A polycrystalline plasticity model, which incorporates the contribution of
deformation twinning, is proposed. For this purpose, each material point is
treated as a composite material consisting of a parent constituent and multiple
twin variants. In the constitutive equations, the twin volume fractions and
their spatial gradients are treated as external state variables to account for
the contribution of twin boundaries to free energy. The set of constitutive
relations is implemented in a spectral solver, which allows solving the
differential equations resulting from equilibrium and compatibility conditions.
The proposed model is then used to investigate the behavior of a AZ31 magnesium
alloy. For the investigated loading conditions, the mechanical behavior is
controlled by the joint contribution of basal slip and tensile twinning. Also,
according to the numerical results, the development of crystallographic
texture, morphological texture and internal stresses is consistent with the
experimental observations of the literature.


Motivation of this paper is to discuss that the open source model of innovation does not only seem practical in the software industry, but also in various other industrial contexts. We develop the concept of Open Source Innovation (OSI) as a generalisation of the open source model of software development (OSS). Our definition centres on the collaboration of volunteers and the free revelation of knowledge between actors. Since OSI exhibits important differences to several related concepts in the literature, we conclude that it is an innovation model in its own right, deserving more attention and research. We further proceed to identify aspects affecting the application of the OSI model in industry practices, grouping them into economic, technical, legal, and social factors. Based on these results as well as expert interviews, we find that the applicability of OSI is primarily determined by the characteristics of, first, the innovation object and, second, the group of contributors, rather than the industrial sector. Finally, we advance propositions on the employment of OSI in industrial practice, relating its feasibility to the innovation object and the group of contributors.


Youth personality is hypothesized to mediate the intergenerational transmission of internalizing disorders. However, this has rarely been examined. We tested whether the intergenerational transmission of depressive and anxiety disorders is mediated by youth neuroticism and extraversion, and how parent personality influenced these relationships. Participants included 550 adolescent girls, aged 13-15 years at baseline (T1), and a coparticipating biological parent. Depressive and anxiety disorders were assessed by interview at T1, and adolescents were reinterviewed every 9 months for 3 years (T2-T5). Parent and youth personality was assessed at T1. Four path models examined direct and indirect effects of parent psychopathology and personality (neuroticism and extraversion) on youth outcomes, with youth neuroticism and extraversion as mediators in separate models. In the model examining the effects of parent psychopathology via T1 youth neuroticism, there were direct effects of parent depression on T2-T5 youth depressive disorders and indirect effects of parent anxiety disorders on T2-T5 youth depressive and anxiety disorders. When parent neuroticism was added, indirect effects of T1 parent anxiety disorders and neuroticism on T2-T5 youth depressive and anxiety disorders via T1 youth neuroticism were significant. In the model examining T1 youth extraversion as a mediator, there were significant direct effects of parent depressive and anxiety disorders on T2-T5 youth depressive and anxiety disorders, respectively. Finally, when adding parent extraversion, indirect effects of parent extraversion on T2-T5 youth depressive and anxiety disorders via youth extraversion were significant. Parent and youth personality play important roles in the intergenerational transmission of depressive and anxiety disorders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


The study of sport tourism is on the cusp of moving from a descriptive phase of research into an analytical phase. Consequently, many academics and graduate students are searching for theories upon which to ground their work. This book draws upon theories and concepts from sociology and anthropology (the socio-cultural perspective), sport and tourism studies, and business studies. One of the dangers of a new area of study is that the body of knowledge is built on a range of seemingly unrelated studies. By grounding work in a theoretical perspective, future work can be linked to, and contribute to building a cohesive understanding of various aspects of sport tourism. This book is an edited collection written by some of the top scholars working in a particular domain throughout the world, providing a compendium of theories and concepts that can be used to frame research on various aspects of sport tourism. This volume was previously published as a special issue of the journal Sport in the Global Society.


We read with interest a well written and insightful commentary by Drs. Christensen and Humaidan. The authors strongly endorsed the sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) practice recommendations of Agarwal et al. (1) and raised some important aspects regarding the testing of SDF (2) such as: (I) possible mechanism to explain the implication of SDF on the reproductive outcome; (II) ideal treatment strategies for SDF; and (III) laboratory methodology for SDF.


