The potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) may have been an important constituent of Earth's atmosphere during Proterozoic (~2.5–0.5 Ga). Here, we tested the hypothesis that chemodenitrification, the rapid reduction of nitric oxide by ferrous iron, would have enhanced the flux of N2O from ferruginous Proterozoic seas. We empirically derived a rate law, dN2Odt=7.2×10−5[Fe2+]0.3[NO]1 , and measured an isotopic site preference of +16‰ for the reaction. Using this empirical rate law, and integrating across an oceanwide oxycline, we found that low nM NO and μM‐low mM Fe2+ concentrations could have sustained a sea‐air flux of 100–200 Tg N2O–N year−1, if N2 fixation rates were near‐modern and all fixed N2 was emitted as N2O. A 1D photochemical model was used to obtain steady‐state atmospheric N2O concentrations as a function of sea‐air N2O flux across the wide range of possible pO2 values (0.001–1 PAL). At 100–200 Tg N2O–N year−1 and >0.1 PAL O2, this model yielded low‐ppmv N2O, which would produce several degrees of greenhouse warming at 1.6 ppmv CH4 and 320 ppmv CO2. These results suggest that enhanced N2O production in ferruginous seawater via a previously unconsidered chemodenitrification pathway may have helped to fill a Proterozoic "greenhouse gap," reconciling an ice‐free Mesoproterozoic Earth with a less luminous early Sun. A particularly notable result was that high N2O fluxes at intermediate O2 concentrations (0.01–0.1 PAL) would have enhanced ozone screening of solar UV radiation. Due to rapid photolysis in the absence of an ozone shield, N2O is unlikely to have been an important greenhouse gas if Mesoproterozoic O2 was 0.001 PAL. At low O2, N2O might have played a more important role as life's primary terminal electron acceptor during the transition from an anoxic to oxic surface Earth, and correspondingly, from anaerobic to aerobic metabolisms.


Abrupt environmental pollution accidents cause considerable damage worldwide to the ecological environment, human health, and property. The concept of acceptable risk aims to answer whether or not a given environmental pollution risk exceeds a societally determined criterion. This paper presents a case study on acceptable environmental pollution risk conducted through a questionnaire survey carried out between August and October 2014 in five representative districts and two counties of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, China. Here, environmental risk primarily arises from accidental water pollution, accidental air pollution, and tailings dam failure. Based on 870 valid questionnaires, demographic and regional differences in public attitudes towards abrupt environmental pollution risks were analyzed, and risk acceptance impact factors determined. The results showed females, people between 21–40 years of age, people with higher levels of education, public servants, and people with higher income had lower risk tolerance. People with lower perceived risk, low-level risk knowledge, high-level familiarity and satisfaction with environmental management, and without experience of environmental accidents had higher risk tolerance. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that public satisfaction with environmental management was the most significant factor in risk acceptance, followed by perceived risk of abrupt air pollution, occupation, perceived risk of tailings dam failure, and sex. These findings should be helpful to local decision-makers concerned with environmental risk management (e.g., selecting target groups for effective risk communication) in the context of abrupt environmental accidents.


This paper explores the identity formation of a cohort of students with immigrant backgrounds in Sweden and the consequences of identity for subsequent educational attainment. Unique for this study is that identity is defined according to a two-dimensional acculturation framework based on both strength of identity to the (ethnic) minority and to the (Swedish) majority culture. Results indicate that integrated men are associated with significantly higher levels of education than assimilated men. No differences in educational attainment are found between the assimilated and the integrated for women. These results put into question the premise of oppositional identities, i.e., a trade-off between ethnic identity and educational achievement, among immigrants in Sweden.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) determine if muscle activation was greater in a BFR exercise condition compared to non-BFR exercise condition using MRI T2 mapping, and (2) determine if the muscle activation for both BFR and non-BFR exercise conditions differs between postbariatric surgery individuals and individuals in 2 control groups. Methods: Three groups participated: (1) a normal-BMI group, (2) a postbariatric surgery group, and (3) a matched group for the surgery individuals. Ultrasound imaging was used to find the optimal BFR pressure for each participant. All participants participated in both BFR and non-BFR exercises. Using a 3-Telsa MRI, a T2 map was imaged prior to and immediately following exercise. Analyses included within-group-across-condition comparisons and within-condition-across-group comparisons. The outcome variable of interest was the change in muscle activation determined via T2 mapping. Results: There was no statistical difference in the increase in muscle activation between BFR and non-BFR exercise conditions (p-value range 0.1091 to 0.9166). When comparing groups across conditions, we found that the surgery group elicited a significantly greater increase in activation compared to the normal-BMI group in every condition (p-value range 0.0014 to 0.0217) and in several muscles when compared to the matched group (p-value range 0.0060 to 0.0311). Other muscles compared to the matched group were not significantly different (p-value range 0.0683 to 0.129). No difference was found between the control groups (p-value range 0.2041 to 0.9557) in muscle activation for either condition. Conclusion: These results did not suggest a difference between BFR exercise and non-BFR exercise for the calf-raise protocol. Postbariatric surgery patients elicited an equal muscle activation response in some conditions and a greater muscle activation response in others when compared to both control groups. Further research is needed to determine whether a greater intensity or duration of exercise is needed to elicit an acute response to BFR and what factors are contributing to the increased muscle activation seen in the postbariatric surgery group.


Research in the health sciences has a long tradition of considering the impact of prenatal and perinatal health on child and adolescent development generally. This same consideration has not been echoed in the field of criminology where comparatively less research has investigated the link between prenatal and perinatal health and delinquency and offending over the life-course. This chapter reviews the empirical evidence on some of the key prenatal and perinatal risk factors that have been linked to offspring behavioral problems in childhood, juvenile delinquency, and offending later in life. These include maternal substance use and stress during pregnancy; low birth weight; prematurity; and, birth and pregnancy complications. While the empirical evidence shows these factors are associated with childhood behavioral problems, and later related outcomes such as juvenile delinquency and even adult offending in some studies, the balance of evidence suggests they are moderated by environmental factors (e.g., parent characteristics, social disadvantage), and possibly even genetic differences in offspring. From a delinquency prevention point of view, prenatal and perinatal risk factors need to be understood in a broader ecological context that accounts for individual differences in offspring, family characteristics and social disadvantage, to inform multimodal and longitudinal prevention of juvenile delinquency. Furthermore, future research on the link between prenatal and perinatal health and delinquency needs to consider a broader scope of health risk factors that have demonstrated links with adverse developmental outcomes in other domains.


This paper is concerned with a new theoretical approach to model grounded ice sheets in three dimensions. These are considered as polythermal, i.e. there will be regions with temperatures below the pressure melting point ('cold ice') and regions with temperatures exactly at the pressure melting point ('temperate ice'). In the latter, small quantities of water may occur. Based on previous approaches, an improved theory of polythermal ice sheets is developed, which is founded on continuum–thermodynamic balance relations and jump conditions for mass, momentum and energy. The rheological behaviour is assumed to be that of an incompressible, nonlinear viscous and heat conducting fluid; because of the dependence of viscosity on temperature and on water content, the problem is thermo–mechanically coupled. After presenting analytic solutions for a simple geometry (ice sheet of uniform depth), the theory is subjected to a scaling procedure with the assumptions of a small aspect ratio (ratio between typical vertical dimension and typical horizontal dimension) and a small Froude number. This leads to the introduction of the polythermal shallow–ice approximation (SIA) equations. Finally, as an application of the model to a real problem, a numerically computed steady–state solution for the Greenland Ice Sheet under present climate conditions is presented and compared with the real ice sheet.


Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is the most prevalent form of adult muscular dystrophy and is characterised by myotonia and muscle weakness and atrophy. The genetic defect associated with DM is an unstable (CTG)n repeat in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of a protein kinase gene myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) and the promoter region of a homeobox gene myotonic dystrophy associated homeodomain protein (DMAHP). These genes are both expressed in a wide range of tissues and their levels of expression have been shown to be altered in DM patients. DMAHP is a member of the Six subfamily of genes of which 6 mammalian and 3 Drosophila genes have been identified. All members of this family encode a homeodomain that is highly diverged from other known homeodomains and a second homologous domain, the Six domain, which lies immediately upstream of the homeodomain. Homeodomain proteins are known to be transcription factors that control gene expression by binding to DNA and activating or repressing transcription. The work presented in this thesis investigated the DNA binding properties of the DMAHP protein. Human foetal cDNA libraries were screened for the presence of a full length DMAHP cDNA but none was identified. Therefore, a cloned RT-PCR product and a genomic cosmid were used to subclone the Six domain, the homeodomain and both domains together into the bacterial expression vector pGEX4T3. From these clones, 3 glutathione S-transferase (GST)-DMAHP fusion proteins were produced and affinity purified by chromatography with a glutathione ligand. Affinity purified recombinant proteins and cell lysates from bacteria expressing the recombinant proteins were used in gel retardation assays with DNA oligonucleotides representing putative DNA binding sites. The putative sites included 2 in the promoter region of DMPK and the known DNA binding site of another Six subfamily member, AREC3/Six4 (the ARE). The recombinant fusion proteins showed no affinity for the 2 putative sites in DMPK. However, both the recombinant fusion proteins containing the homeodomain bound to the ARE, with the recombinant protein containing both domains (GST-Six+HD) forming 2 complexes, one of which was presumed to be a dimer complex. A cofactor present in the bacterial cell lysate increased the affinity of GST-Six+HD for the ARE. Finally, a whole genome PCR based screen was used to identify genomic DNA sequences to which DMAHP binds, as an initial stage in the identification of genes regulated by DMAHP.


