Study on wind-resistant performance of one special-shaped long-span arch bridge is carried out using a full-bridge aeroelastic model with a scale of 1:66 in wind tunnel test. The tests on vortex-induced vibration (VIV for short), buffeting and aerodynamic stability of both bare arch and full-bridge are comprehensively conducted in smooth and turbulent flows with attack angle of -3º, 0º, 3º, and yaw angles ranging from 0º to 180º with a step of 15º. The results show that the first-order symmetric VIV of vertical bending appears on the bare arch in smooth flow with attack angle of -3º, 0º, 3º, and yaw angle of 0º, 5º. The maximum amplitude of VIV at 1/4 section of the bare arch is close to 30cm, higher than the corresponding value at the crown section. No stable VIV is observed on full-bridge model tests in both smooth and turbulent flows. For full-bridge model in turbulent flows, both means and standard deviations of girder torsional displacement at 1/2 and 1/4 sections are very small, which prove that the bridge integral torsional stiffness is significantly improved due to the 3-D cable-support system. The bridge possesses good aerodynamic stability for both bare arch and full-bridge service states.


ABSTRACT Ward, R.D.; Burnside, N.G.; Joyce, C.B., and Sepp, K., 2016. Importance of microtopography in determining plant community distribution in Baltic coastal wetlands. This study investigated microtopography and edaphic factors to ascertain their use as determinants for identifying the location and extent of plant community types in internationally important Baltic coastal wetlands in Estonia. Plant community types were identified, and abundance and frequency of plant species were recorded within 105 1-m2 quadrats at two sites. Within each quadrat, a real-time kinematic differential GPS (dGPS) was used to record elevation; soil moisture, organic matter, particle size, pH, salinity, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were also measured. A significant difference was recorded for elevation in six of the seven different plant communities: Reed Swamp, Clubrush Swamp, Lower Shore grassland, Upper Shore grassland, Tall Grassland, and Scrub and Developing Woodland. Median elevation differences between plant communities were between 0.04 m and 0.19 m. Soil moisture and salinity were related to elevation, and all three significantly influenced plant community location. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis confirmed that elevation and soil moisture influenced the distribution of five of the seven community types, while the remaining two communities were strongly related to either pH and salinity or organic matter, N, and K, respectively. Microtopography was found to strongly affect the distribution and extent of Baltic coastal wetland plant communities because of the relationship between sea-level and site hydrology. Rising sea levels may profoundly affect the distribution of plant communities in these wetlands, and the quantification of the elevation differences between the plant communities in this study provides an important baseline for predicting their future location and extent.


Higher participation rates in higher education support the social and economic development of countries. Distance education is an effective way of increasing the participation rate quickly rather than building more universities. But at the same time the curricula and qualifications being offered need to be aligned with the social and economic needs of the country so that graduates can be productive workers and responsible citizens. This paper reports on part of a large scale international development project (Transformation through Innovation in Distance Education or TIDE ) working with over 30 Myanmar universities involved in the country's unique distance education provision. This distance education provision account for 60% of all higher education students in Myanmar but is based on traditional knowledge focused curricula that is not being taught using modern pedagogies and educational technologies. Working in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals this project is focused not only on enhancing online and distance education practices per se but also on enhancing the teaching of Environment and Sustainable Development in the curriculum. In trying to support the transformation of curriculum and teaching models the project is both providing a professional development programme for university staff on both areas but is also engaging with employers and other organizations with interests in the capabilities of graduates. Through this latter engagement we are trying to help develop both a generic graduate skills framework and also the expected graduate competencies needed by someone wishing to undertake Environmental Impact Assessments in Myanmar. These frameworks will hopefully help guide universities as they reform their curricula and introduce more teaching of practical and professional skills and behaviours for students taking these new qualifications.


Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a large worldwide medical burden, with yearly increasing morbidity and mortality. An important risk factor for CVD are high cholesterol levels, with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as the main focus of research up to now. The introduction of statins has led to a great reduction in LDL-C associated risk and new agents such as ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors are expected to reduce CVD risk even more. However, even in the case of low LDL-C levels, patients face residual risk. Important risk factors for residual cardiovascular risk are low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and high levels of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TRL). Aim This thesis aimed to investigate the relation between genetic causes of (un)favorable lipoprotein profiles, especially with regard to HDL and TRL, and several important clinical endpoints, such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease. Conclusions The causality between HDL and CVD is debated, which is illustrated by our findings that on the one hand, genetically low HDL was associated with premature CVD in two patients with concurrent HDL-lowering mutations and, on the other hand, we found that the risk of DM and recurrent CVD was not decreased by genetic cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibition in patients with manifest vascular disease, despite increased HDL levels. Further research into HDL and CETP functionality might clarify these contradictions. Triglycerides (TG) can cause pancreatitis directly, which is shown in this thesis by a case report about a patient with two concurrent TG increasing mutations who was admitted to the intensive care unit for acute pancreatitis. Furthermore, TG are associated with vascular disease via their association with remnant cholesterol. A model disease for remnant cholesterol accumulation is Familial Dysbetalipoproteinemia (FD). The genetic background of FD is a mutation in apolipoprotein E (APOE). The most common genotype associated with FD is the APOE e2e2 genotype. This thesis shows that in patients with the e2e2 genotype the risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is increased and the overall prevalence of CVD in patients with FD is high. The development of FD is associated with secondary risk factors, such as obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, that might cause FD through degradation of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan receptor (HSPG-R) by sulfatase 2 (SULF2) upregulation. The treatment target in FD is non-HDL-cholesterol instead of LDL-C. In FD LDL-C should not be estimated with the Friedewald formula, because it overestimates LDL-C in FD. Instead it should be measured with a direct method or gel electrophoresis. Many patients with FD have lipid levels above treatment target. This might be due to inadequate treatment, as this thesis shows thta only 10% gets the recommended combination of statin and fibrate. In patients with type 2 DM the absolute effect of fenofibrate varies widely and it is most effective in patients with a high 5-year risk of major cardiovascular events and/or atherogenic dyslipidemia (high TG, low HDL). In FD addition of a fibrate to standard lipid-lowering therapy results in better post-prandial and fasting lipid levels compared to placebo. These results indicate that, if tolerated, FD patients should be treated with fibrate and statin combination therapy.


In this work suitable habitats for hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia) were identified using ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA). The results from ENFA reveal that hazel grouse utilize a different and more restricted niche than what is generally available in the study area. When a landscape is fragmented the amount of edge increases, which is negative for many species and thus will affect the amount of available area. The perimeter-area ratio was used to analyze the relative importance of geometric shape. In order to estimate a correlation between incidence of hazel grouse and landscape features census data and land cover maps were analyzed with logistic regression models. It is concluded that hazel grouse is tied to coniferous forest and avoid open areas. However, the result indicates that there is a scale effect that should be considered. The amount of edge in a landscape seems to be important and shape of patches could be a better measure in metapopulation dynamics. In this study the Incidence function model was used to estimate occupancy levels and capacity of a landscape to sustain a metapopulation according to four different area measurement scenarios. Results from the simulations indicate that perimeter-area related measures of patch size combined with capacity could be a more important measure for estimation of population dynamics compared to a basic area measurement. Using a landscape genetic approach, hazel grouse genetic structure, neighbourhood size and dispersal distance were estimated. Genetic estimates of dispersal were in concordance with previous ecological estimates. The results indicate evidence of a population structure reminiscent of what has been found in many other Scandinavian animals with a basic north-south divide. No evidence was found that geographic and environmental structures affected gene flow and dispersal patterns for the hazel grouse.


Conventionally, service systems have been considered to comprise two main offices: the front office and the back office. However, a new managerial office is needed to relate customers with technology as technology-based services play a critical role for customers prior to two main offices. Nevertheless, there is no attention to management of this new area. In this sense, this paper suggests a novel concept of the "forefront office" as the new area to represent service activities. The forefront office is defined as a service facility which allows customers to be provided with services by themselves using technology-based services prior to the front office. For design of the proposed forefront office, a modified service blueprint is proposed. Following on the design structure of the forefront office, three topologies of the forefront office are also proposed based on the modified service blueprint. The forefront office is expected to reduce labour costs and improve customer satisfaction in terms of mass customization.


Listeners track distributions of speech sounds along perceptual dimensions. We introduce a method for evaluating hypotheses about what those dimensions are, using a cognitive model whose prior distribution is estimated directly from speech recordings. We use this method to evaluate two speaker normalization algorithms against human data. Simulations show that representations that are normalized across speakers predict human discrimination data better than unnormalized representations, consistent with previous research. Results further reveal differences across normalization methods in how well each predicts human data. This work provides a framework for evaluating hypothesized representations of speech and lays the groundwork for testing models of speech perception on natural speech recordings from ecologically valid settings.


