C, but in the biological model soil C will be less sensitive to warming, due to complex microbial feedbacks. The numerical experiments supported this hypothesis, with the chemical model soil C residence times and steady-state C stocks adjusting strongly with temperature changes, extending over decades. On the other hand, the biological model showed a rapid response to temperature that subsided after a few years, with total soil C stocks largely unchanged. The microbial model shows qualitative agreement with experimental warming studies that found transient increases in soil respiration that decline within a few years. In conclusion, the biological model is largely buffered against bulk changes in litter inputs and climate, unlike the chemical model, while the biological model displays a strong priming response to additions of labile litter. Our results have therefore highlighted significantly different sensitivities between chemical and biological modelling approaches for soil decomposition.


Quantum mechanical calculations of the electronic structure of hydrogen storage materials have undoubtly deepened our fundamental understanding of their basic properties. In addition, ab-initio calculations can provide a useful insight on the hydrogen storage properties that are crucial for applications. In this paper, we focuss on the latter aspects, we discuss the electronic and elastic properties of Haucke compounds of AB5 type (A=La or Y, B=Ni), in relation with their hydrogen absorption properties. The effects of substitutions of Ni by an s element of the 3d series, Cu, as well as by s-p elements of the IIIA (Al) and IVA series (Si, Ge, Sn) for several substitution rates are presented. and discussed in light of available experimental data on electronic, thermodynamic and elastic properties.


A new approach is presented for the minimization of the word length of the control store in microprogrammed computers. Given the set of microinstructions and the set of microcommands of a microprogrammed computer a minimal subset of microcommands are determined so that every other microcommand not contained in this minimal subset to be generated from it by a single AND or OR gate. The problem of finding such minimal subsets of microcommands is formulated as a Boolean function simplification problem and is based upon an extension of the notion of the minimal dependence sets of a Boolean function.