A shared well 4x4 SPAD array test structure with 3m pitch is realized in a 130nm CMOS image sensor technology. The SPADs have 150Hz median DCR at room temperature at 1V excess bias, 15% peak PDP and 176ps FWHM timing jitter both at 3V excess bias.


Cooperatives play an important role in dissemination and recognition of innovative ideas and changes among partners through collaborating, raising social capital, developing cooperative norms and creating collective movement to achieve a common aim. The aim of this paper is to offer a solution to the problems among administration and members of agricultural development cooperatives by determining the relation between them. The study was conducted on the members of 19 Agricultural Development Cooperatives operating in Eğirdir District of Isparta between 01.08.2012-01.11.2012. The population of the study consisted of 2010 people and the sample consisted of 321 people who agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected by face to face interview technique by using the "Questionnaire" which was designed by the researchers. At the end of the research, it has been found out that the farmers do not have enough knowledge about cooperating and there are financial and marketing problems about cooperatives. Furthermore, packing and crop processing inadequacy and lack of education and professionalism of administrators and board of supervisors are regarded as the main problems of cooperatives. Considering these problems, it is important to carry out training activities for the cooperative members in certain periods and to increase the awareness of the members.


Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activity is highly regulated via sequestering within the ECM and cell-demanded proteolysis to release the sequestered VEGF. Numerous studies have demonstrated that VEGF activity mediates cellular events leading to angiogenesis and capillary formation in vivo. This has motivated the study of biomaterials to sustain VEGF release, and in many cases, the materials are inspired by the structure and function of the native ECM. However, there remains a need for materials that can bind to VEGF with high specificity, as the in vivo environment is rich in a variety of growth factors (GFs) and GF-binding moieties. Here we describe a strategy to control VEGF release using hydrogel microspheres with tethered peptides derived from VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Using biomaterials covalently modified with varying concentrations of two distinct VEGFR2-derived peptides with varying serum stability, we analyzed both biomaterial and environmental variables that influence VEGF release and activity. The presence of tethered VEGF-binding peptides (VBPs) resulted in significantly extended VEGF release relative to control conditions, and the resulting released VEGF significantly increased the expansion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in culture. VEGF release rates were also strongly influenced by the concentration of serum. The presence of Feline McDonough Sarcoma-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), a serum-borne receptor fragment derived from VEGF receptor 1, increased VEGF release rates, although sFlt-1 was not sufficient to recapitulate the release profile of VEGF in serum. Further, the influence of serum on VEGF release was not due to protease activity or nonspecific VEGF interactions in the presence of serum-borne heparin. VEGF release kinetics correlated well with a generalizable mathematical model describing affinity-mediated release of VEGF from hydrogel microspheres in defined conditions. Modeling results suggest a potential mechanism whereby competition between VEGF and multiple VEGF-binding serum proteins including sFlt-1, soluble kinase insert domain receptor (sKDR), and α2-macroglobulin (α2-M) likely influenced VEGF release from microspheres. The materials and mathematical model described in this approach may be useful in a range of applications in which sustained, biologically active GF release of a specific GF is desirable.


This study explored strengths and limitations of table formatting choices by engaging twenty-eight participants in information searches in online tables, presented on a small-screen interface (Palm IIIc). Table length across conditions was held constant at three screens long (24 rows total) but varied from one to three screens wide (approximately 35, 70, and 105 characters per line). Target information was positioned in either the upper left, lower left, upper right, or lower right quadrants. Data collected were time on task, error rate, and level of participants' confidence in their answers. Experimenters found that increased horizontal scrolling imposed the heaviest burden on information search. This study supports restricting table widths to one screen on handheld computers. If necessary, however, tables can go to two screens wide without critical detriment to usability. While ruled line formatting is slightly better than interface character in providing visual support for the burden of horizontal scrolling, neither formatting option adequately compensates for the added burden.


Intranasal exposure of mice to influenza virus led to cell death in bronchial/bronchiolar epithelial cells, alveolar cells and lymphoid cells. These cells displayed fragmentation of nuclei and chromatin condensation. Nick end-labelling of DNA in situ confirmed that such apoptotic cells had fragmented DNA. These results suggest that the influenza virus induces apoptosis in vivo.


Effects of air/water mist flow on endwall heat transfer in a square channel were experimentally investigated using infrared thermography. The purpose was to study the detailed heat transfer contour variation caused by the generation of the liquid films. The surface was roughened with staggered partial pin-fin arrays to enhance flow mixing and liquid entrainment. Two streamwise spacings (Xp/d = 3 and 6) of the fin array were investigated. The gas Reynolds number ranged from 7900 to 24,000. The calculated droplet deposition velocity was comparable to the literature results and was not substantially affected by the gas Reynolds number or fin spacing. For the pin-fin array, heat transfer was dominated by the water accumulation and liquid film formation, which was dependent on the carrier gas flow rate and fin spacing. Furthermore, thick liquid fragments entrained between the fins substantially enhanced local convective heat transfer coefficients. The average heat transfer enhancement on the finned surfaces using mist flow was four times as high as the air flow. The pressure drop from the mist flow was two times as high as the air flow.


BACKGROUND
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the fifth most common malignant tumour, with a high mortality rate. This study aimed to investigate the effect of hyperthermia on HepG2 and LX-1 cell lines to gain more information on thermal treatment of liver tumours.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The cell lines HepG2, LX-1 and their co-cultures were heated from 55°C to 85°C for different time spans. After heat exposure, metabolic activity was measured immediately, and after 24 h and 48 h using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium) (MTS) test to assess how many cells had survived heating.

RESULTS
Our results show highly significant differences between the temperature tolerance of HepG2 and LX-1 cells. Alone, HepG2 cells are most sensitive to heat-induced cell death, their sensitivity decreased with rising percentages of LX-1 cells in the co-culture.

CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that the outcome of thermal cancer therapy is dependent on the temperature and the grade of fibrosis in the treated livers.


Acquiring fully-sampled MRI $k$-space data is time-consuming, and collecting accelerated data can reduce the acquisition time. Employing 2D Cartesian-rectilinear subsampling schemes is a conventional approach for accelerated acquisitions; however, this often results in imprecise reconstructions, even with the use of Deep Learning (DL), especially at high acceleration factors. Non-rectilinear or non-Cartesian trajectories can be implemented in MRI scanners as alternative subsampling options. This work investigates the impact of the $k$-space subsampling scheme on the quality of reconstructed accelerated MRI measurements produced by trained DL models. The Recurrent Variational Network (RecurrentVarNet) was used as the DL-based MRI-reconstruction architecture. Cartesian, fully-sampled multi-coil $k$-space measurements from three datasets were retrospectively subsampled with different accelerations using eight distinct subsampling schemes: four Cartesian-rectilinear, two Cartesian non-rectilinear, and two non-Cartesian. Experiments were conducted in two frameworks: scheme-specific, where a distinct model was trained and evaluated for each dataset-subsampling scheme pair, and multi-scheme, where for each dataset a single model was trained on data randomly subsampled by any of the eight schemes and evaluated on data subsampled by all schemes. In both frameworks, RecurrentVarNets trained and evaluated on non-rectilinearly subsampled data demonstrated superior performance, particularly for high accelerations. In the multi-scheme setting, reconstruction performance on rectilinearly subsampled data improved when compared to the scheme-specific experiments. Our findings demonstrate the potential for using DL-based methods, trained on non-rectilinearly subsampled measurements, to optimize scan time and image quality.


Aim: To investigate whether there is a relationship between both massive and sub-massive pulmonary embolism (PE) and eosinophil counts in order to evaluate it as a predictor factor. Methods: This retrospective study included 108 patients (64 sub-massive and 44 massive) who received both tomographic and clinical diagnoses of pulmonary embolism, and 75 subjects served as controls. Hemogram parameters were compared between patients with massive and sub-massive pulmonary embolism and those of control groups.Results: In terms of white blood cell and eosinophil counts, the lowest value was evident in the massive PE group whereas the control group had the highest value. The eosinophil counts increased significantly one week after the treatment when compared to those at the presentation with PE (0.112 (0.003-0.853) vs. (0.144 (0.011-0.914), p=0.01). Spearman correlation test showed a significant positive correlation between right ventricular dysfunction or elevated cardiac troponin level and massive PE (r=0.54, p <0.001), whereas a negative correlation was detected between eosinophil count and the presence of massive PE (r=-0.36, p<0.001).
Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that lower eosinophil counts may lead a physician to suggest a higher probability of acute massive pulmonary embolism rather than sub-massive pulmonary embolism. However, further randomized studies are required to confirm these findings.


Traditional models of sovereign debt assume that governments seek to maximize the long terminterests of their countries.We assume instead that governments borrow and default according to their own political interests. In particular they often have limited horizons and are reluctant to default strategically. This allows us to define a maximum sustainable debt to GDP ratio, and compute it as a function of the countrys fundamentals. We find that maximum sustainable debt varies a lot across countries, consistent with the notion of country specific debt (in)tolerance. Actual debt ratios are below their maximum sustainable levels, as governments seeking further terms in office fear debt-induced default that may jeopardize their prospects for reelection. The difference between actual and maximum sustainable debt ratios creates a "margin of safety" that allows governments to increase debt if necessary with little corresponding increase in default risk. The probability of default climbs precipitously once the margin of safety has been exhausted.


