The electronic structure of the lowest unoccupied orbitals of [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is computed using a combination of classical molecular dynamics simulations (used to determine the morphology) and approximate quantum chemical calculations (used to determine the energy spectrum and localization length). The time-dependent coupling between localized states and the electron-vibration coupling is also computed. The results show that PCBM possesses an unusual distribution of localized and delocalized states, both thermally accessible at room temperature, which cannot be mapped into standard models of transport in disordered media. The coupling between these states is found to be too strong for simple perturbative treatments. At the same time, the local electron-vibration coupling, dominated by high frequency modes, is too weak to allow the formation of localized small polarons, as the zero point energy is above the barrier for electron hopping.


This thesis aimed to investigate the potential to increase young children s vegetable consumption by using caregivers as facilitators. This was achieved in two parts. Part I set out to investigate whether parent led interventions using three known successful methods of offering can be effective for increasing children s acceptance of a disliked vegetable. Three studies were conducted for Part I. The first tested the efficacy of these interventions, the second investigated the role of individual factors in intervention success, and the third examined the longitudinal efficacy of such interventions over two, six and 12 months. The findings suggested that parent led home-based interventions may be successful for increasing children s acceptance of disliked vegetables in the short-term, and that such interventions may be more successful for children who are more sociable and less fussy eaters. While these interventions may not be successful for sustained long-term changes, there was a lack of statistical power for these analyses and further studies with larger samples are required. Part II of the thesis sought to investigate the wider variety of methods which caregivers use to offer vegetables to their children, as well as the possible barriers to offering. These studies worked towards informing the design of future interventions as well as providing information for caregivers on achieving a healthful diet in their children. This was achieved via two studies which used qualitative and quantitative methods. One study used focus groups to gather a comprehensive report of caregivers methods of offering, as well as caregivers perceived influences on how and whether they offer their child vegetables. Methods of offering vegetables formed three main categories: active/behavioural methods, passive methods, and food manipulations. The influences on offering which caregivers perceived formed four categories: information, cost, caregiver factors, and child factors. These methods and influences were then assessed in a large scale cross-sectional study. This study examined which methods caregivers perceive as successful for encouraging consumption of vegetables, as well as assessing predictors of offering vegetables and children s vegetable consumption. Caregiver factors predicted reoffering of rejected vegetables while a combination of caregiver and child factors predicted children s consumption of vegetables. A number of discrepancies were found between methods caregivers perceived as successful and those which were associated with greater consumption of vegetables. As food fussiness was identified as a significant factor in children s consumption of vegetables, a final study investigated whether children categorised as fussy or not fussy with vegetables differed on a number of caregiver and child factors. Differences were found between these groups on both caregiver and child factors. Using a mixed methodology, the research in this thesis investigates possibilities for increasing vegetable consumption in early childhood and highlights the central role or caregivers in this process. Together, these findings suggest utility of whole family interventions aimed at increasing vegetable consumption, as well as providing caregivers with information on how best to offer vegetables to children of this age.


An interview with Tia Palermo, a professor of preventive medicine at Stony Brook University Medical Center. Palermo used population-based data to better understand the occurrence of sexual violence in Congo. Palermo talks about how the magnitude of sexual violence is higher than previous studies suggest and also offers insight on the geographic spread of such violence.


This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Web Reasoning and Rule Systems, RR 2015, held in Berlin, Germany, in August 2015. The 5 full papers, 4 technical communications presented together with 4 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 16 submissions. The scale and the heterogenous nature of web data poses many challenges, and turns basic tasks such as query answering and data transformations into complex reasoning problems. Rule-based systems have found many applications in this area. The RR conference welcomes original research from all areas of Web Reasoning and Rule Systems. Topics of particular interest are: answer set programming, complex events, datalog, description logics, event-condition-action rules, information extraction, and logic programming


[1] This study investigates the performances of four major global Leaf Area Index (LAI) products at 1/11.2° spatial sampling and a monthly time step: ECOCLIMAP climatology, GLOBCARBON (from SPOT/VEGETATION and ATSR/AATSR), CYCLOPES (from SPOT/VEGETATION) and MODIS Collection 4 (main algorithm, from MODIS/TERRA). These products were intercompared during the 2001–2003 period over the BELMANIP network of sites. Their uncertainty was assessed by comparison with 56 LAI reference maps derived from ground measurements. CYCLOPES and MODIS depict realistic spatial variations at continental scale, while ECOCLIMAP poorly captures surface spatial heterogeneity, and GLOBCARBON tends to display erratic variations. ECOCLIMAP and GLOBCARBON show the highest frequency of successful retrievals while MODIS and CYCLOPES retrievals are frequently missing in winter over northern latitudes and over the equatorial belt. CYCLOPES and MODIS describe consistent temporal profiles over most vegetation types, while ECOCLIMAP does not show any interannual variations, and GLOBCARBON can exhibit temporal instability during the growing season over forests. The CYCLOPES, MODIS, and GLOBCARBON LAI values agree better over croplands and grasslands than over forests, where differences in vegetation structure representation between algorithms and surface reflectance uncertainties lead to substantial discrepancies between products. CYCLOPES does not reach high enough LAI values to properly characterize forests. In contrast, the other products have sufficient dynamic range of LAI to describe the global variability of LAI. Overall, CYCLOPES is the most similar product to the LAI reference maps. However, more accurate ground measurements and better representation of the global and seasonal variability of vegetation are required to refine this result.


This paper proposes a form-critical rereading of Hosea
 based upon synchronic literary criteria. Past scholarship generally argues that
 the book of Hosea articulates a message of judgment against Israel in three
 basic parts, Hosea 1–3; Hosea 4–11; and Hosea 12–14. Each component begins with
 material pertaining to Israel's judgment, but concludes with material pertaining
 to restoration. This view is based upon redactional-critical criteria, and
 posits an original core of judgmental material against Israel that has been
 supplement and "softened" by later texts concerned Israel's restoration. A
 rereading of the book in relation to its formal syntactical and semantic
 features indicates a very different structure in which an anonymous narrator
 presents Hosea's prophecy are parenetic appeal to Israel to return to YHWH by
 abandoning its alliances with foreign powers, specifically Assyria and Egypt.
 Although Hosea's oracles were originally delivered in the north, the present
 form of the book is directed to a Judean audience, and may be read in relation
 to the reigns of either Hezekiah or Josiah.


Ingestion of foreign bodies is an avoidable accident that is seen mainly in children under 3 years-old. Most of them pass through the digestive tract without causing clinical manifestations or complications, but a significant percentage is impacted in the esophagus causing vomiting, sore throat, dysphagia and drooling. The most common foreign bodies are coins. Complications usually occur when there is a delay in diagnosis or with large, sharp or potentially toxic objects, as the button battery. It is essential to make differential diagnosis between coin and button battery, since the latter requires urgent removal due to the earliness of the injury caused. We report 115 cases of foreign bodies in the esophagus, and we alert the pediatrician in recognizing and preventing this problem.


The Internet of Things (IoT) integrates a large number of heterogeneous and pervasive objects that continuously generate information about the physical world. These objects, through standard communication protocols and unique addressing schemes provide services to the final users or systems. IoT is envisioned to bring together billions of devices, also denoted as smart objects, by connecting them in an Internet-like structure, allowing them to communicate and exchange information and to enable new forms of interaction among things and people. Given the distributed nature of IoT applications, it is often the case that the application is modeled, developed and tested on each compute node, and connected to other nodes in the application network for achieving the end result. Therefore the deployment of application is also, more or less, done on each individual compute node. In this paper we propose an approach where the IoT application can be modeled in one place, where after modeling, the different pieces of application are annotated with location information, and based on this annotation, the application is decomposed into fragments that are deployed to corresponding individual compute nodes, automatically generating code to remotely connect the application fragments to other application fragments on other compute nodes in the edge or in the cloud.


Tannins are natural compounds that abound in herbs, wood and fruits. Their numerous hydroxyl radicals confer them a strong avidity for metals such as Fe, Zn and Cu. This property makes them strong inhibitors for the gastrointestinal absorption of these metals. Our purpose was to determine the tannin content of herbal infusions commonly consumed in Chile and other Latino American countries. The determination was performed from dessicated herbs with the Folin-Denis technique. Yerba mate, tea and oregano had the highest tannin content (117, 100 and 84 mg of tannic acid/g dry herb respectively). An intermediate level (between 20 and 40 of tannic acid/g) was for coca, matico, boldo, palto, laurel, orange and binojo. The lowest level of tannin for paico, cedrón, apio and manzanilla (< 10 mg/g). We conclude that the consumption of herbal teas at or around meals may inhibit the absorption of metals such as Fe, Zn, or Cu by decreasing their bioavailability.


: Hematological parameters of a carp, Cirrhina mrigala, are reported here. Haematocrit ranged from 29.0 to 44.0%. The range of hemoglobin was 7.06 to 11.86 g/100 ml of blood, and the total number of erythrocytes varied from 1.7 to 3.0 million/mm3 of the blood, both hemoglobin and erythrocyte concentrations being higher in males than in the females. Mean ESR was 1.88 mm/h, with higher ESR in females (2.05 mm/h) than in the males (1.67 mm/h). The clotting time in males (41.0 seconds) was lower than in the females (63.5 seconds). Hematological values varied with the size and weight of the fishes. Variations in hematological parameters with season and in fishes of different maturation states were quite apparent.