Brown rust, caused by Puccinia melanocephala, and orange rust, caused by P. kuehnii, are agronomically important diseases of sugarcane in Florida. Cultivar resistance is the best means of controlling these diseases. Natural infection has been the primary means of assessing resistance in sugarcane cultivars against rusts; unfortunately, natural infection is not always efficient in identifying resistant cultivars due to variable environmental conditions. Therefore, a more reliable screening method is needed to effectively select resistant genotypes. An inoculation technique was evaluated for identification of brown and orange rust resistance in sugarcane cultivars. Inoculations were performed in the field by placing a 0.5-ml urediniospore suspension in the leaf whorl of three individual sugarcane stalks per plant using a pipette. Symptoms developed on leaves of all the susceptible cultivars after 4 weeks, and appeared as a band of pustules. Plants were rated for their reaction to rust 4 weeks after inoculation. The optimum concentrations of inoculum for expression of brown and orange rust symptoms were determined. The most severe brown rust and orange rust symptoms were observed using inoculum containing 105 and 104 urediniospores/ml, respectively. Clones in several stages of the Canal Point breeding program were screened for their rust reaction by leaf whorl inoculation. The technique enabled rapid screening of a large number of cultivars in field plantings using a small amount of inoculum and limited man hours.


The issue for this research is whether perception of the rate and amount of fuel taxes paid by an individual influences his or her support for funding highway improvements from any source of revenue. A survey of likely California and Michigan voters demonstrates that they often overestimate the rate of their state's gasoline excise tax and the subsequent amount they are likely to pay for this tax in a month. Regression analyses show that voter misperceptions concerning the magnitude of state fuel taxes affect their views regarding an increase in funding to support highway investment proposals. A reasonable policy implication is that the adoption of proposals to generate additional funds for highway investment is more likely if accompanied by a campaign identifying the existing rate of the state's gasoline excise tax and the relatively small amount of this tax paid by the state's typical driver.


The aim of the research is to establish safety standards for fire fighting within educational workshops in industrial secondary schools to determine the structural requirements for designing workshops in educational buildings and meet international standards. To achieve this a questionnaire was made and data collected for analysis and hypothesis testing using the statistical package of social Sciences (SPSS). Through the adoption of a number of different statistical methods and after conducting the analysis of research data and testing its hypotheses find a number of results, most importantly that the standards conform to international and local standards . The results also indicated that the criteria were based on previous related studies and the research information was derived from them and recommended that the research should finally be completed on the need to complete research on international and local standards for factories, companies and workshops within the industrial zones to approach these standards.


A total of 89 patients with 105 hip joints affected by Perthes' disease at Catterall's stages II to IV, which had been treated by varus osteotomy, were re-examined clinically and radiologically between two and ten years after surgery. The clinical and subjective results of treatment were generally good. The best clinical and radiologic results were found in patients who contracted the disease before the age of seven and in whom necrosis was not yet at an advanced stage. The results in children who did not undergo treatment until after the age of eight and those with the disease at Catterall's stage IV were significantly poorer as far as arthrotic deformation of the hip joint was concerned. Radiologic evaluation of the hips examined, with regard to severity of arthrosis, epiphyseal index, and hip value show that the hip value is the best means of distinguishing prearthrotically deformed hip joints from normal findings. For example, at the time of follow-up severe prearthrotic changes were found in 40 of 105 hip joints when the hip values were analyzed. Therefore, in cases of Perthes' disease also, the hip value is of special importance in prognostic counseling of patients as regards the extent to which the hip joint can be subjected to stress either at work or in sports.