Traditional methods of cartilage tissue engineering rely on the use of scaffolds. Although successful chondrogenesis has been reported in scaffold-based constructs, the use of exogenous materials has limited their application due to eliciting host immunogenic responses and potentially resulting in construct failure. As a result, tissue engineering approaches, which aim to generate scaffold-free cartilaginous constructs, have become of particular interest. Here, we generated stable three-dimensional scaffold-free cartilaginous constructs by cultivating expanded pediatric nasal chondrocyte multilayers in a slow turning lateral vessel bioreactor system under chemically defined media. Bioreactor cultivation resulted in increased construct cellularity, fourfold tissue thickness, and 200% sulfated glycosaminoglycan deposition with respect to static culture equivalent cultures. These improvements led to significantly enhanced mechanical and biochemical properties of bioreactor-cultivated constructs, allowing them to support their own weight, while static culture constructs remained fragile. Consequently, bioreactor-cultivated constructs closely resembled native nasal cartilage tissue histologically, mechanically, and biochemically. We propose that this method of cartilage construct formation could be used to obtain readily available human scaffold-free cartilaginous constructs.


One task of school is to counteract traditional gender patterns. Literature is an actor which can affect people's perceptions of what is feminine and what is masculine. It can therefore be worth looking at the works of fiction that are available for pupils in school. A book that is popular among children and adolescents is Twilight (2007). The aim of this essay is to see how the characters Bella and Edward in Twilight are portrayed in relation to traditional and norm-breaking gender patterns.Earlier research on gender in children's literature and earlier studies of Twilight have been used as a foundation for the analysis. The method applied in the study is character analysis with the focus on genre theory.The analysis shows that Bella is depicted as a vulnerable but brave girl, while Edward is portrayed as an emotional but strong boy. It is possible to find both traditional and norm-breaking gender patterns in the book.


The dinner last night we shall all remember for a long time. We were fortunate enough to hear three Federal Reserve chairmen-each of them a giant in his own way - and a reply from Don Kohn that was not only insightful and thoughtful but moving too. Tributes are one thing, but the Bank of England puts its money where its mouth is. Alan Greenspan originally loaned Don Kohn to the Bank, as we couldn't afford the transfer fee. But as soon as Don was out of contract, we swooped to sign him for our new Financial Policy Committee (FPC). The respect and affection in which Don is held at the Bank of England is demonstrated by the presence here of three of us from the Bank. So what lessons have Don and we at the Bank drawn from the crisis? Let me relate these to the three topics of the conference - monetary policy, liquidity provision, and macroprudential policy, three of the core functions of central banks. The financial crisis has brought these core functions closer together, highlighting the complementarities as well as blurring the lines between them. The separation of monetary from financial stability policies no longer seems so clear - cut, and this new world presents central banks with many challenges.


The photocatalytic degradation of the model pollutant carbamazepine (CBZ) was investigated under simulated solar irradiation with an N-doped TiO2-coated Al2O3 photocatalytic membrane, using different water types. The photocatalytic membrane combines photocatalysis and membrane filtration in a single step. The impact of each individual constituent such as acidity, alkalinity, dissolved organic matter (DOM), divalent cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+), and Cl− on the degradation of CBZ was examined. CBZ in water was efficiently degraded by an N-doped TiO2-coated Al2O3 membrane. However, elements added to the water, which simulate the constituents of natural water, had an impact on the CBZ degradation. Water alkalinity inhibited CBZ degradation mostly due to increase in pH while radical scavenging by carbonate was more dominant at higher values (>200 mg/L as CaCO3). A negative effect of Ca2+ addition on photocatalytic degradation was found only in combination with phosphate buffer, probably caused by deposition of CaHPO4 or CaHPO4·2H2O on the catalyst surface. The presence of Cl− and Mg2+ ions had no effect on CBZ degradation. DOM significantly inhibited CBZ degradation for all tested background organic compounds. The photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO2-coated Al2O3 membranes gradually decreased after continuous use; however, it was successfully regenerated by 0.1% HCl chemical cleaning. Nevertheless, dissolution of metals like Al and Ti should be monitored following acid cleaning.


This paper considers the mean variance portfolio management problem. We examine portfolios which contain both primary and derivative securities. The challenge in this context is due to portfolio's nonlinearities. The delta-gamma approximation is employed to overcome it. Thus, the optimization problem is reduced to a well posed quadratic program. The methodology developed in this paper can be also applied to pricing and hedging in incomplete markets.


: Investigations were carried out on 24 pregnant white New Zealand rabbits and their 210 fetuses. Eight pregnant rabbits received intravenous injections of carnitine on the 25th, 26th and 27th day of pregnancy, in doses of 80 mg/kg/24 hours. Eight other pregnant rabbits were given carnitine in the same manner and betamethasone intramuscularly on the 25th and 26th day of pregnancy in doses of 0.1 mg/kg/24 hours. Eight control pregnant rabbits received intravenous and intramuscular injections of normal saline. In all the groups caesarean section was performed on the 28th day of pregnancy. The contents of lecithin and sphingomyelin in lung homogenates of fetuses and in amniotic fluid were determined by thin-layer chromatography. The lungs of the fetuses were subjected to morphological studies in light and in electron microscopes. The studies proved that carnitine given during pregnancy accelerated biochemical and morphological maturation of fetal rabbit lungs. However, administration of carnitine in combination with betamethasone does not provide better effect than the administration of carnitine alone.


This study examines two Aboriginal oral texts, recorded on tape and 16mm. film during the course of a mortuary ritual in Arnhem Land during August, 1978.1 Their subject-matter is similar but their nature as utterance is different, as each belongs to a different oral register. Both texts concern two related sacred forces: the first is a spirit-being, or totem, as it would be called in the older anthropological literature, which takes the shape of a sea-bird named Mulanda and the second is a large black rock, Ngaliya, Mulanda's home. Text 1 is an oration, made by one of the senior men present at the ritual, to a gathering of male participants, shortly after he had supervised the execution of two icons, representing the two sacred forces, on the hollow log ossuary which had been prepared to house the bones of the man in whose honour the mortuary ceremony was held. The speaker has a double audience: he directs himself at times to the eye of the camera, but more often to his Aboriginal hearers. Text 2 is a single song-verse, which belongs to the standardised oral form~ that Aborigines from North-East and North-Central Arnhem Land call manikay.3 The word is usually translated as "clan-song series". The song-verse in this instance, which also celebrates the same two sacred forces as the oration, formed part of the conventional musical and choreographic accompaniment to the mortuary ritual, whose nature will be described briefly below.


Modern science, whose methodologies give special privilege to using decontextualizing strategies and downplay the role of context-sensitive strategies, have been extraordinarily successful in producing knowledge whose applications have transformed the shape of the lifeworld. Nevertheless, I argue that how the mainstream of the modern scientific tradition interprets the nature and objectives of science is incoherent; and that today there are two competing interpretations of scientific activities that are coherent and that maintain continuity with the success of the tradition: "commercially-oriented technoscience" (CT) and "multi-strategy research" (MS). The greater part of this article is devoted to discussing what is involved in MS, by pointing to its positive research program in three areas ("social technology", agroecology and food sovereignty), and its critical stance towards the innovations of CT, especially insofar as it makes use of the Precautionary Principle. In this way important dimensions of the agenda of science and technology for social justice, democratic participation and sustainability become clear.


Postural adjustments are essential for voluntary movement as they provide the foundation for motor performance. Yet the time-course of learning postural adjustments, the specificity of learning and the ability to effectively retain this knowledge are not well known. The objective of this research was to study the characteristics of the acquisition of postural control skills in healthy adults within a virtual environment (VE). Seven healthy young adults, aged 20-40 years (mean plusmn SD = 28.6 plusmn 2.7), performed a single training session in a VE in which maintenance of balance on a moving platform according to a given road scenario, as well as a secondary visual target reaching task were required, in repeated runs. Balance performance was assessed during training and additional assessments were performed at 24 hours and 4 weeks post-training. The results showed that the Center of Pressure (CoP) displacement decreased during the training session (P=0.001) and continued to decrease 24 hours post-training (P=0.01) (i.e., a delayed gain in skill). The gains were robustly maintained and increased by 4 (p=0.008) and 12 (p=0.005) weeks post training. New learning occurred when the secondary task was made more demanding but was not required, and when the path traveled was experienced without the secondary task or with eyes closed. Thus, a single balance maintenance training session in a VE setting was sufficient to trigger a learning process of balance control resulting in immediate gains, delayed gains and robust retention. The time-course (including the expression of delayed gains, i.e., a consolidation phase) and magnitude of this learning process appear to be similar to that which takes place during volitional manual task learning.