Growth of MCF7 McGrath human breast cancer cells (MCF7) under conditions of longterm oestrogen deprivation results in loss of oestrogen dependence for growth (MCF7‐ED) and provides a model system to study the molecular basis of endocrine resistance in breast cancer. MCF7‐ED cells had higher levels of phosphorylated mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) than MCF7 cells. However, since a similar increase in
phosphorylated MAPK was found in MCF7 cells within hours of insulin withdrawal from the medium, and as the growth rate of the MCF7‐ED cells in the absence of oestrogen was only marginally affected by the MAPK inhibitors PD98059 (2.5‐20μg/ml) and U0126 (2.5‐10μM), it would seem that raised levels of phosphorylated MAPK are a response to insulin withdrawal rather than a mechanism for enhanced basal growth.
By contrast, although no difference in levels of phosphorylated‐Akt (Thr308/Ser473) were observed between MCF7 and MCF7‐ED cells, the growth rate of the MCF7‐ED cells in the absence of oestrogen was inhibited by the inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K), LY294002 (2.5‐10μM). The IGF1R inhibitor Picropodophyllin (PPP) also inhibited growth of the MCF7‐ED cells and decreased phosphorylation of Akt and p‐
70S6K, a major downstream target of mTORC1. The mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin could decrease the growth of stock MCF7‐ED cells but not MCF7 cells suggesting a mechanistic role of PI3K/Akt/mTORC1 in oestrogen independence. Combination of rapamycin (1nM) with LY294002 (2.5‐10μM) revealed greater growth inhibition of MCF7‐ED cells than when added alone which may be explained by blocking the
negative feedback loop that exists between mTORC1/p‐70S6K and PI3K. Comparison with other cell models showed that long‐term oestrogen deprived T47D cells exhibited even greater sensitivity towards rapamycin alone or in combination with LY294002. In ZR‐75‐1 cells, however, rapamycin alone or in combination with LY294002 could inhibit growth of the oestrogen maintained as well as the oestrogen deprived cells. The above findings thus reinstate the emerging potential of combination therapy with mTOR and PI3K inhibitors in breast cancer.


The present study evaluated the pathogenetic roles of three kinds of regulatory peptide. The results showed that (i) plasma endothelin(ET) level elevated significantly in septic shock rats, persistent intravenous drip of low doses ET caused development of shock state in normal rats and the irreversible outcome of light hemorrhagic shock. Furthermore, i. v. administration of specific ET-antiserum was significantly effective to septic shock rats, (Ⅱ) Plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) increased by 260% in septic shock rats, i. v. drip of low doses CGRP both in early and late sepsis were effective to shock rats, (Ⅱi) An-giotensin-Ⅱ (ANG-Ⅱ) contents of heart and aorta increased dramatically both in early and late septic shock, and inhibiting its increase with Captopril in late sepsis significantly improved the shock state, but results were inverse in early sepsis. It could be concluded that ET was one of the most important factors participating in the pathogenesis of shock, CGRP had a compensatory regulatory role in shock and the role of tissue ANG-Ⅱ was different during different periods of shock.


High-voltage vertical-junction-field-effect-transistors (VJFETs) are typically designed normally-on to ensure low-resistance voltage-control operation at high current-gain. To exploit the high-voltage/temperature capabilities of VJFETs in a normally-off voltage-controlled switch, high-voltage normally-on and low-voltage normally-off VJFETs were connected in the cascode configuration. The cascode gate's threshold voltage decreases from 2.5 V to 2 V as the temperature increases from 25°C to 225°C, while its breakdown voltage increases from -23 V to -19 V. At 300°C, the drain current of the cascode switch is 21.4% of its 25°C value, which agrees well with the reduction of the 4H-SiC electron mobility with temperature. The VJFET based all-SiC cascode switch is normally-off at 300°C, with its threshold voltage shifting from 1.6 V to 0.9 V as the temperature increases from 25°C to 300°C. This agrees well with the measured reduction in VJFET built-in potential. Finally, the reduction in cascode transconductance with temperature follows that of the theoretical 4H-SiC electron mobility. Overall, the measured thermally-induced cascode parameter shifts are in excellent agreement with theory, which signifies fabrication of robust SiC VJFETs for power switching applications.


Abstract Forestry machine traffic causes a number of changes that are not immediately reflected in morphological changes of surface soil. These changes are physical and chemical in nature. The change in subsurface soil CO2 concentration was one of the parameters of interest. The critical CO2 concentration is thought to fluctuate around 0.6%. The primary objective of this paper was to determine the impact of forestry machine traffic on subsurface soil CO2 concentration. We measured CO2 concentration in the areas undisturbed by machinery and in the ruts in skid trails in eight forest stands. The measurements were performed using a Vaisala MI 70 meter. The results confirmed significant differences in gas concentrations between the individual measurement sites. In the ruts of the skid trails, CO2 concentrations fluctuated in a range of 0.5 to 2.81% and significantly exceeded the critical concentration. Moisture content and bulk density had a significant impact on the change in gas concentration beneath the surface, which was confirmed by multivariate analysis of variance that revealed that the values of the coefficient of correlation fluctuated in a range of 0.39 to 0.74.


frustrated love in younger people is a common motive for self-destruction. In fact the majority of its victims, many of them sick or lonely, are in their fifties or sixties. Strange to say these tragedies reach a peak in the month of May. Almost certainly every general practitioner in this country has 10 to 20 potential suicides among his patients. Carefully planned suicidal acts are rare: as a rule the patient is impulsive, with his ideas muddled, as in any other emotionally coloured behaviour. About one in eight of attempted suicides ends fatally. Nevertheless the incidence of subsequent suicide in those who survive is far higher than in comparable groups of the general population. Every year about 5,000 die from suicide in Great Britain and a much higher number attempt suicide or have a tendency to do so. Depressive illness carries the highest suicidal risk. Yet diagnosis of this common condition is not always easy and so the symptom of depression is often overlooked, ignored, or misinterpreted. A useful list is given here of the criteria indicative of an impending suicidal act, and this is worth reading again and again. There need be no hesitation in asking the patient with marked depression if he has ever thought of putting an end to his misery. Suicidal impulses will not be induced by the question. Medical students and doctors can learn a great deal from this admirably clear, objective, and very readable account of a complex subject. E. A. BENNET.


Correlation links were established during the study of anthropometric and dermatoglyphic constitution parameters in teenagers. Dermatoglyphic parameter (width of cristae) that indicates the density of papillary figure correlates with anthropometric values that reflect the extent of development of bony and muscular systems and form mesomorphic axis of somatotype. Delta index reflecting complication of papillary figure negatively correlates with extent of development of adipose tissue, that forms endomorphic somatotype axis. According to the results of the study endo-mesomorphic gradient of dermatoglyphics parameters was established. Maximal informative value of the index of cristae width was demonstrated in the course of studying the correlative links of dermatoglyphic and anthropometric signs.


Log-based business operation analysis is getting more and more attention from enterprise decision makers. However, at the very first step of the analysis service, two primary obstacles are always encountered: how to process a wide variety of local event log formats and how to handle personally identifiable information weaved in an event log. Due to these obstacles, typical business analysts who do not have programming skills have lost business opportunities at the early stages. We propose a privacy-preserving data curation specification language, BELAS, for such analysts and present experimental results that show how most of a real-life event log could be processed in process analysis services.


Answering queries using views is a well-established technique in databases. In this context, two outstanding problems can be formulated. The first one consists in deciding whether a query can be answered exclusively using one or multiple materialized views. Given the many alternative ways to compute the query from the materialized views, the second problem consists in finding the best way to compute the query from the materialized views. In the realm of XML, there is a restricted number of contributions in the direction of these problems due to the many limitations associated with the use of materialized views in traditional XML query evaluation models. In this paper, we adopt a recent evaluation model, called inverted lists model, and holistic algorithms which together have been established as the prominent technique for evaluating queries on large persistent XML data, and we address the previous two problems. This new context revises these problems since it requires new conditions for view usability and new techniques for computing queries from materialized views. We suggest an original approach for materializing views which stores for every view node only the list of XML nodes necessary for computing the answer of the view. We specify necessary and sufficient conditions for answering a tree-pattern query using one or multiple materialized views in terms of homomorphisms from the views to the query. In order to efficiently answer queries using materialized views, we design a stack-based algorithm which compactly encodes in polynomial time and space all the homomorphisms from a view to a query. We further propose space and time optimizations by using bitmaps to encode view materializations and by employing bitwise operations to minimize the evaluation cost of the queries. Finally, we conducted an extensive experimentation which demonstrates that our approach yields impressive query hit rates in the view pool, achieves significant time and space savings and shows smooth scalability.


Continuous delivery can be seen as an evolution from agile software development methods and high demands to deliver working software quickly. It aims to always be able to deliver working and reliable software in short iterations by continuously integrate, build and test the software. This puts high demands on automation and the focus of this thesis is to automate the pipeline between source code and deployable software artifacts. The problem definition of this thesis is to improve and unify the deployment pipeline of software running on Linux at IKEA IT. The project resulted in a service that supports continuous delivery by providing automated building, testing, signing and deployment of software. It runs in production environment at IKEA IT and provides a high level of automation. It was evaluated with help from end users and the eval-
uation showed that the service is useful for the intended users and automate several steps they earlier have had to do manually.


