[1] Biogeochemical variations of surface water in the Northeast Atlantic (Bay of Biscay) were examined using high-frequency underway measurements combined with monthly sampling of carbon-related variables. The mechanisms controlling seasonal CO2 variability were investigated by distinguishing the contributions of biological and physical processes to the monthly changes in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). The seasonality of DIC (47–81 µmol kg−1) had a single peak with a winter maximum primarily driven by vertical mixing and a summer minimum driven by spring biological removal. Non-Redfield C:N uptake was observed in the nutrient-depleted summer but not during the spring bloom. In the North Atlantic, pCO2 seasonality shows a latitudinal transition: from the temperature-dominated oligotrophic subtropical gyre to the subpolar region where pCO2 is dominated by changing concentrations of DIC. In the midlatitude Bay of Biscay, the annual cycle of pCO2 (61–75 µatm) showed a double-peak distribution. The summer pCO2 peak was mainly driven by temperature increase, while the winter peak resulted from the dominant effect of entrainment of subsurface water. Interannual variations of DIC were more pronounced in winter and were driven by the changes in the strength of winter mixing. Higher wintertime concentrations and seasonal amplitudes of DIC were observed in cold years when the mixed-layer depths were deeper, which appears to be associated with negative phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The Bay of Biscay shows a decrease of CO2 uptake in 2008–2010 (−0.97 and −0.75 mol m−2 yr−1) compared to 2002–2004 (−1.47 and −1.68 mol m−2 yr−1).


Urbanization and industrialization cause various changes in the environment and the resulting chemical and organic matter causes various harms to living things in this world and this harm also affects future generations. Fluoride, one of the wastes from the fertilizer industry and some manufacturing plants, mixes with water and causes various anatomical and various harms when it is ingested by organisms. Its concentration can be reduced more easily by the absorption method than by various methods to remove fluoride from water, this is called defluoridation. Fluoride, which has an opposite charge property, can be easily removed by a positively charged material. Part of this can be removed by absorption with an aqueous solution made from the cover of tamarind fruit.


This research project has a dual purpose. In the first place, to analyse the evolution of economic growth that Chile has experienced over the last two decades in terms of an improvement of its most commonlyused economical indicator (GDP per capita) and social indicators such as illiteracy and the reduction of poverty. Secondly, to examine, in this context, the evolution of the hope for life expectancy in Chile. After a descriptive analysis, the author observes that the correlation quotient between the GDP per capita and illiteracy variables and the variable of hope for life expectancy is more positive and closer to one, which indicates that an increase of those variables would result in a rise in the hope for life expectancy. On the contrary, the association between the variables of poverty and hope for life expectancy is negative. This would indicate that an increase in poverty would bring a lower hope for life expectancy. This enables us to conclude that in general terms, the improvement of economical and social indicators, together with efficient social policies, has been accompanied by a decrease in poverty, a drop in illiteracy and an improvement of living conditions among the population.


A common finding across empirical studies of price adjustment is that there is large heterogeneity in the frequency of price adjustment. However, there is little evidence of how distant prices are from the desired flexible price. Without this evidence, it is difficult to discern what the frequency measure implies for the transmission of shocks or to understand why some firms adjust more frequently than others. We exploit the open economy environment, which provides a well-identified and sizeable cost shock namely the exchange rate shock to shed light on these questions. First, we empirically document that high frequency adjusters have a long-run pass-through that is at least twice as high as low frequency adjusters in the data. Next, we show theoretically that long-run pass-through is determined by the same primitives that shape the curvature of the profit function and, hence, also affect frequency. In an environment with variable mark-ups or variable marginal costs, theory predicts a positive relation between frequency and pass-through, as documented in the data. Consequently, estimates of long-run pass-through shed light on the determinants of the duration of prices. The standard workhorse model with constant elasticity of demand and Calvo or state dependent pricing generates long-run pass-through that is uncorrelated with frequency, contrary to the data. Lastly, we calibrate a dynamic menu-cost model and show that variable mark-ups chosen to match the variation in pass-through in the data can generate substantial variation in price duration, equivalent to one third of the observed variation in the data.


Thanks to their oxide layer, aluminium alloys are remarkable for their ability to resist corrosion. However, in welding, this protective layer acts as a barrier which must be broken in order to succeed in the thermomechanical joining of aluminium. The chosen alloy (6082-T6 or AlSi1MgMn) has been subjected to various deformation path. The first of them consists in the channel-die (plane strain) compression of two cuboids, one above the other. Considering the configuration of the test, the surface size between the two samples rises, so that the fragmentation of the oxide layer creates welding bonds. However, the friction effects in the channel lead to a heterogeneous deformation, so that the contact surface undergoes different behaviors: a microscopic study then shows that the welds appear in areas with significant shear. Channel-die and uniaxial compressions of beveled samples confirm that more significantly than the global deformation, the shear strain is the most active phenomenon for achieving an effective thermomechanical joining. Another approach is the cumulative deformation as a result of a cyclic load: a tube is cut through its section and undergoes both a compression and cyclic torsion load. The contact surface between the two semi-tubes is under a shear behavior and the combination between plastic deformation and local heating leads to a fragmentation of the oxide layer: all this factors allow the thermomechanical joining of aluminium alloys.


We present the results of a systematic study of the temperature-dependent resistivity and of T-c of a single crystal MgB2 sample as a function of point defect concentration. We have found linear, albeit weak, correlation between the decreasing superconducting critical temperature and the residual resistivity and no variation of the slope of the rho(T) curve at high temperature. These findings reinforce the already existing picture of s-wave pairing for the superconductivity. The interband scattering is low despite increasing disorder. Somewhat surprisingly, Matthiessen's rule is followed even in this two-band metal.


The fastest growing audience of the Internet world is women. This study was designed using the Uses and Gratifications theory framework to understand Internet usage among female undergraduate students. The objectives of this study are to identify the relationship between knowledge of English language, purposes of Internet usage with gratification derived from Internet usage and problems in using the Internet. Non-probability sampling was employed in this study. Of the 319 respondents who participated in the study, 62 were from the field of English language and 257 from other fields of humanities. The relationship between purposes of Internet usage with gratification derived from Internet usage is significant and positive. There is no significant relationship between knowledge of English language and gratification derived from Internet usage.


A system to manage human interaction in immersive environments was designed and implemented. The interaction is defined by an interval scripi which describes the relationships between the time intervals which command actuators or gather information from sensors. With this formalism, reactive, linear, and tree-like interaction can be equally described, as well as less regular story and interaction patterns. Control of actuators and sensors is accomplished using PNF-restriction, a calculus which propagates the sensed information through the interval script determining which intervals are or should be happening at each moment. The prototype was used in an immersive, story-based interactive environment called SingSong where a user or a performer tries to conduct four computer character singers in spite of the hostility of one of them.


Kernel functions can be viewed as a non-linear transformation that increases the separability of the input data by mapping them to a new high dimensional space. The incorporation of kernel functions enables the K-Means algorithm to explore the inherent data pattern in the new space. However, the previous applications of the kernel K-Means algorithm are confined to small corpora due to its expensive computation and storage cost. To overcome these obstacles, we propose a new clustering scheme which changes the clustering order from the sequence of samples to the sequence of kernels, and employs a disk-based strategy to control data. The new clustering scheme has been demonstrated to be very efficient for a large corpus by our experiments on handwritten digits recognition, in which more than 90% of the running time was saved.


This article is a theoretical treatment of feminist epistemology of crime, which advocates the centrality of gender as a theoretical starting point for the investigating of digital crimes. It does so by exploring the synergy between the feminist perspectives and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF) (which argues that three possible factors motivate cybercrimes – socioeconomic, psychosocial, and geopolitical) to critique mainstream criminology and the meaning of the term "cybercrime". Additionally, the article examines gender gaps in online harassment, cyber‐bullying, cyber‐fraud, revenge porn, and cyber‐stalking to demonstrate that who is victimised, why, and to what effect are the critical starting points for the analysis of the connections between gender and crimes. In turn, it uses the lens of intersectionality to acknowledge that, while conceptions of gender and crime interact, they intersect with other categories (e.g., sexuality) to provide additional layers of explanation. To nuance the utilitarian value of the synergy between the TCF and the feminist perspectives, the focus shifts to a recent case study (which compared socioeconomic and psychosocial cybercrimes). The article concludes that, while online and offline lives are inextricably intertwined, the victimisations in psychosocial cybercrimes may be more gendered than in socioeconomic cybercrimes. These contributions align the TCF to the feminist epistemology of crime in their attempt to move gender analysis of digital crimes "from margin to centre".


Single-cell genetic and epigenetic analyses parse the brain's billions of neurons into thousands of "cell-type" clusters, each residing in different brain structures. Many of these cell types mediate their unique functions by virtue of targeted long-distance axonal projections to allow interactions between specific cell types. Here we have used Epi-Retro-Seq to link single cell epigenomes and associated cell types to their long-distance projections for 33,034 neurons dissected from 32 different source regions projecting to 24 different targets (225 source →target combinations) across the whole mouse brain. We highlight uses of this large data set for interrogating both overarching principles relating projection cell types to their transcriptomic and epigenomic properties and for addressing and developing specific hypotheses about cell types and connections as they relate to genetics. We provide an overall synthesis of the data set with 926 statistical comparisons of the discriminability of neurons projecting to each target for every dissected source region. We integrate this dataset into the larger, annotated BICCN cell type atlas composed of millions of neurons to link projection cell types to consensus clusters. Integration with spatial transcriptomic data further assigns projection-enriched clusters to much smaller source regions than afforded by the original dissections. We exemplify these capabilities by presenting in-depth analyses of neurons with identified projections from the hypothalamus, thalamus, hindbrain, amygdala, and midbrain to provide new insights into the properties of those cell types, including differentially expressed genes, their associated cis-regulatory elements and transcription factor binding motifs, and neurotransmitter usage.