Listeria monocytogenes virulence depends on the activity of well-characterized virulence factors. In this study, transcription levels of inlA, inlB, hly, bsh and prfA genes in L. monocytogenes strains, and the ability of invasion into CaCo-2 cells were investigated. Serotyping, multiplex-PCR for serovar identification and restriction fragment analysis of inlA were performed. Transcription levels and invasiveness were evaluated by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR and by in vitro assays, respectively. The isolates were of serovars 1/2a, 4b, 1/2c, 1/2b and 3a. Full-length inlA profiles were found for nine of ten clinical isolates, while five of seven cultures from foods showed truncated profile. The analysis of transcription levels of virulence factors encoding genes demonstrated a substantial inter-strain heterogeneity, with clinical strains showing higher levels for almost all genes than isolates from food. A correlation between transcription levels of inlA and inlB, as well as between bsh and prfA, was observed. Significant differences between clinical strains and food isolates in the invasion of CaCo-2 cells were found. Analysis of gene transcription and invasiveness of human cells suggests different virulence phenotypes among L. monocytogenes populations, and this characterization could be a useful tool for risk assessment purposes and for the development of public health strategies.


In this paper, we analyse the current state of the development of electronic prescriptions in Europe and the USA. These two places have different approaches to the healthcare sector, since in the former one national social insurance usually provides treatment for all of the people (most often only with friction from total costs), but in the latter one the healthcare sector is under free market forces. As our analysis shows in this paper, electronic prescriptions in both of the places have developed in recent years quite favourably, but this development has not produced consistent results, whether electronic prescriptions should be provided by for-profit companies or should they be under strict control of governmental authorities. We base this finding in two empirical observations: (1) in Europe saving potential from electronic prescriptions is estimated to be high, and contains many abstract national economy accounts and (2) leading US companies (providing electronic prescription services) have went been able to increase their revenues significantly, but still their profitability is questionable. We argue that the situation of electronic prescriptions is similar with airline or credit card industry. Both of these are vital for international and local economies, but the business models have developed well after the initial idea.


Hearing impairment is the most common communication disability in older people. The wide-ranging impact of hearing impairment on communication means that not only does the person with hearing impairment experience the consequences but also his or her frequent communication partners. This thesis investigates the impact of hearing impairment on spouses and uses the World Health Organization's term "third-party disability." Third-party disability is defined as the impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions experienced by the family due to the health condition of their significant other, and was identified by the World Health Organization as an area for future development and application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Despite a number of studies previously published on the effect of hearing impairment on family members, including younger couples and carers, there remain substantial gaps in knowledge and understanding of the difficulties specifically relating to older people and factors associated with third-party hearing disability. This thesis focuses on the third-party disability experienced by normally hearing spouses (termed the "spouses" in this thesis) of older people with hearing impairment (termed the "partners" in this thesis). To add empirical data to the body of research, this series of studies first explored the lived experience of spouses of older people with hearing impairment in a qualitative study, then identified the ICF domains and categories that described third-party hearing disability, described the extent of third-party hearing disability in this population, modelled the contribution of factors to third-party hearing disability, and developed and psychometrically tested a scale to measure the third-party disability of spouses of older people with hearing impairment. Studies conducted within this thesis were therefore completed in two phases. Ten spouses of older people with hearing impairment participated in the first qualitative phase, consisting of semi-structured in-depth interviews. Results of this study showed that spouses experience a number of effects as a result of their partners' hearing impairment including: (1) the broad ranging effects of the hearing impairment on the spouses' everyday lives; (2) the spouses' need to constantly adapt to their partners' hearing impairment; (3) the effect of acceptance of the hearing impairment on the spouse; and (4) the impact of ageing and retirement. Findings were then linked to the ICF to identify the most typical and relevant domains and categories of the ICF for spouses of older people with hearing impairment. The majority of themes were able to be linked to the ICF, with most linking to codes in the activities and participation component. A number of contextual factors were also identified that influenced the spouses' third-party disability. In the second phase, a further 100 older couples affected by hearing impairment participated in a quantitative face-to-face survey to describe the nature and degree of third-party disability in spouses, and to examine factors associated with third-party hearing disability. Concepts identified in the first qualitative study were used to formulate a 36-item tool for measuring spouses' third-party hearing disability, namely the Significant Other Scale for Hearing Disability (SOS-HEAR). The majority of spouses in this study (98%) reported some degree of third-party hearing disability on at least one item of the SOS-HEAR. Communication difficulties between the couple were the central source of stress reported by spouses, followed by emotional problems in the spouse. Three factors were found to be significantly associated with greater third-party hearing disability: (1) lower relationship satisfaction as described by spouses; (2) a larger spouse-partner age difference; and (3) greater hearing disability in the hearing impaired partner as perceived by the spouse. The scaling properties of the SOS-HEAR were then examined, with a revised 27-item questionnaire found to be a reliable means of measuring older spouses' third-party hearing disability. Use of the SOS-HEAR is proposed as a means of identifying spouses of older people with hearing impairment in need of intervention. If spouses are identified as experiencing third-party hearing disability, health professionals are then in a position to facilitate discussions with the couple about the impact of the hearing loss on their daily functioning. The inclusion of spouses in rehabilitation takes into account the needs of both members of the couple such that they become partners in rehabilitation. In summary, this research has shown that hearing impairment in older people has an effect on the spouse, as they too experience situations of communication activity limitations and participation restrictions. It is clear that the lives of participants in this study were considerably affected as a result of their partners' hearing impairment, with spouses reporting a wide variety of stresses involving lifestyle changes, communication difficulties, and emotional consequences. This series of studies has highlighted the potentially important role of family-centred intervention in rehabilitation for older adults with hearing impairment, and strongly suggests the need for increased inclusion of spouses and significant others in the rehabilitation process.


Many colleges and universities have launched iPad initiatives in an effort to enhance student learning. Despite their rapid adoption, the extent to which iPads increase student engagement and learning is not well understood. This paper reports on a multidisciplinary assessment of student perceptions of engagement and learning using iPads. Student reactions following single and multiple classroom activities using iPads were measured via a survey asking them to rate their learning and engagement using a 5-point Likert scale. Responses to the questions were grouped into thematic categories of Perceived Learning and Perceived Engagement. Students who reported a high level of engagement while using iPads reported a high level of learning as well. No effects due to age, gender, or language were found. Students who characterized themselves as comfortable with modes of e-learning reported significantly greater levels of perception of learning and engagement. Those who reported being comfortable were more likely to use iPads for learning and professional development in the future. Furthermore, a number of students who initially described themselves as somewhat uncomfortable with e-learning technology also reported interest in continuing to use iPads.


Auditory alarms are common in industrial control rooms. Sound has certain advantages over other alarm modes. Salient auditory stimuli effectively capture and guide attention, regardless of the operators' visual focus. Sound can also convey detailed information. However, auditory alarms are often carelessly implemented, utilising sounds that are too loud, too numerous, and too confusing. The aim of this work was to develop a concept to enhance the auditory alarms in a control room. Before the concept was developed, a study involving 21 operators evaluated the state of the alarm sounds. The results indicated a poor design and confirmed certain well-known issues with alarm sounds. The concept included new alarm sounds, spatial presentation of the sounds, and alarm repetition intervals. The sounds are based on a new design principle in which each alarm sound composes two parts. One conveys urgency information, and the other contains information associated with the section in question. The design process involved 24 control-room operators and 13 design iterations, which were used to refine the concept. An evaluation involving 20 operators was conducted to examine the appropriateness of the concept. The results demonstrate that the developed concept increases operator effectiveness and acceptance as well as the overall sound environment.


The complex world around us is inherently multimodal and sequential (continuous). Information is scattered across different modalities and requires multiple continuous sensors to be captured. As machine learning leaps towards better generalization to real world, multimodal sequential learning becomes a fundamental research area. Arguably, modeling arbitrarily distributed spatio-temporal dynamics within and across modalities is the biggest challenge in this research area. In this paper, we present a new transformer model, called the Factorized Multimodal Transformer (FMT) for multimodal sequential learning. FMT inherently models the intramodal and intermodal (involving two or more modalities) dynamics within its multimodal input in a factorized manner. The proposed factorization allows for increasing the number of self-attentions to better model the multimodal phenomena at hand; without encountering difficulties during training (e.g. overfitting) even on relatively low-resource setups. All the attention mechanisms within FMT have a full time-domain receptive field which allows them to asynchronously capture long-range multimodal dynamics. In our experiments we focus on datasets that contain the three commonly studied modalities of language, vision and acoustic. We perform a wide range of experiments, spanning across 3 well-studied datasets and 21 distinct labels. FMT shows superior performance over previously proposed models, setting new state of the art in the studied datasets.


Identity Theft examines the complex socio-political forces that powerfully influence the production of visual art in our postcolonial and globalised world. Offering multiple and detailed case-studies drawn from around the world – the work of exiled Iranian and Palestinian artists, contemporary art in Turkey, the architectural reconstruction of Berlin since World War Two, hybrid urban development in Latin American countries, recent film in India, modern art in Nigeria, and wood sculpture in New Guinea commissioned by multinational mining companies – this collection of essays asks questions about the transformed meanings of 'art' and 'identity' in an era dominated by a hyperinternationalisation of cultural production. Identity Theft is intended for all students and academics interested in the fate of modern art and the prospects for future cultural production in a globalised art world economy.