Mark Perlman has made significant contributions to the field of economics and to the life of the discipline of economics. His creation of the" Journal of Economic Literature" is both an example of his contribution to the discipline and a symbol of the connecting threads of literateness, breadth of interest, and learning that run through his work.Born, raised, and largely educated in Madison, Wisconsin, where his father was one of the principal figures of the Wisconsin Institutionalist tradition, Perlman decided early that he would be a professor. He first worked in labor economics and industrial relations, doing comprehensive and original work on American and Australian institutions. Later he worked in public health, demographic economics, and the history of economic thought. All these strands in his work are represented in this volume and add together to show the odyssey of his academic life and his thoughts on the changing nature of the economics discipline. Resistant to labeling either by field or by philosophy, he ultimately sees himself as an economic historian interested in the evolution of the various facets of modern professional economics.A series of vignettes reveals the character and interests of such figures as G. L. S. Shackle, George Stigler, Simon Kuznets, Jacob Viner, and his father, Selig Perlman. Another distinctive feature of the book is the insights that the author offers about the publishing process gained from his experience both as a journal editor and as a remarkably successful editor of several books.


Objective
To investigate the inhibition of cell proliferation by essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides on the human liver cancer SMMC-7721 cells and human liver LO2 cells,and to study the mechanism of anti-tumor in vitro.

Methods
The inhibition of cell proliferation by essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides was determined by MTT assay; the distribution of cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry( FCM) with PI staining; cell morphology and apoptosis effect of SMMC-7721 cells were observed by microscope; the apoptotic rate was quantified by FCM with Annexin V / PI double staining.

Results
Essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides could significantly inhibit the cell proliferation in a concentration-time-dependent manner( P < 0. 05),and the IC50 values on SMMC-7721 cells were lower than human liver LO2 cells at 24,48 and 72 h,respectively( P < 0. 05); cell cycle of SMMC-7721 cells was arrested in G0/G1phase; morphological observation revealed that the cells were wrinkled and the cellular cohesiveness of cells was reduced; nuclear was condensed and in orange colour,of which were the late apoptotic features; and the apoptotic rate increased in a concentration-dependent manner( P < 0. 05),non-viable apoptotic rate was obviously decreased with caspase inhibitor in 100 μg / m L essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides( P < 0. 01).

Conclusion
Essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides can inhibit SMMC-7721 cell proliferation, which may be related to inducing cell cycle arrest and caspase-dependent apoptosis.


Land-atmosphere interactions and feedbacks mirror a dynamically coupled system that functions on timescales from fractions of seconds to millions of years, driven by terrestrial ecosystem processes and modes of climate variability. Land-atmosphere exchanges involve the transfer of mass, energy and momentum and changes to these fluxes can modify regional-scale climate. This thesis aimed to examine the variability and temporal cycles between temperature (Ta), rainfall and vapour-pressure deficit (VPD) as drivers and gross primary productivity (GPP), net ecosystem exchange (Fc), ecosystem respiration (Fre) and latent heat flux (Fe) as ecosystem flux responses, over the 20th century. It also sought to analyse how influential modes of climate variability were to describing variability in ecosystem responses. Climate indices such as the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), Tasman Sea Index (TSI) and Indonesian Index (II) were chosen to analyse this influence. The study site is located at Howard Springs, NT (12.5⁰S, 131.2⁰E), chosen for its long-term flux tower and proximity to a Class 1 Bureau of Meteorology station (Darwin). The site is a typical coastal savanna with high annual rainfall (1690mm y-1) experiencing frequent climatic and fire disturbance. Tower flux data trained an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) which was driven by meteorological observations to hind-cast ecosystem responses over a 113 year period. Using a wavelet coherence analysis, interactions between eddy covariance fluxes and meteorological drivers are quantified at multiple time scales over the previous 113 years, using modelled and observational data, in an effort to establish the relationship between climate and the terrestrial carbon and water cycle within tropical north Australia. Spectral and temporal analysis revealed significant shifts in broad climate from the mid 1960's onwards with increased temperatures at the Howard Springs site in line with trends observed for Australia, namely a 0.92 oC increase in temperature over the last 113 years. VPD also increased by 24% relative to 1910 and rainfall by 17%. In effect, the Howard Springs site has become hotter and wetter, with an increase in evaporative demand as demonstrated by the increase in VPD. The wavelet analysis suggested increased coupling between the climate and ecosystem exchanges with increased temperature, rainfall and CO2 concentrations. Water fluxes (Fe) showed sensitivity to El Nino phases (drier conditions) while carbon fluxes (GPP, Fre and Fc) consistently correlated with neutral conditions, indicating disconnect between the carbon and water exchanges in response to climate change. These results can be further developed by analysing additional sites to unpack the mechanisms involved between savanna and climate. The novel approach and unique study period length has contributed to our understandings of the influence of past and present climate variability to savanna land-atmosphere exchanges, providing insight to the behaviour of coastal savanna ecosystems, which covers tens of thousands of square kilometres of tropical north Australia.


Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the discriminability of two different assimilation types, the Uncategorized-Categorized (UC) and the Uncategorized-Uncategorized assimilation (UU) (Best and Tyler, 2007), as reflected in the discrimination accuracy and reaction times towards non-native contrasts by Russian speakers. The discriminability of these assimilation types varies in the literature. To this purpose, the same Russian speakers who evaluated Greek consonantal contrasts as UC and UU types in an assimilation test of a previous study completed an AXB discrimination test in this study to detect the discriminability of these assimilation types. The findings demonstrated that most of the UU non-overlapping (UU-N) types, and specifically those with focalized-focalized responses, were more accurately discriminated and had faster RTs than the UC non-overlapping (UC-N) type. However, one UU-N type with clustered-clustered responses did not differ in terms of discrimination accuracy and reaction times with the UC-N type. It is suggested that despite having the same overlapping parameters (non-overlapping), UU types might be more discriminable than UC types with respect to consonants. Also, similarity of uncategorized phones with other assimilated phones (e.g., focalized, clustered, dispersed) might shape the UC-UU type relationship. Finally, it is assumed that the discriminability of UC-UU types might be consonant-specific.


This thesis sets out to examine the role played by sentiment in real-time microblog search. The recent prominence of the real-time web is proving both challenging and disruptive for a number of areas of research, notably information retrieval and web data mining. User-generated content on the real-time web is perhaps best epitomised by content on microblogging platforms, such as Twitter. Given the substantial quantity of microblog posts that may be relevant to a user query at a given point in time, automated methods are required to enable users to sift through this information. As an area of research reaching maturity, sentiment analysis offers a promising direction for modelling the text content in microblog streams.
In this thesis we review the real-time web as a new area of focus for sentiment analysis, with a specific focus on microblogging. We propose a system and method for evaluating the effect of sentiment on perceived search quality in real-time microblog search scenarios. Initially we provide an evaluation of sentiment analysis using supervised learning for classi- fying the short, informal content in microblog posts. We then evaluate our sentiment-based filtering system for microblog search in a user study with simulated real-time scenarios. Lastly, we conduct real-time user studies for the live broadcast of the popular television programme, the X Factor, and for the Leaders Debate during the Irish General Election. We find that we are able to satisfactorily classify positive, negative and neutral sentiment in microblog posts. We also find a significant role played by sentiment in many microblog search scenarios, observing some detrimental effects in filtering out certain sentiment types. We make a series of observations regarding associations between document-level sentiment and user feedback, including associations with user profile attributes, and users' prior topic sentiment.


The variability in esterases of the entomogenous fungus Metarhizium anisopliae was determined electrophoretically on 8.5% polyacrylamide gel. Ten isolates from diverse taxonomic groups of insects were analyzed. The electrophoretic analysis showed differences and similarities between these isolates and it was possible to distinguish six different patterns. The results obtained show a great polymorphism for the esterase system of M. anisopliae.


In this thesis I study the violation of the equivalence principle induced by two screening mechanisms in scalar-tensor theories of gravity : the chameleon mechanism and the Vainshtein effect. In the chameleon mechanism, the scalar field acquires a mass which depends on the environment density such that it will be screened in a high density environments. I discuss the violation of the equivalence principle both in Einstein and in Jordan frames. In Einstein frame, unscreened objects will move with bigger acceleration compared to screened objects. In Jordan frame, only unscreened objects feel the chameleon field whereas screened objects don't. Consequently, only unscreened objects move on geodesics. This leads to order unity violation of the equivalence principle. In the Vainshtein mechanism, the screening of the scalar field comes from derivative interaction that become large in the vicinity of massive objects. Perturbations of scalar in such regions acquire a large kinetic term and therefore decouple from matter. Thus, the scalar screens itself and become invisible to experiments. Vainshtein mechanism doesn't lead to order unity violation of the equivalence principle. In this screening mechanism, equivalence principle violation occurs at a much reduced level.


In a knowledge economy, innovation is the competitiveness key and the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in social systems is the result of collaboration between individuals and communities of interest. Managers can not measure the innovative capacity of the organization, but they may improve his performance. Managers can improve the rate and quality of innovation and competitiveness on the market. Intellectual capital through its three forms - human capital, organizational capital and structural capital, it makes organizational performance. The purpose of this article is to highlight the relationship between innovation, intellectual capital and organizational performance.


Labour migration does not appear to have the same magnitude and socio-economic importance in Belarus as in other EaP countries. It is one of the few post-socialist economies that have preserved the dominance of the state sector and built complicated systems of subsidisation and economic support for the population designed to manage the political-business cycle (see Chubrik, Shymanovich, Zaretsky (2012)). This model has allowed the economy to grow quite steadily until recently. However, the distorted system of incentives that was created for enterprises and households has resulted in the need for a "correction", which happened in the form of a balance of payments crisis in 2011. The impact of this factor on migration has not been fully visible yet. At the same time the relatively long period of stability and gradual, but steady, increase in welfare payments has played a role as a migration-restraining factor. In order to estimate cost and benefits of labour migration between EU and Belarus, this study utilises publically available literature as background and relies where possible on micro-data: Census-2009, Household Budget Survey (HBS), as well as relevant official data and data from polls related to the topic. Additionally, some sections of this report rely on information collected in the course of a focus group meeting with labour migrants and a series of in-depth interviews with officials from state, international, and non-governmental agencies dealing with migration. Lastly, in some cases anecdotal evidence was collected to support some of the new trends that have not yet been recorded in the statistics.


