BACKGROUND: There remain technological deficiencies in the economical anaerobic digestion of the entire flow of flushed dairy manure on farms within cold climates. In order to develop an anaerobic digester tailored for this purpose, this study investigated the distributions of biomass and biogas generated in three particle-size-characterized zones of flushed dairy manure.

RESULTS: Results demonstrate that comparable biogas generations are equally distributed between the solids and liquid phases of flushed dairy manure, implying that at least 50% of methane generation might be lost when utilizing existing processes that only selectively handle the liquid or solids phases. Microscopic and kinetic studies show that the majority of microorganisms in the manure are attached to the surface of undigested dairy manure fibrous solids. In particular, greater than 70% of acetate-utilizing methanogens were found closely associated with the indigestible solids. This high microbial affinity to the dairy manure solids phase can be traced back to the selection pressure driven bacterial immobilization mechanism in cattle rumen.

CONCLUSION: This study shows that dairy manure fibrous solids have the potential to act as effective natural biomass carriers for high rate and simultaneous methanation of both solids and liquid phases of flushed dairy manure in one digester. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry


Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have impairments in language
developments and social interactions; they are not able to relate well to people, they
have trouble expressing their emotions and sustaining conversations. These tendencies
make it difficult for parents and caregivers to understand the emotional state of children
with ASD. This case study investigates the advantage of mandala art therapy in helping
parents and caregivers recognize the emotional state of children with ASD without
pressuring them to verbalize their feelings. Mandala art therapy is known widely in the
study of art therapy as an approach that provides a safe environment for clients to
explore their inner self. It was introduced by Carl Gustav Jung as a way to express
feelings in the field of psychology. The data obtained in this case study were collected
within twelve weeks, for one session per week. Subjective and objective methods of
data collection were implemented. The subjective analysis employs Jungian
psychotherapist Susanne F. Fincher's interpretation of colours in a mandala. It also
includes an in-depth analysis describing the behavioural changes of the two participants
throughout the twelve-week mandala art therapy sessions. For the objective analysis,
Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire was used before and after the
intervention to determine whether there is an improvement in their social interaction
skills after going through twelve sessions of mandala art therapy. After twelve weeks of
observation, it is concluded that mandala art therapy would be beneficial for parents and
caregivers as an intervention tool that explores the emotional conditions of children
with ASD.


This paper considers the arguments regarding the choice between an ideal income tax and an ideal consumption tax, focusing on an argument made by Atkinson and Stiglitz regarding neutral taxation of commodities. The argument shows that a properly designed consumption tax is Pareto superior to an income tax: it is more efficient and at least as good at redistribution. The major exception to the Atkinson and Stiglitz result is if individuals with equal wages have different propensities to save. In that event, a consumption tax may no longer be Pareto superior to an income tax. A consumption tax will continue, however, to be more desirable than an income tax. It will be strictly more efficient than an income tax, and under reasonable assumptions, better at redistributing from those who are better off to those who are worse off. This result holds true even if one heavily weights the welfare of the poor.


Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods were used to investigate the adsorption and diffusion properties of CH4 and CO2 in calcite slit nanopores with a pore width of ∼22 A. It was found that, in contrast to CH4, CO2 molecules have a much higher capacity to be adsorbed onto calcite pore surfaces. The diffusion capacity of CO2 molecules is much less in comparison with that of CH4 molecules, which could be attributed to diverse interactions between CO2 gas molecules and calcite nanopore surfaces. An effective displacement process of residual adsorbed CH4 in calcite slit nanopores by CO2 was performed, and it was found that the displacement efficiency was enhanced with an increase in the bulk pressure. This work provides microscopic information about the adsorption and diffusion properties of CH4 and CO2 in calcite nanopores, and confirmed the feasibility of the displacement of adsorbed CH4 in calcite nanopores by CO2, with the purpose of providing useful guidance for enhancing the extraction of shale gas by injecting CO2.


Abstract The review of data of the literature on a role of intestinal microflora, genetic features of a macroorganism, exogenic factors and character of a food is presented at obesity and a type 2 diabetes. Researches establish, that development in experimental animals of the induced obesity and the type 2 diabetes, depends on a diet and presence of intestinal microflora. The factors increasing permeability mucous intestines, promote a translocation of intestinal automicroflora and its toxins into macroorganism and a system blood-circulation. Long introduction LPS (endotoxin) of gram-negative bacteria to the special laboratory animals led to development of inflammatory reaction, adiposity and resistance to insulin. The specified phenomena did not develop at LPS introduction to the animals, who have lost receptor CD14 which is necessary for linkage and endotoxin action. Data about change of intestinal microflora and a role of immune infringements are discussed at obesity and the type 2 diabetes occurring into background of low-grade chronic inflammation and metabolic disorders.


This article examines the influence of debt on the behaviour of households and firms in the recent recession. It compares the levels of debt in the two sectors in recent years, and the sectors' reactions to indebtedness. It then considers each sector in turn. Debt was more unevenly spread across both households and firms in the recent recession than in its predecessors. Partly as a result, disaggregated data can in both cases help in reaching a more accurate picture of the influence of debt on behaviour, and in deciding between competing explanations of recent developments in the two sectors.


We analyze quark condensates and chiral (scalar) susceptibilities including isospin-breaking effects at finite temperature T. These include m(u) not equal m(d) contributions as well as electromagnetic (e not equal 0) corrections, both treated in a consistent chiral Lagrangian framework to leading order in SU(2) and SU(3) chiral perturbation theory, so that our predictions are model-independent. The chiral restoration temperature extracted from = is almost unaffected, while the isospin-breaking order parameter grows with T for the three-flavor case SU(3). We derive a sum rule relating the condensate ratio (e not equal 0)/ (e = 0) with the scalar susceptibility difference (x)(T) - (x)(0), directly measurable on the lattice. This sum rule is useful also for estimating condensate errors in staggered lattice analysis. Keeping m(u) not equal m(d) allows one to obtain the connected and disconnected contributions to the susceptibility, even in the isospin limit, whose temperature, mass, and isospin-breaking dependence we analyze in detail. The disconnected part grows linearly, diverging in the chiral (infrared) limit as T = M(pi), while the connected part shows a quadratic behavior, infrared regular as T(2)/M(eta)(2), and coming from pi(0)eta mixing terms. This smooth connected behavior suggests that isospin-breaking correlations are weaker than critical chiral ones near the transition temperature. We explore some consequences in connection with lattice data and their scaling properties, for which our present analysis for physical masses, i.e. beyond the chiral limit, provides a useful model-independent description for low and moderate temperatures.


Knowledge management enhances the value of a corporation by identifying the assets and expertise as well as efficiently managing the resources. Security for knowledge management is critical as organizations have to protect their intellectual assets. Therefore, only authorized individuals must be permitted to execute various operations and functions in an organization. In this paper, secure knowledge management will be discussed, focusing on confidentiality, trust, and privacy. In particular, certain access-control techniques will be investigated, and trust management as well as privacy control for knowledge management will be explored


In November 1945, three months after the end of World War II, a narrow majority of the members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decided to award the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Otto Hahn for the discovery of nuclear fission. The award was and still remains controversial, primarily because Hahn's Berlin colleagues, the chemist Fritz Strassmann and the physicist Lise Meitner, were not included. Probably, Strassmann was ignored because he was not a senior scientist. Meitner's exclusion, however, points to other flaws in the decision process, and to four factors in particular: the difficulty of evaluating an interdisciplinary discovery, a lack of expertise in theoretical physics, Sweden's scientific and political isolation during the war, and a general failure of the evaluation committees to appreciate the extent to which German persecution of Jews skewed the published scientific record.


An approximate analytical model based on the bioheat transfer equation is derived and used to calculate temperature within a perfused region implanted regularly with dielectrically coated hot source implants. The effect of a regular array of mutually parallel heat sources of cylindrical shape is approximated by idealizing one of the boundary conditions. The solution is in terms of modified Bessel functions. In calculating the temperature of each thermoregulating source in the array, the steady state power balance is enforced. The important feature of the model is that the finite size of implant diameter and its dielectric coating can be incorporated. The effect of thickness and thermal conductivity of the coating on the source and tissue temperatures along with various other interesting features are deduced from this model. The analytically calculated implant and tissue temperatures are compared with those of a numerical 3-D finite difference model. The analytical model also is used to define a range of parameters such that minimal therapeutic temperatures will be achieved in the implanted volume without exceeding prescribed maximum temperatures.<<ETX>>


Abstract The aim of the study was to define ultrastructural changes in the ovarian cyclic corpus luteum (CL) of dairy cows with different body condition score (BCS, a 5-point scale). The ovaries were recovered from slaughtered Holstein cows of BCS1 (emaciation; n= 4), BCS2 (tendency to emaciation; n=4), BCS3 (average body condition; n= 4), BCS4 (tendency to fattening; n=4) and BCS5 (fattening; n=4). Average ages of cows were: 6.2, 4.1, 5.7, 5.5 and 6.36 years for BCS1, BCS2, BCS3, BCS4 and BCS5, respectively. For electron microscopy, functioning CL at the mid-luteal phase were fixed in the aldehyde solution and post-fixed in 1% OsO4 solution. For lipid visualization the samples were soaked in 1% p-phenylenediamine solution in acetone. Durcupan ultrathin sections (90 nm) were contrasted with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and viewed under Jeol transmission electron microscope. Occurrence of cell organelles was determined by counting the relative volume of individual cellular components using the modified universal test network. Luteal regression of cyclic CL was characterized by atrophy of lutein cells, condensation of organelles and cytoplasmic inclusions, increase in relative volumes of vacuoles, lysosomes, peroxisomes, autophagosomes and lipids. There were significant differences (p<0.05) among BCS1, BCS2, BCS4 and BCS5 cows in the occurrence of lipids, vacuoles, lysosomes and autophagosomes in the lutein cells compared to BCS3 cows. Cows with BCS2 or BCS1 had higher relative volume of lipid droplets, whilst the BCS4 or BCS5 cows had increased occurrence (relative volume) of vacuoles, lysosomes, peroxisomes and autolysosomes. These results show that luteolysis of cyclic CL of cows has different patterns in each BCS group; in the emaciated and fattened cows luteolysis starts earlier than in cows with average body condition.