The industry is developing new automated technology which improves operations efficiency and makes it possible to move personnel onshore. This demands changes in the conventional work process which is done by re- organization of personnel and responsibilities. In the onshore centers people are able work in multi disciplinary teams and monitoring and supervising drilling parameters on large screens. Working in multi disciplinary teams results in a collectively greater competence solving challenging problems in addition to being focused on real problems and what is happening down hole. Automatically measuring drilling fluid properties and drilling operation parameters increase operations efficiency. It is vital for an operation that real- time data from surface and down hole sensors is qualitatively good and reliable. This makes it possible for people onshore to faster address problems, react to unwanted down hole situations, optimize the well placement and improve drilling efficiency. New automated drilling equipment and measuring methods like RSS, TruTrak and mud pulse telemetry provides faster data transmissions, improved hole quality, increased ROP and minimum wear and damage on tools. New automated technology e.g. mud logger systems, instruments for measurement on mud and digital microscopes used by the geologist is designed to eliminate the need for human interaction, suppose to be more reliable, reduce non- productive time and makes it possible to detect system failures before they happen. All the mentioned factors reduce operational costs significantly in addition to the safety value it is having people onshore. There are some technological challenges left related to information, modeling and implementation before there is a smooth transition to remotely control operations. Drilling contractors and cross trained offshore personnel are required to take over responsibility of tasks needed to be handled offshore when personnel are moved onshore. Hands on tasks like building BHA assembly and maintenance of surface sensors occur at rig site. Analytical issues like log interpretation and reporting are handled onshore. After conversations with different companies, the main challenge automating the drilling process seems to be people being skeptic to changes and to be moved onshore. Especially elderly people are reluctant to changes even though they now there exist automated technologies that provide better results than humans. The main concern by the users is the communication lines between the onshore and offshore units. In addition to reduced costs, IO and automated technologies are designed to meet challenges users finds a challenge, limit poor drilling practice and eliminates poor working environments at rig site. The automated technologies analyzed in this report are developed to reduce the workload of mud engineers, mud loggers, directional drillers and geologists. Automation is not limited to these employments. Other processes can also be automated and but are not discussed in this report, this can be done in further work. One can look deeper into other employments possibilities for improving operations efficiency by IO.


Ecological Nationalism as Profeminist Global Future Perspective Assist. Prof. Dr. Music Lejla Faculty of Political Sciences Sarajevo ABSTRACT The debate over the changes in climate system and greenhouse effect has reached its top during the transition from modern to postmodern age. The authors/ess argued that the ecological problems are more important than the national problems. Therefore the regionalization and formation of Unions formed in order to achieve better quality of life are necessary. Why should we accept the ecological nationalism idea? K. Sivaramakrishnan founded that ecological nationality represents the idea that is hard to be defined and his definition involves personal insight such as intersection of cosmopolitanism and nativism in devotion towards the nature. Barbara Adam, eminent sociologist developed the concept of global time, as time that involves web of people living in contemporary are to which the same ideas, news and inventions are transmitted at the same time. Globally, we can say that global time involves the society of contemporaries who share the same idea of the most important societal changes and inventions. Changes of climate are problems that had raised interest in all fields of human knowledge, biology, physics, sociology, philosophy, law, chemistry, politics etc. Environmentalist nationalism represents superior form of nationalism that is based on bioregionalism and together with an idea of cosmopolitan democracy, offers an alternative perspective for global future societies. © 2017 PESA Tum haklari saklidir. Anahtar Kelimeler: ecological nationalism, ecofeminist, transnational, international, cosmopolitan democracy


Background The aim of this study was to detect the optimal values for Age, Body Mass Index (BMI) and HOMA-IR of obese patients prior to surgery that results in a maximal decrease of visceral fat mass 6 months after bariatric surgery. Method In this study, 33 experimental set-ups were designed. This study was approved by Baskent University Medical and Health Sciences Research Board (Approval number: KA16/281). The study data consisted of 40 obese patients who lost weight through the bariatric surgery between February 2015 and December 2016. The values of BMI, Age and HOMA for the obese patients who lost weight through the bariatric surgery were evaluated in three categories and at three levels; the response variable was determined as the Change in Epicardial Fat Thickness (ΔEFT). Results As a result of CCD analysis, the optimum ΔEFT = 2.571 was determined when Age = 30.52, BMI = 45.30, and HOMA = 34.62. As a result of the BBD analysis, the optimum ΔEFT = 3.756 was determined, when Age = 38.36, BMI = 63.18, and HOMA = 14.95. The optimum ΔEFT was modeled with Contour and Response Surface plots. Conclusion Based on the two surface response models used in our study, the maximal decrease of visceral fat mass as assessed by measuring echography images of epicardial fat thickness can be obtained by bariatric surgery of persons who are between 31 and 38 year old, have a BMI between 45 and 63 kg/m2 and have a HOMA-IR 34 between 15 and 35. Central Composite Design and a Box-Behnken Design of suitable patient data predicted 35 optimal settings of independent variables for the maximal clinical response of an intervention.


This is an anthropological field-based instructional case written for students in an introductory fashion-marketing course, although it is also applicable to a foundation-marketing course in an undergraduate or graduate business program or a small business management course. The case centers around the detrimental impact that negative word of mouth (NWM) may have on a small business, and how such unfavorable publicity can be avoided. The case focuses on Katya, a sales associate at Vagabond Boutique (a small vintage clothing shop), and the poor sales service of her fellow employees that led to several negative Yelp reviews and thereby influenced the boutique's market positioning. The analysis that follows posited that had the owners of the boutique had more time to focus on the employee training, and then such negative promotion would not have come to fruition. The analysis focuses on three theories; internal marketing, service quality, as well as brand differentiation, and how such theories could be successfully implemented and in turn alleviate the poor sales service that tarnished the image of Vagabond Boutique.


This book connects business sustainability to supply network-based value creation and enhancement, and tests a number of key propositions in complex supply networks to identify key challenges. Examining practical issues such as carbon trading, green product development, worker safety, child labour and relations with local communities, Business Value and Sustainability advances the understanding of sustainability in supply network management. In presenting a supply management perspective including a tighter control of the supply base and the development of supplier capability through collaboration with NGOs, the authors contribute to both the theoretical advancement and practical development of this field. The book aims to raise the sustainability standards of businesses in an increasingly complex and inter- and intra-connected global supply network.


Despite the efforts made towards the Millennium Development Goals targets during the last
decade, still millions of people across the world lack of improved access to water supply or
basic sanitation. The increasing complexity of the context in which these services are delivered
is not properly captured by the conventional approaches that pursue to assess water, sanitation
and hygiene (WaSH) interventions. Instead, a holistic framework is required to integrate the
wide range of aspects which are influencing sustainable and equitable provision of safe water
and sanitation, especially to those in vulnerable situations.
In this context, the WaSH Poverty Index (WaSH-PI) was adopted, as a multi-dimensional policy
tool that tackles the links between access to basic services and the socio-economic drivers of
poverty. Nevertheless, this approach does not fully describe the increasing interdependency of
the reality. For this reason, appropriate Decision Support Systems (DSS) are required to i)
inform about the results achieved in past and current interventions, and to ii) determine expected
impacts of future initiatives, particularly taking into account envisaged investments to reach the
targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This would provide decision-makers
with adequate information to define strategies and actions that are efficient, effective, and
sustainable. This master thesis explores the use of object-oriented Bayesian networks (ooBn) as
a powerful instrument to support project planning and monitoring, as well as targeting and
prioritization. Based on WaSH-PI theoretical framework, a simple ooBn model has been
developed and applied to reflect the main issues that determine access to safe water, sanitation
and hygiene.
A case study is presented in Kenya, where the Government launched in 2008 a national program
aimed to increase the access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene in 22 of the 47 existing
districts. Main impacts resulted from this initiative are assessed and compared against the initial
situation. This research concludes that the proposed approach is able to accommodate the
conditions at different scales, at the same time that reflects the complexities of WaSH-related
issues. Additionally, this DSS represents an effective management tool to support decisionmakers
to formulate informed choices between alternative actions.


In the global dairy production sector, feed ingredient price and availability are highly volatile; they may shape the composition of the feed ration and, in consequence, impact feed cost and enteric methane (CH4) emissions. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of changes in feed ingredients' prices and feed ingredients' availability on dairy ration composition, feed cost and predicted methane yield under different levels of milk production. To meet the research aim, a series of multi-period linear programming models were developed. The models were then used to simulate 14 feed rations formulations, each covering 162 months and three dairy production levels of 10, 25 and 35 kg milk/d, representing a total of 6804 feed rations altogether. Across milk production levels, the inclusion of alfalfa hay into the feed rations declined from 55% to 38% when daily milk production increased from 10 to 35 kg, reflecting the cows' increased energy requirements. At a daily milk production level of 35 kg, CH4 production (per kg milk) was 21% and 53% lower than in average and low milk producing cows, respectively, whereas at 10 kg of milk production the potential to reduce CH4 production varied between 0.6% and 5.5% (average = 3.9%). At all production levels, a reduction in CH4 output was associated with an increase in feed costs. Overall, and considering feeding scenarios in low milk producing cows, feed cost per kg milk was 30% and 37% higher compared to that of average and high milk production, respectively. The feed ration modeling approach allows us to account for the interaction between feed ingredients over time, taking into consideration volatile global feed prices. Overall, the model provides a decision-making tool to improve the use of feed resources in the dairy sector.


Objective: To assess vulvovaginal symptoms and urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women. Secondarily to evaluate factors related to the severity of vulvovaginal symptoms and the internal consistency of the used tools. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the Spanish language version of the 21-item Vulvovaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (VSQ) and the 3-item International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ-SF) were applied to 122 postmenopausal Spanish women aged 45 to 75 years. Results: Mean age of the whole sample was 59.5 ± 4.9 years; 89.3% had natural menopause, 77.9% reported vulvovaginal symptoms, 54.9% had urinary incontinence, 54.1% were sexually active, and 77.0% currently had a partner. Calculated Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.87 and 0.88 for the VSQ and the ICIQ-SF, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis determined that total VSQ scores (more severe vulvovaginal symptoms) were positively correlated with female age, parity, surgical menopause, being sexually active, economic problems, phytoestrogen use, and more severe urinary incontinence. An inverse correlation was found with urban residency and time since menopause onset. Conclusions: Internal consistency of the VSQ and the ICIQ-SF was good in this postmenopausal sample in which age, sexual activity, urinary incontinence, drug use, and other personal aspects were important covariates determining the severity of vulvovaginal symptoms.