Objective To investigate whether mentioning free or lower cost smoking cessation medication as a trigger for thinking about quitting is related to higher medication use, more quit attempts and quit success, and whether these associations are modified by education and income. Methods Data were derived from the 2013 and 2014 surveys of the International Tobacco Control Netherlands (n=1164) and UK (n=768) cohort. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess associations between mentioning in 2013 that free/lower cost smoking cessation medication was a trigger for thinking about quitting smoking and the use of medication, quit attempts and smoking cessation in 2014. Results 37.0% of smokers in the UK and 24.9% of smokers in the Netherlands mentioned free/lower cost medication as a trigger for thinking about quitting. Smokers who mentioned this trigger were more likely to have used cessation medication during a quit attempt both in the UK (OR=4.19, p<0.001) and in the Netherlands (OR=2.14, p=0.033). The association between mentioning free/lower cost medication as a trigger for thinking about quitting and actual quit attempts was significant in the UK (OR=1.45, p=0.030), but not in the Netherlands (OR=1.10, p=0.587). There was no significant association with quit success. Associations did not differ across income and education groups. Conclusion Free/lower cost smoking cessation medication may increase the use of cessation medication and stimulate quit attempts among smokers with low, moderate and high education and income.


Epsilon is a testbed for monitoring distributed applications involving heterogeneous computers, including microcomputers, interconnected by a local area network. Such a hardware configuration is usual but raises difficulties for the programmer. First, the interprocess communication mechanisms provided by the operating systems are rather cumbersome to use. Second, they are different from one system to another. Third, the programmer of distributed applications should not worry about system and/or network aspects that are not relevant for the application level. The authors present the solution chosen in Epsilon. A set of high-level communication primitives has been designed and implemented to provide the programmer with an interface independent of the operating system and of the underlying interprocess communications facilities. A program participating in a distributed application can be executed on any host without any change in the source code except for host names. >


Spin Waves (SWs) propagate through magnetic waveguides and interfere with each other without consuming noticeable energy, which opens the road to new ultra-low energy circuit designs. In this paper we build upon SW features and propose a novel energy efficient Full Adder (FA) design consisting of 1 Majority and 2 XOR gates, which outputs Sum and Carry — out are generated by means of threshold and phase detection, respectively. We validate our proposal by means of MuMax3 micromagnetic simulations and we evaluate and compare its performance with state-of-the-art SW, 22 nm CMOS, Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ), Spin Hall Effect (SHE), Domain Wall Motion (DWM), and Spin-CMOS implementations. Our evaluation indicates that the proposed SW FA consumes 22.5% and 43% less energy than the direct SW gate based and 22 nm CMOS counterparts, respectively. Moreover it exhibits a more than 3 orders of magnitude smaller energy consumption when compared with state-of-the-art MTJ, SHE, DWM, and Spin-CMOS based FAs, and outperforms its contenders in terms of area by requiring at least 22% less chip real-estate.


We demonstrate irreversible blocking of ion channels using single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) functionalized with 2-aminoethylmethane thiosulfonate (MTSET). In contrast, as-produced and purified SWNTs exhibit reversible blocking, indicating that the MTSET molecule attached to SWNTs chemically interacts with the cysteine groups in the ion channels. Functionalization of SWNTs with MTSET is inferred from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, which clearly shows absorptions due to –CH stretching and deformation modes, and decrease in intensity of the –COOH line due to reaction of acid functionalized SWNTs with the basic N–CH3 end of the MTSET molecule.


The noise response of switched capacitor networks (SCNs) is reviewed with emphasis on simplifying approximations suitable for SPICE noise simulation. The techniques developed cover all op-amp noise sources, as well as capacitor switching noise. The close agreement between predicted and measured noise responses for several monolithic SCNs bears out the validity of these simulation techniques.


Despite integration of advanced functions that enable Femto Access Points (FAPs) to be deployed in a plug-and-play manner, the femtocell concept still cause several opened issues to be resolved. One of them represents an assignment of Physical Cell Identifiers (PCIs) to FAPs. This paper analyses a random based assignment algorithm in LTE systems operating in diverse femtocell scenarios. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by comparing the number of confusions for various femtocell densities, PCI ranges and knowledge of vicinity. Simulation results show that better knowledge of vicinity can significantly reduce the number of confusions events.


The rapidly growing paradigm of the Internet of Things (IoT) requires new search engines, which can crawl heterogeneous data sources and search in highly dynamic contexts. Existing search engines cannot meet these requirements as they are designed for traditional Web and human users only. This is contrary to the fact that things are emerging as major producers and consumers of information. Currently, there is very little work on searching IoT and a number of works claim the unavailability of public IoT data. However, it is dismissed that a majority of real-time web-based maps are sharing data that is generated by things, directly. To shed light on this line of research, in this paper, we firstly create a set of tools to capture IoT data from a set of given data sources. We then create two types of interfaces to provide real-time searching services on dynamic IoT data for both human and machine users.


The remote sensing of Earth surface changes is an active research field aimed at the development of methods and data products needed by scientists, resource managers, and policymakers. Fire is a major cause of surface change and occurs in most vegetation zones across the world. The identification and delineation of fire-affected areas, also known as burned areas or fire scars, may be considered a change detection problem. Remote sensing algorithms developed to map fire-affected areas are difficult to implement reliably over large areas because of variations in both the surface state and those imposed by the sensing system. The availability of robustly calibrated, atmospherically corrected, cloud-screened, geolocated data provided by the latest generation of moderate resolution remote sensing systems allows for major advances in satellite mapping of fire-affected area. This paper describes an algorithm developed to map fire-affected areas at a global scale using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance time series data. The algorithm is developed from the recently published Bi-Directional Reflectance Model-Based Expectation change detection approach and maps at 500 m the location and approximate day of burning. Improvements made to the algorithm for systematic global implementation are presented and the algorithm performance is demonstrated for southern African, Australian, South American, and Boreal fire regimes. The algorithm does not use training data but rather applies a wavelength independent threshold and spectral constraints defined by the noise characteristics of the reflectance data and knowledge of the spectral behavior of burned vegetation and spectrally confusing changes that are not associated with burning. Temporal constraints are applied capitalizing on the spectral persistence of fire-affected areas. Differences between mapped fireaffected areas and cumulative MODIS active fire detections are illustrated and discussed for each fire regime. The results reveal a coherent spatio-temporal mapping of fire-affected area and indicate that the algorithm shows potential for global application. D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


We propose a new load/unload (L/UL) suspension featuring shape memory alloy (SMA) thin film and demonstrate its effectiveness through the L/UL simulation. We estimated the mechanical properties of the SMA with respect to the material phases by experiment and designed the proposed suspension by considering the vibration modes related to the L/UL performance. In order to effectively verify the effectiveness of the proposed suspension, we designed the suspension to have similar L/UL performance to that obtained from the conventional suspension when the SMA film is not activated. After analyzing the L/UL design parameters of the proposed suspension when the SMA is activated, we examine the relative performance of the conventional and proposed suspensions by L/UL simulation by comparing the vibration motions of the slider and the minimum gap size between the disk and slider


A general and robust protocol for the synthesis of terminal α-substituted vinylphosphonates via Suzuki coupling of α-bromovinylphosphonates with organotrifluoroborates has been successfully developed. This method features a broad substrate scope, great functional group compatibilities, and easy scale-up ability. In addition to easy access of nucleophiles, a straightforward synthesis of electrophiles was also realized with diethyl α-bromoethenylphosphonate as the starting material. With a combination of Pd2(dba)3/SPhos as the catalyst, a range of α-alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, and alkynyl substituted ethenylphosphonates could be nicely accessed under mild conditions. As a synthetic application, the terminal vinylphosphonate was utilized as an effective Michael acceptor in the visible-light-promoted Giese reaction.


The use of technology in reforming the government bureaucracy, namely e-Bureaucracy in the regency of Jembrana raises the assumption that the modernization of the bureaucracy can be supported by the social system based on cultural values. It is assumed that the implementation of e-Bureaucracy since the leadership of Regent I Gede Winesa was able to reform the bureaucracy in Jembrana. However, the latest research of his successor's leadership suggests that there is the potential for failure of e-Bureaucracy, ranging from a decrease in function of the J-Net tower, the non-functioning of the rural internet office, and the return to manual service. The results showed that there are two basic problems in the implementation of e-Bureaucracy. First, the lack of sustained internal reform in Jembrana. This condition is caused by the euphoria with the past government and by the lack of innovation by the Jembrana bureaucratic apparatus. This situation is caused by the limited delegation of power in the bureaucratic structure in Jembrana. Secondly, community participation is not really being optimized as the basis of external reform. The lack of community participation is caused by the strong top-down approach from government and the lack of empowerment building by local NGO. The study uses a qualitative approach supplemented with literature study, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions (FGD).