Since its launch in 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) has triggered and located on average approximately two γ-ray bursts (GRBs) every three days. Here, we present the third of a series of catalogs of GRBs detected by GBM, extending the second catalog by two more years through the middle of 2014 July. The resulting list includes 1405 triggers identified as GRBs. The intention of the GBM GRB catalog is to provide information to the community on the most important observables of the GBM-detected GRBs. For each GRB, the location and main characteristics of the prompt emission, the duration, peak flux, and fluence are derived. The latter two quantities are calculated for the 50–300 keV energy band where the maximum energy release of GRBs in the instrument reference system is observed, and also for a broader energy band from 10 to 1000 keV, exploiting the full energy range of GBM's low-energy [Nai[Tl)] detectors. Using statistical methods to assess clustering, we find that the hardness and duration of GRBs are better fit by a two-component model with short-hard and long-soft bursts than by a model with three components. Furthermore, information is provided on the settings and modifications of the triggering criteria and exceptional operational conditions during years five and six in the mission. This third catalog is an official product of the Fermi GBM science team, and the data files containing the complete results are available from the High-Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center.


The latest addition to the Disability Discrimination Act, passed in 2005, introduced a requirement for all public bodies, including Higher Education Institutions to promote and deliver disability equality across all policies and activities. An increased awareness of disability equality places new demands on educators to be proactive in ensuring their teaching does not inadvertently discriminate against people with disabilities. In responding to the University's Disability Equality Scheme, a review of the accessibility of teaching at the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics (NCPO), a department in the University of Strathclyde's Faculty of Engineering, was carried out. There were specific challenges in responding to disability equality legislation due to the high content of practical and clinical work with genuine clients. This paper presents the review process, main findings and outcomes of that review. It also aims to help the audience consider and reflect on the accessibility of their own teaching. The review commenced with an e-mail survey of all of the department's current students and recent graduates. Students registered with disability services were also invited to a focus group discussion to share their views of the accessibility of the teaching. An e-mail survey of staff was also conducted, and was later followed by open discussion at a staff meeting. The responses to the surveys were grouped and then circulated to the authors. The focus group discussion was recorded and transcribed. The three authors independently revised the surveys and focus group discussion transcripts to search for common themes and possible recommendations. When the group met there was a high level of agreement on the recommendations and further discussion enabled additional recommendations to be added.


The authors discuss their experience in the treatment of 45 children with hygromas of the wrist joint. Morphological and radiological studies confirmed the conception of the pathogenesis of hygromas which is based on that a hygroma is a transformed synovial capsule of the joint and the communication between them functions along the type of a valve. Problems of terminology and therapeutic tactics are discussed. The specific features of the operation and the results of treatment are described. The percentage of recurrences reduced from 15.4 to 7.7%.


ABSTRACT Many viruses, including members of several poxvirus genera, encode inhibitors that block apoptosis by simultaneously binding the proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins Bak and Bax. The Orthopoxvirus vaccinia virus encodes the Bcl-2-like F1 protein, which sequesters Bak but not Bax. However, N1, a potent virulence factor, is reported to be antiapoptotic and to interact with Bax. Here we investigated whether vaccinia virus inhibits Bak/Bax-dependent apoptosis via the cooperative action of F1 and N1. We found that Western Reserve (WR) and ΔN1L viruses inhibited drug- and infection-induced apoptosis equally. Meanwhile, infections with ΔF1L or ΔN1L/F1L virus resulted in similar levels of Bax activation and apoptosis. Outside the context of infection, N1 did not block drug- or Bax-induced cell death or interact with Bax. In addition to F1 and N1, vaccinia virus encodes further structural homologs of Bcl-2 proteins that are conserved in orthopoxviruses, including A46, A52, B14, C1, C6, C16/B22, K7, and N2. However, we found that these do not associate with Bax or inhibit drug-induced cell death. Based on our findings that N1 is not an antiapoptotic protein, we propose that the F1 orthologs represent the only orthopoxvirus Bcl-2 homolog to directly inhibit the Bak/Bax checkpoint.


Among those familiar with the field of investment arbitration, the strong political reaction against the investor state dispute settlement provisions (ISDS) included in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) and originally planned to be included in Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and the US (TTIP) comes as a surprise. After all, European states have concluded more than 1400 BITs in the past. A general indictment of the investment arbitration practices as biased in favor of investors, they claim, is misguided and lacks plausible evidence. It is misguided because in terms of tribunal composition states and investors have an equal role to play in the constitution of the tribunal. Furthermore the substantive norms of this agreement, like other agreements, articulate basic investor related requirements of justice: They require nondiscrimination, fair treatment or prohibiting expropriation without compensation or ensuring the possibility to repatriate investments and the like. As far as arbitration outcomes are concerned there is also no evidence of bias. Individual award decisions that hold in favor of investors on contestable grounds may exist, but there is no dispute settlement procedure that will not occasionally produce results that will leave many unconvinced, as public lawyers familiar with the adjudication of rights cases by domestic or international courts will attest. More importantly, as a statistical matter more than half of the cases brought to arbitration are effectively decided in favor of the state. Finally, to the extent there are residual concerns relating to past practices, they can be addressed. The CETA and potentially the TTIP too would include progressive provisions on transparency and participation, for example. And investor-protecting general norms that have in the past occasionally been interpreted in a way that has precluded taking into account legitimate government


The citrus by-products released from citrus processing plants may contain high levels of potentially bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, which are a widely distributed group of polyphenolic compounds with health-related properties based on their antioxidant activity. In the study reported here, the potential bioactivities and antioxidant activities of extracts, fractions and compounds from citrus by-products were evaluated along with the chemical interactions of binary mixtures of compounds and complex mixtures. The bioactivities and interactions were evaluated in wheat coleoptile bioassays and the antioxidant activity was evaluated by the al DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhdrazyl radical) radical scavenging assay. The extracts, fractions and most of the isolated compounds (mainly polymethoxyflavones) showed high activity in the wheat coleoptile bioassay. However, the antioxidant activity was not consistently high, except in the acetone extract fractions. Moreover, a study of the interactions with binary mixtures of polymethoxyflavones showed the occurrence of synergistic effects. The complex mixtures of fractions composed mainly of polymethoxyflavones caused a synergistic effect when it was added to a bioactive compound such as anethole. The results reported here highlight a new application for the wheat coleoptile bioassay as a quick tool to detect potential synergistic effects in compounds or mixtures.


The spectacular nature of accidents involving aircraft has obliged the aviation industry to introduce a process of confidential reporting to identify situations that may lead to poor work or even an accident. The information so gathered can then be used to reduce the likelihood of such problems occurring. Confidential reporting allows an individual to bring information relevant to safety to the attention of a body that is completely independent of management. They can be assured that their identity will remain confidential to that body. It is, as far as the individual is concerned, a confidential but not an anonymous procedure, which will be subjected to careful scrutiny. Confidentiality and independence from management are the essential features. The introduction of such a programme into the NHS would materially enhance its safety profile.


This paper presents the results of the research on teacher perceptions of individualized teaching and its application in initial mathematics teaching. Twelve models have been designed for four of its types: programmed, problem-based, computer-assisted instruction and three levels of individualization approach. Teachers' opinion on the validity of the designed models, the possibilities of applying individualized instruction in initial mathematics teaching, their training and skills to apply it, and the extent to which these are applied in the initial mathematics teaching were examined. The survey was conducted on a sample of 114 teachers who positively evaluated the validity of the designed models. Moreover, the results obtained indicate that teachers most often choose to use three levels of individualization approach, as well as individualized instruction using worksheets. Problem-based instruction is used very rarely. Most of them think that they are not sufficiently trained and skilled to use individualized instruction.


Voyaging canoes were the vehicles of ancient Pacific exploration, settlement and interactions. However, we know little about the ocean-going performance of those vessels. This account of Taumako (Duff Islands) voyaging technology draws on 20 years of collaborative research initiated by Koloso Kaveia, the late paramount chief of Taumako, during which a new generation learned to build and sail voyaging canoes using only ancient materials, methods, designs and tool types. Recent researchers have tested models of bifurcate tipped sail shapes in wind tunnels. The shapes they used, which appear similar to what Taumakoans call Te Laa o Lata, demonstrated outstanding efficiency compared to others. But one researcher noticed that a more flexibly tipped model performed better than a rigid model. Historical, cultural, technical and operational information about the proportions and the built-in flexibility and plasticity of the design, materials and rig of real Te Laa o Lata suggest that there is much more to learn about their performance. If a model of Te Laa o Lata is to be tested in a wind tunnel it must be shape-shifting and proportionally correct. It also should be rigged to allow it to align and adjust itself in the ways that it actually does at sea. Furthermore, the role of the mostly submarine hull and buoyant outrigger on sail and vessel performance should be measured in a tow tank. But since Taumakoans are still building and sailing Vaka o Lata (ancient Polynesian voyaging vessels) using centuries-old designs, materials and methods, it is still possible to measure the aerodynamic performance of Te Laa o Lata and the hydrodynamic performance of the overall vessel at sea, as well as to more fully understand how the vessel works and how it is sailed under various conditions and for various purposes.