With the help of a chemical transport model we calculate the global distributions of three synthetic tracers with uniform emission rates over the continents, zero emissions over the ocean, and constant lifetimes of 5, 20, and 100 days. These distributions serve as a first approximation to those of the lower alkanes and are analyzed in detail for the region between 115°E and 155°E longitude, 0°N and 56°N latitude, within which the Pacific Exploratory Mission-West (PEM-West) A and B campaigns took place. We show that the longitudinally averaged latitude by altitude distributions of the tracers over that domain obtained from sampling the model data along the flight tracks closely represent those obtained from complete averages over the full data sets for the months March and September when the campaigns took place. We further show that for each campaign the modeled distributions closely resemble those measured for ethane and propane, although these distributions change significantly between the two seasons. Taken together, this demonstrates that the average distributions of ethane and propane measured during PEM-West A and B describe reasonably well the true pattern of these gases between 0°N and 50°N latitude and 115°E and 155°E longitude in both seasons, despite incomplete and irregular sampling of that domain. In turn, the measured distributions can be used to test the model, mainly for correct parameterization of transport.


We investigate theoretically the drainage of a thin liquid film confined between two hydrophobic spheres. Such a problem has been considered in Vinogradova's seminal work, emphasizing the role of slippage. However, it does not include the boundary curvature effects, which may become especially important when the slip lengths are comparable to the sphere radii. We present a reformulation of the hydrodynamic boundary conditions, with the boundary curvature effects fully taken into account. It is shown that such effects not only renormalize the effective slip lengths but also give new contributions to the pressure and drag force, neglected so far. We focus on the symmetric case of two identical spheres with the same radii and slip lengths and obtain analytical expressions for the pressure as well as the drag force. The boundary curvature corrections to the drag force are analyzed and found to be more important for more hydrophobic spheres. The implications of our results are discussed for the coagulation processes of colloids and measurements of surface forces or slip lengths with the drainage technique.


This is a qualitative case study of a gifted twice-exceptional student with impulse control disorder (ICD) co-diagnosed with depression. This study follows the 'case study' pattern (precedence). The data set of this study is composed of documents from a study involving a twice-exceptional student with adverse event sampling who has been selected through purposive sampling (activity papers, drawings), minutes of interviews with the  student's mother and teachers and observation notes kept throughout the process. Data have been analyzed using the content analysis methodology. At the end of this study seeking to find out what this gifted student with impulse control disorder [ICD] co-diagnosed with depression goes through in the event of being also twice-exceptional and whether or not his/her condition of being gifted is overshadowed by him/her having psychological; the fact that disadvantaging traits of such twice-exceptional child has been found to dwindle almost down to none can be interpreted as the positive outcome of the effective approach towards the analyzed unit of the two emerging main categories, i.e. school and family.  The consistent and supportive attitudes of the family have ensured to eradicate the tantrums (temper fits) of the twice-exceptional child, toppled with treatment of the child and a fine administration of the drug doses. At school, on the other hand, the available supervision policy, intervention methodologies in support of treatment and the professional approach of the teachers have contributed to the formation of a socially-enabling environment for the twice-exceptional child, including, also, backing by his/her peers. Taking into consideration that mere drug treatment would not be sufficient, support of the family as well as of the school reveals that the symptoms linked with the depression-co-diagnosed-ICD of the twice exceptional child were prevented from suppressing the child's giftedness.


Endoscopic closure has become the first choice for closing iatrogenic perforations. Previously, we reported a self-developed endoscopic multifiring clip applicator (EMFCA) system. In this paper, a new EMFCA system for endoscopic closure of large perforations with a redesigned clip, the less traumatic grasper, and a highly efficient driving system was presented, and its efficacy was evaluated. The behaviors of the new clip and grasper were verified through finite element analysis (FEA). The capability of pushing transmission for the EMFCA system was identified by the proposed model and the validation experiment. Ex-vivo studies were conducted on porcine stomachs to compare the outcomes of the closures. The FEA results showed that the deformation of the clip was safe and smoother, with a maximum stress of 640.0 MPa. The less traumatic grasper could increase the grasping force and avoid trauma by exerting uniform stress along the axis. The capability of pushing transmission was enhanced by the double-nested tendon-sheath actuation system with an efficiency of 0.45–0.48. The mechanical strength, the leakage pressure, and the operating time for the closures with the new EMFCA system and the previous EMFCA system were 6.1 N ± 0.8 N, 37.1 mmHg ± 6.8 mmHg, 7.3 min ± 0.4 min and 5.1 N ± 1.0 N, 27.4 mmHg ± 6.4 mmHg, 11.4 min ±0.8 min, respectively. The new EMFCA system can realize a superior, reliable, and high-efficiency endoscopic closure of large perforations.