A recombinant influenza A vaccine (D protein), comprising a carboxy-terminal sequence from the hemagglutinin HA2 subunit of A/Puerto Rico/8/34 virus (H1N1, A/PR/34) fused to 81 amino-terminal residues of the NS1 nonstructural protein, has previously protected mice against influenza A challenge by inducing H1N1/H2N2 cross-reactive cytotoxic T cells (CTL) without hemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) or neutralizing antibody. In our dose-escalating study, the vaccine was safe in humans and induced both IgG and T cell proliferative responses to D protein but little antibody to A/PR/34 or A/Kawasaki/8/86 (H1N1, A/KW/86) viruses. Among an additional group of A/KW/86-seronegative volunteers immunized with 500 micrograms of D protein, none had a rise in serum HI or neutralizing antibody to A/KW/86, 20% had minimal IgG responses to A/KW/86 by EIA, and a minority had any increase in A/KW/86-specific CTL activity. However, viral shedding and clinical illness score were reduced in vaccines relative to A/KW/86-seronegative unimmunized controls after intranasal challenge with wild-type A/KW/86. D protein immunization conferred significant protective immunity not currently explained by any of the immune parameters measured.


Apicomplexans are a group of microbial eukaryotes that contain some of the most well-studied parasites, including widespread intracellular pathogens of mammals such as Toxoplasma and Plasmodium (the agent of malaria), and emergent pathogens like Cryptosporidium and Babesia. Decades of research have illuminated the pathogenic mechanisms, molecular biology, and genomics of model apicomplexans, but we know surprisingly little about their diversity and distribution in natural environments. In this study we analyze the distribution of apicomplexans across a range of both host-associated and free-living environments, covering animal hosts from cnidarians to mammals, and ecosystems from soils to fresh and marine waters. Using publicly available small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene databases, high-throughput environmental sequencing (HTES) surveys such as Tara Oceans and VAMPS, as well as our own generated HTES data, we developed an apicomplexan reference database, which includes the largest apicomplexan SSU rRNA tree available to date and encompasses comprehensive sampling of this group and their closest relatives. This tree allowed us to identify and correct incongruences in the molecular identification of sequences, particularly within the hematozoans and the gregarines. Analyzing the diversity and distribution of apicomplexans in HTES studies with this curated reference database also showed a widespread, and quantitatively important, presence of apicomplexans across a variety of free-living environments. These data allow us to describe a remarkable molecular diversity of this group compared with our current knowledge, especially when compared with that identified from described apicomplexan species. This revision is most striking in marine environments, where potentially the most diverse apicomplexans apparently exist, but have not yet been formally recognized. The new database will be useful for both microbial ecology and epidemiological studies, and provide valuable reference for medical and veterinary diagnosis especially in cases of emerging, zoonotic, and cryptic infections. Author Summary Apicomplexans are important animal and human parasites, but little is known about their distribution and diversity in the natural environment. We have developed a phylogenetically informed and manually curated reference database for the SSU rRNA barcode gene, and analyzed all publicly available sequences from a broad range of environments, providing a needed framework to analyze high-throughput environmental sequencing (HTES) data. The reference database and the amplicon sequences identified a striking diversity of apicomplexans in the environment, including habitats not usually associated with this group (e.g. open ocean). The phylogenetic framework will underpin microbial ecology studies and provide valuable resources for medical and veterinary biology.


This paper presents a detailed framework for Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based articulatory inversion equipped with special postprocessing smoothers, and with the capability to perform audio-visual information fusion. The effects of different acoustic features on the GMM inversion performance are investigated and it is shown that the integration of various types of acoustic (and visual) features improves the performance of the articulatory inversion process. Dynamic Kalman smoothers are proposed to adapt the cutoff frequency of the smoother to data and noise characteristics; Kalman smoothers also enable the incorporation of auxiliary information such as phonetic transcriptions to improve articulatory estimation. Two types of dynamic Kalman smoothers are introduced: global Kalman (GK) and phoneme-based Kalman (PBK). The same dynamic model is used for all phonemes in the GK smoother; it is shown that GK improves the performance of articulatory inversion better than the conventional low-pass (LP) smoother. However, the PBK smoother, which uses one dynamic model for each phoneme, gives significantly better results than the GK smoother. Different methodologies to fuse the audio and visual information are examined. A novel modified late fusion algorithm, designed to consider the observability degree of the articulators, is shown to give better results than either the early or the late fusion methods. Extensive experimental studies are conducted with the MOCHA database to illustrate the performance gains obtained by the proposed algorithms. The average RMS error and correlation coefficient between the true (measured) and the estimated articulatory trajectories are 1.227 mm and 0.868 using audiovisual information fusion and GK smoothing, and 1.199 mm and 0.876 using audiovisual information fusion together with PBK smoothing based on a phonetic transcription of the utterance.


Diagnosis of fatigue crack growth in thin metallic structures using guided ultrasonic waves has been shown to be a promising methodology for aerospace and structural engineering applications. Typically, the non-destructive evaluation (NDE) tests are performed using the pitch-catch mode, where Lamb waves are induced in the metallic structure using a PZT actuator, and the wave field at a suitable location on the structure is measured using a PZT sensor. The NDE methods employ a model-based, baselinereference approach, where any changes in the sensed signal are assumed to be caused by fatigue crack growth. These NDE methods, however, are prone to inaccuracies due to aleatory uncertainty in system properties as well as physics model discrepancy. Probabilistic treatment of the diagnosis faces two key challenges: a large parameter space, and computationally expensive numerical models of the governing physics. In this work, we discuss a probabilistic crack diagnosis framework to overcome the aforementioned challenges; and to tackle the aleatory and epistemic uncertainties in the process. We build a Bayesian network that describes a Lamb-wave pitch-catch NDE method using a low-fidelity, physics-based model of the same. We perform global sensitivity analysis to quantify the contribution of various parameters to the variance of the damage-sensitive output signal feature(s) using this model. We retain the parameters with higher contribution, and build a medium-fidelity, one-way coupled, multi-physics finite element model to simulate the piezoelectric effect and Lamb wave propagation. We use the finite element model to generate training data to train a Gaussian process (GP) surrogate model that can output the damage-sensitive signal feature for given values of pertinent system parameters. We use the GP surrogate to perform Bayesian diagnosis of crack size considering data corrupted by measurement and process noise. We fuse the information obtained from various actuator-sensor paths in a PZT network to sequentially update the crack growth estimate. The proposed Bayesian estimation and fusion approach can potentially improve the performance of Lamb-wave pitch-catch NDE methods for metallic structures.


Empathizing is a drive to identify another person's emotions and thoughts and respond to them appropriately. Systemizing is a drive to analyze systems or construct systems. The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) model suggests that these are major dimensions in which individuals differ from each other, and women being superior in empathizing and men in systemizing. In this study, we examined new questionnaires, the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ). Participants were 1 250 students, 616 men and 634 women, from eight universities, who completed both the EQ and SQ. Results showed that women scored higher than men on the EQ, and the result was reversed on the SQ. Results also showed that humanities majors scored higher than sciences majors on the EQ, and again the result was reversed on the SQ. The results were discussed in relation to the E-S theory of gender differences.


The coastal waters of Japan have a wide diversity of fisheries resources. This poses a great challenge in terms of management. Therefore this study was aimed at outlining the fisheries resources and its management in the coastal area of Futami District in Iyo city. The fisheries production in the coastal waters of Futami as well as the number of boats and fishermen is on the decline. This might be attributed to aging of the fishermen and environmental degradation. However in terms of fisheries management, it can be said that Futami has a good fisheries management system as evidenced by the organization and operations of its Kaminada Fisheries Cooperative Association (FCA). The management has been successful because the fisheries management has always been community centred and there is a proper legal framework supporting the community based system. Fishing rights are well defined and assigned to the FCA to manage. All the fishermen belong to FCA which acts as both a management body as well as a marketing body. Good support system like insurance and credit system has made it possible for the FCA to be successful. The successful fisheries management system in Futami shows that local communities can manage fisheries resources properly with proper legal and organizational support. This community based management system is the most sustainable way of managing fisheries resource.


The dark web has been confronted with a significant increase in the number and variety of onion services of illegitimate and criminal intent. Anonymity, encryption, and the technical complexity of the Tor network are key challenges in detecting, disabling, and regulating such services. Instead of tracking an operational location, cyber threat intelligence can become more proactive by utilizing recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect and classify onion services based on the content, as well as provide an interpretation of the classification outcome. In this paper, we propose a novel multimodal classification approach based on explainable deep learning that classifies onion services based on the image and text content of each site. A Convolutional Neural Network with Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) and a pre-trained word embedding with Bahdanau additive attention are the core capabilities of this approach that classify and contextualize the representative features of an onion service. We demonstrate the superior classification accuracy of this approach as well as the role of explainability in decision-making that collectively enables proactive cyber threat intelligence in the dark web.


Marine resources such as waves and tides house immense potential to serve as energy-rich sources of renewable power generation. They are known to be highly available, persistent and predictable in nature. Therefore, these can serve as one of the critical components for a primarily renewable energy-driven, resilient and robust future power grid. Although some inherent temporal characteristics of these resources lend themselves favorably to potential grid applications, the inclusion of storage allows the benefits and value streams to become realized more fully. In this paper, we present a framework for assessing impact of marine energy resources inclusion on the overall load generation balance and its impact on the relevant storage requirements to obtain the desired level of renewable energy penetration. From this study, we can critically infer two main points - (a) the relative storage requirements for grid operations with and without marine energy, and (b) the avoided cost of storage by including marine energy into the generation mix. We demonstrate our framework for two different locations across the United States.