THE fundamental question of the theoretical calculation of the effect of sweep on the distribution of lift across the span of a monoplane wing has, so far as the present writer is aware, been treated only by G. Andreoli and ?. M. Minski, the former paper being known to him unfortunately not in the original but only through a brief mention in the latter. Minski states that Andreoli approached the question by assuming the wing bound vortices curvilinear and passing through the locus of aerodynamic centres of the chords, the investigation being confined to very small deviations from the usual wing vortex system without sweep. However, it is alleged that the pursuit of the problem led finally to rather complicated integral equations insoluble in practice. Hence Minski, adopting the fundamental idea of a curvilinear bound vortex, this time passing through the mean C.P. positions of the chords (one‐third the chord length from the leading edge), proceeded to attack the problem by a somewhat different method, which will first be summarised briefly here since his paper, being in Russian, is presumably not generally known.


The Futures Lab was founded within the Mathematics and Computer Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory in the fall of 1994. The goal of the lab is develop new technology and systems to support collab-orative science. In order to meet this goal, the lab is organized around three research areas: advanced networking, multimedia, and virtual environments. The Argonne Computing and Communications Infrastructure Futures Laboratory (Futures Lab) was created in 1994 to explore, develop, and prototype next-generation computing and communications infrastructure systems. An important goal of the Futures Lab project is to understand how to incorporate advanced display and media server systems into scientiic computing environments. The objective is to create new collaborative environment technologies that combine advanced networking, virtual space technology, and high-end virtual environments to enable the construction of virtual teams for scientiic research. We believe that digital media, immersive displays, and networked collabora-tive spaces are critical elements of future computing environments and will be in common use by the end of the decade. We hope that our eeorts will provide new capabilities to scientiic computing systems and will accelerate development of virtual organizations to conduct experimental, computational, and theoretical science. Our eeorts are largely focused on technology development and integration with selected applications projects used to demonstrate the new technology. We are interested in driving large-scale supercomputer systems architecture to


Many scientific applications require the solution of large initial-value problems, such as those produced by the method of lines after semi-discretization in space of partial differential equations. The computational cost of implicit time discretizations is dominated by the solution of nonlinear systems of equations at each time step. In order to decrease this cost, the recently developed Rosenbrock-Krylov (ROK) time integration methods extend the classical linearly-implicit Rosenbrock(-W) methods, and make use of a Krylov subspace approximation to the Jacobian computed via an Arnoldi process. Since the ROK order conditions rely on the construction of a single Krylov space, no restarting of the Arnoldi process is allowed, and the iterations quickly become expensive with increasing subspace dimensions. This work extends the ROK framework to make use of the Lanczos biorthogonalization procedure for constructing Jacobian approximations. The resulting new family of methods is named biorthogonal ROK (BOROK). The Lanczos procedure's short two-term recurrence allows BOROK methods to utilize larger subspaces for the Jacobian approximation, resulting in increased numerical stability of the time integration at a reduced computational cost. Adaptive subspace size selection and basis extension procedures are also developed for the new schemes. Numerical experiments show that for stiff problems, where a large subspace used to approximate the Jacobian is required for stability, the BOROK methods outperform the original ROK methods.


We study in this paper the problem of jumper insertion on general routing (Steiner/spanning) trees with obstacles for antenna avoidance/fixing at the routing and/or postlayout stages. We formulate the jumper insertion for antenna avoidance/fixing as a tree-cutting problem and present the first optimal algorithm for the general tree-cutting problem. We show that the tree-cutting problem exhibits the properties of optimal substructures and greedy choices. With these properties, we present an O((V+D)lgD)-time optimal jumper-insertion algorithm that uses the least number of jumpers to avoid/fix the antenna violations on a Steiner/spanning tree with V vertices and D obstacles. Experimental results show the superior effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm


Background and Objective: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery are two alternative methods for coronary revascularization, but it remains controversial as which one is associated with lower risks of worse clinical outcomes for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. We determined the mode of coronary revascularization (PCI vs. CABG) which is associated with lower risk of mortality and morbidity in CKD patients. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 159 patients with CKD were enrolled from single center of coronary revascularization at Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi between January 2012 and August 2013. All patients with CKD underwent PCI or CABG. The primary outcome was in-hospital composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke. We evaluated which mode of coronary revascularization was associated with reduced risks of clinical outcomes. Results: Out of 159 patients with CKD, 85 (53.5%) received PCI and 74 (46.5%) received CABG. The primary finding of this study is that more patients with moderate to severe CKD underwent PCI and more patients with mild to moderate CKD underwent CABG. In both these categories, no difference was observed in clinical outcomes. There are few factors like age, ST- elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and number of coronary artery disease predicted PCI as treatment strategy in patients with moderate to severe CKD. Conclusion: Patients with moderate to severe CKD have similar rates of short term clinical outcomes whether they underwent PCI or CABG. Therefore, PCI can be acceptable and less invasive treatment option alternative to CABG, particularly in patients with moderate to severe CKD.


The number of foster children and their psychological and medical morbidity are growing. To gain insight into how to recruit and retain foster homes, characteristics of 64 foster families were determined by interview. Foster parents had low-to-moderate incomes, were approaching middle age, had underutilized home space, and wanted more children. Most enjoyed foster care and planned to continue. Twenty-three percent of the 64 had half of all foster children in the study in their homes at interview and had cared for seven times as many children in the past, including 66% of all the teens and 83% of all the handicapped children who had been in the 64 homes. These "high providers" functioned like group homes for mentally handicapped individuals. Adapting the group-home concept to foster homes could improve care, especially for children with special needs.


The potential for explosive volcanism to affect the state of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been debated since the 1980s. Several observational studies, largely based on tree rings, have since found support for a positive ENSO phase in the year following large eruptions. Models of different complexities also simulate such a response, detectable above the backdrop of internal variability – though they disagree on the underlying mechanisms. In contrast, recent coral data from the heart of the tropical Pacific suggest no uniform ENSO response to all eruptions over the last millennium. Here we leverage paleoclimate data assimilation to integrate the latest paleoclimate evidence into a consistent dynamical framework and re-appraise this relationship. Our analysis finds only a weak statistical association between volcanism and ENSO, suggestive of either no causal association, or of an insufficient number of large volcanic events over the past millennium to obtain reliable statistics. While currently available observations do not support the model-based inference that tropical eruptions promote an ENSO response, there are hints of a response to hemispherically asymmetric forcing, consistent with the "ITCZ shift" mechanism. We discuss the difficulties of conclusively establishing a volcanic influence on ENSO given the many degrees of freedom affecting the response, including eruption season, spatial characteristics of the forcing, and ENSO phase preconditioning.


Background: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a common and serious complication after cardiac surgery. The influence of statin use before surgery on the renal outcome of patients undergoing cardiac surgery is controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of statins on postoperative renal outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: We included CSA-AKI patients in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)—IV database and were divided into statin group and non-statin group according to whether they used statins before entering intensive care units (ICU). The main outcomes were hospitalization and 30-day mortality, and the secondary outcomes were 60-day mortality and 90-day mortality. We used propensity score matching (PSM) to adjust for confounding factors. The 95% confidence interval (CI) and risk ratio (RO) were calculated by the COX proportional regression model. At the same time, stratified analysis was used to explore whether the relationship between the statins use before intensive care units and mortality was different in each subgroup and whether the relationship between different doses of Atorvastatin and mortality was different. Result: We identified 675 pre-ICU statin users and 2095 non-statin users. In the COX proportional regression model, pre-ICU statin use was associated with decreased in-hospital (HR = 0.407, 95%confidence interval 0.278–0.595, p < 0.001) and 30-day mortality (HR = 0.407, 95%CI 0.279–0.595, p < 0.001). The survival rate of patients who took statins before entering ICU was significantly higher than that of those who did not use statins at 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. There is a significant interaction between patients with aged>65 years (HR = 0.373, 95%CI 0.240–0.581, p < 0.001), Acute kidney injury grade I (HR = 0.244, 95%CI 0.118–0.428, p < 0.001), and without post-myocardial infarction syndrome (HR = 0.344, 95%CI 0.218–0.542, p < 0.001). The mortality in hospital and 60 days of CSA-AKI patients treated with ≥80 mg Atorvastatin before operation was significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The pre-ICU statin use was significantly associated with decreased risk in hospital and 30-day mortality. The preoperative use of ≥80 mg Atorvastatin may improve the prognosis of CSA-AKI.