Macrocyclic oligoesters (MCOs) derived from biomass such as those made of alkylene alkanedioates and 2,5‐ furandicarboxylates are suitable compounds for ring opening polymerization (ROP) to produce high molecular weight bio‐ based polyesters. The synthetic procedures that have been recently developed to obtain these MCOs in good yields, their ROP either alone or together with other cyclic compounds, as well as their recovery by cyclodepolymerization of final polyesters, are the main topics covered in this review. Both organometallic compounds and enzymes such as Candida antarctica lipase B are the catalytic systems used for all reactions. This synthetic approach based on ROP of MCOs coming from renewable sources opens a green pathway for a circular economy in plastics.


In this paper we discuss the fact that more and more patients are treated in their homes by a set of organizations, sometimes with different ownership, we explore how this poses new and heavy demands on health care and home service staff to communicate and to collaborate. We investigate the need for improved communication and collaboration on different managerial and operational levels. In particular we point to the need for managers in different organizations to agree on ways of communicating and collaborating between the operational level and the importance of this during procurement of home care services. As a result the paper suggests a number of methodological measures, strategies and IT solutions, to support organizational development, coordination and collaboration.


Tariff reductions, falling transport costs, and reduced barriers to international capital flows have created extensive opportunities for multinational firms and investors in increasingly integrated global markets. For example, the outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) position of American firms grew at an average annual rate of 11 percent to $2.4 trillion from 1982 to 2006 while inbound FDI to the United States grew to $1.8 trillion. Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) has grown similarly. By 2005, 16 percent of all U.S. long-term securities (equity and debt) were held by foreigners. Foreign holdings of American stocks increased from $400 billion to $2.3 trillion over the last decade, while American holdings of foreign stocks increased from $600 billion to $3 trillion. In the midst of this rapid integration, investors and firms still face tax systems and investor protections that differ across countries, and these differences have the potential to affect major investment and financing decisions. Governments anxious to attract FDI often consider the use of tax incentives to lure multinational firms, and governments of FDI source countries--including the United States--often wonder whether their tax treatment of foreign income is appropriate. Similarly, investor protections and the broader institutional environment remain distinctive around the world and may influence investors' port folio decisions and firms' operational and financing decisions. Recent research has advanced our understanding of the role of taxation and investor protections on capital flows and patterns of FPI. We also have considered the causes and consequences of tax avoidance activity; we have established how foreign and domestic activity interact in order to inform new welfare measures; and we have elaborated on how investment and financing decisions by multinational firms reflect the effects of taxes and varying institutional regimes. Portfolio Flows Empirical efforts to isolate how taxation influences portfolio choice have produced mixed results. Investigating the relationship between cross-sectional differences in marginal tax rates and asset holdings is complicated by the incomplete nature of most household portfolios and the fact that income levels can influence both risk preferences and marginal tax rates. Efforts to examine how portfolios change in response to tax reforms must overcome the possibility that the observed changes reflect endogenous supply responses or other general equilibrium effects that may confound the influence of taxation on portfolio choices. Dhammika Dharmapala and I attempt to overcome these empirical difficulties by analyzing a tax reform that differentially changed the tax treatment of otherwise similar instruments in a manner that is unlikely to have produced any endogenous supply response. (1) Specifically, we investigate how taxes influence portfolio choices by exploring the response to the distinctive treatment of foreign dividends in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (JGTRRA). JGTRRA lowered the dividend tax rate to 15 percent for American equities and extended this tax relief only to foreign corporations from a subset of countries. The division of countries into two separate groups was driven by regulatory concerns and was unrelated to future changes in investment opportunities or other regulatory efforts to change investment in these countries differentially. Given the relatively small share of their stocks held by American investors, it is unlikely that supply responses by foreign firms would be large. It is similarly unlikely that the effects of the reform on U.S. investors' portfolios would have been offset by clientele effects in asset markets. JGTRRA applied only to U.S. investor returns, leaving non-U.S. investor tax rates and asset demands unaffected. This paper uses a difference-in-difference analysis that compares U.S. equity holdings in affected and unaffected countries. …


An analysis of a 15 century Mamluk marble mosaic pattern reveals an interesting construction method. Almost invisible cut-lines prove there was an underlying pattern upon which the artisan designed the visible pattern. This construction method allowed the artisan to physically strengthen the work and make its marble tiles more stable. We identify the underlying pattern and generate other patterns using the same underlying tiles. We conclude with an exhaustive description of all such patterns.


Severely constipated children with encopresis in whom outpatient management has failed frequently require several days of hospitalization, as well as conventional treatments involving cathartics and enemas. A balanced electrolyte solution of the nonabsorbable polymer polyethylene glycol (GoLytely, Braintree [Mass] Laboratories Inc) offers a safe and efficient method for clearing the intestine. Twenty-four patients with a mean age of 8.1 years (range, 0.8 to 17.6 years) and an average weight of 31.5 kg received polyethylene glycol-electrolyte solution: eight patients with encopresis were given it as treatment for severe fecal retention unresponsive to outpatient management; the other 16 were being prepared for colonoscopy. Weight, complete blood cell count, and serum electrolyte, serum urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine levels were measured before solution administration and two hours afterward. Abdominal roentgenograms were obtained from the encopretic patients. The two groups were comparable in age and weight. Polyethylene glycol-electrolyte solution was given at a rate of 14 to 40 mL/kg/h until clear fluid was excreted through the rectum. Intestines were cleaned out successfully in all patients, and side effects were minimal. Children with encopresis required an average of 11.8 L (574 mL/kg) given over 22.5 hours, while the other children needed only 4.0 L (128 mL/kg) given over 7.5 hours. Weight and serum electrolyte and creatinine levels did not change significantly in any patient. The hematocrit decreased only in encopretic patients (0.38 to 0.36 [37.6% to 35.8%]) and the serum urea nitrogen level decreased in the patients undergoing colonoscopy (3.6 to 2.0 mmol/L [10 to 8 mg/dL]).


This paper examines the effects of distribution channels on demand for apparel, home textiles and other textiles (such as shoes) in urban China. The estimation procedure we use in this study is implemented in three steps. First, we estimate the price/unit value information; second, we estimate the parameters for the demand systems based on QAIDs model; third, we use the J-test and determine the best suitable model for the data set. The results indicate that households spend more on apparel than home textiles and other textile products such as shoes if they purchase textile products from small stores. It also indicates that they would spend more on home textiles and shoes if they purchase from chain stores and supermarkets.


Abstract Monadic programming is an essential component in the toolbox of functional programmers. For the pure and total programmers, who sometimes navigate the waters of certified programming in type theory, it is the only means to concisely implement the imperative traits of certain algorithms. Monads open up a portal to the imperative world, all that from the comfort of the functional world. The trend towards certified programming within type theory begs the question of reasoning about such programs. Effectful programs being encoded as pure programs in the host type theory, we can readily manipulate these objects through their encoding. In this article, we pursue the idea, popularized by Maillard [21], that every monad deserves a dedicated program logic and that, consequently, a proof over a monadic program ought to take place within a Floyd-Hoare logic built for the occasion. We illustrate this vision through a case study on the SimplExpr module of CompCert [18], using a separation logic tailored to reason about the freshness of a monadic gensym.


Novel ionic Ag(I)−piperazinium nalidixic acid conjugate 1 was synthesized as a potential antitumor agent and was thoroughly characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR and single X-ray crystal diffraction studies. Complex 1 crystallized in the triclinic space group P1 and comprises a dipiperazinium–Ag(I) cationic unit, two nalidixate (naI−) anionic moieties and a nitrate ion. The Ag(I) ion adopted a linear configuration upon coordination with two nitrogen atoms of piperazinium cations (pipzH+) arranged in a trans fashion. The density functional theory (DFT) studies of 1 revealed the HOMO and LUMO to be localized on the metal center viz., the dx2−y2 orbital and partially localized on the C27, C28, C29, C30, C31, C32, N7 and N6 atoms of the piperazinium moiety. Non covalent interaction (NCI) calculations were carried out to identify the weak non-covalent interactions from the topological analysis and reduced gradient of the electron density of complex 1. Our results revealed significant inter- and intramolecular non-covalent interactions between the naI− and [Ag(pip)2]2+ units. Furthermore, an analysis of Hirshfeld surfaces and fingerprint plots were carried out to ascertain a comparison between intermolecular interactions which provide interesting supramolecular architectures involving combinations of N–H⋯O, O–H⋯O and C–H⋯O linkages into a two-dimensional framework. In vitro binding studies of 1 with ct-DNA and tRNA revealed higher binding propensity for tRNA which was evidenced from its higher intrinsic binding constant, Kb and binding constant, K values and the mode of binding was found to be groove binding in nature. The catalytic activity of topoisomerase I enzyme in the presence of complex 1 was ascertained by gel electrophoretic assay which demonstrated significant inhibitory effects at a low concentration of 25 μM. The cytotoxicity activity of 1 was determined by SRB assay on MIA-PA-CA-2, HepG2, HeLa and MCF7 human cancer cell lines; these results exhibited specific and selective antitumor activity for the MIA-PA-CA-2 cancer cell line with a GI50 value <10.