It is well known that biology-inspired self-maintaining algorithms in wireless sensor nodes achieve near optimum time division multiple access (TDMA) characteristics in a decentralized manner and with very low complexity. We extend such distributed TDMA approaches to multiple channels (frequencies). This is achieved by extending the concept of collaborative reactive listening in order to balance the number of nodes in all available channels. We prove the stability of the new protocol and estimate the delay until the balanced system state is reached. Our approach is benchmarked against single-channel distributed TDMA and channel hopping approaches using TinyOS imote2 wireless sensors.


During the past two decades, neopatrimonialism has become the convenient, all purpose, and ubiquitous moniker for African governance. The school of thought behind this research program, which the author refers to as the neopatrimonialism school, has produced an impressive literature on Africa. Its analysis informs policymakers and its language permeates media reportage on African states. While neopatrimonialism has long been a focus of development studies, in recent times it has assumed politically and economically exigent status. The school identifies causal links between neopatrimonialism and economic performance, and makes predictions drawing from what is referred to as the "logic of neopatrimonialism." Neopatrimonialism is said to account for trade policies, hyperinflation, economic stagnation, low investment in infrastructure, urban bias, and ultimately, the lack of economic development in Africa. This article examines the empirical basis of predictions and policy prescriptions. It argues that while descriptive of the social practices of the states and individuals that occupy different positions within African societies, the concept of neopatrimonialism has little analytical content and no predictive value with respect to economic policy and performance.


The ratio between excitatory and inhibitory neurons (E/I ratio) is vital for cortical circuit dynamics, computation, and behavior. This ratio may be under the dynamic control of neuromodulatory systems, which are in turn implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders. In particular, the catecholaminergic (dopaminergic and noradrenergic) and cholinergic systems have highly specific effects on excitatory and inhibitory cortical neurons, which might translate into changes in the local net E/I ratio. Here, we assessed and compared their net effects on net E/I ratio in human cortex, through an integrated application of computational modeling, placebo-controlled pharmacological intervention, magnetoencephalographic recordings of cortical activity dynamics, and perceptual psychophysics. We found that catecholamines, but not acetylcholine, altered both the temporal structure of intrinsic activity fluctuations in visual and parietal cortex, and the volatility of perceptual inference based on ambiguous visual input. Both effects indicate that catecholamines increase the net E/I ratio in visual and parietal cortex.


This article presents findings from the first taxometric study of actual gambling behavior to determine whether we can represent the characteristics of extreme gambling as qualitatively distinct (i.e., taxonic) or as a point along a dimension. We analyzed the bets made during a 24-month study period by the 4,595 most involved gamblers among a cohort of 48,114 people using an Internet service to gamble on sporting events. We applied two taxometric procedures (i.e., MAMBAC and MAXCOV) to three indicators of betting behavior: total money lost, total number of bets, and total money wagered. The results fail to provide support for the view that the most involved Internet sports gamblers include a distinct category of gamblers. More research is necessary to clarify the similar features of recreational and extreme gamblers and the dimensions that scientists can use to measure these behaviors. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for clinical, research, and public policy activities.


FINGERPRINTS are ridge and valley patterns present, on the surface of human fingertips. The set of minutia points is widely used in fingerprint matching and fingerprint representation. To reconstruct the original fingerprint image from which minutiae were extracted, it was believed that the minutiae set do not contain sufficient information. To reconstruct fingerprint images from their minutiae representations, recent studies have shown that it is indeed possible. Improving the template interoperability, and improving fingerprint synthesis, reconstruction techniques demonstrate the need for securing fingerprint templates. The need for securing fingerprint templates, improving the template interoperability, and improving fingerprint synthesis, Reconstruction techniques demonstrate. The matching performances obtained from original fingerprint images and reconstructed fingerprint images there is there is a large gap between the matching performance fingerprint images. To improve the fingerprint reconstruction, the prior knowledge about fingerprint ridge structures is encoded in terms of orientation patch and continuous phase patch dictionaries. While the continuous phase patch dictionary is used to reconstruct the ridge pattern, the orientation patch dictionary issued to reconstruct the orientation field from minutiae. Experimental results on three public domain databases demonstrate that the proposed reconstruction algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art reconstruction algorithms with respect to type-I attack (matching the reconstructed fingerprint against the same impression from which minutiae set was extracted) and type-II attack (matching the reconstructed fingerprint against a different impression of the same finger).