Abstract Long-term planning is essential for larger institutions to achieve sustainable goals and visions. To be truly sustainable, individual projects must fit within a larger scope of campus planning. Landscape and site systems such as parking, transportation, pedestrian connectivity, storm water treatment, and human health and well-being must be considered and coordinated. The Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, New York, is an example of effective long-term master planning that takes into account both building sustainability and site sustainability. Master planning for the campus incorporated guidelines such as creating a healing environment, improving wayfinding and site circulation, minimizing impervious surfaces, and increasing stormwater quality. Individual projects were incorporated under the master plan to express the overall vision and create a more sustainable campus with numerous opportunities to view and experience gardens and nature. The Emergency Department addition received LEED Silver certi...


Master the graphic design and production skills required of today's video editors and motion graphic professionals with this comprehensive guide to the video tools in Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended. Every page is filled with techniques to help the video professional make graphics for use in television, video, the Internet, and DVD. Lively discourse, full-color presentations, and hands-on tutorials demonstrate everything you need to know about how to combine still and moving images. Fundamental concepts such as transparency, pixel aspect ratio, and alpha channels are made precisely clear, and advanced techniques show how to use Photoshop as a character generator, color corrector, and animation tool.This edition features expanded coverage of DVD and motion graphics design, as well as addressing recent developments in High Definition video, 3D models, and 32-bit imaging. This indispensable reference includes:* real-world solutions for making graphics for video* introduction to third party plug-ins* automation and shortcut methods that cut production time* profiles of notable editors and motion graphic artists that include their favorite tips and tricksThe DVD offers a hands-on multimedia experience with hundreds of images to work on, tutorials to complete and 2 hours of video training to watch.Authored in CS3, CS4 updates are provided to readers by the publisher. * Real-world solutions for making graphics for video, motion graphics, and DVD authoring * Expanded coverage of High Def video * 16-bit and 32-bit image processing techniques for greater color fidelity * Integration guides for top selling Editing, Motion Graphics, and DVD software * Automation and shortcut methods that cut production time and improve final product* Downloadable extras for Photoshop CS3 Extended


The current research draws from ambivalent sexism theory to examine potential gender differences in the quantity and quality of developmental work experiences. In a sample of managers in the energy industry, men and women reported participating in a similar number of developmental experiences (with comparable levels of support), but men rated these experiences as more challenging and received more negative feedback than did women. Similarly, a sample of female managers in the health care industry reported comparable amounts, but less challenging types, of developmental experiences than their male counterparts'. The results of three complementary experiments suggest that benevolent sexism is negatively related to men's assignment of challenging experiences to female targets but that men and women were equally likely to express interest in challenging experiences. Taken together, these results suggest that stereotype-based beliefs that women should be protected may limit women's exposure to challenging assignments, which in turn may partially explain the underrepresentation of women at the highest levels of organizations.


This article applies mixed methods to examine if PRC leadership change in 2012 – from the Hu Jintao government to the Xi Jinping administration – has led to significant changes in China's international human rights policy. Empirical analyses characterise a discursively moderate China whose international human rights statements in the Xi-era are no more contentious than during Hu Jintao's time. Despite its communicative moderation, Xi's China is found to have pursued an agenda of international human rights policy that is more ambitious and revisionist than before. China under Xi's rule is no longer content with passively defending its human rights governance model but has actively promoted this model internationally. The Xi Jinping administration has undertaken to market its illiberal model of national development as the new universal framework for the international human rights system. By doing so, Xi's China is bound to undermine the liberal foundation of international human rights norms.


The binding energy between 3d transition metals (TM) such as iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu), and boron (B) in Si are studied using first-principles molecular dynamics method. The binding energies of between each TM for Fe, Ni, Cu and B are 0.64,0.57,and 0.44eV respectively, and the binding energy of Fe and B is the largest, on the other hand, binding energy of Ni and B is the smallest. This result is well in agreement with the experiment fact that Fe and Cu exist as a positive charge in P+ silicon, so it is easy to combine with the B, which has a negative charge, on the other hand, Ni exists in the state of neutrality electrically in P+ silicon, so it can not combine with B atom.


With the advent of improved therapy, many of the childhood malignant diseases have become chronic. This group of patients and their families demonstrate many problems usually not associated with the primary disease, but which can become incapacitating. School phobia was selected as one such problem for this study. The 11 cases reported here demonstrate the insidious and subtle nature of the onset of the disease. With aggressive management, some long-standing cases of school phobia could be reversed, but not all. In a group subjected to a prophylactic regime at the onset of their malignant neoplasm, there have been no new cases of school phobia. It is important for pediatricians caring for these children to search actively for the signs of school phobia and intervene as soon as possible.


Aims: Observed changes in subcategories of injury death were used to test the hypothesis that a sizeable proportion of ''injury deaths of undetermined intent'' (Y10—Y34 in ICD 10) in the Baltic and Slavic countries after the USSR dissolved in 1991 were hidden suicides. Methods: Using male age-adjusted suicide rates for two distinctly different periods, 1981—90 and 1992—2005, changes, ratios and correlations were calculated. The data were compared with the EU average. Results: After the USSR broke up, the obligation to make a definitive diagnosis became less strict. A massive increase in ''injury deaths of undetermined intent'' resulted. The mean rate for the second period reached 52.8 per 100,000 males in Russia (the highest rate) and 12.9 in Lithuania (the lowest), against 3.2 in EU-15. The rise from the first to the second period was highest in Belarus (56%) and Russia (44%). The number of injury deaths of undetermined intent was almost equal to that of suicides in Russia in 2005 (ratio 1.0) and Ukraine in 2002 (1.1). In all the countries, especially the Slavic ones, prevalence trends of injury-death subcategories were uniform, i.e. strongly correlated over time. No direct substitution of one diagnosis for another was evident. Conclusions: There is no evidence that the category of ''injury deaths of undetermined intent'' in the Baltic and Slavic countries hides suicides alone. Aggregate level analysis indicates that accidents and homicides could sometimes be diagnosed as undetermined.


The hydrochemistry characteristics of the Andalgala river basin (province of Catamarca, Argentina) are analyzed in the present study. In this zone there are metal sulphide deposits which could generate acid mine drainage (AMD). The analyzed information has come fundamentally from the Program of Quality of Water of the companies that have explored the zone since 1995. Many of the records of water quality analyzed included systematic errors and have been discarded. Two types of hydrochemistry facies are observed: 1) in the Minas subbasin, where the sulphide deposits outcrop, the water is sulphate calcium, with low values of pH and elevated concentrations of metals due to a natural process of sulphide oxidation (acid rock drainage or ARD) and 2) in the rest of the basin the water is bicarbonate calcium type, with a low alkalinity due to the carbonated mineral absence in the zone. Due to the lower flow, the acid contribution of the Minas river is neutralized when mixing with other tributaries, so that when coming out of the river basin the water quality is acceptable. However, an increase in the acidity transported by the Minas river by the exploitation of sulphide deposits could jeopardize the current water uses, including supplying a population of 14,000 inhabitants.


Abstract : Shear layer turbulence near the surface of an aircraft causes degradation to image quality for onboard imaging sensors looking through this layer. Real time correction of these images for immediate use by the operators or onboard electronics is of interest. This effort addressed the development of high speed computational hardware that can perform image reconstruction using turbulence characteristic data. Specifically, we collaborated with UCSD and ERIM on the development of an optically augmented electronic computer for high speed inverse transform calculations to enable real time image reconstruction. The joint effort included FFT algorithm assessment and mapping considerations for optically interconnected and enhanced computer architectures (such as the Hughes 3-D computer and possibly multiple FFT/DSP modules). as well as the development (by UCSD) of optical interconnect hardware, The phase diverse speckle imaging approach developed by the ERIM team was the primary focus of algorithm assessments. Based on projections using next generation DSP and FFT chips, the phase diverse speckle approach was estimated to provide a potential for approximately 30 Hz image reconstruction with 256x256 images.


PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to increase the scholarly understanding of managerial growth aspirations in small firms. Research has shown that managers' aspirations are important to ensure firms' growth, but researchers know less of where their aspirations come from and how variation in these aspirations shapes organizational outcomes. By focusing on two growth strategies of particular importance for small firms – innovation and internationalization – the authors map out how managers' ambitious aspirations may create negative organizational effects and also how they may counteract such effects.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) on a sample of 249 Norwegian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that managerial experience is associated with high aspirations as well as high change effectiveness on the managerial team. The authors find that ambitious growth aspirations are associated with exploration in the form of radical innovation but also lead to reduced employee well-being. Managers' level of perceived change effectiveness, on the other hand, is positively associated with radical innovation and also raises employee well-being.Research limitations/implicationsThis study highlights the positive and negative effects of managerial aspirations on different organizational outcomes. Further, it shows that managerial teams working effectively together in the face of change is important for the well-being of employees. Results confirm the positive relationship between aspirations for growth and applied growth strategies in organizations. The data sample is, however, extracted from one country only, and the authors cannot exclude the possibility that findings will be different elsewhere.Practical implicationsTo ensure successful growth, managers should combine ambitious aspirations with attention to the top management team's (TMT) experience levels and change effectiveness. Assessment of possible needs for development and adjustments could ensure growth processes with limited negative effects for employee well-being.Originality/valueBy distinguishing between growth through international sales (exploitation) and growth through a more change-intensive strategy of radical innovation (exploration), the authors investigate how variations in managerial aspirations and perceptions influence organizational growth processes. This paper paints a unique picture of how managers can be both the cause and cure of employee well-being in change-demanding situations.