Toxicologists risk becoming insensitive to 'Impact', as they have often to assess it and to receive urgent messages about substances that will 'Impact' on their work. For once, however, use of the 'I' word in the title of this book is doubly justified it does deal with environmental consequences of exposure to chemicals and the contents are so clear and well-presented that they will affect any toxicologist who reads them. The editors have marshalled a large number of authors from academic, consultancy and regulatory groups, including Green Peace's UK laboratory, to write forcefully and carefully. The chapters are focused on the toxicological principles adopted in the UK, Europe and the USA to assess human health risks for


ČERNÁ, B., NÝVLT, D., ENGEL, Z. (2012): A buried glaciofluvial channel in the Anděl Col, Northern Bohemia: new evidence for the Middle Pleistocene ice sheets extent in Western Sudetes. Geografie, 117, No. 2, pp. 127–151. – This study presents a new finding of glaciofluvial sediments filling a buried channel in the Anděl Col (522 m a.s.l.) in the Jizera Mts., on the Czech-Polish border. At least 550 m long and 55–100 m wide channel filled by glaciofluvial sediments was determined by geophysical methods in the lowermost part of the col. The base of the channel was found at a depth of 14–19 m under the present ground surface, descending from east to west draining the ice sheet front in the same direction. The channel is incised in the bedrock representing thus a Nye channel and is filled by >13 m of glaciofluvial sand, gravel and mud, which is covered by 1–2 m thick colluvial deposits. The large part of the glaciofluvial package was deposited in subglacial environment reflecting the ice sheet decay events of higher release of the material from the ice sheet. The upper glaciofluvial part of sediments was deposited in front of the slowly decaying ice sheet front. No subglacial tills have been found in the col area, which is not unusual for such an exposed site. We reconstruct the maximum altitude limit of the ice sheet in the col as being at least at ~540 m and the ice thickness in the Anděl Col being few tens of metres. The Anděl Col is the highest known area in Northern Bohemia covered by an ice sheet and improves thus our knowledge about the maximum vertical extent of Middle Pleistocene ice sheets in Western Sudetes.


Linear projection schemes like Proper Orthogonal Decomposition can efficiently reduce the dimensions of dynamical systems but are naturally limited, e.g., for convection‐dominated problems. Nonlinear approaches have shown to outperform linear methods in terms of dimension reduction versus accuracy but, typically, come with a large computational overhead. In this work, we consider a quadratic reduction scheme which induces nonlinear structures that are well accessible to tensorized linear algebra routines. We discuss that nonintrusive approaches can be used to simultaneously reduce the complexity in the equations and propose an operator inference formulation that respects dynamics on nonlinear manifolds.


The medicinal benefit of salts of fumaric acid and its esters (FAE), known as fumarates (mono and dimethyl fumarate), was realized many years ago. Early on, FAE were derived from plants and mushrooms (e.g., Fumaria officinalis, Boletus fomentarius var. pseudo-igniarius). The FAE containing formulation Fumaderm® was licensed in Germany for the treatment of psoriasis in 1994. Recently, a clinical formulation of dimethyl fumarate known as BG12 (Tecfidera) was approved for use in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, European Union, Switzerland, and Canada for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Others and we have assessed the potential benefit of FAE in a number of disease conditions that are diverse with respect to etiology but unified with regard to the involvement of inflammation and oxidative stress. Hence, a FAE-based drug with robust anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects that is already US-FDA approved is a perfect contender for repurposing and rapid clinical implementation for their management. There is a burgeoning literature on the use of FAE in the prevention and treatment of diseases, other than psoriasis and MS, in which oxidative stress and/or inflammation are prominent. This chapter highlights critical information gleaned from these studies, exposes lacunae of potential importance, and provides related perspectives.


Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that is frequently used to study cortical excitability changes and their impact on cognitive functions in humans. While most stimulators are capable of operating in double-blind mode, the amount of discomfort experienced during tDCS may break blinding. Therefore, specifically designed sham stimulation protocols are being used. The "fade-in, short-stimulation, fade-out" (FSF) protocol has been used in hundreds of studies and is commonly believed to be indistinguishable from real stimulation applied at 1 mA for 20 minutes. We analyzed subjective reports of 192 volunteers, who either received real tDCS (n=96) or FSF tDCS (n=96). Participants reported more discomfort for real tDCS and correctly guessed the condition above chance-level. These findings indicate that FSF does not ensure complete blinding and that better active sham protocols are needed.


Sidechains are among the most promising scalability and extended functionality solutions for blockchains. Application of zero knowledge techniques (Latus, Mina) allows for reaching high level security and general throughput, though it brings new challenges on keeping decentralization where significant effort is required for robust computation of zk-proofs. We consider a simultaneous decentralized creation of various zk-proof trees that form proof-trees sequences in sidechains in the model that combines behavior of provers, both deterministic (mutually consistent) or stochastic (independent) and types of proof trees. We define the concept of efficiency of such process, introduce its quantity measure and recommend parameters for tree creation. In deterministic cases, the sequences of published trees are ultimately periodic and ensure the highest possible efficiency (no collisions in proof creation). In stochastic cases, we obtain a universal measure of prover efficiencies given by the explicit formula in one case or calculated by a simulation model in another case. The optimal number of allowed provers' positions for a step can be set for various sidechain parameters, such as number of provers, number of time steps within one block, etc. Benefits and restrictions for utilization of non-perfect binary proof trees are also explicitly presented.


There is a unique set of circumstances affecting treatment for every patient involved in assisted reproduction, and those with pre-existing medical conditions, or those receiving medical therapies that may impact on the safety and success of their IVF treatment, are particularly challenging. Providing a concise but authoritative source of information to aid clinicians in this important field, this book covers management options for patients with a range of pre-existing diseases and conditions that can impact on the risk and outcomes of IVF treatment. Readily accessible and easy to use, the book also concludes with a helpful chapter on counselling patients who consistently fail to conceive. With expert contributions from leaders in the field, this is a much-needed, innovative resource for clinicians working in IVF and Infertility Units, and for physicians managing patients with systemic disease who are undergoing IVF.


Clinical pathways help providers to enhance documentation, standardize care, and improve patient outcomes. One agency developed a clinical pathway that offers terminally ill patients comprehensive, accessible, and coordinated care. It prompts each team member to recognize positive outcomes and to conduct ongoing goal setting with the patient and family.


The expected growth in air traffic combined with an increased public concern for the
environment, have forced legislators to rethink the current air traffic system design. The
current air traffic system operates at its capacity limits and is expected to lead to increased
delays if traffic levels grow even further. Both in the United States and Europe, research
projects have been initiated to develop the future Air Transportation System (ATS) to
address capacity, and environmental, safety and economic issues. To address the
environmental issues during descent and approach, a novel Continuous Descent Operations
(CDO) concept, named Time and Energy Managed Operations (TEMO), has been
developed co-sponsored by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking. It uses energy principles to
reduce fuel burn, gaseous emissions and noise nuisance whilst maintaining runway capacity.
Different from other CDO concepts, TEMO optimizes the descent by using energy
management to achieve a continuous engine-idle descent, while satisfying time constraints
on both the Initial Approach Fix (IAF) and the runway threshold. As such, TEMO uses timemetering
at two control points to facilitate flow management and arrival spacing.
TEMO is in line with SESAR step 2 capabilities, since it proposes 4D trajectory
management and is aimed at providing significant environmental benefits in the arrival phase
without negatively affecting throughput, even in high density and peak-hour operations. In
particular, TEMO addresses SESAR operational improvement (OI) TS-103: Controlled Time
of Arrival (CTA) through use of datalink [1].
TEMO has been validated starting from initial performance batch studies at Technology
Readiness Level (TRL) 3, up to Human-in-the-Loop studies in realistic environments using a
moving base flight simulator at TRL 5 ([2]-[6]).
In this paper the definition, preparation, performance and analysis of a flight test
experiment is described with the objective to demonstrate the ability of the TEMO algorithm
to provide accurate and safe aircraft guidance toward the Initial Approach Fix (IAF), and
further down to the Stabilization Point (1000 ft AGL), to demonstrate the ability of the TEMO
algorithm to meet absolute time requirements at IAF and/or runway threshold and to evaluate
the performance of the system under test (e.g. fuel usage).


Purpose To determine factors affecting the ability of 64-multislice computed tomography (MSCT) to detect, assess, and accurately diagnose significant coronary arterial in-stent restenosis (ISR). Materials and Methods The institutional review board approved this study and waived informed consent. Sixty patients underwent CT coronary angiography using 64-MSCT, after implantation of coronary artery stents (n=91). We assessed diagnostic accuracy for ISR with CT in comparison with conventional coronary angiography as the gold standard, visually and with measurement of in-stent coronary lumen density. Possible factors that influenced the diagnostic performance of CT were evaluated, which included image quality (IQ), stent characteristics, and location. Results Sixty-nine stents (75.8%) were assessable. Low IQ, location in the left circumflex coronary artery, and narrow stent diameter were associated with poor assessment (P<0.05). In stents that could be assessed, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 64-MSCT were 90.0%, 73.5%, 58.1%, and 94.7%, respectively, for significant ISR. The diagnostic accuracy in assessable stents showed a significant increase with better IQ, thinner strut thickness, and nondrug eluting stent. False-positive diagnoses of ISR by CT were explained by coronary lumen density measurements. Conclusions Evaluation of stents by 64-MSCT is not recommended in stents with diameters of ≤2.75 mm or stents located at the left circumflex coronary artery. The diagnostic accuracy of 64-MSCT is affected by IQ and strut thickness in assessable stents. Significant ISR can be excluded with high reliability in selected patients.