Abstract This paper provides a comparative overview of urban transport in the world's two most populous countries: China and India. Cities in both countries are suffering from severe and worsening transport problems: air pollution, noise, traffic injuries and fatalities, congestion, parking shortages, energy use, and a lack of mobility for the poor. The urban transport crisis in China and India results from continuing population growth, urbanization, suburban sprawl, rising incomes, and skyrocketing motor vehicle ownership and use. This paper critically assesses government policies in each country and suggests a range of specific improvements. It advocates a slowdown in the massive roadway investment in recent years and a shift in emphasis to expanding and improving public transport, cycling, and walking facilities. While continued growth in motor vehicle use is inevitable, China and India should restrict motor vehicle use in congested city centres and increase taxes, fees, and charges to reflect the enormous social and environmental costs of motor vehicle use. At the same time, much stricter regulations should be imposed on manufacturers to produce cleaner, more energy‐efficient, quieter, and safer cars, motorcycles, buses, and trucks. Mitigating the many social and environmental impacts of rising motorization is obviously important for the future well‐being of Chinese and Indian cities. It is also crucial for the future of the rest of the world. Unless the problems of motorization in China and India can be effectively dealt with, the world faces sharp increases in greenhouse gases, accelerating climate change, and rapid depletion of a range of non‐renewable resources.


Technology has become pervasive in everyday life. College students are required to use internet-enabled computers and smartphones to access and interact with course material, often via browser software. However, the trend of requiring technology disadvantages lowerincome students. Additionally, the increased cycle of manufacturing, purchasing, and discarding devices comes with an environmental cost in the form of eWaste. Research has been done examining how long users can and do keep devices before discarding them, but we wish to understand this in the context of requirements for college students. In this paper, we examine how well online learning platforms function on older browser software and device hardware. We then perform an analysis over several years of data from a learning management system used at the authors' university campus. We find that software and hardware become obsolete within roughly a four-year period, meaning students are likely to be required to purchase a new smartphone or laptop during their college careers. In reality, these "obsolete" devices are just as capable as they were when they were new. We advocate for a student-focused solution and examine possible future lines of research in this area.


The so called 'new age of tourism' influenced the entrepreneurial paradigm considerably. The traditional model of mass tourism changed into a 'new tourism' which is presumably characterized by quality seeking customers with multi-optional needs, new production factors (such as information technologies), new business models and new management processes. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relvance of the tourist life-cycle model in deriving implicatone for entrepreneurship within tourism destinations. The literature review reveals a research gap in the field of entrepreneurial strategy options and the execution of operational strategies in tourism destinations. Thus, the paper starts with a short overview of the driving forces of business growth in Alpine tourism. Further, it is argued that the development of Alpine tourism has created a special environment for entrepreneurs in tourism destinations. The second part of the paper, therefore, provides a literature review of tourist life-cycle research. In the next step, the authors attempt to describe specific challenges and qualifications needed for tourism entrepreneurs along the various phases of the destinatoin life-cycle. The paper concludes with recommendations for entrepreneurship development, while making a conribution to research on tourism destinations.


In this study, a fermented umbu-flavored goat milk was developed, and its acceptance was evaluated aiming at achieving an alternative for making use of goat milk and umbu marmalade. The fermented milk production stages consisted of milk measuring, addition of powdered milk and modified starch, thermal treatment, cooling, inoculation into starter culture, fermentation, cooling, curdled milk split, and umbu marmalade addition. Three different products were made with different quantities of umbu: Sample A, 25%; Sample B, 27%; and Sample C, 30%. Sensorial characteristics were assessed by potential consumers, and the samples were randomly served, in a monadic form, the same number of times, in the same presentation order. The attributes received good rankings, which corresponded to the hedonic scale of "I slightly liked it" and "I liked it moderately". No significant difference among the samples acceptance was found. The variation of 2.5% in the umbu marmalade contents did not affect the sensorial qualities of fermented milk. The fermented goat milks were in compliance with the Brazilian legislation for products made from cow milk. Goat milk showed to be a good option for dairy industries; however, further studies should be performed to get products with improved sensorial characteristics.