This study presents a high-performance controller based on the Lyapunov stability criterion that enhances the dynamic performance and disturbance rejection capability of resonant DC/DC converters when compared with classical PI control. The series–parallel resonant converter (SPRC) is used as the candidate converter to which this controller design is applied but the design can be generalised to other types of resonant DC/DC converters. By using a multiple module approach, low-power modules of this resonant converter are stacked to enable operation at medium-voltage DC (MVDC). The proposed controller design is applied to modular structure of the SPRC to verify its high-performance output in conjunction with active sharing control loops that ensure uniform current/voltage distribution across the multiple interconnected modules. Detailed controller design, closed-loop stability criteria, robustness and parameter sensitivity are investigated and controller performance is compared and verified against the classical PI control in simulation and low-scaled experimental prototype. Operations in single-module and two-module input-series output-parallel modes are both studied. The study affirms the selection of the modular DC/DC converter architecture and its associated proposed controls for high-performance MVDC applications.


Temperature-transfer of Ambystoma gracile larvae from 11 degrees C to 21 degrees C does not significantly alter growth rates at the higher temperature when compared to larvae continuously grown at 21 degrees C. Temperature-transfer does not alter the incidence of neoteny within populations, even though interpopulation neotenic tendencies differ. Salamander larvae from the high altitude population exhibit larvae from the high altitude population exhibit faster growth rates than the larvae reared from eggs from the low altitude-population. These high altitude larvae exhibit faster growth rates both at the lower and higher temperatures suggesting a greater sensitivity to growth-promoting factors and/or higher rates of synthesis or secretion of such factors. Experiments utilizing ovine prolactin indicated that prolactin-injected experimentals were significantly longer (P less than 0.025) after 60 days of treatment than were placebo-injected controls. A prolactin-like hormone is suggested as thepossible growth-promoting factor in larval Ambystoma gracile.


Egyptian visual The research problem and objectives can be summarized in determining the clothing needs of autistic children and providing clothing designs that are suitable for autistic children in middle childhood (6: 9 years). It is also intended that the designs should achieve the aesthetic aspect commensurate with the age of a child in terms of colors and materials The study also aimed at achieving designs for the functional aspects that helps this group to self-learning in terms of self-reliance in wearing and undressing on their own. Through exploratory study information has been collected on that category benefiting from it in providing suggested designs to meet some of the needs of autistic children in the average age stage. The study has taken the advantage of the ability of computer programs specialized in drawing and design i.e. Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator to highlight the aesthetic and functional aspects of the designs and to achieve the goals of the research. The study used the descriptive analytical approach in addition to the applied study so the researcher put forth (20) designs, and the sample consisted of (15) specialists in The field of clothing and textiles, and the number (30), and they mean the disposables of "Autistic Mothers of Mothers - Supervisors" in the center to know their acceptance of the proposed designs. The results of the study showed that there are statistically significant differences at the level of significance (05.0) between the twenty designs proposed using (Photoshop and  Illustrator). These differences were in favor of "Twelfth and First Design" according to the opinions of the two study groups (specialists and consumers) in achieving both aesthetic and functional aspects.


The safety and health of all employees should be the first priority and value of any business.lt should therefore be the policy of any business to provide a safe and healthful work environment for all of its employees.The business or institution like university should have in place a continuous .safety and health to fulfil and acheve the goal and objective. With this is in mind the safety rules contained in Occupational Safety and Health Act(OSHA) have been formulated to assist and protect us.They were revised to keep up with the latest technological developments,changing conditions and improvements in equipment and procedures as well as the requirements set forth by the OSHA team. Safety pays and it is a good investment for all corcemed.lt eliminates suffering and lost wages.lt also improves production,maintain efficiency,reduces waste and generally provides a sense of well being for all employees and working places. With such a broad definition, no wonder it is nearly impossible to get people who can very commit to a specific safety plan or safety procedure. The government attempts and efforts to define and guide what exactly makes a work area safe, but if everyone doesn't believe the definition or explanation and not take the appropriate action to obey the rules, then the system will break down. Companies or employers that have excellent safety records develop a safety culture where everyone believes that certain safety acts or procedures need to be followed in order to have a safe work area. There are even presentations by motivational speakers, who are really understand about safety, can focus on changing the audience's attitude towards safety. Making people aware of their surroundings and how safe they are is an important factor in getting the buy-in that is needed to have a truly safe work environment. (Fouch, 2011) In fact, it is a very difficult task to implement safety. From year to year, the accidents are continuously happening and the numbers of the accident are still increasing. Even though the number of accidents increase, we still unable to identify specifically what does it mean by safety and find the best way to provide a work environment that are really safe. Further more, when discuss about safety, it can relate with it to the health. Health and safety are very interrelated each other and it is an issue affecting all businesses around the world. One of the efforts to provide the working environment that have both(safety and health) is by implementing an Occupational Safety and Health. It is a legal requirement in many countries includes Malaysia .At Malaysia, it known as Occupational Safety & Health Act 1994(OSHA). OSHA has in recent years become an even more important part of the activities of both the private and public sector. All the sectors acknowledge the relevance of OSHA and they try to implement it as much as they can.OSHA was widely criticized in its early years for confusing, burdensome regulations. A good deal of the early conflict came about because of arbitrary and inconsistent enforcement during OSHA's early years.


The purpose of this project was to assess whether a novel, small diameter two-electrode oxygen sensor is capable of early detection of hemorrhage-induced hypoperfusion in rats and pigs. Hemorrhage is a very common cause of death after trauma and the degree of blood loss is difficult to gauge. In order to monitor blood volume, we developed a sensor designed to rapidly respond to changes in subcutaneous oxygen tension. The oxygen sensor included a platinum indicating electrode and a AgCl-based reference electrode. When tested in rats and pigs during controlled hemorrhage, the signals from these subcutaneously implanted sensors closely tracked the mean blood pressure and venous pO2. The sensor signals declined quickly during blood withdrawal and rose quickly in response to fluid resuscitation. Pulse rate was not a reliable indicator of blood loss. The signals of the oxygen sensors declined (negative slope) during hemorrhage and rose (positive slope) during resuscitation. In all cases, in both rats and pigs, slopes of less than -0.1 Torr/min indicated hemorrhage and slopes of more than 0.1 indicated resuscitation. Given the similarities of skin and subcutaneous tissue in pigs versus humans, devices like this may be useful for early detection of hemorrhage in humans.


Germ-line mutations in the RET proto-oncogene are associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN 2A) and with familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC). Detection of these mutations allows the identification of the affected kindred members, who will develop medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in 100% of cases. We studied 24 patients of two kindreds (MEN 2A and FMTC). Basal calcitonin levels and pentagastrin-stimulated calcitonin were measured in all patients. The RET mutations were detected by DNA analysis. The RET mutations were identified in 14 patients. Two of them had been operated in the past, 2 refused operation and 4 were living abroad. In the 6 remaining, only one showed a thyroid mass, basal calcitonin was normal in all patients except one, and pentagastrin-stimulated calcitonin was negative in 2 patients. Total thyroidectomy was performed in all cases. Histology showed C-cell hyperplasia in all patients and MTC in 5 of them. In MEN 2A and FMTC DNA analysis allows the identification of RET mutation carriers, in which presymptomatic thyroidectomy allows and improvement in survival.


This paper corrects common misunderstandings in scholarship about Second Clement's genre, community, and liturgical Sitz im Leben. It also offers several prolegomena to an analysis of the writing's genre and community. A central argument is that 125 years of scholarship have produced only dubious arguments for identifying Second Clement as a "sermon" or a "homily," identifications that do not indicate a fixed genre, and that these identifications have contributed to several misinterpretations. We therefore need to reconsider the genre of this work. A focus on microgenre, rather than macrogenre, and a comparison of Second Clement's features with those of certain early Christian letters holds promise for future inquiry.


Head and neck cancer is reported to be the fifth most common cancer globally and around 1,200 new patients are diagnosed in Sweden every year. Historically, survival rates have been rather constant but have started to improve over the last few decades as a result of new and more aggressive oncological treatments. For this reason, there is a need to re-evaluate surgical treatment—both its necessity and its morbidity in comparison to the oncological treatments available. There is also a risk of higher incidence of side effects from newer oncological regimens, which still needs to be evaluated. In this thesis, different populations of head and neck cancer patients from our institution have been analysed concerning aspects of treatment, sequelae, and rehabilitation. The material is highly applicable to everyday clinical situations. In paper I, patients diagnosed between1998 and 2002 with metastases in the neck that were treated with fulldose external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) were evaluated concerning histopathology and clinical outcome, with a view to evaluating the necessity of a planned neck dissection after EBRT. One hundred and fifty-six patients were included. Overall survival was 62% and disease-specific survival was 76%. There was a clinically complete response to radiotherapy in the neck in 63 patients (40%). Of these, 15 had viable tumor cells in the neck specimen. In patients who did not achieve a clinically complete response, 40% (37/93) had viable tumor cells in the neck specimen. Disease-specific survival in patients with viable tumor cells in the neck after EBRT was 48% (25/52), and it was 90% (93/104) in patients without viable tumor cells. Paper II describes a retrospective case-control study of patients diagnosed and treated for stricture of the upper oesophagus after EBRT for head and neck cancer between 1992 and 2005. The aim of the study was to identify possible risk factors for stricture formation. Clinical parameters were collected from the medical files. The EBRT dose delivered to the upper oesophagus was calculated using the dose-planning system data. Seventy patients with stricture and 66 patients without were identified. The incidence of upper esophageal stricture at the institution during the study period was 3.3%. A multivariate analysis showed an increased risk of stricture in patients who received enteral feeding during EBRT or with a mean dose of > 45 Gy delivered to the upper oesophagus. Treatment of the stricture with Savary-Gilliard bougienage or through-the-scope balloon dilatation was found to be safe and successful, but often had to be repeated. In paper III, the morbidity of supraomohyoidal neck dissection (SOND) or modified radical neck dissection (MRND) combined with EBRT was evaluated regarding cervical range of movement, lymphoedema, mouth opening, swallowing, and shoulder disability. The patient material was collected from the study population in paper IV. Ninety-eight patients who received only EBRT were identified, 25 patients were treated with both SOND and EBRT, and 83 were treated with MRND and EBRT. The overall incidence of shoulder disability after both types of neck dissection was 18%. SOND had no other significant negative effects on the parameters under evaluation at any time point, while with MRND there was significantly reduced CROM and mouth opening two months after treatment. After 12 months, only cervical rotation was still significantly reduced. In paper IV, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of an early preventive rehabilitation programme on functional losses and quality of life. The programme started at diagnosis before the start of treatment and was based on self-care after receiving instructions from a speech language pathologist and a physiotherapist. The patients were instructed to use the training programme during and after the treatment period. One hundred and ninety patients were included in the early experimental rehabilitation programme. A control group of 184 patients who did not receive early rehabilitation was constructed. It was shown that the programme could be implemented without delaying the start of oncological treatment, but no positive effects concerning survival, weight loss, functional loss, working ability, or quality of life were observed. The need for a neck dissection after EBRT cannot be determined by clinical examination as a high percentage of patients with clinical complete response showed viable tumor cells in the neck specimen. When performing a neck dissection, a SOND should be considered in suitable patients as morbidity of SOND is low except for shoulder disability. An EBRT dose delivered to the upper 5 cm of the oesophagus should be kept below 45 Gy to lower the risk of oesophageal stricture, and patients should be instructed to continue to swallow even if they receive enteral nutrition during treatment. Finally, even though no positive effects of early rehabilitation could be shown, the results do not contradict the idea that rehabilitation based on self-care can be effective. Efforts should be made to identify rehabilitation that can reduce functional losses and improve quality of life. Future rehabilitation programmes should also concentrate on identification of proper instruments for selection of patients and for evaluation of intervention in head and neck cancer patients. ISBN 978-91-7457-068-7