The natural language portions of an electronic health record (EHR) communicate critical information about disease and treatment progression. However, the presence of personally identifying information in this data constrains its broad reuse. In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) provides a de-identification standard for the removal of protected health information (PHI). Despite continuous improvements in methods for the automated detection of PHI over time, the residual identifiers in clinical notes continue to pose significant challenges - often requiring manual validation and correction that is not scalable to generate the amount of data needed for modern machine learning tools. In this paper, we describe an automated de-identification system that employs an ensemble architecture, incorporating attention-based deep learning models and rule based methods, supported by heuristics for detecting PHI in EHR data. Upon detection of PHI, the system transforms these detected identifiers into plausible, though fictional, surrogates to further obfuscate any leaked identifier. We evaluated the system with a publicly available dataset of 515 notes from the I2B2 2014 de-identification challenge and a dataset of 10,000 notes from the Mayo Clinic. We compared our approach with other existing tools considered best-in-class. The results indicated a recall of 0.992 and 0.994 and a precision of 0.979 and 0.967 on the I2B2 and the Mayo Clinic data, respectively.


Doctrinal disconnects complicate adjudication of international water rights controversies. However, legal history and comparative law sources can fill gaps and build analogies to bridge differences in substantive law. Between Mexico and the United States in particular, the civil-common law divide at times appears vast, but has been occasionally narrowed by reference to shared Roman principles of usufruct or by incorporation of Mexican law into the U.S. system. This article argues that these commonalities can help solve the dispute over the All-American Canal in Southern California, which prior to being lined with concrete by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recharged groundwater supplying Mexican farmers and the endangered Colorado Delta ecosystem. Such meeting places for doctrine suggest that, even in domestic courts, nations need not attempt to resolve international problems through domestic law alone.


Peter Davies in his paper outlines the major trends in the development of Japan's commercial shipping prior to World War I. The paper focusses in particular on the role played by the Japanese government, arguing that the promotion of the industry was undertaken primarily not for commercial, but for strategic imperialist reasons. Kunio Katayama's paper focusses on Japanese shipping policy in the years immediately prior to the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5. Using analysis of parliamentary debates over subsidies for shipping and prize-winning essays on the topic, the author contends that public opinion in favour of the creation of major overseas shipping liones was well established prior to the war, and that these plans were conceived for economic and commercial reasons, and not imperialist and stratetic ones.


The first three months of 2002 witnessed a dengue epidemic in the State of Rio de Janeiro. At that time, health authorities encouraged community participation in the elimination of vector breeding sites. For this campaign, a great quantity of information about the disease was extensively publicized in order to guide the population's preventive action. This paper analyzed the three pamphlets most widely distributed at that time in Rio de Janeiro city considering that this information contributed to the construction of disease representation and its prevention. It was observed that even though this information was provided repeatedly it must be revised.


Objective: The aim of this retrospective study is to analyse fetuses with cerebral ventriculomegaly, to look for associated anomalies, to precise the prenatal investigations and the early post-natal evolution. Material and methods: Between January 1998 and December 2004, all fetuses with cerebral ventriculomegaly diagnosed in our department of prenatal ultrasonography were reviewed. The associated fetal anomalies, the type of investigations and the pregnancy evolution were studied. Results: 72 fetuses were identified, 60 (83%) with bilateral cerebral ventriculomegaly and 12 (17%) with unilateral ventriculomegaly. The ventriculomegaly was defined as mild (10–15 mm) in 35 cases (48%), moderate (16–20 mm) in 22 (31%) and severe (> 21 mm) in 15 (21%). The mean gestational age at the diagnosis was 27 weeks of pregnancy (14–36). The ventriculomegaly remained stable throughout pregnancy in 48% of cases, modified in 52% (reduced for 24% and worsened in 28%). Associated anomalies were detected with sonography in 55 fetuses 14 were extra-cerebral abnormalities and 36 intra-cerebral. Other prenatal investigations were performed: 34 karyotypes (abnormal 7), 13 fetal magnetic resonance imaging (abnormal 8), 9 maternal serologic studies (positive 4). The evolution was: 32 terminations of pregnancy, 5 intrauterine demises, 34 living births with 6 deaths in the early postnatal period. Conclusions: Cerebral ventriculomegaly represents a frequent prenatal anomaly. The prognosis is related with the size of lateral ventricle and the presence of associated anomalies, our rate of termination of pregnancy is high for severe cases.


An electrochemical sensor was developed for guanine (GA) and adenine (AD) detection using multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with the hybrid NiAl-layered double hydroxide/graphene oxide (NiAl-LDH/GO) on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), referred to as MWCNTs/NiAl-LDH/GO/GCE. The modified electrode was used for the simultaneous detection of GA and AD. Electrochemical performances related to the direct electrooxidation of GA and AD at the modified electrode were investigated, showing that their peak currents were greatly enhanced due to the presence of MWCNTs/NiAl-LDH/GO nanohybrids. Also, it was revealed that the oxidation peak potentials of GA and AD on the modified electrode were negatively shifted, leading to the increase of their electrocatalytic activity at the surface of MWCNTs/NiAl-LDH/GO/GCE. The effects of different parameters such as pH, accumulation time, accumulation potential, and scan rate on the sensitivity were investigated too. Determination of purine bases was done by a linear sweep voltammetric (LSV) technique. The linear ranges of 0.010–45 μM, with the detection limit of 3 nM for GA, and 0.08–45 μM, with the detection limit of 20 nM for AD, were achieved. Finally, the proposed electrochemical sensor was employed for the simultaneous determination of GA and AD in single-strand deoxyribonucleic acid (ssDNA) samples.


In many real-world situations, a problem emerges suddenly (e.g., Cyber attacks may take just milliseconds), while the response processes may last much longer (e.g., network system restoration after a Cyber attack may take hours or days). Presently, a fully automated response is impractical, due to complex dynamics and uncertainties, as well as social and political requirements (e.g., for humans to be "in the loop"). Thus, a viable approach is to augment human capabilities to solve the problem, but this results in a subsequent complication: the technical skills required are not all residing in one place and a network of dispersed experts must plan and carry out an effective response together. This paper aims to define and investigate a special challenge, named Mixed-initiative Distributed Simultaneous (MDS) planning, arising from complex real-world problems. A framework named We-Plan, its multi-agent based system architecture and a software prototype have been designed and developed to address MDS planning. We present the appropriate background and a definition of the challenge, a brief literature review, an architecture design, and a software prototype implementation featuring a step-by-step walkthrough demonstrating how collaborative processes and multi-agent technologies can be employed to effectively carry out MDS planning. The paper does not delve into algorithmic details as a partial solution, but aims to present a viable and practical framework for addressing the aforementioned challenges.


An Evaluation of Self-Potential anomaly over sulphide ore deposits has been undertaken at Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria. The Project site is about 5sqkm, underlain by two main geologic units. The Abakaliki Shale and the Ezeaku Formation. The potential gradient array technique of Self- Potential method was employed. Data was interpreted using surfer 8 computer software and Ms Excel tool Kits. Iso-contour maps of Self Potential and profile plots for anomaly variations were constructed. Results show positive Self-Potential closures, with corresponding peaks in the profile plots which are indicative of sulphide ore deposits. Trend orientations of anomaly peaks occur roughly NW – SE and NE – SW in a cross – cutting stress pattern.


Abstract.
 The Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) is a common resident of the neotropical lowlands of Middle America and northern South America. The Escudo Hummingbird (A. t. handleyi), the most distinctive of the five subspecies of A. tzacatl, is endemic to Isla Escudo in Caribbean western Panama. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation from across most of the species' range showed five well-defined but shallow clades (maximum uncorrected distance 2.4%) that only partially agreed with subspecific taxonomy. A widespread Middle American clade ranges from southeastern Mexico to central Caribbean Panama and includes birds collected on the Bocas del Toro archipelago. The Escudo Hummingbird fell within this clade and was slightly differentiated (two unique substitutions; uncorrected distance ∼0.2–0.5%). Two additional clades occur in the Pacific regions of southern Middle America. A fourth clade is endemic to eastern Panama (eastern Panamá and Darién provinces); a fifth is found in northwestern South America and in Darién. Secondary contact between clades occurs at three sites: between clades I and III in northwestern Costa Rica, between clades I and II in western Panama, and between clades IV and V near the Panama-Colombia border. The last case is likely due to recent expansion into the region from two directions. Thus the history of Amazilia tzacatl demonstrates a tendency for the formation of monophyletic mtDNA clades, likely as the result of geographic isolation, but also a propensity for secondary contact of these clades, a phenomenon recovered in many other phylogeographic studies of neotropical birds.


By breaking down atmospheric variables into temporal climatologies and anomalies, this book demonstrates that all weather extremes and climatic events are directly associated with the anomaly component of atmospheric motion. We can use the anomaly-based synoptic chart and dynamical parameters to objectively describe these extremes and events. The conception and differences of weather, climate and general circulation tend to confuse us, because there are no clear physical definitions available for them. Weather extremes such as heat waves, cold surges, freezing rains, heavy rains, severe drought, unusual storm tracks, and tornados are common on our planet's surface. Climatic events such as Arctic warming and declining sea ice have become hot topics in recent years. An approach based on breaking down total variables into temporal climatologies and anomalies can be used to identify general circulation, analyze climatic anomalies and forecast weather extremes. Accordingly, this book will appeal to students, teachers and forecasters in the field of weather and climate alike.


Automatic satire detection is a subtle text classification task, for machines and at times, even for humans. In this paper we argue that satire detection should be approached using common-sense inferences, rather than traditional text classification methods. We present a highly structured latent variable model capturing the required inferences. The model abstracts over the specific entities appearing in the articles, grouping them into generalized categories, thus allowing the model to adapt to previously unseen situations.