The main purpose of this study was to examine the structural relationships between scientific epistemological views (SEVs) and information commitments (ICs) of high school students in Taiwan. Data were collected from 486 Taiwanese high school students via two self‐reporting instruments: one was the SEV questionnaire, including five scales for representing students' views toward scientific knowledge; and the other was the ICs survey, involving six scales for exploring their evaluative standards and searching strategies of online science information. Structural equation modelling analysis was used to examine the relationships between the aspects of SEVs and ICs. The results of the measurement model confirmed that both the SEVs and ICs instruments had highly satisfactory validity and reliability. The structural equation modelling analysis further indicated that students' SEVs guided their evaluative standards and searching strategy when dealing with Web‐based science information. For example, students who viewed scientific knowledge as more changeable and tentative significantly tended to adopt a more sophisticated evaluative standard, such as carefully inspecting the content of web sites for judging the usefulness. The findings in general suggested that students with more constructivist‐oriented SEVs might develop more advanced standards and searching strategy toward online scientific information to derive great benefit from Web‐based environments. Consequently, the role of SEVs should be highlighted as increasingly metacognitive engagement with online science information.


The combined connection with welds and bolds has advantages of both welds and bolts connections, and can be widely used in reinforcing the joint in steel structure. In this paper, the Finite Element Method (FEM) was taken to analyze the carrying capacity of the combined connection with bolts and welds, and the results ware compared with those come from experimental investigation. Further analysis based on FEM ware performed to research the failure mode and bearing performance of the combined connection and the contribution of bolts and welds .Advice was provided for related design.


Many studies have examined the role of racial prejudice and discrimination in the creation of racial residential segregation in US cities. Yet few researchers have situated early twentieth-century meanings of race and racism within broader processes of urban development and the emergence of the modern real estate industry. Using a case study of Kansas City, Missouri, this article examines the organized efforts of community builders and homeowner associations to create racially homogeneous neighborhoods through the use and enforcement of racially restrictive covenants. Racially restrictive covenants encoded racial difference in urban space and helped nurture emerging racial prejudices and stereotypes that associated black residence with declining property values, deteriorating neighborhoods and other negative consequences. I argue that the cultivation and development of this segregationist ideology was simultaneously an exercise in the "racialization of urban space" that linked race and culturally specific behavior to place of residence in the city. As the twentieth century progressed, the identification of black behavior and culture with deteriorating neighborhoods became an important impetus and justification for exclusionary real estate practices designed to create and maintain the geographical separation of the races and control metropolitan development. I conclude with a discussion of how the linkage between race, racism and urban space helps to explain why racial residential segregation remains a persistent and tenacious feature of US metropolitan areas despite the passage of fair housing and numerous anti-discrimination statutes over the past decades. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2000.


The present investigation had the objective to study the changes in the atherogenic index and the lipid preventive score as nutrition indicators for assessment of the risk of cardio-vascular diseases. The study was performed with buffalo milk, obtained from purebred Bulgarian Murrah buffaloes from II lactation, reared in the herd of the private farm in Dimitrievo village. The content of saturated fatty acids in buffalo yogurt is higher than in raw milk at the expense of unsaturated fatty acids. Omega-6/omega-3 ratio varies from 3.58 for yogurt to 4.30 for raw milk, which is within the range of the optimal values for healthy nutrition. The atherogenic index was calculated on the obtained values for the lauric (C12:0), myristic (C14:0) and palmitic (C16:0) acids and the unsaturated fatty acids. The obtained data for the raw milk and yoghurt are 2.68 and 3.24, respectively. The values of lipid preventive score calculated on the basis of fat content and fatty acid groups - saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, showing the degree of preventive effect regarding the risk of cardiovascular disease, are 12.42 for raw milk and 14.52 for the produced yogurt, respectively.


Thermal spray coatings as Cr3C2-NiCr obtained by high velocity oxy-fuel spraying (HVOF) are mainly applied due to their behaviour against aggressive erosive-abrasive and corrosive atmospheres and their thermal stability at high temperatures. In order to increase the corrosion protection that it offers to the substrate trying to close the interconnected pores, it is possible to apply a thermal treatment with the gun during the spraying of the coating. This treatment could be applied in different ways. One of these ways consists of spraying only a few layers of coating followed by thermal treatment and finally the spray of the rest of layers. This thermal treatment on spraying is studied related to the corrosion properties of the system. The study comprises the electrochemical characterisation of the system by open circuit potential (OC), polarisation resistance (Rp), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance spectroscopy measurements (EIS). Optical and scanning electron microscopy characterisation (OM and SEM) of the top and cross-section of the system has been used in order to justify the electrochemical results.


Abstract Ethologist Konrad Lorenz proposed that baby schema ('Kindchenschema') is a set of infantile physical features such as the large head, round face and big eyes that is perceived as cute and motivates caretaking behavior in other individuals, with the evolutionary function of enhancing offspring survival. Previous work on this fundamental concept was restricted to schematic baby representations or correlative approaches. Here, we experimentally tested the effects of baby schema on the perception of cuteness and the motivation for caretaking using photographs of infant faces. Employing quantitative techniques, we parametrically manipulated the baby schema content to produce infant faces with high (e.g. round face and high forehead), and low (e. g. narrow face and low forehead) baby schema features that retained all the characteristics of a photographic portrait. Undergraduate students (n = 122) rated these infants' cuteness and their motivation to take care of them. The high baby schema infants were rated as more cute and elicited stronger motivation for caretaking than the unmanipulated and the low baby schema infants. This is the first experimental proof of the baby schema effects in actual infant faces. Our findings indicate that the baby schema response is a critical function of human social cognition that may be the basis of caregiving and have implications for infant–caretaker interactions.


Large conductance calcium activated potassium channels (BK) are ubiquitous in the membranes of all excitable cells and are responsible for limiting action potential propagation and cell function by hyperpolarising action potentials, there is evidence that BK channels are important for the function of pancreatic β cells. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a reactive oxygen species commonly found in all cell types and known to have an effect on BK channels. In this study electrophysiology and fluorescence imaging were used determine the effect of hydrogen peroxide on BK channel activity and action potential shaping. In single-channel patches BK channels were activated by hydrogen peroxide with a bell-shaped relationship, 1 µM H2O2 was shown to be the most stimulatory concentration, identified by a 1000-fold increase in open channel probability (p = 0.0280). From whole-cell recordings, carried out to confirm activity across the whole cell and measure the voltage dependent effects, it was shown that this was a universal effect across the entire cell membrane with a 24% increase in potassium current amplitude (p = 0.0224), the effect of hydrogen peroxide acting on BK was confirmed by the blockers quinine and paxilline. Inside-out patch showed that hydrogen peroxide acted directly on channels to stimulate channel opening (p = 0.0141). Current-clamp recordings showed that hydrogen peroxide had no significant effect on the shape of action potentials in terms of baseline membrane potential, peak amplitude; half-width and maximum rate of decay of spiking, stimulated by 2.5 and 10 mM glucose. Through calcium imaging it was observed that H2O2 had no significant effect on calcium influx. It was concluded that although hydrogen peroxide directly activates BK channels in β cells, this effect is insufficient to alter the shape of glucose-stimulated action potentials or calcium influx.


Introduction There is an urgent need to create tools to quantify collagen in liver fibrosis to facilitate stratification of disease and development of anti-fibrotic agents. Multiphoton microscopy enables imaging of unstained biopsies using endogenous sources of non-linear signals such as Two-Photon Excitation Fluorescence (TPEF) and Second Harmonic Generation (SHG). SHG allows specific detection of non-centrosymmetric structures such as fibrillar collagen, mainly type I. The SHG score is a measure of relative collagen area and is obtained by post-acquisition SHG/TPEF image processing. We have assessed the ability of our method to quantify collagen in advanced fibrosis due to CHC, with respect to Ishak stage (IS). Methods Biopsies from patients with advanced fibrosis (IS ≥3) were selected from 1 centre in the Trent Study of Patients with Hepatitis C Virus, a prospective cohort study formed in 1991. Index biopsies prior to 2008 were selected and notes reviewed for subsequent liver related outcomes (LRO). LRO was defined as variceal bleed, ascites, encephalopathy, HCC or liver related death. SHG was measured on 4μm FFPE sections. A mask of the biopsy area was created with TPEF. Image processing was performed by two independent researchers, blinded to Ishak stage, using in-house macros and each using different software (Image J & Matlab). PASW 17.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results The SHG score was acquired in 58 of 83 biopsies (66%). 25 were excluded due to signal artefact from paraffin, obscuring SHG signal from collagen. There was no significant difference in scoring by two researchers (p<0.001). The median SHG score was 15.96% (IQR 11.3–21.3%). Abstract PMO-150 figure 1 shows the median SHG score for each IS. SHG signal increased with disease severity (IS3:10.1%; IS4:14.1%; IS5:14.1%; IS6:21.2%). LRO occurred in 15 patients after a median of 57 months post-biopsy. The mean SHG score at index biopsy was 19.1% in those with, and 16.6% in those without subsequent LRO (non-significant difference, p>0.05).Abstract PMO-150 Figure 1 Conclusion SHG has proved to be a valuable method of quantifying collagen in liver fibrosis and does not require standard histochemical stains. Further development of this quantitative measure may result in a tool to assess response to anti-fibrotic therapy and progression to clinical endpoints. Competing interests None declared. References 1. Gailhouste L, et al. Fibrillar collagen scoring by second harmonic microscopy: A new tool in the assessment of liver fibrosis. J Hep 2010;52:398–406. 2. Guilbert T, et al. A robust collagen scoring method for human liver fibrosis by second harmonic microscopy. Opt Expr 2010;18:25794–807.