This white paper describes the benefits and performance of the latest Dell™ PowerEdge™ R810 running Microsoft® SQL Server® in VMware® vSphere™ 4.0 Update 1 (U1) and EqualLogic™ PS6000XV iSCSI storage arrays. The Dell PowerEdge R810 offers an ideal platform to consolidate demanding virtual database workloads in space conscious datacenters. The R810 also offers energy efficiency features in a dense 2U, form factor rack server with up to a four-socket capacity and up to 512GB of RAM. A series of evaluation and performance tests were executed to determine the performance the PowerEdge R810 can deliver in a virtual database environment. The tests compared the overall performance improvement against the previous server generation, as well as the added capacity.


Jiang-Xiazi Lin1∗, Phum Siriviboon1∗, Harley D. Scammell, Song Liu, Daniel Rhodes, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, James Hone, Mathias S. Scheurer, and J.I.A. Li1∗ Department of Physics, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA School of Physics, the University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052 Australia Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan 6 Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, A-6020, Austria and ∗These authors contributed equally in this work. (Dated: December 16, 2021)


Currently the only accepted method for the detection of botulinum neurotoxin in contaminated samples is the mouse bioassay. Although highly sensitive this test has a number of drawbacks: it is expensive to perform, lacks specificity and involves the use of animals. With increasing resistance to such animal tests there is a need to replace the bioassay with a reliable in vitro test. Over the past six years it has been demonstrated that all the botulinum neurotoxins act intracellularly as highly specific zinc endoproteases, cleaving proteins involved in the control of secretion of neurotransmitters. In the work described, this enzymatic activity has been utilised in assay formats for the detection in foods of neurotoxin of the serotypes involved in food-borne outbreaks in man. These assays have been shown to have a greater sensitivity, speed and specificity than the mouse bioassay. It is envisaged that such assays will prove realistic alternatives to animal-based tests.


Nowadays, Energy is an essential requirement for daily activities. Indonesians use solar energy for various activities such as electricity, water heaters, and dryers. Solar collectors are devices that absorb solar energy and convert it into heat energy. Solar energy heats copper pipes and water passes through heat tubes induces an increase in water temperature. The increase in heating capacity in this experiment was carried out by adding paraffin (as thermal storage material) into a tube in a solar collector. Solar water heaters equipped with solar collectors (called cylindrical trough collectors) have been developed in this experiment. Paraffin placed in the copper tube with two conditions. They are called Collector A and Collector B. The effect of two conditions of placing paraffin in copper tubes on the water-out temperature has been studied in this experiment. The result shows that the highest water temperature found with 56°C in collector A. It is due to the highest solar radiation intensity also record at 1,289 W/m2 (1:00 PM). While Collector B only produces the water-out temperature of 52°C at 1:00 PM. The conclusion shows that the position of paraffin in tubes with Collector A can increase the water-out temperature in the solar water heating system if compared with the collector.


Ketoreductase enzymes (KRs) with a high degree
of regio- and stereoselectivity are useful biocatalysts for the production of
small, specific chiral alcohols from achiral ketones. Actinorhodin KR (actKR), part of a type II polyketide
synthase involved in the biosynthesis of the antibiotic actinorhodin, can also
turn over small ketones. In vitro
studies assessing stereocontrol in actKR
have found that, in the "reverse" direction, the wild-type (WT) enzyme's mild
preference for S-α-tetralol is
enhanced in certain mutants (e.g.
P94L); and entirely reversed in others (e.g.
V151L) in favor of R-α-tetralol. Here,
we employ efficient atomistic simulations to rationalize these trends in WT,
P94L, and V151L actKR, using trans-1-decalone (1) as the model substrate. Three potential factors (FI-FIII)
are investigated: frequency of pro-R vs. pro-S
reactive poses (FI) is assessed with
classical molecular dynamics (MD); binding affinity of pro-R vs. pro-S orientations (FII) is compared using the binding free energy method MM/PBSA; and
differences in reaction barriers towards trans-1-decalol
(FIII) are assessed by hybrid
semiempirical quantum / classical (QM/MM) MD simulations with umbrella sampling,
benchmarked with density functional theory. No single factor is found to dominate
stereocontrol: FI largely determines
the selectivity of V151L actKR, whereas
FIII is more dominant in the case of
P94L. It is also found that formation of S-trans-1-decalol
or R-trans-1-decalol mainly arises
from the reduction of the trans-1-decalone
enantiomers (4aS,8aR)-1 or (4aR,8aS)-1, respectively.
Our work highlights the complexity of enzyme stereoselectivity as well as the
usefulness of atomistic simulations to aid the design of stereoselective
biocatalysts.


The introduction of the Internet to the business world has changed many ways of doing business. Unfortunately, the Internet has also become an arena where individuals are constantly at risk for computer viruses, spyware/adware infection, and malicious attacks designed to misuse or appropriate corporate assets. The wide-spread publicity of both cyber-attacks and ways to combat these problems, public and corporate education efforts, and prevention efforts (including corporate spending on new protections and enforcement of existing policies), suggest that it is logical for users to put precautionary practices in place. Unfortunately, they often don't. Many individuals within organizations underestimate their vulnerability and do not follow prescribed security policies and procedures implemented within their organizations. Extant security literature heavily emphasizes automatic or programmed security measures, but does not focus strongly on the behaviors of individuals in the security setting. This paper examines two research questions: What are the effects of organizational policies and procedures on security precautions taken by individuals? What is the role that individual risk perceptions play in individual cyberprecautions choices? These questions will be addressed by theory taken from the formal control and fear of crime literatures. This theory posits that formal controls and individuals' experiences have a strong effect on both individual perceptions of mandatory rules and individual risk perceptions. These perceptions, in turn, lead to precaution-taking behaviors. The resulting model will be tested with a field survey.


Novel closed form expressions to investigate CPW-fed miniaturized planar monopole antennas are presented. The analysis of a CPW-fed strip monopole structure is further extended to derive expressions for the input impedances of miniaturized strip-monopoles supporting slow wave propagation. The concept includes the modification of the propagation constants of the structures and the modeling of them into their equivalent straight rectangular strip-monopoles on planar substrates. The meandered/miniaturized strip-monopole radiators are disintegrated to model them as the superposition of simpler structures and circuit theoretic analyses are performed. The correctness of the reported expressions is validated against the simulations as well as the experimental measurements. Such closed-form analysis facilitates simpler design procedures against other available techniques such as conformal mapping and full wave analysis. The circuit theoretic approach reduces the computational requirements as against the available commercial EM solvers and provides a suitable interface platform for system analysis.


This paper will describe the informal collaborative approach taken by a group of donor funders and researchers in southern and eastern Africa aimed at consolidating the results and increasing the impact of a number of projects dealing with research communications and access to knowledge in higher education in southern and eastern Africa. The projects deploy a variety of perspectives and explore a range of contexts, using the collaborative potential of online resources and social networking tools for the sharing of information and results. The paper will provide a case study of donor intervention as well as analysing the methodologies, approaches and findings of the four projects concerned. The paper will explore the ways in which the projects and their funders have had to address the issues of the global dynamics of knowledge, of the changes in research practices being brought about by information and communication technologies; and of the promises that this could hold for improved access to knowledge in Africa. Finally, the conclusions of the paper address the complex dynamics of institutional change and national policy intervention and the ways in which a collaborative approach can address these.


In this brief, we present a dual-band ultralow-power ultrawideband (UWB) impulse radio (UWB-IR) transceiver in a 90-nm CMOS process for low-data-rate UWB on-off keying (OOK) communications. The dual-band topology enables separation of timing and data impulses for simplified synchronization and duty cycling. The receiver can dynamically switch between two 500-MHz bands centered at 3.5 and 4.5 GHz with an interband isolation of 30 dB. With a fast turn-on time of ~1-2 ns, the total power requirement of the duty-cycled receiver (Rx) block is measured to be 12 μW at 100 kb/s for a Rx sensitivity of -87 dBm and a bit error rate (BER) of 10-3. The dual-band impulse-based transmitter (Tx) is designed using a duty-cycled LC oscillator topology enabled only when a transmission is requested and consumes only 8 μW at 100 kpulse/s. For a BER of 10-3 , the instantaneous signal-to-interference ratio was measured to be better than -50 dB for a 2.4-GHz narrowband interferer. The total power for the transceiver at 20 μW is an order of magnitude better than state-of-the-art designs for comparable performance.


ABSTRACT The provision of urban green spaces (UGS) within a reasonable walking distance/time for each resident has become a major challenge of urban planning. We provide a novel method to map the availability of UGS for different socio-economic groups in cities using a demand–supply composite index (DSCI). Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, has been chosen to test how the DSCI works. The results show significant differences in the availability of UGS for people living in different neighborhood types. Furthermore, findings reveal that regardless of which type of residential area is considered, young and middle-aged people with higher per capita income are more likely to access UGS. As the demographic and socio-economic structure of the population is continuously changing in the different neighborhood types and so is the demand for UGS, urban planners should carefully monitor societal changes and elaborate interventions to help improve the availability and accessibility of UGS.


Bluetongue, caused by the bluetongue virus serotype 8 has rapidly spread through Europe since 2006. The first cases in Switzerland were detected in October 2007. The European Union and Switzerland launched a vaccination campaign in June 2008. This study aims to demonstrate the safety and the immune response of the three vaccines used in Switzerland under practical conditions in the field. The trial was carried out in cattle, sheep and goats. Based on the results of this study recommendations for the 2009 campaign are presented.