Drawing on Butler's theory of gender performativity, which conceptualizes the discursive production of the gendered subject and the corresponding "constitutive instabilities" of such reiterative practices, I provide an empirical sociological examination of how individuals negotiate potentially unintelligible identities in their daily lives and the extent to which these practices call into question the conceptual dichotomization of stability and fluidity. While transsexed bodies, histories, and identities may "exceed" the limits of intelligibility, trans individuals are engaged in the process of meaning making—creating coherence both for themselves and for others. The present theorizing of (trans)gender identification has not fully explored the interaction among social expectations, individuals' attempts to be credible, and the structural limitations on intelligible gender identifications. In addition, despite theoretical arguments resting on the compulsory, regulatory nature of gender regimes, gender fluidity is often situated as counter to such regulation. By exploring the negotiated identifications of transsexed respondents across different interactional spaces and the structural rules and norms which frame such presentation choices, this article theorizes the contextual regulation of (trans)gender diversity and the corresponding production of situated identification. Further, in examining this negotiation, the concept of fluidity is interrogated in order to complicate the analytic dualism of fluidity/stability and the corresponding dichotomous positioning of transsexed individuals as either blurring or reifying the boundaries of the gender binary.


ABSTRACT In prior studies of exocyst-mediated late secretion in Candida albicans, we have determined that Sec6 contributes to cell wall integrity, secretion, and filamentation. A conditional mutant lacking SEC6 expression exhibits markedly reduced lateral hyphal branching. In addition, lack of the related t-SNAREs Sso2 and Sec9 also leads to defects in secretion and filamentation. To further understand the role of the exocyst in the fundamental processes of polarized secretion and filamentation in C. albicans, we studied the exocyst subunit Sec15. Since Saccharomyces cerevisiae SEC15 is essential for viability, we generated a C. albicans conditional mutant strain in which SEC15 was placed under the control of a tetracycline-regulated promoter. In the repressed state, cell death occurred after 5 h in the tetR-SEC15 strain. Prior to this time point, the tetR-SEC15 mutant was markedly defective in Sap and lipase secretion and demonstrated increased sensitivity to Zymolyase and chitinase. Notably, tetR-SEC15 mutant hyphae were characterized by a hyperbranching phenotype, in direct contrast to strain tetR-SEC6, which had minimal lateral branching. We further studied the localization of the Spitzenkörper, polarisomes, and exocysts in the tetR-SEC15 and tetR-SEC6 mutants during filamentation. Mlc1-GFP (marking the Spitzenkörper), Spa2-GFP (the polarisome), and Exo70-GFP (exocyst) localizations were normal in the tetR-SEC6 mutant, whereas these structures were mislocalized in the tetR-SEC15 mutant. Following alleviation of gene repression by removing doxycycline, first Spitzenkörper, then polarisome, and finally exocyst localizations were recovered sequentially. These results indicate that the exocyst subunits Sec15 and Sec6 have distinct roles in mediating polarized secretion and filamentation in C. albicans.


Field, petrographic, and trace-element data indicate that volcanic rocks of the Quaternary San Pedro–Pellado complex (lat 36°S, Chile) have incorporated a silicic component that may be derived from the crust. Isotope ratios of Sr, Nd, and Pb vary little among the volcanic rocks. This is due primarily to the limited isotopic contrast between the Mesozoic-Tertiary crust and the young magmas. Isotope and element compositions of San Pedro–Pellado rocks are similar to those reported from other localities in the southern volcanic zone of the Chilean Andes. We suggest that crustal assimilation is a significant process in the genesis of differentiated volcanic rocks in the southern volcanic zone. The San Pedro–Pellado example illustrates the importance of considering all types of evidence, not just isotopic data, in the evaluation of crustal contributions to arc magmas.