Breast cancer is a major public health problem in Romania, representing the first cause of mortality for women between 15 and 49 years old. Despite the latest developments in medication, surgery continues to represent a crucial role in breast cancer treatment. Studies analyzing mastectomy versus breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by radiation therapy show comparable overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate. However, the percentage of women electing BCS varies depending on country. Age is considered the most frequent sociodemographic factor affecting the choice of surgery. We studied a small lot of patients to assess whether the surgical choice of patients with breast cancer could be correlated with global trends. The patients were diagnosed with early-stages (IA-IIIA) breast cancer and underwent either BCS or mastectomy. The results show that 28 patients (32.94%) underwent breast-conserving surgery, while the remaining 57 patients (67.05%) had mastectomy, from a total of 85 women. There was no significant difference between the age groups in term of surgical choice. Patients aged younger than 50 years of age chose radical mastectomy in greater numbers compared to the ones who chose BCS: 65.63% (21 patients) had mastectomy while 34.38% (11 patients) had BCS. Regarding the 50 to 64 years old age group, mastectomy was performed on 25 patients (67.57%) versus 12 patients (32.43%) who had BCS. Patients older than 65 years old also predominately underwent mastectomy (11 patients; 68.75%), whilst 5 patients (31.25%) had BCS.


Todays industrialized nations produce a steadily rising amount of waste containing huge
amounts of valuable plastics and metals (i.e. WEEE, SLF) as well as waste resulting
from refinery processes (i.e. PFO). These modern waste streams demand for alternative
treatment methods to either expand their usage with recycling or to recover their energy,
when recycling is not possible or economically feasible. Especially, intense metallurgic
industries are highly dependent on fossil fuels and could benefit with respect to both CO2
emissions and fuel costs when a co-combustion together with waste-derived fuels would
be applied. However, high shares of chlorine, sulfur and other problematic substances
present in these modern waste streams can led to environmental and technical difficulties.
Before experimental studies need to be done, combustion simulations can help selecting
a potential fuel for co-combustion. In this work, seven different waste-derived fuels
with differing yearly availabilities, compositions and heating values were investigated,
regarding a potential co-combustion with propane in an aluminum recycling process. For
the investigation, CHEMKIN PRO simulations were performed for each waste-derived
fuel to consider their quantitative effect on the combustion. The results of the simulations
together with other evaluation criteria, i.e. several environmental constraints regarding
emission limitations and economical boundaries, were used to find the most promising
waste-derived fuel for a potential future co-combustion in an aluminum smelting plant.
According to the results of this thesis, PFO seems to be the most promising waste-derived
fuel to be used in a future co-combustion process.


Autoregressive Attentive Sequence-to-Sequence (S2S) speech synthesis is considered state-of-the-art in terms of speech quality and naturalness, as evaluated on a finite set of testing utterances. However, it can occasionally suffer from stability issues at inference time, such as local intelligibility problems or utterance incompletion. Frequently, a model's stability varies from one checkpoint to another, even after the training loss shows signs of convergence, making the selection of a stable model a tedious and time-consuming task. In this work we propose a novel stability metric designed for automatic checkpoint selection based on incomplete utterance counts within a validation set. The metric is based solely on attention matrix analysis in inference mode and requires no ground-truth output targets. The proposal runs 125 times faster than real-time on a GPU (TeslaK80), allowing convenient incorporation during training to filter out unstable checkpoints, and we demonstrate, via objective and perceptual metrics, its effectiveness in selecting a robust model that attains a good trade-off between stability and quality.


Instances of computational problems do not exist in isolation. Rather, multiple and correlated instances of the same problem arise naturally in the real world. The challenge is how to gain computationally from correlations when they can be found.
[DGH, ITCS 2015] showed that significant computational gains can be made by having access to auxiliary instances which are correlated to the primary problem instance via the solution space. They demonstrate this for constraint satisfaction problems, which are NP-hard in the general worst case form.

Here, we set out to study the impact of having access to correlated instances on the complexity of polynomial time problems. Namely, for a problem P that is conjectured to require time n^c for c>0,
we ask whether access to a few instances of P that are correlated in some natural way can be used to solve P on one of them (the designated "primary instance") faster than the conjectured lower bound of n^c.

We focus our attention on a number of problems: the Longest Common Subsequence (LCS), the minimum Edit Distance between sequences, and Dynamic Time Warping Distance (DTWD) of curves, for all of which the best known algorithms achieve O(n^2/polylog(n)) runtime via dynamic programming. These problems form an interesting case in point to study, as it has been shown that a O(n^(2 - epsilon)) time algorithm for a worst-case instance would imply improved algorithms
for a host of other problems as well as disprove complexity hypotheses such as the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis.

We show how to use access to a logarithmic number of auxiliary correlated instances, to design novel o(n^2) time algorithms for LCS, EDIT, DTWD, and more generally improved algorithms for computing any tuple-based similarity measure - a generalization which we define within on strings. For the multiple sequence alignment problem on k strings, this yields an O(nk\log n) algorithm
contrasting with classical O(n^k) dynamic programming.

Our results hold for several correlation models between the primary and the auxiliary instances. In the most general correlation model we address, we assume that the primary instance is a worst-case instance and the auxiliary instances are chosen with uniform distribution subject to the constraint that their alignments are
epsilon-correlated with the optimal alignment of the primary instance. We emphasize that optimal solutions for the auxiliary instances will not generally coincide with optimal solutions for the worst case primary instance.

We view our work as pointing out a new avenue for looking for significant improvements for sequence alignment problems and
computing similarity measures, by taking advantage of access to sequences which are correlated through natural generating processes.
In this first work we show how to take advantage of mathematically inspired simple clean models of correlation - the intriguing question, looking forward, is to find correlation models which coincide with evolutionary models and other relationships and for which our approach to multiple sequence alignment gives provable guarantees.


Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an economically important avian virus that causes
loss to the poultry industry. It has a wide host range infecting 27 of the 50 orders of
birds. Generally, the virus consists of six structural proteins: nucleocapsid (NP),
phosphoprotein (P), matrix (M), fusion (F), haemagglutinin-neuramidase (HN) and
large (L). The NP protein resembles the classical herringbone morphology when
observed under electron microscope. However, the morphology changed into
individual ring-like particles when the myc epitope and six histidine residues were
fused to the C-terminal end of the protein. Further investigation showed that the C-terminus
of this protein derivative is exposed on the surface of the ring-like
particles. In this project, several chimeric proteins have been constructed in which
the antigenic regions of the HN or F protein of NDV strain AF2240, myc epitope and six histidine residues were linked to the C-tenninus of the NP protein. The
chimeric proteins were expressed efficiently in Escherichia coli as detected by
Western blot analysis. Electron microscopic analysis on these proteins revealed that
they assembled into ring-like particles. These chimeric NP proteins exhibited
antigenicity of the myc epitope suggesting that the foreign sequences were exposed
on the surface of the particles. Chickens vaccinated with the chimeric particles
exhibited an immune response against NDY. However, no protection was observed
when the vaccinated chickens were challenged by the virus.


12Cr heat resistant steels with different concentration of Co and W, while Mo equivalent (Mo+1/2W) was fixed at 1.6, were prepared by arc-melting and hot rolling. Mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile tests conducted with the strain rate 2×10-5S-1 at 575oC, 600oC and 625oC instead of time-consuming creep tests. The results show that when Co content is fixed, the steel with 1.5 wt% W is found having the best deformation resistance which is strong work hardening and slow strain softening. Apparent activation energy of the steel with 3.1 wt% Co and 1.5 wt% W is in the range of 370~413 kJ/mol, higher than those of the other steels in our study, which are close to the self-diffusion activation energy of iron (239 kJ/mol). Therefore, the steel with 3.1 % Co and 1.5% W is suggested as a potential candidate material for 625oC~650oC class USC steam turbines.


We investigated the effects of erdosteine on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), and ALT (alanine transaminase) activities, and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide levels as oxidant/antioxidant biochemical parameters were investigated with light microscopic evaluation in adult female Wistar Albino rats. APAP administration produced a decrease in hepatic SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px activities, and coadministration of erdosteine (150 and 300 mg/kg) resulted in increases in the activities. MDA and NO levels increased in the APAP group, and erdosteine treatments prevented these increases. Significant elevations in serum AST and ALT levels were observed in the APAP group, and when erdosteine and APAP were coadministered, their serum levels were close to those in the control group. Light microscopic evaluation of livers showed that there were remarkable centrilobular (zone III) hepatic necrosis and mild to moderate sinusoidal congestion in the APAP group, whereas in the erdosteine group, cellular necrosis was minimal and the hepatocytes maintained a better morphology when compared to the APAP group. Erdosteine prevented APAP-induced liver injury and toxic side effects probably through the antioxidant and radical scavenging effects of erdosteine.