This study addresses the problem of state estimation for discrete-time, linear time invariant systems subject to packet losses, which occur in specific regions of the state space. Most practical estimation problems are characterised by occurrences of loss of observation packets, which makes the packet arrival process a non-stationary statistic, making the analysis and design of such an estimator challenging. This estimation problem subject to state-dependent packet losses is formulated using a state-dependent hybrid measurement model and solved using the projection theorem-based approach to obtain minimum mean square error state estimates. By systematically utilising the a priori information of the regions where the packet loss is likely to occur, the proposed estimator takes the Kalman filter structure with the modified algebraic Riccati iteration for the error covariance matrix being stochastic due to the probabilistic packet arrival process. Finally, the proposed estimator is demonstrated using an illustrative two-dimensional aircraft tracking example with state-dependent packet loss and is shown to have improved performance over the baseline packet loss algorithm.


A power system stability is essential for maintaining the power system oscillation frequency within a small and acceptable interval around its nominal frequency. Hence, it is necessary to study and control the frequency for stable operation of a power system by knowing the characteristics within a power system. One approach is to understand the effectiveness of frequency and damping characteristics of generators in power systems. Hence, the simulation analysis of IEEE 118-bus power system is used for this study. The analysis includes theoretical analysis with a mathematical approach and simulation studies of swing equation to determine the characteristics of damped single-machine infinite bus, which is represented as a generator connects to a large network system with a small signal disturbance by line losses. Additionally, mathematical derivation of Prony analysis is presented in order to estimate the frequency and damping ratio of the simulation results. In the end, the results demonstrate that the frequency and damping characteristics of generators are highly dependent on the system inertia constant. Therefore, the higher inertia constant is a critical factor to ensure the system is more stable. Frequency and Damping Characteristics of Generators in Power Systems


Motivation: De novo transcriptome assembly of non-model organisms is the first major step for many RNA-seq analysis tasks. Current methods for de novo assembly often report a large number of contiguous sequences (contigs), which may be fractured and incomplete sequences instead of full-length transcripts. Dealing with a large number of such contigs can slow and complicate downstream analysis.
Results :We present a method for clustering contigs from de novo transcriptome assemblies based upon the relationships exposed by multi-mapping sequencing fragments. Specifically, we cast the problem of clustering contigs as one of clustering a sparse graph that is induced by equivalence classes of fragments that map to subsets of the transcriptome. Leveraging recent developments in efficient read mapping and transcript quantification, we have developed RapClust, a tool implementing this approach that is capable of accurately clustering most large de novo transcriptomes in a matter of minutes, while simultaneously providing accurate estimates of expression for the resulting clusters. We compare RapClust against a number of tools commonly used for de novo transcriptome clustering. Using de novo assemblies of organisms for which reference genomes are available, we assess the accuracy of these different methods in terms of the quality of the resulting clusterings, and the concordance of differential expression tests with those based on ground truth clusters. We find that RapClust produces clusters of comparable or better quality than existing state-of-the-art approaches, and does so substantially faster. RapClust also confers a large benefit in terms of space usage, as it produces only succinct intermediate files - usually on the order of a few megabytes - even when processing hundreds of millions of reads.


ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SUCCESS FOR ESL STUDENTS: AN APPROACH TO SCHOOL ORGANIZATION, LEADERSHIP, AND PROGRAMS Robert Michael Hagan, Ed.D. Fordham University, New York, 2013 Mentor: Carlos R. McCray, Ed.D. The increased number of English language learners (ELLs) presents a difficult task for middle school building principals. The challenge of ensuring the success of ELLs in future years will force schools to rethink educational practices. This study focused on how middle school building principals strategically planned, organized, and managed their schools to meet the needs of ELLs. The phenomenological study was based on the growing student population of English as a second language (ESL) in school districts in Eastern New York. Ten principals were interviewed and a triangulation of data was achieved through observation and collection of documents. The researcher found through bridging that middle school principals engaged in relationship building with parents, students, teachers, and community to create a sense of belonging in the school. As a result, principals are encouraged to provide professional opportunities for the faculty to become certified ESL teachers, accessible to community members, bilingual, and engaged in community building.


The Kubelka-Munk model and extensions thereof are extensively used in product development, thanks to their simplicity and the fact that they are invertible. However, their explanative power is limited to distinguishing processes that affect scattering properties from those that affect absorption properties, an example being the frequently observed decrease of the scattering coefficient with calendering. Better understanding of how internal structural changes affect the optical properties requires modelling the composite structure of a paper layer. We propose a modular object-oriented Open Source Monte Carlo simulation platform, Open PaperOpt, which allows different geometrical representations of the inner paper structure. The proposed file formats open for a standardisation that facilitates data exchange between different simulation tools and measuring instruments, and supports a broad dissemination of the simulation software.


SUMMARY
Neuroendocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract are
relatively rare neoplasms derived from the diffuse endocrine
system (DES), and classified as APUDomas. These
neoplasms include mainly pancreatic endocrine tumors (islet
cells) and carcinoids. Although malignant, these tumors
are often slow-growing. Frequently, these neoplasms secrete
hormonal peptides and vasoactive amines that can produce
specific endocrine syndromes (islet cell syndromes and
carcinoid syndrome). One of the most common symptoms
accompanying these syndromes is chronic diarrhea, which
can be refractory to standard therapies. Recent advances
in understanding the pathophysiology of these tumors have
led to better medical therapies for controlling symptoms,
diarrhea, and tumor growth. Surgery, chemotherapy, somatostatin
analogues, and biologic therapies can all contribute
to treatment. This review will cover recent advances
in diagnosing and treating these neoplasms and the symptoms
they produce.
Key words: Gastrointestinal, Neuroendocrine, Tumor, chronic
diarrhea.


Minimal residual disease (MRD) refers to the small number of malignant cells that remain after therapy when the patient is in remission and shows no symptoms or overt signs of disease. Current treatment protocols for haematological malignancies allow most patients to obtain some form of MRD state, but cure seldom follows and in most cases fatal relapses occur sooner or later, leaving a bitter impression of having won a battle yet lost the war. MRD detection and quantification are used for evaluation of treatment efficiency, patient risk stratification and long-term outcome prediction. Whereas multicolour flow cytometry (MCFC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based methods constitute the two most commonly used techniques for MRD detection, next generation sequencing will certainly be widely employed in the future. As MRD reflects the nature of the malignant disease itself, including its sensitivity to the drug regimens applied, it constitutes the ideal method for surveillance and patient follow-up. The morphological examination of peripheral blood or bone marrow smears, although still an indispensable part of routine laboratory testing, is clearly insufficient for patient management, and clinicians should not ask themselves whether to look for MRD or not, but how and when.


Nonenumerative path-delay fault coverage estimation for combinational circuits estimates the fault coverage of a given test set without explicit enumeration of all paths in the circuit. In a recent nonenumerative method, it was proposed that a set C of lines be located in the circuit so that the set forms a cut and no lines in the set belong to the same path. Each line in the cut defines a subcircuit consisting of all paths that contain the line. Fault coverage may be obtained by working on all the subcircuits without double-counting path-delay faults. The main result of this paper is a polynomial time algorithm for finding a maximum cardinality set C. Besides its theoretical importance, our extensive experimental results on the ISCAS'85 benchmarks show that the larger the set C (and the number of subcircuits), the better the fault coverage estimation. More subcircuits may be generated only in a heuristic manner. It was proposed to consider two or more line-disjoint cuts C/sub i/. We propose a technique where only one C/sub i/ must be a cut. This scheme is based on novel algorithms and results in more subcircuits than the previous one.


Objective: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are complicated medical disorders, with little known etiologies. The purpose of this research is to characterize FMS and CFS by studying the variations in cortisol secretion patterns, timings, amplitudes, the number of underlying pulses, as well as infusion and clearance rates of cortisol. Methods: Using a physiological state-space model with plausible constraints, we estimate the hormonal secretory events and the physiological system parameters (i.e., infusion and clearance rates). Results: Our results show that the clearance rate of cortisol is lower in FMS patients as compared to their matched healthy individuals based on a simplified cortisol secretion model. Moreover, the number, magnitude, and energy of hormonal secretory events are lower in FMS patients. During early morning hours, the magnitude and energy of the hormonal secretory events are higher in CFS patients. Conclusion: Due to lower cortisol clearance rate, there is a higher accumulation of cortisol in FMS patients as compared to their matched healthy subjects. As the FMS patient accumulates higher cortisol residues, internal inhibitory feedback regulates the hormonal secretory events. Therefore, the FMS patients show a lower number, magnitude, and energy of hormonal secretory events. Though CFS patients have the same number of secretory events, they secrete lower quantities during early morning hours. When we compare the results for CFS patients against FMS patients, we observe different cortisol alteration patterns. Significance: Characterizing CFS and FMS based on the cortisol alteration will help us to develop novel methods for treating these disorders.