In this paper we consider the design of supply chain networks in the case of critical needs as may occur, for example, in disasters, emergencies, pending epidemics, and attacks affecting national security. By "critical needs" we mean products that are essential to the survival of the population, which can include, for example, vaccines, medicine, food, water, etc., depending upon the particular application. "Critical" implies that the demand for the product should be met as nearly as possible since otherwise there may be additional loss of life. The model that we develop captures a single organization, such as the government or a major health organization or corporation that seeks to "produce" the product at several possible manufacturing plants, have it stored, if need be, and distributed to the demand points. We assume that the organization is aware of the total costs associated with the various operational supply chain network activities, knows the existing capacities of the links, and is interested in identifying the additional capacity outlays, the production amounts, and shipment values so that the demand is satisfied with associated penalties if the demand is not met (as well as penalties with oversupply, which are expected to be lower). In addition, the organization has the option of outsourcing the production/storage/delivery of the critical product at a fixed/negotiated price and with the capacities of those entities being fixed and known. The solution of the model provides the optimal capacity enhancements and volumes of product flows so as to minimize the total cost, which we assume to be a generalized cost, and can include time, subject to the demands being satisfied, as nearly as possible, under demand uncertainty.


Abstract Increasing entrepreneurial activities in a country start with an intention that leads to increased innovative activities, wealth creation, industrialization, employment generation, economic growth, and development. This paper examines the effect of attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norm, locus of control, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and environmental support on entrepreneurial intention of 159 MBA students from two private universities in Ghana. The study uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyze the data obtained from the participants. The results show that all the factors but entrepreneurial self-efficacy significantly affects students' entrepreneurial intentions. The study proffers policy-makers with the opportunity to nurture entrepreneurship in students as a foundation for transforming the intent into practice to address the huge employment gaps in emerging economies.


The entrapment of fine colloidal paramagnetic (and diamagnetic) particles at magnetic capture centers in the colloid is reviewed. The effect of thermal diffusion on the entrapment from a static colloid is examined in the 1-D and 2-D cases. The latter case allows prediction of captured volumes of colloidal particles. The interparticle effects due to the Helmholtz double-layer electrical interaction and the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction are introduced, and their effect on the 1-D theory is calculated and shown to be of importance. A theory that incorporates the double-layer effect into the 2-D case is presented, and its predicted effects upon the volume of captured particles is examined. The flow of the colloid is introduced, and a framework that allows fine particle capture to be included as a special case of normal size particle entrapment theory is suggested. A diagrammatic means of assessing the effects of thermal diffusion and interparticle effects on entrapment is described. >


This study investigated an integrated, multi-process approach of using struvite precipitation, ammonia stripping–acid absorption, and evaporation to recover phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and potassium (K), respectively, from stored urine. The process produces separate nutrient products that can then be recombined to produce customized fertilizers of any NPK ratio. Bench-scale experiments were conducted using three stored urine solutions: synthetic urine, synthetic urine with six endogenous metabolites, and real urine. For struvite precipitation, MgCl2·6H2O, MgCO3, and MgO were tested and dosed at a molar ratio of 1.1 : 1 Mg : P. There was a statistically significant difference between total phosphate (TP) recovered by each magnesium (Mg) source and urine solution; MgCl2·6H2O (91–94% TP recovered) > MgCO3 (55–77%) > MgO (52–66%) and real urine > synthetic urine with six endogenous metabolites > synthetic urine. For ammonia stripping–acid absorption, there was a statistically significant difference between TAN recovery and experimental stripping conditions where increasing both the pH and temperature recovered a higher percent of TAN compared to solely increasing the pH or temperature of the solution. In real urine, consumed cost for stripping increased as follows: control condition of pH 9.2, 22 °C < elevated pH condition of pH 10.5, 22 °C < elevated temperature condition of pH 9.2, 70 °C. There was no statistically significant difference between the Mg source and TAN recovery in real urine and synthetic urine with metabolites but there was in synthetic urine. Furthermore, the amount of TAN recovered in real urine and synthetic urine with metabolites was consistently greater than or approximately equal to synthetic urine. This suggests that using synthetic urine as a proxy for real urine is not suitable for N recovery. For evaporation, there was a statistically significant difference between the urine solution and conditions for N recovery (i.e., temperature and/or pH) on K recovery and product purity. As the pH was increased, the purity of the final K product, potash, decreased due to sodium from NaOH. Results from this study show that an integrated, multi-process approach to urine treatment can achieve approximately 99% N, 91% P, and 80% K recovery as fertilizer products.


An adaptive spectral technique for ground clutter and noise suppression in weather radar echoes is presented. This technique detects weak echoes that are masked by the residuals from ground clutter. The technique is demonstrated on two clear air cases observed with Doppler weather radar. After adaptive suppression of ground clutter and its residue, features appear over the Oklahoma City urban area where otherwise none could be seen. These are interpreted as birds' corridors between two lakes and along a river.


Cardiomyopathy is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Membrane instability, leading to intracellular Ca2+ mishandling and overload, causes myocyte death and subsequent fibrosis in DMD cardiomyopathy. On a cellular level, cardiac myocytes from mdx mice have dysregulated Ca2+ handling, including increased resting Ca2+ and slow Ca2+ decay, especially evident under stress conditions. Sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase and its regulatory protein phospholamban (PLN) are potential therapeutic targets for DMD cardiomyopathy owing to their key role in regulating intracellular Ca2+ cycling. We tested the hypothesis that enhanced cardiac Ca2+ cycling would remediate cardiomyopathy caused by dystrophin deficiency. We used a genetic complementation model approach by crossing dystrophin-deficient mdx mice with PLN knockout (PLNKO) mice [termed double-knockout (DKO) mice]. As expected, adult cardiac myocytes isolated from DKO mice exhibited increased contractility and faster relaxation associated with increased Ca2+ transient peak height and faster Ca2+ decay rate compared with control mice. However, compared with wild-type, mdx, and PLNKO mice, DKO mice unexpectedly had reduced in vivo systolic and diastolic function as measured by echocardiography. Furthermore, Evans blue dye uptake was increased in DKO hearts compared with control, mdx, and PLNKO hearts, demonstrating increased membrane damage, which subsequently led to increased fibrosis in the DKO myocardium in vivo. In conclusion, despite enhanced intracellular Ca2+ handling at the myocyte level, DMD cardiomyopathy was exacerbated owing to unregulated chronic increases in Ca2+ cycling in DKO mice in vivo. These findings have potentially important implications for ongoing therapeutic strategies for the dystrophic heart. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study examined the effects of phospholamban ablation on the pathophysiology of cardiomyopathy in dystrophin-deficient mice. In this setting, contractility and Ca2+ cycling were enhanced in isolated myocytes; however, in vivo heart function was diminished. Additionally, sarcolemmal integrity was compromised and fibrosis was increased. This is the first study, to our knowledge, examining unregulated Ca2+ cycling in the dystrophin-deficient heart. Results from this study have implications for potential therapies targeting Ca2+ handling in dystrophic cardiomyopathy. Listen to this article's corresponding podcast at https://ajpheart.podbean.com/e/unregulated-ca2-cycling-exacerbates-dmd-cardiomyopathy/ .


To preview of the final appearance of tufted carpet, this paper devises a solution to simulate the color appearance of tufted carpet. The simulation adopts color blocks to represent a single loop pile in carpet surface, through resizing color block size to simulate the extrusion between loop piles. The solution starts from traversing the control pattern to get the pile height level information. Base on the current and surrounded loop piles height level to infer the size and start point of color block for current loop pile. According to patterns' information to generate the color appearance simulation for loop pile tufted carpet. Base on the proposed simulation, devise the frame work and control logic for simulation software, and developed the simulation software with C++. Simulation test is carried out, the result shows the method can effectively generate carpet color appearance simulation for tufted carpet comprising of multicolor yarns.