Abstract. This paper generalises the physical dependence of the relationship between contributing area, local slope, and the surface soil grading using a pedogenesis model and allows an exploration of soilscape self-organisation. A parametric study was carried out using different parent materials, erosion, and weathering mechanisms. These simulations confirmed the generality of the area-slope-d50 relationship. The relationship is also true for other statistics of soil grading (e.g. d10,d90) and robust for different depths within the profile. For small area-slope regimes (i.e. hillslopes with small areas and/or slopes) only the smallest particles can be mobilised by erosion and the area-slope-d50 relationship appears to reflect the erosion model and its Shield's Stress threshold. For higher area-slope regimes, total mobilization of the entire soil grading occurs and self-organisation reflects the relative entrainment of different size fractions. Occasionally the interaction between the in-profile weathering and surface erosion draws the bedrock to the surface and forms a bedrock outcrop. The study also shows the influence on different depth-dependent in-profile weathering functions in the formation of the equilibrium soil profile and the grading characteristics of the soil within the profile. We outline the potential of this new model and its ability to numerically explore soil and landscape properties.


A vaccine targeting sperm is an interesting approach to contraception. The acceptability of a sperm antigen for contraceptive vaccine development is contingent upon its sperm-specificity, surface expression for antibody binding, and involvement in fertilization. Sperm-zona pellucida (ZP) binding is a pivotal step and constitutes an attractive site for immunointerception. Using phage display technology, we have identified a novel dodecamer peptide sequence, designated as YLP12, that is present on sperm, and is involved in ZP binding and sperm capacitation/acrosome reaction in man/mouse. Extensive search in the human and mouse genome sequence databases did not indicate a complete identity with the YLP12nucleotide sequence. It is peptide mimetic with sperm receptor carbohydrate mimicking action that is involved in oocyte binding. The sperm-specific YLP12sequence is also involved in involuntary immunoinfertility in men, indicating its autoantigenicity, sperm-specificity, and involvement in fertility/infertility in humans. Vaccination of female animals with synthetic YLP12peptide causes a long-term reversible contraception by raising a sperm-specific immune response. The contraceptive effect could also be completely reversed voluntarily at any time by immunoneutralization of antibodies using intravaginal administration of the peptide. Thus, the novel synthetic YLP12peptide is an attractive candidate for contraceptive vaccine development, and diagnosis and treatment of immunoinfertility in humans.


Geological study was carried out along the Kaligandaki and Modi Khola valleys in west Nepal. The area comprises the rock of Lesser Himalayan metasedimentary sequence. Main rock types present in the area are quartzite, phyllite, metasandstone and psammatic phyllite. Schist and gneiss are present in some parts. Ulleri Gneiss is explored in the area. Kusma-Baglung area comprises the spectacular terrace deposits formed at the Quaternary time by the Kaligandaki River and the Modi Khola. The terrace extensively comprises clast of limestone, marble, gneiss, quartzite, schist, phyllite ranging in size from fine matrix to huge boulders derived from the Higher Himalaya. Bulletin of Department of Geology, vol. 20-21, 2018, pp: 29-36


Complex oxides form a material class in which a wide range of properties is observed. The large tunability and high level of control during the growth process are important advantages of this material class and make it possible to influence the electronic and magnetic properties. Different material compositions can be stacked as heterostructures of thin films [1]. However, when subsequent layers have a too large lattice mismatch, the growth cannot continue epitaxially and the crystal quality of the film decreases. To overcome large lattice mismatches, buffer layers are widely adapted [2]. In this work stoichiometric, single oriented BaBiO3 thin films are grown on a SrTiO3 substrate without the use of a buffer layer, even though a 12% lattice mismatch is present. With high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HRSTEM) and geometric phase analysis it is visualized that the large lattice mismatch between BaBiO3 and SrTiO3 is accommodated by a rocksalt structure that forms between the two perovskite compounds. The dislocation that appears every ninth unit cell is consistent with the 12% lattice mismatch [3]. Since the lattice constant of BaBiO3 is quite large for a perovskite crystal phase (a = 4.35 A), this complex oxide itself is also suitable to function as a template for other perovskite structures. In the same article [3], we show that by using BaBiO3 as a buffer layer material, the Y-Bi-O system is stabilized in the perovskite structure while this is not the most energetically favourable crystal phase. [1] M. O'Sullivan et al., Nat Chem. 8(4), 292-4 (2016) [2] G.H. Lee et al., APL Materials 4, 126106 (2016) [3] R.L. Bouwmeester et al., Phys. Status Solidi RRL, 201800679 (2019)


This research aims to determine the role of perceived business value in mediating the influence of social media usage on the performance of Silver Craft SMEs in Celuk Village, Gianyar Regency. The sample in this research is determined using the purposive sampling method and the total sample is 100 respondents. The data analysis techniques used in this research are the confirmatory factor analysis, the Path Analysis technique, and the Sobel test to test the hypothesis regarding the mediation role. The result of this research shows that the usage of social media and perceived business value has a significant and positive influence on business performance. Additionally, perceived business value is also able to significantly mediate the influence of social media usage on business performance. This result affirms that a good usage of social media can increase the perceived business value felt by the silver craft SMEs, which will also have an effect on the increase in business performance.


Once posited as a revolutionary transportation technology, the Segway never took off as some expected because the social acceptance of the technology was not considered in a systematic manner. Using a framework for social acceptance of technology borrowed from the literature on renewable energy, we examine how social, economic, and environmental costs of the Segway, along with regulatory issues presented barriers to implementation. High prices, legislative and spatial issues, and a lack of appeal to consumers presented challenges to acceptance. This case study provides a timely reminder of the multifaceted and complex nature of social acceptance that will need to be applied to future innovations, such as autonomous vehicles, to better understand factors that need to be considered for them to be embraced by society.


It has been said that, after the Bible, Plato's dialogues are the most influential books in Western culture. And of the dialogues, the Symposium is the most delightful and accessible, requiring no special knowledge of ancient Greek philosophy or customs. Dramatizing a party in fifth-century B.C. Athens, the deceptively unassuming Symposium introduces--in the guise of convivial after-dinner conversation--profound ideas about the nature of love. In Phaedrus, here published together with the Symposium, Plato discusses the place of eloquence in expounding truth. In both dialogues, Socrates plays the leading role, by turns teasing, arguing, analyzing, joking, inspiring, and cajoling his followers into understanding ideas that have remained central to Western thought through the centuries.


In this paper we propose an alternative keyword search mechanism for Wikipedia, designed as a prototype solution towards factoid questions answering. The method considers relations between articles for finding the best matching article. Unlike the standard Wikipedia search engine and also Google engine, which search the articles content independently, requiring the entire query to be satisfied by a single article, the proposed system is intended to solve queries by employing information contained in multiple articles. Although still a keyword search, the method can be further employed in natural language questions answering, when accompanied with a question processing module. The method assumes that queries are formulated in a form of a list of Wikipedia articles. The possible solutions are then evaluated, however not by attempting to understand the meaning of the text, but by a simple method of estimating the distance between articles by measuring articles' references or appearances in other articles, leading finally to returning a single article as an answer for the query.


To solve the multi-objective flexible job shop scheduling problem, an improved non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm is proposed. Multi-objective mathematical model is established, four objectives, makespan, maximal workload, total workload and total tardiness are considered together. In this paper a dual coding method is employed, and infeasible solutions were avoided by new crossover and mutation methods. Pareto optimal set was taken to deal with multi-objective optimization problem, in order to reduce computational complexity, the non-dominated sorting method was improved. The niche technology is adopted to increase the diversity of solutions, and a new self adaptive mutation rate computing method is designed. The proposed algorithm is tested on some instances, and the computation results demonstrate the superiority of the algorithm.