Today's auto industry primarily relies on destructive teardown evaluation to ensure the quality of the resistance spot welds (RSWs) due to their criticality in crash resistance and performance of vehicles. The destructive teardown evaluation is labor intensive and costly. The very nature of the destructive test means only a few selected welds will be sampled for quality. Most of the welds in a car are never checked. There are significant costs and risks associated with reworking and scrapping the defective welded parts made between the teardown tests. IR thermography as a non-destructive testing (NDT) tool has its distinct advantage — its non-intrusive and non-contact nature. This makes the IR based NDT especially attractive for the highly automated assembly lines. IR for weld quality inspection has been explored in the past, mostly limited to the offline post-processing manner in a laboratory environment. No online real-time RSW inspection using IR thermography has been reported. Typically for postprocessing inspection, a short-pulse heating via xenon flash lamp light (in a few milliseconds) is applied to the surface of a spot weld. However, applications in the auto industry have been unsuccessful, largely due to a critical drawback that cannot be implemented in the high-volume production line – the prerequisite of painting the weld surface to eliminate surface reflection and other environmental interference. This is due to the low signal-to-noise ratio resulting from the low/unknown surface emissivity and the very small temperature changes (typically on the order of 0.1°C) induced by the flash lamp method. An integrated approach consisting of innovations in both data analysis algorithms and hardware apparatus that effectively solved the key technical barriers for IR NDT. The system can be used for both real-time (during welding) and post-processing inspections (after welds have been made). First, we developed a special IR thermal image processing method that utilizes the relative IR intensity change, so that the influence of surface reflection and environment interference can be reduced. Second, for the post-processing inspection, a special induction heater is used to replace the flash lamp, resulting in temperature changes on the order of 10°C. As a result, the signal-to-noise ratio increased by several orders of magnitudes with no surface painting needed, and the inspection results are more accurate and reliable. For real-time inspection, the heat from welding (with temperature exceeding 1000°C) was utilized. Third, "thermal signatures" were identified to uniquely correlate to different weld quality attributes through computational modeling of heat transfer and extensive testing of specially designed ranges of welding conditions. Novel IR image analysis algorithms that automatically and intelligently identify the "thermal signatures" from the IR images and positively determine the weld quality in less than a second were developed.


Leaf water potential (LWP) measurements using a pressure chamber were used to determine optimum timing of the first irrigation following planting on Upland cotton in 1992 and 1993. Previous studies have indicated that leaf water potentials are dependent on the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) of the surrounding air. As a result, the VPD was accounted for in the development of a Leaf Water Potential Index (LWPI). The field studies consisted of three irrigation treatments with four replicates arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCB). Targeted treatment thresholds were 0.15 LWPI (wet), 0.30 LWPI (medium), and 0.45 LWPI (dry). Timing of the first irrigation for the 1992 study occurred at 36, 53, and 63 days after planting. Timing of the 1993 first irrigation occurred at 50, 61, and 77 days after planting for the wet, medium, and dry treatments respectively. There were no significant lint yield differences between irrigation treatments in both 1992 and 1993.


The phase behaviors of diblock copolymers confined in thin films with two identical preferential surfaces are investigated using the self-consistent field theory. Around 20 morphologies, including centrosymmetric and non-centrosymmetric ones, are considered to construct the two-dimensional phase diagram with respect to the volume fraction and the film thickness, while the interaction parameter χN and the surface preferences are fixed. When these morphologies are classified into four categories of ordered phases--sphere, cylinder, perforated lamella (corresponding to gyroid phase in bulk), and lamella--the phase diagram directly reveals the impact of the film confinement on the order-order transitions as a function of volume fraction via the comparisons to those in bulk. Our results also provide a comprehensive understanding over the dependence of the structure formations on the film thickness for each volume fraction.


In a study which has been described as pioneering, Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft, Theodor Nöldeke 'discussed in detail the "Stylistische und syntaktische Eigentümlichkeiten der Sprache des Korans" (pp. 5–23) thereby collecting together everything that had occurred to him in this respect during his protracted and intensive study of the Holy Book of the Muslims.' Among the examples Nöldeke discusses (pp. 13–14) are Q. 7 (not 77 which is clearly a misprint in his text): 55, 27:61; 35:27, 6:99, 20:55, 10:23, etc. where there is a sudden shift in the pronoun of the speaker or the person spoken about, known as iltifāt in balāgha (Arabic rhetoric), though Nöldeke does not refer to the term here. Introducing his discussion of this feature, Nöldeke remarks that 'the grammatical persons change from time to time in the Qur'ān in an unusual and not beautiful way (nicht schöner Weise)' (p. 13). This is a personal value judgement. Arab writers, in contrast see the matter differently. Ibn al-Athīr, for instance, after studying this stylistic feature, as we shall see below, classed it among the 'remarkable things and exquisite subtleties we have found in the Glorious Qur'ān.' It will be seen that the examples Nöldeke cites immediately following the statement quoted above do not occur haphazardly in the Qur'ān but follow a pattern. Examination of where exactly the shift occurs and why, will show how effective the technique is in these examples and why Muslim literary critics and exegetes greatly admire iltifāt and its related features. Nöldeke further remarks (p. 14) that in a few places the second and third person plural are exchanged abruptly: 30:38, 49:7, 10:23. Here again it will be seen that the changes are made according to an effective pattern and that the frequency of occurrences of this type is much greater than is indicated by Nöldeke.


ABSTRACTThis study measured 71 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) collected using stainless steel canisters at 15 monitoring sites in two main Kaohsiung municipal sewers, A-Sewer and B-Sewer, during winter and summer periods in 2008 and 2009. The results indicate that the overall average of total VOCs, TVOC, in A-Sewer was 1173.51 ± 187.69 μg/m3, which was about 40% higher than that in B-Sewer (689.22 ± 151.64 μg/m3). However, TVOC in the winter/dry season was about three (or five) times that in the summer/wet season for A-Sewer (or B-Sewer). For the A-Sewer, chlorinated organics, aromatics, and alkanes were predominant, and altogether contributed to about 90.0% of the TVOC in winter and about 70.6% in summer, with alkenes, ethers, ketones, and sulfur compounds as minor components. For B-sewer, aromatics, alkanes, and chlorinated organics were predominant, and altogether contributed to about 94.1% of the TVOC in winter and about 74.3% in summer, while others were minor ones. The principal component analysis (PCA) and absolute component scores (APCS) models indicate that the percentage source contributions for A-Sewer were solvent usage (31.65 ± 11.27%), oil refineries and storage leaks (28.71 ± 11.52%), auto paintings (19.14 ± 9.74%), asphalt plants (17.05 ± 8.73%), and others (3.45 ± 3.95%). The percentage source contributions for B-Sewer were printing factories (45.35 ± 9.19%), oil refineries and storage leaks (31.78 ± 8.59%), solvent usage (18.64 ± 8.50%), and dry cleaning (4.23 ± 4.70%).


Double bond π-bridges were introduced into an A–D–A structured n-type organic semiconductor (n-OS) IDT-IC and a new n-OS acceptor SJ-IC was synthesized. In comparison with IDT-IC, the SJ-IC film shows significantly red-shifted absorption, improved electron mobility and tuned crystallinity, which make its blend film with a polymer donor easier to form appropriate phase separation. The polymer solar cells with polymer J61 as a donor and SJ-IC as an acceptor demonstrated a higher PCE of 9.27% with a higher Jsc of 16.99 mA cm−2, while the device based on J61/IDT-IC only delivered a PCE of 6.95% with a Jsc of 13.70 mA cm−2, which should be ascribed to the red-shifted and broadened absorption of SJ-IC. Therefore, inserting double bond π-bridges into n-OS acceptor molecules is a simple and effective way to broaden and red-shift their absorption to improve their photovoltaic performance. In addition, the near-infrared absorption of the SJ-IC acceptor should be beneficial to its future application in semitransparent and tandem PSCs.


In the previous work, two types of installed filter leak tests described in ISO 14644-3; aerosol photometer method and light-scattering airborne particle counter (LSAPC) method, were examined by considering the difference in the characteristics of each measuring instrument. It was found that the same leak detection criterion (LDC) could be applied to filters above H14 grade in both test methods. Hence, the LDC of the aerosol photometer method could be applied in the LSAPC method for H14 or higher grade filters. However, LSAPCs have different optical, flow and electrical systems, resulting in different counting efficiency functions (CEFs). Furthermore, ISO 21501-4 allows LSAPCs to have a certain range of CEF. Therefore, it was necessary to ensure whether the same LDC could be applied in the installed filter leak test when applying different measuring instruments admitted by 21501-4. In this study, using theoretical calculation, the determination of threshold size, which makes the LDC unification possible between the two test methods, was further discussed, and penetrations detected by LSAPC with various CEFs were evaluated. It was concluded that 0.3 μm is the most suitable threshold size, and the same LDC studied in the previous work could be applied to the LSAPC with different CEFs.


Operating the HCCI engine with dual fuels with a large difference in auto-ignition characteristics (octane number) is one way to control the HCCI operation. The effect of octane number on combustion, emissions and engine performance in a 6 cylinder SCANIA truck engine, fuelled with n-heptane and isooctane, and running in HCCI mode, are investigated numerically and compared with measurements taken from Olsson et al. [SAE 2000-01-2867]. To correctly simulate the HCCI engine operation, we implement a probability density function (PDF) based stochastic reactor model (including detailed chemical kinetics and accounting for inhomogeneities in composition and temperature) coupled with GT-POWER, a 1-D fluid dynamics based engine cycle simulator. Such a coupling proves to be ideal for the understanding of the combustion phenomenon as well as the gas dynamics processes intrinsic to the engine cycle. The convective heat transfer in the engine cylinder is modeled as a stochastic jump process and accounts for the fluctuations and fluid-wall interaction effects. Curl's coalescence-dispersion model is used to describe turbulent mixing. A good agreement is observed between the predicted values and measurements for in-cylinder pressure, auto-ignition timing and CO, HC as well as NOx emissions for the base case. The advanced PDF-based engine cycle simulator clearly outperforms the widely used homogeneous model based full cycle engine simulator. The trends in combustion characteristics such as ignition crank angle degree and combustion duration with respect to varying octane numbers are predicted well as compared to measurements. The integrated model provides reliable predictions for in-cylinder temperature, CO, HC as well as NOx emissions over a wide range of octane numbers studied.