Ramp isometric contractions determine peak torque (PT) and neuromuscular activation (NA), and ballistic contractions can be used to evaluate rate of torque development (RTD) and electrical mechanical delay (EMD). The purposes of this study were to assess the number of sessions required to stabilize ramp and ballistic PT and to compare PT and NA between contractions in older adults. Thirty-five older men and women (age 63.7 ± 3.7 yr, body mass 64.3 ± 10.7 kg, height 159.2 ± 6.6 cm) performed 4 sessions of unilateral ramp and ballistic isometric knee extension, 48 hr apart. PT significantly increased (main time effect p < .05) from the first to the third session, with no further improvements thereafter. There was a trend toward higher PT in ballistic than in ramp contractions. No difference between contraction types on EMG values was observed. Therefore, the authors suggest that 3 familiarization sessions be performed to correctly assess PT. In addition, PT, NA, RTD, and EMD can be assessed with ballistic contraction in older adults.


CeO2 nano-sized crystalline powders were prepared by sol-gel combustion method from ammonium cerium nitrate and citric acid, and the dependences of the particle size of synthesized powder on the precursor gel were investigated. The precursor gels and the synthesized powders were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray scattering (XRD). The colloid particle with nanometer size was firstly observed by FE-SEM, and its size variation had the same tendency as that of CeO2 powders with the varying of the ratio of metal ions to citric acid. Furthermore, the probable reasons for the effect of gel structure on properties of nano-sized ceria powders prepared by sol-gel combustion were explained.


Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is a nosocomial lower respiratory tract infection that ensues in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. The reported incidence of VAP varies between 9% and 68% with a mortality ranging between 33% and 71%. Two key factors are implicated in the pathogenesis of VAP: bacterial colonization of the upper digestive-respiratory tract and aspiration of oral secretions into the trachea. Preventive measurements are advocated to reduce the incidence of VAP, such as selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD), supraglottic aspiration and positioning. Prompt recognition and treatment of established VAP has also been demostrated to affect outcome. Therefore, the knowledge of risk factors asso ciated with the development of VAP and the implementation of strategies to prevent, diagnose and treat VAP are mainstems in the nursing of mechanically ventilated patients.


To the Editor. —Crawford 1 has described a set of probes and a hook for placement of silicone tubing in the lacrimal drainage system. 2 I have found this original intubation set to be especially useful in children and have used it without incident in approximately 25 pediatric cases since 1980. Recently, I have treated two cases in which a new version of the Crawford hook broke during attempted delivery of the probe from the nose. Report of Cases.—Case 1. —A 17-month-old boy had a congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction. A previous probing at 15 months of age had failed to clear the obstruction. Firm scar tissue was encountered in the distal nasolacrimal duct during intubation. The inferior turbinate was fractured medially to allow better access by the Crawford probe. The Crawford hook that was used had been purchased in August 1986, and was new. It broke promptly after the


The demand for natural foods has been growing steadily over the past decade. As more mainstream grocers and investor-owned, natural food chains respond to this increased demand, the viability of local, independent natural food co-ops (TCNFCs) was used to assess organizational options. The study employed a customer survey to determine characteristics and preferences of co-op shoppers. The survey results were used in conjunction with a schema that analyzed the interaction among market forces, store differences, and customer factors to make recommendations to the TCNFCs. This analysis suggests that in the short run, these stores should employ a federated cooperative structure to accommodate a city-wide co-op membership and increase joint ventures among the co-ops. In the long run, the scale and scope of the federated co-op should be increased to enter new markets as a centralized co-op.


Recent research in the fields of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and virtual technologies suggest some potentially new and beneficial therapies that may help returning servicemen who present symptoms of psychological stress. CAM therapies are now being validated with evidence-based research. Data from the emerging field of Self-Perception Theory shows that use of avatars in virtual worlds can affect a user's psychology and behavior. These findings and discussions with psychologists who use Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (a validated CAM therapy), and advice from experts in military social work, has led us to develop a virtual jogging system in the online virtual world of Second Life. Our system is novel in that we use breathing to control the movement of the avatar rather than keyboard controls. There is no spirometer but breath detection is instead done with a microphone by using the seldom-used volume level detection technology available in Second Life that is interpreted through a custom scripting solution.


This article explains how pasteurization—with few outspoken political supporters during this period—first became a primary milk purification strategy in Chicago and why eight years passed between pasteurization's initial introduction into law and the city's adoption of full mandatory pasteurization. It expands the current focus on the political agreement to pasteurize to include the organizational processes involved in incorporating pasteurization into both policy and practice. It shows that the decision to pasteurize did not occur at a clearly defined point but instead evolved over time as a consequence of the interplay of political interest groups, state-municipal legal relations, and the merging of different organizational practices. Such an approach considerably complicates and expands existing accounts of how political interests and agreements shaped pasteurization and milk purification policies and practice.


ChatGPT can be, as an interactive information platform, used to facilitate learning about the psychological effects of sexual violence. Since its approach is interactive and also that it is easily accessible, it can aid in the dissemination of information, the prevention of sexual violence and its treatment. Further, it can be incorporated into the curriculum to help raise awareness about this delicate subject and aid the affected students.


One of the most important problems with rule induction methods is that it is very difficult for domain experts to check millions of rules generated from large datasets, although the discovery from these rules requires deep interpretation from domain knowledge. Although several solutions have been proposed in the studies on data mining and knowledge discovery, these studies are not focused on similarities between rules obtained. When one rule r_1 has reasonable features and the other rule r_2 with high similarity to r_1 includes unexpected factors, the relations between these rules will become a trigger to the discovery of knowledge. In this paper, we propose a visualization approach to show the similarity relations between rules based on multidimensional scaling, which assign a two-dimensional cartesian coordinate to each data point from the information about similarities between this data and others data. We evaluated this method on two medical data sets, whose experimental results show that knowledge useful for domain experts can be found.


Close cylindroid shells are widely used in many industrial branches. Membrane theory of shells is used to take an analytical solution to investigate the internal force distributions and deformation laws of such shells. The result shows that, under the condition of two-point simple supports, among three force components(meridional force T1, circumferential force T2, and shear force T12), T1 is the dominant one, which is negative (compressional) in the vicinity of the neutral axis, and becomes positive (tensional) after being away from the neutral axis. The shear force T12 is rather like a sine curve, which changes its sign at the neutral axis. This type of shear force distribution leads to a warp deformation within the cylinder. T2 is always the tensional force, and when comparing to the other two components, it is too small to be dominant in shell designing. Somewhat similar to the three force components, among the three deformation components, the normal displacement w is the extreme one, and also it varies acutely. The circumferential displacement v is much less than w, which is compressive below the neutral axis, and becomes tensile above the neutral axis. In the nearby of neutral axis, v is nearly zero. Compared to w and v, the meridional displacement u is always the minimal.


With this study, we update research by Ocasio and Kim (1999) by testing whether the trends that favored the prevalence of CEOs with an operations background in the 1980s and early 1990s continued between 1992 and 2005. Given that supply chain management became a top business priority during this period, we expect a greater prevalence of CEOs with an operations background. This is because, traditionally, executives belonging to the operations function have assumed responsibility for supply chain management issues. Our results, based on a sample of 437 CEOs who lead large-sized U.S. firms in eight industries, provide partial support for the hypothesis that CEOs with a functional background in operations attain higher post-succession performance than CEOs with other functional backgrounds. In addition, we find that the likelihood that newly appointed CEOs have a background in operations is greater in succession events that have taken place more recently and in situations that occurred in the face of poor firm financial performance.


Transactions commonly known as "cross-border tax arbitrages" take advantage of inconsistencies between countries' tax rules to achieve more favorable tax results than could have been achieved by investing just in one country. Examples include "dual resident companies" and "double dip leases," in which clever structuring may enable a multinational enterprise to claim the same deduction in two countries. This article analyzes the national and worldwide welfare considerations that may be relevant to a country's deciding whether to allow tax benefits that will be thus duplicated, taking into account strategic interactions with other countries. It also briefly discusses cross-border tax arbitrage in relation to tax harmonization and the proposed creation of multilateral tax institutions akin to the GATT and WTO.


The Constitutional Court decisions as important sources of law are discussed in the article "New Trends in the Jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court". The Constitution by the way of interpretation is very close to the Constitutional Court decisions as sources of law. The article deals with the problems of methods of interpretation of the Constitution. New trends in the Constitutional Court's jurisprudence are indicated. One of them is related with the problems of execution of powers of Constitutional Court interpreted in the Constitutional Court law and the other – with the problems of the text of the Constitution. New trends of the Constitutional Court Jurisprudence are analysed in the context of the newest Constitutional Court decisions. The problem of the changing doctrine of interpretation in the decisions of the Constitutional Court is also discussed. This problem is a subject of special interest when the legal regulation of the interpreted subjects is identical. New possible trends of Constitutional Court jurisprudence, related to the possibility of a person to address with the complaint to Constitutional Court directly is also discussed.


In recent years, IEEE 1057-94 Standard for specifying and testing measurement devices based on analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) earned scientific interest in several topics. In particular, investigations showed the histogram test of the Standard to be insensitive to ADC hysteresis. In this paper, an alternative procedure for determining the dynamic transfer function of an ADC with hysteresis is proposed. The procedure exploits digital signal processing to reduce the huge amount of data required by the histogram test. Numerical and experimental results of performance characterization, comparison with a state-of-the-art procedure and noise-sensitivity analysis are presented and discussed.