Abbreviations: AI, acid insoluble; AS, acid soluble; SOC, soil organic carbon; SOM, soil organic matter. Understanding the interaction between plant components and their subsequent decomposition provides insights on how plant quality differences may infl uence C sequestration within a given management system. Our hypothesis was that decomposition is a function of biochemical composition when all other variables are constant (e.g., particle size, temperature and moisture). Recognizing the challenges of reconciling laboratory and fi eld studies, this study examined the decomposition dynamics of fiselected crops with varying composition under controlled temperature and moisture regimes. Residue materials were partitioned into leaf, stem, and root organs to give a clearer indication of compositional control on decomposition. Plant quality varied among species (alfalfa [Medicago sativa L.], corn [Zea mays L.], cuphea [Cuphea viscosissima Jacq. ⋅ Cuphea lanceolata W.T. Aiton], soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and switchgrass [Panicum virgatum L.]). A two-component litter decomposition model was used to describe decomposition observed during 498 d. Stepwise multivariate regression indicated initial N concentration, starch, total lignin, and acid-insoluble ash (AI ash) were the four best predictors (r 2 = 0.83) of the rate of active component decomposition (k a ); however, initial composition poorly predicted the rate of passive decomposition (k p ). The best four-component model (r 2 = 0.43) identifi ed by stepwise multiple regression for k p included AI ash, hemicellulose, N concentration, and C/N ratio. Rate constants are a function of the incubation period, thus making direct comparison among separate experiments diffi cult. Chemical recalcitrance appears to slow root decomposition; such chemical recalcitrance to decay may partially explain why roots have been found to contribute more C to the SOC pool than surface residues.


Introduction: There is a burgeoning epidemic of antibiotic resistance in low-income countries, and pharmaceutical use is on the rise even in rural areas. It is important to understand how caregivers and drug sellers use pharmaceutical medicines in treating the common cold and cough in under-five children. Methods: The researchers interviewed caregivers and drug sellers, observed drug sellers' practices, and conducted social mapping with caregivers in Bagnibari, a village transitioning to a peri-urban area in Savar, Bangladesh. Results: Researchers found that caregivers use pharmaceutical medicines extensively in treating the common cold and cough and that drug sellers recommend the use of pharmaceutical medicines. However extensive antibiotic use was not found. Drug sellers gave instructions on the use of the pharmaceutical medicines that caregivers followed, and caregivers considered drug sellers their main source of information. Drug sellers said they had completed a governmental training course. Conclusion: Because some caregivers perceived drug sellers as uneducated and there is no followup training, visible knowledge dissemination should be started with drug sellers. Medicalization and urbanization are impacting the treatment of the common cough and cold of under-five children.


A new Structural analysis method of voltage stability in large power grid is proposed based on the eigenvalue Method in this paper. the method establishes an improved current injection model of Y+D matrix of the topological structural characteristics, which is helpful to the study of mechanism of voltage instibility. Through calculating the eigenvalue of the Y+D matrix, influence of network topology structure to the voltage stable in the electrical power system is analyzed. The simulation results show that voltage stability has close relationship with topological structure of the power network structure.


The thermal stress and strain, from the thermal mismatch of neighboring materials, are the major causes of fracture in InSb IRFPA. Basing on viscoelastic model describing underfill, the structural stress of 16×16 InSb IRFPA under thermal shock is studied with finite element method. Simulation results show that as the diameters of indium bump increase from 20μm to 36μm in step of 2μm, the maximum stress existing in InSb chip first increases slightly, and fluctuates near 28µm, then decreases gradually. Furthermore, the varied tendency seems to have nothing to do with indium bump standoff height, and with thicker indium bump height, the maximal Von Mises stress in InSb chip is smaller. All these mean that the thicker underfill is in favor of reducing the stress in InSb chip and improving the final yield.


According to John Habraken, there is today a tension between the planners' tendency to expand public space and the citizens' wish to extend their private control over that same space. Processes of appropriation and exclusion governing the public space geared by policies intended to increase security must therefore be concurrently informed to address the complexities of social reality. As far as architectural solutions and urban forms are concerned, the pattern of building placement, together with the size of the development and the grain of zoning of the area where it stands, are all major factors on the production of a spatially fit and a socially just hierarchy of territories.


Whilst progress on solution-processed oxide semiconductors has been rapidly advancing, research efforts towards the development of dielectric materials has been relatively slow, with most of the reported work performed using conventional dielectrics based on thermally grown SiO2. Silicon dioxide is the most widely used dielectric material for optical and electronic applications. The SiO2 has been produced by thermal oxidation of silicon, plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition, sputtering, electron beam evaporation, atomic layer deposition etc. The conventional production of SiO2 by thermal oxidation by necessity requires the use of Si as the substrate and the other methods either produce low quality/poor interface material and/or require high deposition temperatures (>700 oC). The first part of the present work reports on the deposition and characterisation of SiO2 gate dielectrics grown by spray coating in air at moderate temperatures i.e. 350 oC from SiCl4 solutions in pentane-2,4-dione (0.1 M). The films were investigated by means of x-ray diffraction, XPS, UFM/AFM, admittance spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and field-effect measurements. Analyses reveal smooth films (RRMS< 1 nm) of amorphous phase with dielectric constant of 3.8, optical band gap of 8.1 eV and leakage currents of 10-7 A/cm2 at 1 MV/cm. Both XPS and FTIR measurements further confirmed SiO2 structures. Thin film transistors based on thermally grown C60 and pentacene semiconducting channels employing both spray coated as well as thermally grown SiO2 gate dielectrics exhibit identical transport characteristics in terms of hysteresis, leakage currents, carrier mobility and on/off current modulation ratio. However, TFTs employing SiO2 gate dielectrics, usually require high voltage operation and hence increased power consumption. The ever increasing demand for high performance thin film transistors based on metal oxide channels has given a boost to the development of alternatives to SiO2 gate dielectrics with desirable characteristics in terms of thermal stability, band offsets and interface quality. To that end and among the different approaches, the use of high-k dielectrics is arguably the most attractive option, since it can enable low leakage currents, through the use of physically thicker films, as well as low-voltage operation. Thus the final part of the presentation will report on the structure and properties of a wide range of solution-processed binary and ternary gate dielectrics and their implementation in TFTs employing - similarly solution processed n and p type metal oxides semiconducting channels. It will focus on the band offsets, dielectric and optical as well as the dielectric/semiconductor interface properties and their effects on device operation. References 1. M. Esro, R. Mazzocco, G. Vourlias, O. Kolosov, A. Krier, W. I. Milne and G. Adamopoulos, Solution processed lanthanum aluminate gate dielectrics for use in metal oxide-based thin film transistors, Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 203507, 2015 2. M. Esro, S. Georgakopoulos, H. Lu, G. Vourlias, A. Krier, W. I. Milne, W. P. Gillin and G. Adamopoulos, Solution processed SnO2:Sb transparent conductive oxide as an alternative to indium tin oxide for applications in organic light emitting diodes, J. Mater. Chem. C, 4, 3563, 2016. 3. D. Afouxenidis, R. Mazzocco, G. Vourlias, P. J. Livesley, A. Krier, W. I. Milne, O. Kolosov and G. Adamopoulos, ZnO-based thin film transistors employing aluminum titanate gate dielectrics deposited by spray pyrolysis at ambient air, ACS Appl. Mater. Inter., 7, 7334, 2015. 4. M. Esro, G. Vourlias, C. Somerton, W. I. Milne and George Adamopoulos, High mobility ZnO thin film transistors based on solution-processed hafnium oxide gate dielectrics, Adv. Funct. Mater., 25, 134, 2015.


We consider the motion of four vortex points on sphere, which defines
a Hamiltonian dynamical system. When the moment of vorticity vector,
which is a conserved quantity, is zero at the initial moment, the motion of
the four vortex points is integrable. The present paper gives a description
of the integrable system by reducing it to a three-vortex problem. At the
same time, we discuss if the vortex points collide self-similarly in finite
time.


A case of a 32-year-old female with a known diagnosis of Turner syndrome who presented with complaints of chronic progressive right-sided facial pain and sinus pressure and who was afebrile. On physical examination, there was eye proptosis on the right and significant increased fullness in the right infraorbital and maxillary regions. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a large expansile space-occupying lesion in the right maxillary area that histologically turned out to be a giant cell reparative granuloma. The lesion was completely removed, and of interest, the patient was followed up both clinically and on imaging for 10 years with no signs of recurrence. A discussion on this entity, as well the clinical and imaging differential diagnoses, is discussed.


Wendy Donner contends here that recent commentators on John Stuart Mill's thought have focused on his notions of right and obligation and have not paid as much attention to his notion of the good. Mill, she maintains, rejects the quantitative hedonism of Bentham's philosophy in favor of an expanded qualitative version. In this book she provides an account of his complex views of the good and the ways in which these views unify his moral and political thought.


In recent years, ejectors have received much attention because of their ability to reduce throttling losses and increase the efficiency of stationary and mobile air-conditioning systems. While much of the initial research was carried out with high pressure fluids, such as carbon dioxide, it was soon discovered that ejectors can also offer significant advantages in systems that utilize low pressure working fluids. Because throttling losses are generally less significant for low pressure refrigerants, the dominant improvement mechanism in these systems comes mostly from the system's low pressure side, where reduced mass flow rates and higher suction pressures cause less pressure drop. Systems with microchannel evaporators can benefit the most because using an ejector can significantly reduce refrigerant mal-distribution and yield better thermodynamic utilization of the available surface areas. This paper presents experimental and numerical results obtained with a realistic air-conditioning system for a small size vehicle. Numerical simulations with R134a and R1234yf were performed to determine the effect that inefficiency of the liquid-vapor separator in the standard two-phase ejector cycle could have on the performance of the cycle. The results show that a realistic amount of separator inefficiency can have a significant impact on the performance of the two-phase ejector cycle, and that R1234yf gains 1 to 3 % greater benefit from the ejector than R134a but is impacted more severely by separator inefficiency. A two-phase ejector system concept was realized in which evaporation occurred on two different temperature levels without the use of a liquid-vapor separator. Better matched temperature glides between air and refrigerant streams result, which drives the reduction of exergetic losses and further increases system efficiency. Conventional and ejector system tests were carried out with R134a refrigerant. The ejector cycle used was able to improve the COP by as much as 10 % over a conventional cycle. However, this relatively large improvement is partly due to the fact that the cycle setup and operating conditions were slightly more favorable to the ejector cycle.