The present model analyses how the state would provide services when the change of power depends upon the performance of the state. Agents can evaluate state performance based either only on the receipt of government services, or both on the benefit from government services and taxes imposed. With a credible threat of power change, if the valuation of the government services is low, along with a low fiscal capacity, then it is less probable that this service would be provided. Furthermore, such an allocation is compared with a situation, when there exists a threat of active opposition. Interestingly, that threat does not change the optimum provisioning of government services (as compared to the previous situation) in the equilibrium.


: 118 patients with gastric ulcer and 112 healthy people (control set) were examined. It is established that determination of connections between phenotype, responsiveness of general circulation, variability of cardiac rhythm, types of personality and levels of reactive anxiety allows to diagnose not only the prenosological and initial forms of gastric ulcer, but also to determine the tactics of conservative and surgical treatment of this disease.


ABSTRACT From a study of silane coupling agents in reinforced plastics, a general mechanism of adhesion to hydrophilic mineral surfaces has been devised. According to this theory, adhesion of polymers to dissimilar surfaces is described as a dynamic equilibrium of making and breaking of adhesion bonds between polymer segments and the surface through the agency of a low molecular weight material—usually water. A dynamic equilibrium at the interface allows relaxation of thermal stresses. Water resistance results from a favorable equilibrium toward bonding through polar groups in the polymer. Silanol groups generally give optimum bonding to hydrophilic mineral surfaces. Such a dynamic mechanism of adhesion not only explains many complex adhesion problems of plastics to mineral surfaces, but also is compatible with the adhesion of ice, barnacles and tooth plaque to surfaces in an aqueous environment and with the requirements for rubber reinforcement by finely divided particulate fillers.


Personal identification in forensic investigation is not an easy process. Lip print analysis is one of the techniques that can be used to assist in human identification. This study was conducted to investigate the sex based on lip print pattern among Malaysian Malay population in Klang Valley, using photograph on lipstick-cellophane tape technique and the Suzuki and Tsuchihashi classification. A total of 360 subjects (180 males and 180 females) aged 15 and above were included in this study. The lip print was taken by pressing a cellophane tape to the lipstick applied on lip, pasted it onto a plain A4 paper and then photographed using a smart phone camera (OPPO F1). The images were then analysed using Adobe Photoshop software. A lip print image were divided into six sections: upper left, upper middle, upper right, lower right, lower middle and lower left. The Pearson chi-square test showed that there are significant differences between sexes in each section except for the upper middle section. Type V (irregular pattern) was the dominant pattern for the upper left, upper right, lower right and lower left sections (ranging from 71.1% to 86.7% for males and 80.6% to 83.9% for females) while type IV (reticular pattern) was mostly found in upper middle and lower middle section. Malaysian female displayed type V as the dominant lip print pattern in every section (ranging from 39.4% to 83.9%) except upper middle section and for Malaysian male, type V dominated the lip print pattern in all section (ranging from 71.1% to 86.7%) except for the upper and lower middle section. The result of this study can be applied in assisting the human identification for forensic science investigation.


The aim of this study was to look at the interrelationship between depression, physical disability and contact with services. In a random sample of 239 people aged 75 years and over from nine general practices in north London, depression (as measured by a shortened version of the comprehensive assessment and referral evaluation schedule) was found to be significantly associated with being a woman, and inability to perform a number of activities of daily living. Consumption of three or more prescribed medicines, a home visit by the general practitioner in the previous three months and contact with health visitors and home helps were all significantly more likely among depressed patients. There were also significant associations between loss of functional abilities, measured using items from an activities of daily living scale, and use of certain services: general practitioner home visits and reduced mobility indoors and both home help and district nurse visits to those with difficulty in bathing. Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that contact with services was principally associated with loss of mobility, although contact with home helps was independently associated with depression, when adjustment was made for functional impairment.


Microreactors for chemical synthesis and combustion have attracted increased attention in recent years. Due to the high degree of thermal control exhibited by microreactors, exothermic catalytic activity features heavily in these devices and thus advective-diffusive transport is of key importance in their analyses.
An analytical study of the transport phenomena in a single microchannel microreactor filled with a porous medium is presented, first as a one-dimensional, then expanded to a two-dimensional model with catalytic activity. The systems under investigation include fluid and porous solid phases inside the microchannel under local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE), in addition to the enclosing structure of thick walls subject to distinct thermal loads. The thermal diffusion of mass, viscous dissipation of the fluid flow is examined for both a heterogeneous catalyst placed on the channel wall and for a homogeneous reaction process. The axial and transverse variations of heat and mass transfer processes are considered to provide two-dimensional solutions of both the temperature and concentration fields. These are then used to calculate the local and total entropy generation within the system. A novel extension of an existing LTNE model capable of taking into account the enclosing structure as well as the porous solid and fluid phases is presented. The thickness of this enclosing structure is shown to have a major influence on heat and mass transport within the system, particularly the Nusselt number. Irreversibilities in the system are found to be dominated by the mass transfer contributions and the influence of the Soret effect as well as the Damkohler number.
A numerical investigation is undertaken to examine the effect of hydrodynamics upon the activity of a heterogeneous catalyst. Three corrugated wall channel configurations with varying phase difference between upper and lower walls were generated. Low Reynolds number flows of fuel lean methane in air were catalytically combusted over platinum in the numerical model. Hydrodynamic reflux features were observed in the out of phase cases. Coinciding with these zones, the site surface concentration of carbon dioxide was observed to vary significantly as compared to the base case.
The extension of the LTNE model significantly increases the capability of modelling the interface between thick walls and a porous medium under thermal load, permitting more accurate modelling of microreactors. The effect of the reflux feature on the surface site fraction of product for the corrugated channels reveals the complex interaction between hydrodynamics and catalytic activity.


In the past 30 years, western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), has become one of the most important agricultural pests worldwide. Certain biological attributes of this insect predispose it to be a direct pest across a wide range of crops. In addition to the direct damage it can cause, this species is an efficient vector of Tomato spotted wilt virus and other Tospoviruses. This review addresses questions regarding the biological and ecological attributes of western flower thrips that have enabled it to become a significant pest and make it so difficult to manage. These important life history traits include western flower thrips polyphagy and a tendency to reside and feed in concealed areas of flowers and fruits. Consequently, large populations can develop and disperse into a wide range of crops. The larvae and adults feed in a similar manner and can share the same host plant resources. The relatively short generation time and haplodiploid sex determination also contribute to the pest status of this species. These life history traits interact in complex ways to make western flower thrips one of the most significant and difficult to manage pests in the world.


Abstract This study proposed to improve the performance of the conventional synthetic variable ratio (SVR) image fusion algorithm by means of the genetic algorithm (GA). The proposed GA-based SVR (GA-SVR) method utilizes the GA to estimate the optimum band weights used to generate the intensity component. Performance of the proposed method was investigated on singlesensor and multisensor images. The spectral and spatial qualities of the GA-SVR results were compared not only against those of conventional SVR results, but also against those of the results of various widely-used image fusion methods. The spectral quality metrics revealed that the GA-SVR method provided spectrally and spatially superior results, compared to the other methods used. It was also concluded that the GA-SVR method presented a good performance not only with singlesensor images, but also with multisensor images.


Woodland-peasant adaptation in Austria meant small and medium sized farming units, small proportions of servants and day-labourers, a relatively small necessity to recruit extrafamily labour. Kinship and neighbourhood were the dominant principles of social organization. Patron-client relations played a comparatively marginal role. Family-labour and exchange-labour between kinsmen were the dominant forms of labour recruitment, generalized reciprocity the dominant exchange principle. Woodland-peasant adaptation was the product of ecological and cultural factors. The ecological factors were medium altitude (400-600 m), rough climate and poor soil. The cultural factors were the manorial system till 1848; compared to eastern Europe a relatively weak form of peasant dependency; the Austrian path to modernization in the field of agriculture (contrary to the English or Prussian paths to agricultural modernization, large numbers of medium and small-sized peasant units survived, which maintained their predominantly precommercial character until the Second World War) and undivided land inheritance, which prevented fragmentation. In Austria the woodland-peasant society was, apart from the Alpine societies with divided land inheritance, the only type of rural society that represented a peasant society in the real sense of the word: Peasant domination and a small proportion of rural lower classes. This type of rural society was a great contrast to the "servant-societies" of Alpine Austria and the "day-labourer societies" of the lowlands. In the two latter societies the peasants had become a minority from the 18th century at the latest; the rural lower classes dominated quantitatively.


A newly developed method of comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) employing quantitative statistical comparisons was applied to DNA from two different types of advanced prostate cancer tissue. Multiple CGH analyses were obtained for each chromosome in each tumor, and the results of point-by-point comparison of the mean tumor:normal color ratio to a control normal:normal color ratio in each of 1247 evenly distributed data channels constituting the entire human genome were interpreted as loss, gain, or no change in copy number in the tumor genome. Group I tissue was obtained from prostate cancer metastases from 20 patients, 19 of whom had received no prior prostate cancer treatment. This DNA also was analyzed by Southern and microsatellite allelotyping at 53 different loci on 20 different chromosome arms. CGH results agreed with allelotyping results at 92% of the informative loci studied. These samples, which contained highly enriched tumor DNA, showed the highest rates of alteration yet reported in several chromosomal regions known to be altered frequently in prostate cancer: 8q gain (85%), 8p loss (80%), 13q loss (75%), 16q loss (55%), 17p loss (50%), and 10q loss (50%). Group II tissue was obtained predominately from primary or recurrent tumor from 11 patients who had been treated with long-term androgen-deprivation therapy and developed androgen-independent metastatic disease. Quantitative CGH analysis on DNA from these tissues showed chromosomal alterations that were very similar to those found in group I, suggesting that untreated metastatic tumors contain the bulk of chromosomal alterations necessary for recurrence to occur during androgen deprivation. In the entire data set, a number of previously undetected regions of frequent loss or gain were identified, including losses of chromosomes 2q (42%), 5q (39%), 6q (39%), and 15q (39%) and gains of chromosomes 11p (52%), 1q (52%), 3q (52%), and 2p (45%). Chi-squared analysis showed a significantly higher frequency of gain of the 4q25-q28 region in tumors from African-American patients, indicating a possible oncogene whose activation may play a role in the higher rate of progression seen in this ethnic group. Additional study of these frequently altered regions may provide insight into the mechanism of prostate cancer progression and lead to important tools for tumor-specific prognosis and therapy.