BACKGROUND
Asymptomatic colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been described as a risk factor for subsequent MRSA infection. MRSA is an important nosocomial pathogen but has currently been reported in patients without typical risk factors for nosocomial acquisition. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of asymptomatic nares MRSA colonization on the development of subsequent MRSA infection. The incidence of MRSA infection was examined in patients with and patients without MRSA or methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) colonization at admission to the hospital and in those who developed colonization during hospitalization.

METHODS
Patients admitted to 5 representative hospital units were prospectively evaluated. Nares samples were obtained for culture at admission and during hospitalization. Laboratory culture results were monitored to identify all MRSA infections that occurred during the study period and 1 year thereafter.

RESULTS
Of the 758 patients who had cultures of nares samples performed at admission, 3.4% were colonized with MRSA, and 21% were colonized with MSSA. A total of 19% of patients with MRSA colonization at admission and 25% who acquired MRSA colonization during hospitalization developed infection with MRSA, compared with 1.5% and 2.0% of patients colonized with MSSA (P<.01) and uncolonized (P<.01), respectively, at admission. MRSA colonization at admission increased the risk of subsequent MRSA infection, compared with MSSA colonization (relative risk [RR], 13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7-64) or no staphylococcal colonization (RR, 9.5; 95% CI, 3.6-25) at admission. Acquisition of MRSA colonization also increased the risk for subsequent MRSA infection, compared with no acquisition (RR, 12; 95% CI, 4.0-38).

CONCLUSION
MRSA colonization of nares, either present at admission to the hospital or acquired during hospitalization, increases the risk for MRSA infection. Identifying MRSA colonization at admission could target a high-risk population that may benefit from interventions to decrease the risk for subsequent MRSA infection.


About 5-10% of individuals with the condition of prediabetes or intermediate hyperglycemia develop diabetes annually. Prediabetes can revert to normal glycaemic state as well. Reversion to normal glucose, even when transient, is associated with a significant 56% reduced risk of future diabetes independent of previous treatment. Prediabetes is associated with many microvascular as well as macro-vascular complications. Micro-vascular complications include retinopathy, neuropathy, and micro-albuminuria while another complication like heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular diseases comes under the macrovascular category. These complications are directly proportional to the succession of hyperglycemia in prediabetes. Detection of the condition prediabetes / intermediate hyperglycemia is a fundamental strategy to keep people from transitioning to diabetes. Lifestyle modification is the mainstay for the management of intermediate hyperglycemia as per various research conducted on the same. The benefit of lifestyle modification with or without pharmacotherapy to prevent or delay the progression of diabetes in patients with prediabetes. When lifestyle modification is ineffective, pharmacologic treatment should be considered although there are no approved pharmacologic treatments for prediabetes. Several types of surgery are also available, and their efficacy has been discussed in the management of the condition. In this review paper, an attempt has been made to explore the approach to the patients of prediabetes and to evaluate the effectiveness of mode of treatment in the light of the findings of different research studies. INTRODUCTION: Intermediate hyperglycemia is state of hyperglycemia, with glycemic parameters above normal but below the diabetes threshold 1 . It is a type of metabolic disorder with a slight increase in the blood glucose levels from the normal but not reaching up to the level of diabetes 2 . It is estimated that worldwide 6.7% of the adult population, which is approximately equivalent to 318 million persons have intermediate


Climate change increasingly affects primary productivity and biogeochemical cycles in forest ecosystems at local and global scales. To predict change in vegetation, soil, and hydrologic processes, we applied an integrated biogeochemical model Photosynthesis-EvapoTranspration and BioGeoChemistry (PnET-BGC) to two high-elevation forested watersheds in the southern Appalachians in the US under representative (or radiative) concentration pathway (RCP)4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. We investigated seasonal variability of the changes from current (1986–2015) to future climate scenarios (2071–2100) for important biogeochemical processes/states; identified change points for biogeochemical variables from 1931 to 2100 that indicate potential regime shifts; and compared the climate change impacts of a lower-elevation watershed (WS18) with a higher-elevation watershed (WS27) at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina, United States. We find that gross primary productivity (GPP), net primary productivity (NPP), transpiration, nitrogen mineralization, and streamflow are projected to increase, while soil base saturation, and base cation concentration and ANC of streamwater are projected to decrease at the annual scale but with strong seasonal variability under a changing climate, showing the general trend of acidification of soil and streamwater despite an increase in primary productivity. The predicted changes show distinct contrasts between lower and higher elevations. Climate change is predicted to have larger impact on soil processes at the lower elevation watershed and on vegetation processes at the higher elevation watershed. We also detect five change points of the first principal component of 17 key biogeochemical variables simulated with PnET-BGC between 1931 and 2100, with the last change point projected to occur 20 years earlier under RCP8.5 (2059 at WS18 and WS27) than under RCP4.5 (2079 at WS18 and 2074 at WS27) at both watersheds. The change points occurred earlier at WS18 than at WS27 in the 1980s and 2010s but in the future are projected to occur earlier in WS27 (2074) than WS18 (2079) under RCP4.5, implying that changes in biogeochemical cycles in vegetation, soil, and streams may be accelerating at higher-elevation WS27.


Automatic recognition of printed mathematical symbols is a fundamental problem for recognition of mathematical expressions. Several classification techniques has been previously used, but there are very few works that compare different classification techniques on the same database and with the same experimental conditions. In this work we have tested classical and novelty classification techniques for mathematical symbol recognition on two databases.


The formation of high quality (good morphology and low defect concentrations) perovskite films is crucial for realizing high-performance perovskite solar cells (PVSCs). Low-temperature processed perovskite films tend to have a high density of defect states, which hinder the enhancement of their device performance. Although various post-treatment methods have been reported to passivate the surface defects of perovskite, the critical issue is that defects inside the bulk film cannot be passivated simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate a new strategy of simultaneously controlling the perovskite formation kinetics and reducing the defects (e.g., unsaturated Pb) for achieving densely packed perovskite films with low defect concentrations. The strategy is realized through incorporating cyano-based small molecules into perovskite precursor. Our results show that the inverted planar-structured PVSCs with the perovskite films formed by the new strategy have significant performance improvement with PCE reaching 20.10%, which is among the highest values of low-temperature processed solar cells. This work provides a new strategy to further improve the quality of low-temperature processed perovskite films and the relevant device performances.


INTRODUCTION
We describe a series of 10 children with intracranial hypertension complicating fulminant hepatic failure submitted to intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring for intensive care and transplantation management.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Information from pediatrics patients acute liver failure admitted to our hospital was collected in a standard protocol form. We analyzed data from 10 patients, medium age 5.2 years old. In this period we studied aspects as ICP transducer used, number of days with ICP monitoring and complications of ICP monitoring.

RESULTS
Hepatitis A was diagnosed in five patients and hepatitis B in two cases. The initial ICP were 2 to 24 mmHg in transducer. Seven patients died, four due to intracranial hypertension, included the patient operated for subdural hematoma, and three with transplantation failure. Only a case of hematoma was verified.

CONCLUSIONS
The application of ICP monitoring allows intensive care for aggressive ICP management. It can be used in children without adaptations.


The subject of this paper is the development and first analysis of the performance of a new booster bleed valve control logic to improve the surge margin of the booster compressor in the new BR715 turbofan.The booster compressor is driven by the LP spool of the two spool engine, comprising an aerodynamically tuned system out of fan root and booster compressor. The flow delivered at the exit of the booster compressor must be accepted by the following HP compressor. This matching is not always possible, since the rates of change of the spool speeds during transients behave differently as do pressure rise and mass flow. Hence the transient handling of the booster compressor is difficult with respect to its surge stability. To aid in this situation it is a common practice to position a booster bleed valve after the booster compressor, which passes bleed air into the bypass duct.The BR715 jet engine takes advantage of a newly developed logic driving this valve. Monitoring input parameters such as spool and flight speeds as well as altitude, the logic provides the capability of appropriately positioning the valve, thereby maintaining an optimum performance of the engine throughout the whole operating range. Furthermore the logic allows for reaction on thrust reverser deployment or more serious events such as surge and foreign object damage.Much effort has been put into the development of the newly designed transient valve logic, which in its main part is based on the rate of change of the pressure at the exit of the HP compressor. This logic ensures a sufficient surge margin in case of deceleration or reslams of the engine.A simulation of the logic was set up, connected to a synthesis program for the two spool engine and used for the development. After this basic testing, the logic was implemented in the BR715 engine, which first ran in April 1997. The actual data from basic handling tests performed with this engine were analysed and checked against simulation results. The paper describes the logic in detail and contains first results. They prove a proper working of the logic and show the strong effect of the booster bleed valve.Copyright © 1998 by ASME


A new night-time lane detection system and its accompanying framework are presented in this paper. The accompanying framework consists of an automated ground truth process and systematic storage of captured videos that will be used for training and testing. The proposed Advanced Lane Detector 2.0 (ALD 2.0) is an improvement over the ALD 1.0 or Layered Approach with integration of pixel remapping, outlier removal, and prediction with tracking. Additionally, a novel procedure to generate the ground truth data for lane marker locations is also proposed. The procedure consists of an original process called time slicing, which provides the user with unique visualization of the captured video and enables quick generation of ground truth information. Finally, the setup and implementation of a database hosting lane detection videos and standardized data sets for testing are also described. The ALD 2.0 is evaluated by means of the user-created annotations accompanying the videos. Finally, the planned improvements and remaining work are addressed.