Fortresses are architectural pearls, cultural sites, event locations, experience places and memorials, mostly situated at breath-taking places on mountains, rivers or in the under-ground. Fortresses are monuments of common European history, they mirror the past into the present, connect cultures and offer deep insights into the historical conflicts. Fortified monuments are part of what makes Europe unique and attractive. This cultural heritage has to be preserved and made accessible for the culture tourism at the same time. The Iberian fortified heritage has big potential for new culture touristic topics and travel routes away from mass tourism. Therefore, cultural routes are a useful instrument. The European Culture Route Fortified Monuments –FORTE CULTURA®– is the European umbrella brand for fortress tourism. It offers useful instruments for international marketing of fortified monuments. The implementation of the attractive architectura militaris of the Iberian Peninsula into the culture route FORTE CULTURA® makes it possible to network this culture asset touristically, make it visible and experienceable on international tourism markets and market it Europe-wide. By implementing a new touristic regional brand "FORTE CULTURA – Iberian Fortified Heritage" the qualified culture tourism will be addressed. This supports a balance between over and under presented monuments and extends the sphere of activity of local actors onto whole Europe.


Western Governors University has the mission to improve quality and expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities by providing a means for individuals to learn independent of time and place thus the mobility of our coursework is essential. Technological advances facilitate this mission. While all degrees are based entirely on the demonstration of competency, candidates come to their programs with varying skills. For this reason, our Probability and Statistics course is individualized to adapt with the candidate's learning style. Technology based learning resources are developed continuously to create non-traditional Probability and Statistical education resources.


Effect of Cr addition on damping capacity, mechanical property, and corrosion resistance of Fe-18%Mn martensitic alloy has been studied. Martensite start temperature (Ms) of the alloy decreases linearly from 150 to 25 with increasing Cr content up to 15%. The damping capacity decreases gradually from 27 to 23% in SDC with increasing Cr content from zero to 10%, and decreases rapidly with further Cr content. The tensile strength of the alloy maintains a level of 60 / regardless of Cr content with an elongation of 20 to 25%. Immersion test in 5% NaCl solution leads to the result that the corrosion resistance of the alloy becomes excellent above 10% Cr. From the above results, it is concluded that the optimum Cr content to improve the mechanical property and corrosion resistance of the alloy with a lesser decrease in damping capacity is about 10%.


Objective Safe and effective patient handovers remain a global organizational and training challenge. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists effective handovers as one of its High 5 patient safety initiatives. Training for handover competencies is a promising approach to improve the quality of handovers. We present the Handover toolbox that aims to support different stakeholders (e.g. general practitioners, nurses, medical trainer, experts in patient handover, and medical students) to provide customized handover training for specific demands. Methods The Handover toolbox was designed in the context of the FP7 HANDOVER project from April 2009 until October 2011 by using the Technology Enhanced Learning Design Process (TEL-DP). TEL-DP consisted of six different methods: 1). User requirements analysis; 2). Writing personas; 3). Group Concept Mapping 4). Analysis of suitable software; 5). Plus-Minus-Interesting rating; and 6). Usability testing. TELDP is aligned to participatory design approaches and guaranteed a development process in close collaboration with the stakeholders. Results From method (1) it appeared that different kinds of trainings are needed that allow to train professionals on the job as well as medical students in their studies. Methods (2) and (3) made clear that training experts from different countries differed in their views on the desired content and delivery of handover training. This means that a onesize-fits-all training was not applicable rather a customisable learning approach, a toolbox, that allow trainers to design their own training for various target groups with specific handover information needs was a far better solution. Method (4) identified the most suitable ready-to-use software systems that provided the required functionalities and could be further customized to the needs of the users. Method (5) and (6) resulted in several points for improvement of the Handover toolbox, mainly related to improved usability and navigation. Until the end of the development process in October 2011, 165 training experts were attracted by the toolbox and signed up for the system. Conclusions We developed a Handover toolbox for different stakeholders who are interested in improving handovers through customized training and learning. Its design is based on a carefully stakeholder investigation, using the TEL-DP approach which is a systematic and comprehensive design approach. It provides state of the art content about 40 handover tools with practical guidelines, a generic training design that can be customized to specific handover training needs, and enables community members to contribute own experiences and best practice examples. Next to this content, it offers an easy to use e-learning environment to support trainers in their handover classes. The developments can only be seen as a first supportive step to achieve a better patient safety. The final implementation phase of the toolbox has only partly been achieved within the FP7 HANDOVER project. Europe's medical schools need additional support to implement the toolbox into their medical education system. Therefore, a follow-up implementation project was designed that will apply the toolbox in three University Hospitals in Germany, Spain, and Ireland.


Detecting interesting, cross-disciplinary knowledge associations hidden in scientific publications can greatly assist scientists to formulate and validate scientifically sensible novel research hypotheses. This will also introduce new areas of research that can be successfully linked with their research discipline. Currently, this process is mostly performed manually by exploring the scientific publications, requiring a substantial amount of time and effort. Due to the exponential growth of scientific literature, it has become almost impossible for a scientist to keep track of all research advances. As a result, scientists tend to deal with fragments of the literature according to their specialisation. Consequently, important and hidden associations among these fragmented knowledge that can be linked to produce significant scientific discoveries remain unnoticed. This doctoral work aims to develop a novel knowledge discovery approach that suggests most promising research pathways by analysing the existing scientific literature.


In this paper, tensile behaviour of the natural fiber composites such as the areca nut composites and the sunn hemp composites were determined. The fibers were arranged in different orientations such as the uniaxial, biaxial and the criss-cross arrangements. For both the types of fiber composites, specimens were made with and without the incorporation of E-glass fibers. Comparisons were done on the basis of fiber orientation, E-glass fibers incorporation and the type of natural fiber used. Initially, the fibers were treated with alkali, i.e. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in order to get better bonding at the fiber-matrix interface. The conventional hand lay-up technique followed by the soft compression molding technique was carried out for fabricating the composite specimens. It was inferred from the results that the tensile strength was more for uniaxial arrangement and the least for biaxial arrangement in case of both the fibers. Further, for both the fibers, E-glass fiber incorporation increased the tensile strength as compared to the non-incorporated E-glass fiber composites. Also, sunn hemp composites showed better tensile strength than areca nut composites. The research suggested that the areca nut and sunn hemp composites were assets to many potential applications that did not require very high load bearing capabilities. These examined composites can be considered as very reliable materials for fabrication of lightweight materials used in automobile industry, packaging materials, medical field, etc.


The cardiac lymphatic duct was cannulated in dogs and the exteriorized cannula allowed chronic collection of lymph during the awake state for as long as 3 wk. The surgical methodology and inherent difficulties in the technique are describ:d. Cardiac lymph flow ranged from 0.45--5.6 ml/h in the control state in 14 dogs. An occluding device and flow probe were placed on the circumflex coronary artery (CFX); ultrasonic segment length crystals were placed in the left ventricular free wall in 4 dogs. Occlusion of the CFX in these conscious dogs caused lymph flow to fall as great as 46% below control during the 1st half-hour. Reperfusion of the occluded vessel caused an increase in lymph flow as great as 67% above control. The effect on cardiac lymph flow was demonstrated for a few select drugs that have known effects on the cardiovascular system. Cardiac lymph flow was altered from control as follows: isoproterenol, 42 +/- 11% increase; RO 2-2985, 118 +/- 8% increase; verapamil, 101 +/- 10% increase; propranolol caused no significant change. The conscious dog with cardiac lymph vessel cannulated should provide a model to further study the complexities of cardiac metabolism and physiology without interference of anesthesia and surgical stress.


Modern hierarchical SOC design flows need to deal with fixed-outline floorplanning under the interconnect constraints, in this paper, we address the problem of bus driven floorplanning in a fixed-outline area. Given a set of blocks, the bus specification, and the height and width of the chip area, a floorplan solution including bus routes and satisfying the outline constraint will be generated with the total floorplan area and total bus area minimized. The approach proposed in this paper is based on a deterministic algorithm Less Flexibility First (LFF), which runs in a fixed-outline area and packs hard blocks one after another with no drawbacks. In our approach, we put no limitation to the shape of the buses, and the processes block-packing and bus-packing are proceeding simultaneously. Experiment results show that under the constraint of fixed-outline, we can also obtain a good solution, with less dead space percentage and shorter run time, besides, for large test cases, our algorithm still works well.