The article offers a comparison of Paul's teaching about resurrection in 1Cor 15 and the passage about the resurrection of the dead in 2nd Baruch (Syriac apocalypsis of Baruch, sBar), ch. 49–52. The focus is on the remarkable parallels (resurrection is understood as transformation of the bodies) and the differences regarding eschatology as well.


OBJECT
Twist-drill craniostomy (TDC) with closed-system drainage is an effective treatment option for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH). Because the entry point for TDC has not been described in a definitive area, the aim of this study was to define the optimal twist-drill entry point for CSDH.

METHODS
The authors selected 40 random cases involving selective catheter angiography of the external carotid artery, regardless of study purpose, to evaluate the course of the middle meningeal artery. Furthermore, 50 skull radiographs were reviewed to assess the relation of the vascular groove to the coronal suture. On the basis of the radiological anatomical study, the authors propose that the normal TDC entry point should be 1 cm anterior to the coronal suture at the level of the superior temporal line (STL). Thirty patients with symptomatic CSDH were treated using TDC with closed-system drainage at the proposed entry point. The thicknesses of the hematoma and the skull were measured at the proposed entry point. The congruence between the proposed entry point and postoperative craniostomy was estimated and complications were evaluated.

RESULTS
In the radiological study, all the branches of the middle meningeal artery ran posterior to the coronal suture and the vascular grooves were also located posterior to the coronal suture at the level of the STL. The average distance of the vascular grooves was 8.0 +/-5.8 mm. Thirty-five procedures were performed. The coronal suture and the STL could be identified clearly on brain CT scans. The mean thickness of the skull and the CSDH at the proposed point was 8 mm (range 5-13 mm) and 20 mm (range 10-28 mm), respectively. All the TDCs except 1 were congruent with the preoperative brain CT scans. One CSDH recurred 1 month after the first operation and was revised using the same procedure. No other complications occurred.

CONCLUSIONS
One centimeter anterior to the coronal suture at the level of the STL is suitable as the normal entry point of the TDC for symptomatic CSDH. The thickness of the CSDH can be measured at this point on a preoperative brain CT scan. Furthermore, the entry point on the scalp can be accurately estimated using surface landmarks.


Unfractionated heparin is the cornerstone of prevention and treatment of thrombosis in children undergoing cardiac surgery due to its short half-life and reversibility using protamine. Yet, optimal titration in children remains challenging (1). Age-related differences in heparin clearance (2), protein binding activity (3,4) and anti-thrombin concentration (5-8), which are most pronounced in neonates and young infants, obscure the applicability of standard adult dosing protocols.


In 1969, the Swedish parliament endorsed a policy of direct assistance to the liberation movements in Southern Africa. Sweden thus became the first Western country to enter into a relationship with organizations that elsewhere in the West were shunned as 'Communist' or 'terrorist'. This book traces the background to the relationship. Presenting the actors and the factors behind the support to MPLA of Angola, FRELIMO of Mozambique, SWAPO of Namibia, ZANU and ZAPU of Zimbabwe and ANC of South Africa, it addresses the question why Sweden established those close relations with the very movements that eventually would assume state power in their respective countries. The second volume (appearing in late 1999) will discuss how the support was expressed, covering the period from 1970 to 1994.


A comparison I s made between the dipol resistivity method and electromagnetic sounding method based on surveys over a geothermal anomaly near Panther Canyon, Grass Valley,'Nevada. Dipo dipole data were taken in conjunction with large scale geothermal studies in the area. Two ortho gonal lines were measured over the heat flow anomaly and two-dimensional modeling was performed on the data. pf sounding data were taken with the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory EM-60 system which is a large-moment, frequency-domain, horizontal loop system. Relative to single 50-meter-radius transmitter coil, eight soundings were made with detectors at distances of 0.5 to 1.6 km from the loop^ indicate substantial agreement in the depth to and thickness of a conductive zone that may be associated with the thermal anomaly. The dipol dipole method is inherently better for resolvin resistive basement beneath the conductive anomal and dc resistivity interpretation techniques are presently better able to handle the complex two- dimensional geology.


Academic oncology now recognizes that a cancer's genetic signature may be as important in clinical decision-making as its tissue of origin. However, the degree to which this revolution in thinking has penetrated the clinic is unknown. Our commercial platform, which operates at the point of contact between patients and their physicians, is ideally positioned to address this question. After clinical samples provided by oncologists are analyzed by any molecular diagnostic platform, our internal experts interpret the results using our knowledge integration platform and provide treatment-strategy roadmaps to guide future interventions. Since 2008, approximately 4000 patients have been assessed using this methodology. Overall, the practical utility of the platform has been high: over 70% of cases across all cancer types have revealed actionable results, defined as a molecular profile that suggests either rational on- or off-label use of an FDA-approved agent or enrollment into a clinical trial. Among the 130 patients for whom follow-up is available, use of this platform has resulted in a known effect on therapy selection in 35% of cases and a potential future effect on therapy in an additional 61% of cases. The utility of the approach has also been demonstrated through acceptance by oncologists; 36% of patients who have engaged the service were referred by their oncologists. Although not rising to the rigor of prospective randomized trial data, information in our database may be used in hypothesis generation. For example, while ERBB2 amplification is common in breast cancer, ERBB2 mutations have been documented in a small percentage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and were detected in 4% (19/450) of NSCLC cases in our dataset. Mutations or copy number alterations in ERBB2 have also been identified in our dataset in 4% (7/195) of colorectal cancers, 6% (4/68) of urothelial carcinomas, and 10% (4/39) of endometrial carcinomas. In one case, a 61-year-old woman with Stage IV NSCLC presented with a secondary metastasis on the pleura, undergoing treatment with carboplatin and pemetrexed chemotherapy, following earlier treatment of a primary lung tumor with surgery and radiation. Multiplex sequencing identified a somatic exon 20 insertion (AYVM 771-774) in ERBB2, and subsequent treatment with trastuzumab resulted in nearly two years of progression-free survival. These results are consistent with published case studies in this patient population and suggest that clinical trials examining trastuzumab in NSCLC patients with ERBB2 exon 20 mutations may be warranted. In conclusion, our data demonstrate the increasing importance of targeted therapy in clinical oncology. They also demonstrate how databases such as ours, which document uncommon targetable molecular alterations, may have significant impact on real-time treatment decision-making and have potential as hypothesis-generating resources for future clinical trials.

Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):B200.

Citation Format: Sheryl K. Elkin, Linda Call, Jo-Ellen Murphy, Kelly Sullivan, Jennifer Carter. A new resource enabling the practical utility of targeted therapy in oncology clinics. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B200.


Objectives. I) To measure effects following a partnership between Alifa and Tactus on
behavior, intention and cognitions determinants of these two outcomes. II) The measuring of
determinants of (the intention to) actively identifying, discussing and calling for help.
Methods: A qualitative and quantitative observational (cross sectional) research, involving
youth workers and executives (Enschede and surroundings). Study 1 has a quasi-experimental
design including semi-structured interviews with youth workers and executives. Study 2
includes two measurements with questionnaires involving youth workers. The interviews
have been encoded and analyzed by means of open coding.
Results. The quantitative results, concerning differences in region, show indications for a
mainly positive attitude of the group youth workers from Enschede with respect to the
partnership. Moreover indications for a stronger intention to actively identify substance use, a
more favorable descriptive norm; number of colleagues that discusses substance use in
groups, and larger consensus with respect to calling for help in the group youth workers from
Enschede. In favor of the group youth workers outside Enschede is the number of youth
workers that actively identify substance use, a more positive expectation concerning the
attitude of young people open to discussing substance use, and a more positive attitude of
youth workers concerning participation in a cooperation day and courses. Determinants: The
task conception concerning calling for help, attitude concerning damaging the relationship of
trust by calling for help and attitude concerning the expectations of young people regarding
identifying substance use by the youth worker explain for 51% (the intention to) identify
(substance use). The task conception regarding calling for help, attitude regarding discussing
substance use individually and number of colleagues that discuss substance use explain for
54% (the intention) to discuss substance use. The task conception concerning calling for help
and the expectations of colleagues and executives concerning calling for help explain for 34%
(the intention) to call for help. There are indications that no protocol has been established
despite a need for it.
Conclusion. This research shows that the intention of youth workers gets partially explained
by task conception (calling for help), social norm (youth, colleagues and executives) and
attitude regarding the relationship of trust and discussing individually. For better
implementation and evaluation of the partnership a protocol must come concerning how to act
at identification of substance use/abuse of young people, with clear task description for youth
workers and Tactus. Further research is needed to determine effects of the partnership.