To be able to provide appropriate services in social and human application contexts, smart cyber-physical systems (S-CPSs) need ampliative reasoning and decision-making (ARDM) mechanisms. As one option, procedural abduction (PA) is suggested for self-managing S-CPSs. PA is a knowledge-based computation and learning mechanism. The objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive description of the computational framework proposed for PA. Towards this end, first the essence of smart cyber-physical systems is discussed. Then, the main recent research results related to computational abduction and ampliative reasoning are discussed. PA facilitates beliefs-driven contemplation of the momentary performance of S-CPSs, including a 'best option'-based setting of the servicing objective and realization of any demanded adaptation. The computational framework of PA includes eight clusters of computational activities: (i) run-time extraction of signals and data by sensing, (ii) recognition of events, (iii) inferring about existing situations, (iv) building awareness of the state and circumstances of operation, (v) devising alternative performance enhancement strategies, (vi) deciding on the best system adaptation, (vii) devising and scheduling the implied interventions, and (viii) actuating effectors and controls. Several cognitive algorithms and computational actions are used to implement PA in a compositional manner. PA necessitates not only a synergic interoperation of the algorithms, but also an objective-dependent fusion of the pre-programmed and the run time acquired chunks of knowledge. A fully fledged implementation of PA is underway, which will make verification and validation possible in the context of various smart CPSs.


There is a growing body of research showing that cancer impacts upon the sexuality of informal carers in a couple relationship with a person with cancer. However, this research is primarily focused on partners of a person with gynaecological or breast cancer, within a framework where the physiological effects of cancer on sexual performance are the focus. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 informal carers in a couple relationship with a person with cancer, across a range of cancer types. The aim was to explore accounts of changes to sexuality and intimacy post-cancer, in the context of discursive constructions of sexuality and the caring role. Our findings show that partners' sexual experiences were shaped by absence of desire in the person with cancer; the stress and exhaustion associated with caring tasks; the repositioning of the person with cancer as childlike or as an asexual 'sick patient'; and the belief that there were expectations about 'acceptable' sexual conduct in the context of cancer caring. Carers accepted the diminishment of their sexual relationship, but expressed feelings of disappointment, anger and sadness about this loss. It is concluded that it is vital that support services are developed, so that couples may develop new sexual strategies, and cope more effectively with potential disruptions to their sexual and intimate relationship.


Wildfire modelling is an attempt to reproduce fire behaviour. Through active fire analysis, it is possible to reproduce a dynamical process, such as wildfires, with limited duration time series data. Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) can model dynamic temporal behaviour due to their ability to remember their internal input. In this paper, we compare the Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) and the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network. We try to determine whether a wildfire continues to burn and given that it does, we aim to predict which one of the 8 cardinal directions the wildfire will spread in. Overall the GRU performs better for longer time series than the LSTM. We have shown that although we are reasonable at predicting the direction in which the wildfire will spread, we are not able to asses if the wildfire continues to burn due to the lack of auxiliary data.


Mechanical behavior of CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) containing Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA) is investigated by experimental methods. Tensile and bending fracture tests were conducted to examine the strength of the composite for various volume fractions of the SMA. Charpy impact test was used to study the toughness of the SMA/CFRP hybrid composite. Finite element analysis was carried out for interface failure in bending test.


The space between project goals and project outcomes is a rich location for reflection and learning. This article explores that space in relation to Adventure Territory, a youth theatre performance project that involved residencies at two secondary schools in the remote Northern Territory town of Katherine. The 12-month project was facilitated by Australian Theatre for Young People, a Sydney-based youth theatre company located some 3,600 kilometers away from Katherine. This article describes the action evaluation of that project and provides an analysis of what was learned when delivering this "fly-in, fly-out" (FIFO) project. The evaluation demonstrates that although there were positive outcomes for some young people, the project did not go according to plan and many goals were not achieved or became irrelevant. The reasons for these varied outcomes are explored, and we propose that future FIFO projects would benefit from adopting a community cultural development approach to youth theatre work. Such an approach demands that we take time to understand the context, build relationships and participation, and develop goals with, not for, the communities with which we work.


At the formal University level of the Ethics Committee, there seems to be a confusion about the ethical considerations and implications of 'narrative non-fiction' and 'the literature of self'. This paper will look at that confusion and try to suggest some ways through it, as well as some causes for it. Taking into account the PhD model of artefact and exegesis, this paper looks at the ethical questions inherent in writing one's own story as qualitative research involving creative non-fiction and/or an exegesis about oneself as a writer. It proposes such writing as family and local history, narrative nonfiction, autobiography, biography, poetry, film-scripting, drama and self-as-data has its own ethical dimensions as a research domain. In relationship to forming an understanding of this, it investigates some aspects of the postmodernist views of story-telling as research. It proposes that postmodernist theories about textuality and discourse advance the thinking about (and practice of) the traditional and patriarchal linear analytico-referential knowledge-model being overtaken by lateral postparadigmatic discourse. This conceptual framework involves storytelling and the pastiche of the dispersal of certainties in considering the practice of writing and/or production of an artefact. The aim of this paper is to enable tired research paradigms and debates to be short-circuited by the acceptance of difference. This means the production of new discourse models as well as new content. It also means a new and more open approach to ethics clearances within the university.


Electron microscope autoradiography has been used to study protein synthesis in syncytial and cellular trophoblast of term human placental villi incubated in vitro with tritiated leucine ([3H]leu). Autoradiographs were analyzed using the hypothetical grain analysis of Blackett and Parry (1973. J. Cell Biol. 57:9-15). The results of this study demonstrated that both cellular and syncytial trophoblast have marked capacities for protein synthesis. Cellular trophoblast synthesized protein in both its rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and its ground plasm which contained abundant free ribosomes. The vast majority of 3H-proteins remained within the cell, with some of the proteins synthesized ultimately appearing in the nucleus. A small percentage of grains was ultimately associated with the trophoblast basement membrane. In syncytial trophoblast, the RER was the dominant site for protein synthesis. The autoradiographic data suggested that, as in the cellular trophoblast, the vast majority of 3H-proteins synthesized by the syncytial trophoblast remained within the syncytial trophoblast throughout the incubation period. The major portion of [3H]leu-labeling present in the syncytial trophoblast of villi incubated the longest times (4 h+) remained in association with the RER. Labeled proteins did not become concentrated in syncytial trophoblast Golgi apparatus, vesicles, or granules. In contrast to cellular trophoblast, the nuclei in the syncytium did not contain 3H-proteins at any time-point studied.


De Broglie believed that the photon has a mass, a view shared by a few others. Quite recently, the author has argued that the photon has a mass which is consistent with the latest experimental limits. In the present paper we point out that there is experimental evidence for this mass and also give a theoretical demonstration of the photon mass.


A total of 124 names have been applied to western Atlantic species referred herein to the muricid genera Pterynotus, Poirieria, Aspella, Dermomurex, Calotrophon, Acantholabia and Attiliusa. Of these, 97 are valid and are treated systematically; an additional two are cited as "species.'' These include the following numbers of taxa: Pterynotus - 24; Poirieria - 35; Aspella - 4; Dermomurex - 25; Calotrophon - 6; Acantholabia - 2; Attiliosa - 3. There are 43 species in the Recent fauna, but only 29 are confined to the Recent, the remainder are both living and fossil. Of the 97 valid taxa, 12 are new species and are named herein. These are: Pterynotus (Pterynotus) praepatagiatus, from the Chipola Formation; Poirieria (Panamurex) gibsonsmithi, from the Cantaure Formation and Poirieria (Panamurex) improcerus, from the Cantaure and Caujarao formations; Poirieria (Panamurex) rutschi, from the Punta Gavilan Formation; Dermomurex (Dermomurex) sarkini, from the Moin Formation; Dermomurex (Takia) portelli, from the Suwannee Limestone and River Bend Formation; Calotrophon venezuelanus, from the Mare Formation; Poirieria (Paziella) petuchi, Poirieria (Panarnurex) eugeniae, Dermomurex (Dermornurex) wordsfoldi, Dermomurex (Dermomurex) sarasuae and Dermomurex (Dermomurex) binghamae, all from the Recent.


We develop a discretisation and solution technique for elliptic problems whose solutions may present strong variations, singularities, boundary layers and oscillations in localised regions. We start with a coarse finite element discretisation with a mesh size H, and we superpose to it local patches of finite elements with finer mesh size h << H to capture local behaviours of the solution. The two meshes (coarse and patch) are not necessarily compatible. The algorithm used to compute the finite element solution on the coarse mesh and patch falls in the class of subspace correction methods [50, 48]. This technique has been introduced in [23]. Similarly to mesh adaptation methods, the location of the fine patches is identified by an a posteriori error estimator. Unlike mesh adaptation, no re-meshing is involved. We discuss the implementation and illustrate the method on an industrial problem. Moreover we generalise the algorithm to several patches which leads to further applications in multi-scale problems.