We introduce a tensor-based model of shared representation for meta-learning from a diverse set of tasks. Prior works on learning linear representations for meta-learning assume that there is a common shared representation across different tasks, and do not consider the additional task-specific observable side information. In this work, we model the meta-parameter through an order-$3$ tensor, which can adapt to the observed task features of the task. We propose two methods to estimate the underlying tensor. The first method solves a tensor regression problem and works under natural assumptions on the data generating process. The second method uses the method of moments under additional distributional assumptions and has an improved sample complexity in terms of the number of tasks. We also focus on the meta-test phase, and consider estimating task-specific parameters on a new task. Substituting the estimated tensor from the first step allows us estimating the task-specific parameters with very few samples of the new task, thereby showing the benefits of learning tensor representations for meta-learning. Finally, through simulation and several real-world datasets, we evaluate our methods and show that it improves over previous linear models of shared representations for meta-learning.


Abstract The objective of this paper is to formulate an acceptable definition of teacher quality based on effective use of time during the teaching process. Assessing teacher quality is hampered by the complexity of intersecting criteria in teaching profession. Quality is often defined broadly and in general concepts isolated from the actual classroom processes. Society, politicians, parents, educators proclaim that the quality of teachers matters, but it is difficult to come to a consensus, which markers of teacher quality can be measured reliably and which of these elements do have crucial impact on teaching. The major goal of this paper is to clarify what efficiency means in the teaching-learning process if time is taken as the main criterion; how knowledge can be defined and how teacher efficiency can be used as an objective marker of quality in teaching profession.


This article addresses: 1) the problem of inadequate software for the reliability testing of computer peripherals, and 2) the development and use of a software package specifically designed for reliability testing of disk drive peripherals. The software package enables one to carry out controlled reliability testing of disk drive peripherals. Necessary data for statistical calculation are available when needed and in the detail required. Non-drive errors can be isolated and not allowed to distort test results. The soundness of data collected allows for long-term testing under changing conditions to proceed with assurance of accuracy. Product reliability and thereby customer satisfaction can be more fully assured. The creation of the software also provided an outline of a sound methodology for future reliability software development. This methodology has continued to be employed within Intel and at a number of the vendors supplying Intel with disk drive peripherals.


The diagnosis of solitary plasma cell neoplasm is based on clinical, radiological and laboratory findings and it can be accepted as the precursor lesion of multiple myeloma as spread of disease occurs in 30-50% of affected patients. However, solitary plasmacytoma of the temporal bone is a rare pathology. We present an interesting case of plasmacytoma of the temporal bone which was controlled by a combination of surgery and radiotherapy.


This work considers the task of finding an AC-Feasible operating point of a severely damaged transmission network while ensuring a minimal amount of active power loads are removed. This AC Minimal Load-Shedding (AC-MLS) task is a non-convex nonlinear optimization problem, which can be incredibly challenging to solve on large-scale transmission system data sets. This work demonstrates that convex relaxations of the AC-MLS problem provide a reliable and scalable method for finding high-quality bounds on the amount of active power load shedding required in the AC-MLS problem. To demonstrate their effectiveness, the solution methods proposed in this work are rigorously evaluated on 1000 $N$-$k$ scenarios on seven power networks ranging in size from 70 to 6000 buses. The most effective relaxation of the AC-MLS problem converges in less than 20 seconds on commodity computing hardware for all 7000 of the scenarios considered.


Optimum nitrogen fertilization from the right source is the most important production factors for higher grain yield of wheat. Study to investigate the effect of type and rate of Nitrogen fertilizer on yield of bread Wheat was conducted in Ofla and Endamehoni districts of northern Ethiopia in 2017 and 2018 main cropping season. The treatments consists four levels of different sources of nitrogen fertilizer (Prilled urea, granular urea, urea super granule and UREAstabil) each with three application rates (46, 69 and 92 kg N ha−1) and one control (without any N fertilizer application) laid down in a randomized complete block design replicated three times.  Grain yield of was affected significantly to the application rates and source of nitrogen fertilizer at Adigolo and Mekan districts of Ofla and Endamehoni respectively.  The highest grain yield of 5.11 and 4.08 tha-1 was obtained from application 92 and 69 kg N ha-1 of UREAstabil at Adigolo and Mekan districts respectively.  In both Adigolo and Mekan districts, grain yield of wheat showed that a linear increase with increasing rate of N fertilize while,  application of 46 kg N ha-1 from UREAstabil reaches optimum agronomicaly and economically for the study areas.

 Key words: Prilled urea, super granular urea, granular urea, UREAstabil.


Abstract In this article, we describe a large-scale living learning community (LLC) for undergraduate students of any major or background. Our students are united by a desire to learn data science skills and to apply those skills in a specific academic discipline or a corporate partner project. We provide explanations of why an LLC is beneficial; the curriculum (motivated by Nolan and Temple Lang); resources required to coordinate such a community; lessons learned from the first year at a large scale; plans for an assessment and a shared resource repository; and plans for an even more accessible, differentiated learning environment in the future.


In present-day English, well and now function as pragmatic markers with a wide range of text-structuring and interpersonal meanings. Both markers are used as topic-changers and serve as a means to signal speaker-attitudes or to gain a shared level of understanding between speaker and addressee on the interpersonal level. Whereas well is generally back-looking, now directs the hearer to the upcoming topic (e.g. Aijmer 2002). Because well and now have developed from a similar — adverbial — origin, this paper will examine to what extent the propositional source of the two markers serves a role in their later semantic-pragmatic development. Our aim is to examine, by means of a historical corpus study, to what extent the development of well and now has been directed by underlying theories of grammaticalisation — implying semantic bleaching and pragmatic strengthening — and (inter)subjectification (Traugott 1999). Specific attention will be paid to contexts in which speaker and addressee have diverging views and where the use of a pragmatic marker can help in expressing personal stance and in creating interpersonal ties with the addressee. The material for this paper is taken from three historical corpora which contain speech-based data, viz. the diachronic part of the Helsinki Corpus of English Texts (HC), the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (Sampler) (CEECS), and the Corpus of English Dialogues (CED).


Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory and chronic-recurrent disease of the hair follicle. Its aetiopathogenesis is not completely known. Although bacterial colonization and superinfection are clinically relevant, lymph node involvement has rarely been studied. Objectives: In this pilot retrospective study, we evaluated the clinical and microbiological nodal involvement in patients with axillary hidradenitis suppurativa. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients suffering from axillary hidradenitis suppurativa and referred to the Dermatology Unit of the Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan between October 2018 and November 2019. The sampling procedure took place during the surgical excision of lesions at the Operative Unit of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of Policlinico San Donato Hospital. Three types of sample were sent to microbiological analysis: exudate swab, axillary lymph node, fistula. Result: In total, we recruited 10 patients. Two of them underwent bilateral axillary surgery. Nine lymph nodes were analyzed. In one patient, bacterial culture in lymph nodes, skin lesions and fistulae matched. Conclusions: Unequivocable conclusions cannot be drawn due to the low number of patients. Further studies are necessary to confirm the preliminary results of our retrospective pilot study.


The 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase of Pseudomonas testosteroni commercially available was purified by an FPLC step and submitted to sequence determination by peptide analysis. The structure obtained reveals a 253-residue polypeptide chain, with an N-terminal, free alpha-amino group, and a low cysteine content. Comparisons with other hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases recently characterized reveal distant similarities with prokaryotic and, to some extent, also eukaryotic forms of separate specificities. Residue identities with a Streptomyces 20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase are 35% and distributed over the entire molecule, whereas residue identities with the mammalian 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase only constitute 20%, and are essentially limited to the N-terminal and central parts, Nevertheless, all these enzymes exhibit a conserved tyrosine residue (position 151 in the present enzyme) noted as possibly having a functional role in some members of this protein family. Combined, the results establish the prokaryotic 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase as belonging to the family of short-chain alcohol dehydrogenases, reveal that the hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases are no more closely related than dehydrogenases with other enzyme activities within the family (e.g. glucose, ribitol, hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases), show several of the mammalian hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases to have subunits of longer size with different patterns of similarity than those of the prokaryotic family members characterized, and define important segments of the coenzyme-binding region for this enzyme group.


As a reliable stall warning strategy, the fast wavelet method was introduced to successfully predict the aerodynamic instability of a multi-stage axial flow compressor. One single sensor installed at each stage is proved to be sufficient to predict the stability status in a three-stage axial flow compressor. The whole prediction strategy includes the dynamic pressure signal capture, disturbance extraction using decomposition and reconstruction via fast wavelet transform, and stall warning index calculation based on statistical probability distribution. On this premise, the first occurrence of the stall in this three-stage axial flow compressor is predicted to be within the first stage, which is consistent with the stall route captured by the eight transducers around the casing wall. Thereafter, the stall warning index is used to monitor the stability status during the continuous throttling process. Furthermore, the validation using tip air injection and inlet radial distortion indicated that the stall warning index decreases as the compressor's stability improves. Conversely, the deterioration of stability causes the increase of the stall warning index. Thus, experimental results demonstrate that the stall warning method based on fast wavelet analysis can predict the aerodynamic instability in actual application.