We obtain, for the first time to our knowledge, the room-temperature intracavity difference-frequency generation in the mid-infrared range (around 10 mum wavelength) in a butt-joint GaAs/InGaAs/InGaP quantum-well dual-wavelength laser diode which supports lasing at two closely spaced wavelengths in the near-infrared range close to 1 mum. We employ a special asymmetric waveguide design (which makes it possible the different-order transverse-mode lasing) and a low-doped substrate that minimize mid-infrared losses and phase mismatch for the difference-frequency nonlinear-mixing process. We explain qualitatively the physics of the intracavity mode mixing and describe in detail the design of the butt-joint diode laser. We show how to scale the effect into the far-infrared (terahertz) range, to improve the phase-matching conditions, and to enhance further the difference-frequency generation efficiency (the latter is about 1 W/(kW)2 in our first experiment).


The primary aim of our project is to implement virtual instrumentation controllers for cylindrical tank system. This Virtual Instrumentation PID controller implementation is possible on software called LabVIEW developed by National Instruments. We have used a Data Acquisition board (DAQ) for interfacing with the hardware. This DAQ card is product of the similar company National Instruments. An automatic control is accomplished by sensing the water level and then controlling the position of a gate valve that releases water in to the tank. The flow of project execution is: The cylindrical tank is fitted with a capacitive level sensor. This assembly takes the level readings from tank and it is converted in to 4-20 mA range, then it transmits in to the DAQ card. The designed controller will be generating the necessary controlling signal with respect to the level sensor output. The controlling signal will be acquired by DAQ card. The DAQ card transfers it to the I / P converter which will transfer the electrical pulses 4-20mA into pneumatic signal 3-15psig to actuate the control valve.


AT PRESENT, transplantation of the pancreas is an interesting technical exercise of more importance in studies of gland physiology than in those of allograft immunology. Examples of this are: the demonstration of interstitial fibrosis in the heterotopic autograft by Dreiling, the finding of elevated plasma insulin levels after heterotopic allografting, and the discovery of hyperamylasemia accompanying auxiliary pancreas allograft rejection. 1-3 Nevertheless, as various measures of tissue typing become available for prospective donor-recipient pairing and as safer adjuvants for immunosuppression become available, pancreas transplantation assumes a more practical aspect. 4,5 If tissue typing and safe immunosuppression can be combined with organ storage, the transplantation of desirable but nonessential organs such as the pancreas may become feasible. Although total pancreas transplantation has been accomplished, the difficulties of pancreatic necrosis occuring after transplantation reported by a number of investigators prompted the following study. 6,7 Methods Eighty-two mongrel dogs unselected as to weight


Single-view 3D is the task of recovering 3D properties such as depth and surface normals from a single image. We hypothesize that a major obstacle to single-image 3D is data. We address this issue by presenting Open Annotations of Single Image Surfaces (OASIS), a dataset for single-image 3D in the wild consisting of annotations of detailed 3D geometry for 140,000 images. We train and evaluate leading models on a variety of single-image 3D tasks. We expect OASIS to be a useful resource for 3D vision research. Project site: https://pvl.cs.princeton.edu/OASIS.


Background and purpose. Arachidonic acid (AA) and its derivatives are important modulators of cellular signalling. The transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily A, member 1 (TRPA1) is a cation channel with important functions in mediating cellular responses to noxious stimuli and inflammation. There is limited information about the interactions between AA itself and TRPA1, so we investigated the effects of AA and key ethanolamide and amino acid/neurotransmitter derivatives of AA on hTRPA1. Experimental approach. HEK 293 cells expressing hTRPA1 were studied by measuring changes in intracellular calcium ([Ca]i) with a fluorescent dye and by standard whole cell patch clamp recordings. Key results. AA (30 μM) increased fluorescence in hTRPA1 expressing cells by 370% (notional EC50 13 μM). The covalent TRPA1 agonist cinnamaldehyde (300 μM) increased fluorescence by 430% (EC50, 11 μM). Anandamide (230%) and N-arachidonoyl tyrosine (170%) substantially activated hTRPA1 at 30 μM, however, N-arachidonoyl conjugates of glycine and taurine were less effective while N-acyl conjugates of 5-HT did not affect hTRPA1. Changing the acyl chain length or the number and position of double bonds reduced fatty acid efficacy at hTRPA1. Mutant hTRPA1 (Cys621, Cys641 and Cys665 changed to Ser) could be activated by AA (100 μM, 40% of wild type) but not by cinnamaldehyde (300 μM). Conclusions and implications. AA is a more potent activator of TRPA1 than its ethanolamide or amino acid/neurotransmitter derivatives and acts via a mechanism distinct from that of cinnamaldehyde, further underscoring the likelyhood of multiple pharmacologically exploitable sites on hTRPA1.


The stator permanent magnet (PM) machines have simple and robust rotor structure as well as high torque density. The hybrid excitation topology can realize flux regulation and wide constant power operating capability of the stator PM machines when used in dc power systems. This paper compares and analyzes the electromagnetic performance of different hybrid excitation stator PM machines according to different combination modes of PMs, excitation winding, and iron flux bridge. Then, the control strategies for voltage regulation of dc power systems are discussed based on different critical control variables including the excitation current, the armature current, and the electromagnetic torque. Furthermore, an improved direct torque control (DTC) strategy is investigated to improve system performance. A parallel hybrid excitation flux-switching generator employing the improved DTC which shows excellent dynamic and steady-state performance has been achieved experimentally.


X-ray surveys of UV-emitting AGB stars show that ∼40% of objects with FUV emission and GALEX FUV/NUV flux ratio Rfuv/nuv ∼> 0.2 (fuvAGB stars) have variable X-ray emission characterized by very high temperatures (Tx∼35–160 MK) and luminosities (Lx∼0.002–0.2 L⊙), indicating the presence of accretion associated with a close binary companion. However, the UV-emitting AGB star population is dominated by objects with Rfuv/nuv ≲ 0.06 (nuvAGB stars), and we do not know whether the UV emission from these is intrinsic to the AGB star or extrinsic (i.e., due to binarity). In order to help distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic models of the puzzling high-energy emission of cool AGB stars, we report results from two studies—(i) XMM-Newton X-observations of two nuvAGB stars, and (ii) simple chromosphere modeling. In study (i), we detect the one which has the lower FUV/NUV ratio, with a total Lx = 0.00027 L⊙, and a spectrum best fitted with a dominant component at Tx∼10 MK, most likely coronal emission from a main-sequence companion. Therefore, a significant fraction of nuvAGB stars may also be binaries with active, but weak accretion. Study (ii) shows that chromospheres with temperatures of ∼10,000 K can produce Rfuv/nuv≲0.06; higher ratios require hotter gas, implying active accretion.


Several sediment samples in Lake Burullus have been affected by the discharges of heavy metals through different drains. The study aimed to analyze the chemical speciation of these metals. In particular, the chemical forms of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in sediments collected in spring season were studied using a sequential chemical extraction method. In general, all the elements recorded highest concentrations in the area near the discharge point. The data indicated that, the sediments were under a wide variety of environmental conditions ranging from oxic to fully anoxic conditions. Owing a wide variety of grain sizes and organic matter, these metals showed the order of abundance: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Cd > Pb. Significant correlations between iron with clay, organic carbon and manganese concentrations were calculated as (r=0.685, 0.581 and 0.610, P= 0.05), respectively. This gives an idea about association of iron and manganese as main compositions of clays. In the mean time, it showed insignificant relation with total carbonate and all phosphorus forms. The metal speciation characterizes the degree to which they are potentially labile or bioavailability. It gives different fraction ratios depending on binding and sediment origin. Key words: Heavy metals, chemical speciation, sediments, Burullus, Lake.


Convective cells for turbulence control, generated by means of biased electrodes, are investigated in the simple magnetized toroidal plasmas of TORPEX. A two-dimensional array of 24 electrodes is installed on a metal limiter to test different biasing schemes. This allows influencing significantly both radial and vertical blob velocities. It is shown that these changes agree quantitatively with the flows deduced from the time averaged potential perturbations induced by the biasing. Detailed measurements along and across the magnetic field provide a rather clear picture of the effect of biasing on time averaged profiles. The biased electrodes produce perturbations of the plasma potential and density profiles that are fairly uniform along the magnetic field. Background flows influence the location where potential variations are induced. The magnitude of the achievable potential variations in the plasma is strongly limited by cross-field currents and saturates at large bias voltages once the electrodes draw electron saturation current. A quantitative discussion on the origin of cross-field currents is presented, considering contributions related with diamagnetic drifts, ion inertia, collisions with neutrals, and viscosity.


Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) thin films were fabricated on float glass substrates from a nanoparticle suspension using a new and inexpensive aerosol-assisted chemical transport (AACT) process. The influence of the solvent type, loading level and film deposition time on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the deposited thin films was investigated. In addition, the effect of the post-deposition heat-treatment of ITO films on the film resistivity and transparency was investigated using microwave radiation and compared with more conventional radiant heat-treated films. The SEM images of the films prepared using a 30 min deposition time with 0.20% (wt/vol%) methanolic ITO suspension provided better surface coverage compared to the other deposition times investigated. The optimised ITO films were heat-treated after deposition by either conventional radiant or microwave assisted heating methods in order to improve the inter-particle connections and film adherence. The films heat-treated after deposition by microwave annealing exhibited an average transmittance of >85% in the visible region with a resistivity of 12 Ω cm and a carrier concentration of −3.7 × 1016 cm3, which were superior to films that were heat-treated using more conventional thermal processing (despite the shorter processing time for the microwave process). The resistivity of ITO films was further decreased to 6.0 × 10−2 Ω cm with an increased carrier concentration of −8.0 × 1018 cm3 when ethyl cellulose was added to the ITO suspension prior to the AACT deposition. The enhanced conductivity of this film is due to the improved particle–particle and particle–substrate connections as observed by SEM imaging.