George Orwell has attained something akin to the status of a cultural icon, ironic given the myth of him as an iconoclast. While Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four account for much of this acclaim, Orwell's essays also contribute significantly, and the writer enjoys an honored place in the pantheon of essayists. Seen by some, though not all, as a clear-eyed teller of unpleasant truths, Orwell could also write endearing, perceptive, and unselfconscious pieces about postcards, tea-making, and toads. His essays are used frequently as mortar to support blocks of biographical or psychological speculation, the result of a supposed difficulty in separating the writer and his writings. The very title of Orwell's essay "Why I Write" seems to cry out for such treatment, and the cry has often been answered. In this foregrounding the writer, however, the periodical context in which and for which Orwell wrote his essays often has been ignored. Yet where Orwell wrote is scarcely less important than why he wrote. An indication of the periodical's importance comes from Orwell himself. "The mentality of the English left-wing intelligentsia can be studied in half a dozen weekly and monthly papers," he claims in his 1941 essay "The Lion and the Unicorn" (74).(1) Given that a year earlier his "Boys' Weeklies" had mapped out the terrain for a survey of boys' magazines, the comment signals an abiding interest in the periodical press. In the later essay, however, Orwell comes not to praise the weeklies and monthlies but to bury them - or, at least, to rough them up a little. He declares, "The immediately striking thing about all these papers is their generally negative, querulous attitude, their complete lack at all times of any constructive suggestion" (74). Orwell names no names (thus damning all), but a paragraph later suggests some suspects, lashing the New Statesman and Nation and the News Chronicle for colluding in the "intellectual sabotage from the Left" of English morale. The accusation carries serious implications, Orwell charging that as a result of this sabotage "Fascist nations judged that [the English people! were 'decadent' and that it was safe to plunge into war" (75). Inflammatory stuff, certainly, but there remains an intriguing and telling twist. In the same month in which Orwell was writing "The Lion and the Unicorn," his short, appreciative study of the Victorian novelist Charles Reade appeared. What surprises is not the subject of this essay but the site of publication: the allegedly negative, querulous, unconstructive New Statesman and Nation. Clearly, Orwell was not frightened to bite the hand that fed him (admittedly, the New Statesman and Nation provided only occasional sustenance) but more productive insights can be drawn. First, Orwell acknowledges the centrality of periodicals and papers to the thinking of the English left-wing intelligentsia in the 1930s and 1940s. Young readers of Magnet and Gem were not the only group affected by the periodical press. Second, and more important, he uses those same organs to broadcast his own ideas. The significance of the periodical to the development and transmission of his opinions, however, has largely gone unrecognized. This despite the fact that Orwell's association with periodicals can be traced back to the very beginnings of his writing career. Indeed, periodicals provided that start. For nearly two years before the publication in 1933 of his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London, his writing (reviews, articles, and essays) appeared only in journals and weeklies. Reviewing the second number of the periodical New Writing in 1936, Robert Waller notes that Orwell, who had contributed "Shooting an Elephant," "is an Adelphi discovery" (188). Since Waller was writing in The Adelphi, this claim to a promising young author lacks a certain impartiality. Nevertheless, the boast contains a sizable element of truth, Orwell's (then Eric A. Blair's) sketch "The Spike" having been published in The Adelphi in 1931. …


With growing concern over peak oil and global warming many are urgently seeking alternatives to petro-diesel to fuel growing economies. Biodiesel, a diesel equivalent derived from vegetable oils and animal fat, is one such alternative. Large scale uptake of biodiesel, however, is limited by the availability of low cost, sustainable feedstocks.

In the context of feedstock limitations in Australia, this thesis examines the complete biodiesel system from feedstock to end consumer via production technology. The result of this investigation was the identification of integrated small scale biodiesel production (less than 5 million L/yr) as an economically viable niche for the Australian biodiesel industry. This is especially the case in remote locations.

To this end, a new production model, based upon small scale operations in regional industry hubs, was presented and validated with a case study in South Western Australia. This production model presents a new approach for the Australian biodiesel industry.

Having established the economic sustainability of the small scale production model, this work lays a foundation for its technical viability by optimising the reactor technology at the heart of biodiesel production. The following two questions are examined in the pursuit of reactor technology optimisation for small scale production:

•What is the most suitable catalyst for small scale production?
•Can an accurate model of the reactor be developed to facilitate optimisation?

The first question necessitated a detailed review of biodiesel production technology. The fruit of this review was the identification of homogeneous catalysed technology as the most suitable method for small scale biodiesel production. The second question required a reactor model that could determine the level of conversion on the basis of reactor temperature and residence time (flow-rate).

Further investigation into the homogeneous catalysed reaction medium suggested a two part model, with the first focusing on flow characteristics to maintain dispersion of the reacting phases, and the second on kinetics to determine conversion. Due to the multiphase nature of the reaction medium, the first part was developed as a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model of the flow through Bluediesel PTY LTD's tubular reactor in ANSYS CFX. This model drew heavily on literature in the field of oil and water flows and was verified with flow visualization studies of the reactor. The second part of the model was built in MATLAB on the basis of biodiesel kinetic studies and was verified with data from Bluediesel PTY LTD's plant.

This model was ran at a number of operating conditions and configurations to determine the minimum total cost of a small scale reactor while maintaining suitable levels of conversion. This optimisation work represents the first application of CFD modelling to a biodiesel reactor and can be used as a basis for further work in this area.


The epigenome, such as nucleosome structure and DNA methylation, regulates expression of genes. Searching for evolutionarily conserved sequence motifs essential for controlling the epigenome is a fundamental problem in biology. Collecting massive epigenome data has been becoming increasingly feasible because of the wide-spread availability of next-generation sequencing technology. Thus, there have been growing interests in the genome-wide analysis of the epigenome. There are some issues to be resolved. Care has to be taken to select samples so as to reduce false-positive findings. Processing enormous epigenome data is a computationally intensive task and needs a suite of software techniques such as suffix array, error correction, customizable data visualization, machine learning, and efficient database management. In this talk, I will overview these issues and their solutions, and discuss remaining bioinformatics problems.


Preface 1. Applications of advanced composites in aircraft structures References 2. Cost of Composites- A qualitative discussion 2.1 Recurring cost 2.2 Non-recurring cost 2.3 Technology selection 2.4 Summary and conclusions Exercises References 3. Review of Classical Laminated-Plate Theory 3.1 Composite Materials - Definitions, symbology and terminology 3.2 Constitutive equations in three dimensions 3.3 Constitutive equations in two dimensions - Plane stress Exercises References 4. Review of laminate strength and failure criteria 4.1 Maximum stress failure theory 4.2 Maximum strain failure theory 4.3 Tsai-Hill failure theory 4.4 Tsai-Wu failure theory 4.5 Other failure theories References 5. Composite structural components and mathematical formulation 5.1 Overview of composite airframe 5.2 Governing equations 5.3 Reductions of governing equations - Applications to specific problems 5.4 Energy methods Exercises References 6. Buckling of composite plates 6.1 Buckling of rectangular composite plate under biaxial loading 6.2 Buckling of rectangular composite plate under uniaxial compression 6.3 Buckling of rectangular composite plate under shear 6.4 Buckling of long rectangular composite plates under shear 6.5 Buckling of rectangular composite plates under combined loads 6.6 Design equations for different boundary conditions and load combinations Exercises References 7. Post-buckling 7.1 Post-buckling analysis of composite panels under compression 7.2 Post-buckling analysis of composite plates under shear Exercises References 8. Design and analysis of composite beams 8.1 Cross-section definition based on design guidelines 8.2 Cross-sectional properties 8.3 Column buckling 8.4 Beam on elastic foundation under compression 8.5 Crippling 8.6 Importance of radius regions at flange intersections 8.7 Inter-rivet buckling of stiffener flanges 8.8 Application - Analysis of stiffener in a stiffened panel under compression Exercises References 9. Skin-stiffened structure 9.1 Smearing of stiffness properties (equivalent stiffness) 9.2 Failure modes of a stiffened panel 9.3 Additional considerations of stiffened panels Exercises References 10. Sandwich structure 10.1 Sandwich bending stiffness 10.2 Buckling of sandwich structure 10.3 Sandwich wrinkling 10.4 Sandwich crimping 10.5 Sandwich intra-cellular buckling (dimpling) under compression 10.6 Attaching sandwich structures Exercises References 11. Good Design practices and Design "rules of thumb" Exercises References Index


Photoperiod is an annual cue measured by biological systems to align growth and reproduction with the seasons. In plants, photoperiodic flowering has been intensively studied for over 100 years, but we lack a complete picture of the transcriptional networks and cellular processes that are photoperiodic. We performed a transcriptomics experiment on Arabidopsis plants grown in 3 different photoperiods, and find that nearly one-third of the known genes show photoperiodic alteration in gene expression. Gene clustering, daily expression integral calculations and cis-element analysis then separate photoperiodic genes into co-expression subgroups that display 19 diverse seasonal expression patterns, opening the possibility that many photoperiod measurement systems work in parallel in Arabidopsis. Then, functional enrichment analysis predicts co-expression of important cellular pathways. To test these predictions, we generated a comprehensive catalog of genes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, overlaid gene expression data and demonstrated that photoperiod intersects with the two major phenylpropanoid pathways differentially, controlling flavonoids but not lignin. Finally, we describe the development of a new app that visualizes photoperiod transcriptomic data for the wider community.


In this paper, a digital image encryption algorithm based on discrete wavelet transform and chaos theory is referred. The value of the discrete wavelet transformation coefficient matrix was encrypted and the scrambled by adjusting chaos sequence. The proposed algorithm is described in detail. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, some security analysis are presented. The cryptosystem speed is analyzed and tested as well. Results of the various types of analysis are encouraging and it can be concluded that the proposed image encryption technique is suitable choice for practical applications.


This paper addresses a research gap on the role of employee participation in motivating workplace climate change mitigation activities. Drawing upon a survey of 682 Australian employers and an analysis of 1329 enterprise agreements, we find strong associations between organisational activities for the reduction of carbon emissions and employee participation in motivating, developing and/or implementing these measures. Engagement with emissions reduction at the workplace level is more likely where employee participation has a substantive role involving deeper and wider influence in organisational decision-making. This is especially the case when a range of approaches, including collective bargaining through trade unions, are utilised. Reflecting extant research on employee participation, this study confirms the importance of the concepts of depth and scope in evaluating the extent to which employee participation is substantive, and that different forms of participation have mutually reinforcing impacts over workplace decisions to reduce carbon emissions. The findings presented suggest that the form of participation may be less important than the way in which it is implemented and the degree of substantive influence that employees have in practice.