Noradrenaline infused into pentobarbitoneanaesthetised rats at 310 and 1480 ng/min caused marked increases in arterial blood pressure (see fig). These responses were augmented' when the noradrenaline infusions were repeated after an intravenous injection of propranolol (1 mg/kg body weight), but they were not augmented by a control "blockade" with saline. Furthermore, pressor responses to a more specific a-adrenoceptor stimulant, phenyleplhrine, were not significantly enhanced by propranolol. F J IMMs MRC Environmental Physiology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WG1 R L B NEAME D A Powis Department of PhysioLogy, St Bartholomew's Hospital, Medical College, London ECI


State estimation of objects plays an important role in various kinds of applications in the fields of robotics and autonomous vehicles. With the continuous advancement of sensors with high spatial resolution, especially light detection and ranging (LiDAR), the interest in accurate and reliable extended object trackers has grown over the last years. Classical state estimation approaches assume static and symmetric shapes, such as rectangles or ellipses, or compositions of those. The disadvantage of that assumption is obvious: deformations, as in the case of articulated vehicles driving along curves, cannot be captured appropriately. In this paper, we tackle this problem by proposing a novel approach to state estimation employing deformed superellipses. This allows a closed-form mathematical description of an articulated object's state in the Euclidean plane consisting of its pose and shape. Two additional state parameters are introduced capturing the deformation angle and the joint's position. We evaluate the proposed approach to state estimation of articulated objects employing a model fitting algorithm of simulated LiDAR measurements and show the improvements compared to classical shape assumptions. Furthermore, we discuss the use of our approach in a tracking algorithm.


Background: Feedback is considered as an effective means of motivating, guiding, and reinforcing desired behaviours. However, the ways to interpret external feedback may be different among individuals with different personality traits; therefore, this would influence the effects of feedback on performance. Accordingly, the influencing effects of personality towards different styles of feedback on cognitive task performance were examined. Methods: Participants (N = 71) were given three Stroop tasks as a dependent variable, whereas the Trail Making Task was an independent variable; additionally, a personality test was used to record the personality traits of each participant. The relationship between personality and feedback-induced changes in Stroop performance was computed by means of Pearson correlation, followed by a mixed-effect model to demonstrate the effect of personality on the overall performance with feedback. Results: The statistical analysis indicated that performance from those with higher levels of extraversion generally profitted from feedback, irrespective of whether it was negative feedback (r = 0.201) or positive feedback (r = 0.205). Additionally, the moderating effect of personality on feedback and performance was demonstrated. Conclusions: The limitations of the sample size and other external influences may have reduced the representativeness of the research. Nonetheless, more potential influencing factors need to be included and explored in future research.


The anterior interosseous nerve is a branch of the median nerve. It arises from the median nerve just distal to the antecubital fossa, about 5.5 cm distal to the medial epicondyle of the humerus. [2] It passes along the interosseous membrane between the ulna and radius. It terminates in the pronator quadratus muscle around the level of the wrist. It is largely a motor nerve. It supplies the flexor pollicis longus, the lateral half of the flexor digitorum profundus (ie to the radial two digits) and the pronator quadratus.


The majority of WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play a role in the regulation of defense response in plants. Three WRKY genes, PtrWRKY1, PtrWRKY2 and PtrWRKY3, were previously identified in Poncirus and their expressions were characterized in response to cold and drought in Poncirus and Citrus. In this study, expressions of these WRKY genes were studied in response to infection with two major pathogens of Citrus, Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) and Phytophthora citrophthora, in resistant Poncirus and susceptible pummelo (Citrus grandis) plants. Northern blot analysis showed that the expression of the PtrWRKY1 gene was induced earlier and stronger in Poncirus than in pummelo in response to CTV infection. On the other hand, the expression of the PtrWRKY1 gene was not altered in response to P. citrophthora infection neither in Poncirus nor in pummelo. When the expression of the PtrWRKY2 gene was analyzed, it was repressed by CTV inoculation in Poncirus plants, whereas the expression was not changed in response to CTV infection in pummelo or in response to P. citrophthora inoculation in Poncirus or pummelo. Similarly, the expression of the PtrWRKY3 gene was repressed in Poncirus, but not changed in pummelo by CTV inoculation; however, the expression of the PtrWRKY3 gene was induced in Poncirus, but it was repressed in pummelo in response to P. citrophthora inoculation. The expression analysis of three different WRKY genes revealed that they are differentially expressed in response to CTV and P. citrophthora infection in resistant Poncirus and susceptible pummelo suggesting that they may play a role in disease resistance in Poncirus.


The increased level of accountability in higher education has prompted many computer-related programs to seek accreditation. As accrediting agencies continue to define and refine exactly what these degrees should entail, institutions struggle with the decisions of aligning their curriculum with a dynamic set of standards set by an outside agency, focusing on the needs identified by their own assessment data, or attempting to marry the two. This paper details how one institution completed comprehensive reviews of their curriculum under two different projects: Expanding Pathways for Educational Development and Information Technology Experiences, an NSF-funded research project investigation and examination of curriculum and regional needs and an ABET evaluation and site visit. The focus of this report is to inform others of local efforts that may be replicated on their campuses, share findings that may be of use to others in similarly situated circumstances, and add to the assessment and accreditation dialog.


We present a techno-economic assessment of algae-derived biodiesel under economic and technical uncertainties currently associated with the development of algal biorefineries. The proposed plant is comprised of photobioreactor (PBR), harvesting and oil extraction, oil esterification, and integrated gasification/Fischer-Tropsch units, and a concentrated solar power (CSP) system to provide the biorefinery with decarbonised electricity. The global sensitivity analysis was performed using a High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) method. It was found that, considering reasonable ranges over which each parameter can vary, the sensitivity of the biodiesel production cost to the key input parameters decreases in the following order: algae oil content > algae annual productivity per unit area > plant production capacity > carbon price increase rate. It was also found that the Return on Investment (ROI) is highly sensitive to the algae oil content, and to a lesser extent to the algae annual productivity, crude oil price and price increase rate, plant production capacity, and carbon price increase rate. For a large scale plant (100,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year) the production cost of biodiesel is likely to be between £0.8 to £1.6 per kg. The analysis herein presented should be of interests to researchers and decision makers in the energy, environment and agricultural sectors.


The related genes lin28a and lin28b code for conserved RNA-binding proteins, which contain two key RNA-binding motifs that determine their functions. Previously, our laboratory identified lin28a as a putative downstream target of FGF signalling in the early Xenopus embryo. This was found to occur at gastrulation stage, during which key signalling pathways such as the FGF pathway are active in specifying germ layer development.
lin28 is a heterochronic gene in C. elegans and controls the timing of developmental events. In vertebrates, the lin28a gene shows pluripotent-specific expression, and has come to particular interest as one of four factors used to successfully re-program differentiated somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. Both lin28a and lin28b have a high prevalence of ectopic expression in cancer. A well characterised target of both lin28a and lin28b is the microRNA let-7, inhibiting biogenesis to the mature microRNA form. The lin28 proteins have also been shown to potentiate translation of numerous mRNA targets.
The aim of this project was to identify if lin28 has an important developmental role in vertebrates. Work in the Xenopus tropicalis embryo found that both lin28a and lin28b were targets of FGF signalling at gastrulation, and were required for correct germ layer patterning at this stage. In order to explore conservation in humans, mesenchymal stem cells were used to model the effects of FGF signalling upon the mesodermal germ layer, and whether lin28 played a role in this. Additional pluripotent cell models were investigated for their suitability in which to study lin28 function. Analysis of lin28 targets in Xenopus revealed that the miR-17-92 cluster family of miRNA may be positively regulated by the lin28 proteins, with a direct interaction possible with a member of these: pre-mir-363. These miRNAs may have further important developmental roles in response to this regulation by the lin28 proteins.


We present a runtime library design based on the two-phase collective I/O technique for irregular applications. The design is motivated by the requirements of a large number of ASCI (Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative) applications, although the design and interface is general enough to be used from any irregular applications. We present two designs, namely, Collective I/O and Pipelined Collective I/O. In the first scheme, all processors participate in the I/O at the same time, making scheduling of I/O requests simpler, but creating a possibility of contention at the I/O nodes. In the second approach, processors are grouped into several groups, so that only one group performs I/O simultaneously, while the next group performs communication to rearrange data, and this entire process is pipelined. This reduces the contention at the I/O nodes but requires more complicated scheduling and a possible degradation in communication performance. We obtained up to 40 MBytes/sec application level performance on the Caltech's Intel Paragon (with 16 IO nodes, each containing one disk) which includes on-the-fly reordering costs. We observed up to 60 MBytes/sec on the ASCI/Red machine with only three I/O nodes (with RAIDS).


This paper presents a machine vision inspection system to detect deformation of cells in the process of gravure manufacturing, which can provide real-time reporting and detail testing process analysis and find problems and make adjustments to track the production process, more conducive to scientific production management. The formation of cells of gravure machine vision inspection system is able to change analog signal into digital signal of gravure image. We have applied the MATLAB image processing software to read the experiment images and histogram equalization. The edge of cells is extracted by using of Sobel operator and Canny operator. We use different thresholds and experimental sigma values that compare to experimental results. It is found that extraction using the Canny operator is better than Sobel operator. Canny edge extraction operator is best when the value of sigma is 16. According to the image used in this research to determine the standard cells carving the value of gaps d0 equals 125, the value of dark tone s0 equals 394, so its standard value of gaps and dark tone are d0 ± 10 and s0 ± 10. The value of gravure outlets gaps and dark tone are measured, while d and s is in the scope of standard range, which the output 1 of the cells determined to pass and the output 0 deemed to fail. We propose two solutions of cells deformation gravure machine vision inspection system. Through analysis and comparison of performance and economic of the lighting and image sensor, the final implementation of the program is identified.