Extended Abstract Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a sustainable biocementation process in which the carbonate-based minerals are precipitated within the voids and at the interface of the particulate assembly, thereby altering the engineering behaviour of the porous media [1]. The successful implementation of the MICP process, for improving the geotechnical properties of coarse-grained soils, encounters numerous challenges such as soil conditions (soil pH, geometric compatibility), environmental condition (oxygen level, cementation reagents concentration, temperature), biotic condition (type and concentration of biomass) etc. [2, 3]. In view of this, the present study dedicated for assessing the suitability of various ureolytic microbes viz. two strains of Sporosarcina pasteurii (denoted as BP1, BP2) and Proteus species (denoted as P1) for improving the shear strength behaviour of poorly graded coarse-grained sand, over a range of environmental conditions. For this purpose, a series of sand columns were prepared and 1.5 pore volume of biomass was imbibed, later it was allowed for curing of 12 hours, to enable the adherence of microbes on the surface of the sand particles. Subsequently, 1.5 pore volume of an equimolar concentration of cementation solution (a mixture of 0.25 M urea, 0.5 M calcium chloride and minimal nutrient broth) was injected into the sand column at every 12 hours interval for 10 days. Control specimens were also prepared by treating them under identical conditions as above but no microbial activity. The bio-modified sand has shown variable amounts of mineral precipitation, and enhancement of unconfined compressive strength (UCS). The variation in UCS is observed to be in the order of 0.8 to 1.1 MPa when the sand is treated with microbes BP2 and P1 using cementation solution of 0.25 to 0.5 M concentration, respectively. On the contrary, the sand treated with microbe BP1 under similar chemical, biotic and environment has not resulted in measurable mineral precipitation and caused an unnoticeable change in UCS. The amount and type of polymorph of the biomineral formed, which in turn expected to govern the engineering properties of the bio-modified sand, is also varied with the type of microorganism employed as well as the concentration of the cementation agent. In order to ascertain the reason for the above-mentioned observations, bench-scale experiments were also conducted in an Erlenmeyer flask by employing all the microbes considered in this study under aerobic, anoxic (air restricted) and anaerobic environmental conditions. The results indicated no biomineral precipitation by the microbe BP1 when treated in an anaerobic environment, and the amount of biomineral precipitated is meager in an anoxic environment. The meager or no precipitation of biomineral is due to the hindrance of microbial growth in these environments. The observed variation in the quantity of biomineral formed in aerobic environments by the three organisms is primarily ascribed to variations in their urease enzyme activity in these environments. Overall, the study concluded that the growth rate and enzymatic activity of various organisms considered in this study are predominantly influenced by the prevailing environmental conditions, which in turn determines the efficiency of MICP process in modifying the engineering properties of soil.


Systems biology presents an integrated view of biological systems, focusing on the relations between elements, whether functional or evolutionary, and providing a rich framework for the comprehension of life. At the same time, many low-throughput experimental studies are performed without influence from this integrated view, whilst high-throughput experiments use low-throughput results in their validation and interpretation. We propose an inversion in this logic, and ask which benefits could be obtained from a holistic view coming from high-throughput studies―and systems biology in particular―in interpreting and designing low-throughput experiments. By exploring some key examples from the renal and adrenal physiology, we try to show that network and modularity theory, along with observed patterns of association between elements in a biological system, can have profound effects on our ability to draw meaningful conclusions from experiments.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) injection in patients with macular edema (ME) secondary to retinal vein occlusive diseases.

METHODS
A prospective, interventional cases series study was conducted in patients with ME secondary to perfused retinal vein occlusions (RVOs), who were treated with intravitreal bevacizumab (2.5 mg per injection in a volume of 0.1 mL). Patients underwent complete ophthalmic evaluation, including Snellen visual acuity, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fluorescein angiography (FA) at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after the first injection and at the final visit.

RESULTS
Twenty-five patients (25 eyes) received intravitreal bevacizumab injections. The mean follow-up time was 6.5 months. Mean Snellen visual acuity improved from 20/125 at baseline to 20/74 at 1 month, 20/69 at 3 months, and 20/57 at the last follow-up (P < 0.01). Five of the 25 eyes (20%) had vision gain of >3 lines. The mean central 1 mm macular thickness was 422 microm at baseline and decreased to 263, 333, and 239 microm at 1 month, 3 months, and the last follow-up, respectively. Recurrent macular edema with a rebound increase of central retinal thickness was observed 3 months after the first injection, and improved after repeated bevacizumab injections. Patients received an average of 2 injections (range 1-3). FA showed no evidence of increased nonperfusion avascular area. No adverse ocular or systemic events were observed following injections.

CONCLUSIONS
The observed anatomic and visual acuity improvements after intravitreal bevacizumab injection demonstrate that bevacizumab is a useful adjunctive treatment for ME secondary to RVO without safety concerns in a short term. However, repeated injections are needed to maintain visual improvement. Long-term study is warranted to assess the long-term efficacy and safety.


: Fractures of the first rib are uncommon. Bilateral fractures of the first rib are still rarer. A case of bilateral fracture of the first rib due to indirect trauma is reported because of its rarity. Pain at the base of the neck was the presenting symptom in our case and analgesia was the only treatment.


This paper addresses an issue with gas turbine manifolds. The manifolds were developing cracks once the exhaust gas output properties were changed. Exhaust gas velocities and temperatures have increased as the gas turbine efficiency increased putting thermal strain into the system. One of the other effects of the increase in gas turbine flow was the introduction of flow induced vibrations into the system. The source of the vibration will not be addressed in this paper and will be investigated in the future. Data for this case study was gathered at various gas turbine sites throughout the United States, either first hand or by representation. Site photos were taken, field reports were written, and a field fix was developed by a gas turbine system component Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). This fix has been working and the OEM had asked for analytical data to determine its reliability. Principle used to determine Critical Uncertainties and Probabilities (CUP) on the system were engineering Computation Tools, Algorithms, Methodologies, and Engineering Interpretation (CAME). The principles of CUP and CAME are being further developed my Mr. Ciras and Prof. Mustapha S. Fofana at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. The principles of six sigma, axiomatic design, and lean manufacturing were used as techniques to evaluate and valuate the most suitable solution to this problem. For this case study, the entire system around the fault area was looked at and analyzed. The system is composed of the turbine inlet, the gas turbine and its mounting system, the exhaust manifold, the exhaust diffuser, and the Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG) along with interacting components within the system. CUP was use on each system component to determine with certainty what was causing the failures to prove the reliability of the field fix established by the OEM. The solution to this issue was established by suggesting proper manufacturing techniques; such as welding, material selection, allowance for thermal growth, proper installation of the external installation, proper fastening methods for the external installation and suggestions for improvements in the other system components. The proof was completed and the reliability of the fix relies heavily on the interaction of the system components in the area of the manifold.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


Classically, quasi-delay-insensitive asynchronous circuits based on weak-conditioned half-buffer employ the return-to-zero, 4-phase handshake protocol. This work scrutinizes the alternative return-to-one protocol and analyzes the effects of using it in practical circuits. A pipelined shift and add multiplier serves as case study. Return-to-one and return-to-zero versions of the circuit provide ground for extensive comparison. Experimental results point to reductions in static power and in forward propagation delay of up to 35% and 12%, respectively, when using return-to-one. Also, results indicate that mixing return-to-zero and return-to-one leads to dynamic power savings.


Multi-resource multi-client arbiters are becoming more important in on-chip systems because of the increasing significance of dynamic, run-time, allocation of various system performance resources such as power and computation and communication facilities. Arbiters, for example, can be used to limit the amount of concurrency for regulating voltage droops, and for balancing load and traffic. This paper describes the design of multi-resource arbiters with high degrees of concurrency. By using freezing logic, this design method guarantees correct computation whilst simplifies the implementation. Quick release mechanisms and the implementation of the multi-token concept through the duplication of the client requests help improve the efficiency.


Introduction: In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing pulmonary vein isolation, cryoballoon technique (cryoPVI) has been adopted in many centers. This study aimed to evaluate predictors of AF recurrence including impact of sleep disordered breathing (SDB).

Methods: In 82 patients consecutively assigned to cryoPVI cardiorespiratory screening for SDB, assessment of medical history, ECG, echocardiography, standard laboratory measurement, and blood gas analysis were performed prior to intervention. After 3 months blanking period 7-days Holter ECG was performed at 3, 6 and then every 6 months to determine AF recurrence.

Results: 75 patients (69 paroxysmal AF, 6 persistent AF, 22 female, age 60±9 years) completed at least 6 month follow-up. Median follow-up of 12 months (interquartile range 6 to 18 months) confirmed maintenance of sinus rhythm in 69.4% of these patients. Stepwise forward regression model revealed moderate to severe SDB (cut-off apnea-hypopnea-index (AHI) ≥ 15/h; Hazard Ratio (HR) 2.95, p=0.04), early recurrence of atrial fibrillation (HR 8.74, p<0.001), persistent atrial fibrillation (HR 7.16, p<0.001), pre-procedural class III-antiarrhythmic drug treatment (HR 3.63, p=0.02), but not SDB per se (AHI ≥5/h) as independent predictors for AF recurrence.

Conclusion: Moderate to severe SDB is a treatable condition that independently predicts AF recurrence in patients undergoing cryoPVI. Screening for SDB and adequate treatment may improve long-term success of cryoPVI.