Two novel copolymer donors based on one-dimensional (1D)–two-dimensional (2D) asymmetrical benzodithiophene (BDT) units (BDTPH-H and BDTPH-OR) and 2,3-diphenyl-5,8-di(thiophen-2-yl)quinoxaline (DTQx) were synthesized and compared with one-dimensional or two-dimensional symmetric BDT unit based photovoltaic polymers. Both asymmetrical polymers exhibited promising photovoltaic performance compared with 1D and 2D symmetric BDT polymers. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PBDTPH-DTQx based polymer solar cells is 5.6%, with balanced VOC = 0.7 V, JSC = 11.89 mA cm−2 and FF = 67.3%, which is almost the highest PCE compared with similar BDT unit and fluorine-free substituted DTQx based polymer. What is more, PBDTPH-DTQx shows better performance than PBDTPHO-DTQx due to the single phenyl making DTQx more planar and with better π–π stacking than alkoxy phenyl. These findings demonstrate that the 1D–2D asymmetrical BDT units are also applicable to poor planarity fluorine-free substituted quinoxaline acceptor system.


Fisherman in Indonesia is still dominated by small-scale fishermen or traditional fishermen. This condition is very vulnerable to poverty with condition is identical with low well-being. This research was conducted in Indramayu regency from February to May 2018 by interviewing 100 fishermen. This study aims to analyze the domain of life satisfaction and subjective well-being of fishermen because prosperity is generally measured objectively through standards made by the government. Structured questionnaires are used to find out whether they are satisfied with their life or not in certain conditions such as satisfaction with fishing gear, government policies, environment, the relationship between them and others. Life satisfaction domain analysis is used to determine which domain is the most dominant. The method used in this study is a purposive sampling method in which a sample determination technique was performed with certain considerations. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, namely average, standard deviation, and variance. Subjective well-being levels are categorized into four classes, very poor, poor, good, and very good. The results showed that Indramayu. Fishermen belong to a very good subjective well-being.


The Apostolic tradition in the Church's understanding of Scripture and faith from Reformation to the start of the 21st century – A brief hermeneutical overview. This study is a concise hermeneutical overview of faith's various ways of understanding and of the different approaches towards scripture interpretation in the history of the Church, from the Reformation to the start of the 21st century. In conclusion, the research manifests that historically the Apostolic Tradition of the Early Church, with its ecumenically accepted expression of faith in the Nicene Confession (originating from the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea 325 and Constantinople 381), provides us with a vital hermeneutical key for the interpretation of the scripture and the faith of the Church and, in conjunction with this, offers a foundation towards Church unity for our time and all centuries. The study expressly takes into account that the current ecumenical debate on the unity of the Church predominantly supports the view that the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creedal statement undoubtedly renders the best basis for seeking the unity of faith communities of all ages and across the world.


In the past 10 years platform ecosystems have come to play a significant role in many aspects of human societies, bringing with them certain logics and practices that structure how people live and work. Operating such a platform ecosystem gives rise to certain strategies for creating and managing a distributed labor force that is not directly controlled by the platform owner. This paper explores some of those strategies by investigating Swift, a programming language created by Apple to facilitate third-party software development for its platform ecosystem. Through the story of its emergence and evolution I show how Apple wields Swift as a managerial tool and as a competitive weapon to maintain the generative potential of its platform ecosystem and to evolve it in profitable ways. In so doing this paper foregrounds the internal dynamics of software platforms and helps us better understand some of the politics at play in the constitution of everyday technologies.


We examined synovial fluid samples from 14 patients with Lyme arthritis for the presence of neutrophil chemotactic factors. Thirteen of the synovial fluids stimulated chemotaxis of normal human neutrophils. The chemotactic activity was heat-sensitive and was not inhibited by antibody to C5a or antibody to interleukin-8, or by a competitive inhibitor of the chemotactic peptide f-Met-Leu-Phe. A culture supernatant of Borrelia burgdorferi also contained neutrophil chemoattractants. Chromatography demonstrated that the chemoattractants in the synovial fluid samples were different from those in the B burgdorferi culture supernatant. One of the major chemotactic factors in Lyme disease synovial fluid had a calculated molecular weight of 13,900. We conclude that a novel, host-derived chemoattractant is present in the synovial fluid of patients with Lyme disease.


There is a great need for durable noise reducing pavements for highways.The concept for noise reduction is to create a pavement texture, with big cavities at the pavement surface in order to reduce the noise generated from air pumping, and ensuring a smooth surface so noise generated by vibration of the tyres will not be increased. Open textured pavements are open only at the upper part and are not expected to need special winter mainte-nance.European experiences with thin layers have been further developed.Four different pavement concepts are used: Open graded asphalt concrete (DAC-open), Stone Mastics Asphalt (SMA), a thin layer constructed as an UTLAC (Ultra Thin Layer Asphalt Concrete), and semi porous pavement (PAC).In 2006 10 optimized thin lay-ers were laid on a Danish highway near Herning.Maximum aggregate sizes were in the range of 6 to 8 mm.Dense Asphalt Concrete with 11 mm maximum aggregate size is a reference pavement.The results from the first series of SPB noise measurements are presented in this paper.


Using the Richard's equation in the Fokker-Planck nonlinear diffusion form, unsaturated soil water flow may be treated as a diffusion-convection wave process. If ∂θ/∂z is assumed a function of θ alone, the unsaturated flow equation may be solved by the method of characteristics, and when ∂θ/∂z becomes sufficiently small, the Peclet number is assumed large enough to treat unsaturated flow kinematically. Changes in θ with depth in the soil profile are treated as waves, moving downward. Advancing and receding "waves" are treated differently in the approximate analytical technique described here, with advancing wetting fronts described by kinematic "shocks." The method is compared to the complete solution to Richard's equation for a complex rain pattern and found to predict well the location of deeper moving fronts and also general θ patterns. The kinematic method is also shown to apply to root water extraction zones and to layered soil situations.


A 30‐month experimental and modeling study was conducted into the effects of low‐frequency active (LFA) sonars on Navy divers. 453 dives using 87 subjects were completed with one symptomatic event. A variety of dive equipment, depths to five atmospheres, and three signal waveforms were used. Interim guidance for exposure to LFA signals was issued by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. For exposures to nonimpulsive waterborne sound in the frequency range 160–320 Hz, the following set of parameters did not compromise the safety of a highly trained, fit, and informed diver (diver compromise refers to a diver who could become a casualty or burden to others in an operational setting): A maximum overall SPL of 160 dB for no more than 100 s continuous exposure on a 50% duty cycle, with a cumulative exposure limit of 15 min/dive‐day, a total of 9 days of exposure in a 2‐week period. SPL is measured at the diver's location. This guidance is generalizable only to those populations equivalent in medical he...


The aim of this study was to determine the distribution different types of osteoproliferative lesions on the lumbar spine and their relations in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) under biologic-disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug therapy. T12-S1 corners were evaluated in 182/274 (66.4%) patients with lumbar radiographs. Lesions were determined as osteophyte (grade 0–3), erosion, sclerosis, squaring, corner syndesmophyte, and bridging syndesmophyte. Lesions with no clear distinction were defined as ambiguous. The mean (SD) age of 182 PsA (69.2% female) patients was 47.6 years (12.7), the mean age at diagnosis of PsA was 39.7 years (12.7). Of the patients, 112 (61.5%) met the criteria for mNY. Osteophytes were the most frequently detected lesions (42.3%), with 18.1% of patients having osteophyte grade 2 and above (mostly on L2-L4). Syndesmophytes were present in 24.2% of all patients (mostly on T12-L4), and ambiguous lesions were detected in 13 (4.7%) patients. Changes were observed in five ambiguous lesions in patients with follow-up lumbar radiography, four of them transformed into corner syndesmophytes at follow-up, and one was evaluated as osteophyte grade 2. Approximately one fifth of patients presented with significant degenerative new bone formation, and syndesmophytes were found in one fourth. In approximately 7% of all patients, lesions were ambiguous. The nature of these lesions needs to be evaluated in further imaging studies.


A common way for a distributed system to tolerate crashes is to explicitly detect them and then recover from them. Interestingly, detection can take much longer than recovery, as a result of many advances in recovery techniques, making failure detection the dominant factor in these systems' unavailability when a crash occurs. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of Falcon, a failure detector with several features. First, Falcon's common-case detection time is sub-second, which keeps unavailability low. Second, Falcon is reliable: it never reports a process as down when it is actually up. Third, Falcon sometimes kills to achieve reliable detection but aims to kill the smallest needed component. Falcon achieves these features by coordinating a network of spies, each monitoring a layer of the system. Falcon's main cost is a small amount of platform-specific logic. Falcon is thus the first failure detector that is fast, reliable, and viable. As such, it could change the way that a class of distributed systems is built.


The design of finite impulse response (FIR) digital filters for approximating an arbitrary function (in both magnitude and phase) in the least-square sense is studied. The design method is based on the computation of an eigenvector of an appropriate real, symmetric and positive-definite matrix. The design of the complex-coefficient filter is shown to be an extension of the design of the real-coefficient filter. Several design examples, including the constant-group-delay filters and digital phase all-pass filters, are presented. Comparisons to existing methods are made. >