A web-based open-source decision support system (DSS) was developed to facilitate real-world engagement with dam-operating agencies in the decision-making process involving atmospheric modeling, hydrologic modeling, and web technology. The development process was decoupled into the container (frontend) and the modeling framework for the content (backend), to arrive at an intelligent system that improves the productivity and independent reuse of each component. The backend framework uses the weather forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction models, downscales to a finer resolution, and simulates hydrologic and data-based artificial neural network models to optimize operations. The frontend architecture disseminates the forecasted meteorological variables, reservoir inflow, optimized operations, and retrospective weekly assessment of forecasts and hydropower benefits. The framework is automated and operationalized over the Detroit dam (Oregon) to generate the daily optimized release decisions. However, backend scripts and frontend elements are flexible and customizable enough that the DSS can be reproduced for other dams. The optimization of reservoir operations based on weather forecasts results in significant additional hydropower benefit without compromising other objectives when compared to the conventional operations. More importantly, the platform helps visualize for the dam operator how much more 'smarter' operations can be if weather forecasts and open-source technology are used.


Motion databasing is an important topic in robotics research. Humanoid robots have a large number of degrees of freedom and their motions have to satisfy a set of constraints (balance, maximal joint torque velocity and angle values). Thus motion planning cannot efficiently be done on-line. The computation of optimal motions is performed off-line to create databases that transform the problem of large computation time into a problem of large memory space. Motion planning can be seen as a Semi-Infinite Programming problem (SIP) since it involves a finite number of variables over an infinite set of constraints. Most methods solve the SIP problem by transforming it into a finite programming one using a discretization over a prescribed grid. We show that this approach is risky because it can lead to motions which may violate one or several constraints. Then we introduce our new method for planning safe motions. It uses Interval Analysis techniques in order to achieve a safe discretization of the constraints. We show how to implement this method and use it with state-of-the-art constrained optimization packages. Then, we illustrate its capabilities for planning safe motions dedicated to the HOAP-3 humanoid robot.


Chronic urticaria (CU) is characterised by the recurrence of hives/angioedema for >6 weeks. It affects children and adults and has a worldwide distribution. In children, CU is substantially less common than acute urticaria but is associated with larger decrease in quality of life. The current classification divides CU into two groups: 1) chronic spontaneous urticaria, which includes idiopathic urticaria (by far the most common type), autoimmune urticaria, and those associated with drugs, food, or additives allergies; and 2) chronic inducible urticaria, constituted by cholinergic urticaria and physical urticarias. Diagnosis of CU is based on the history and characteristics of the lesions. Although laboratory and specific testing could establish the diagnosis of some subtypes of CU, frequently the aetiology is never found; therefore, an extensive workup is not recommended. Once the trigger has been identified, it must be avoided. Specific treatment may be tried, but unfortunately this is not always possible. Currently, the first-line treatment for children with CU are second generation H1-antihistamines (SG-H1AH), such as cetirizine, fexofenadine, desloratadine, and rupatadine, among others. If, after 2–4 weeks, the patient has not improved, an increment from 2 to 4-times the regular dose is recommended. Patients that fail to respond to this treatment may be switched to another SG-H1AH or a second agent, such as H2-antihistamines (e.g., cimetidine, ranitidine), ketotifen, cyclosporine, or a leukotriene receptor inhibitor (e.g., montelukast), may be added to the H1-antihistamine therapy. Recently, omalizumab, an anti-immunoglobin-E monoclonal antibody has been approved in several jurisdictions for patients 12 years or older with recalcitrant CU; however, its high cost has limited its use.


The joint seminar of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region and the UArctic Rectors' Forum was held on February 28, 2008, at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland. The purpose of the seminar was to stimulate discussion and debate on Arctic issues between academics and politicians from the Arctic on the two themes of adaptation to climate change and borders and access to the sea. This proceedings document contains papers presented at the seminar, the two background papers from experts in UArctic's member institutions prepared for the seminar, as well as a summary.


Administration of pyrogen or endotoxins such as Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide can elicit a marked increase in urinary sodium excretion. This response occurs without any elevation in the filtered load of sodium and it does not appear to be prostaglandin mediated. The various effects produced by endotoxins appear to have interleukin-1 as a common mediator. In the present work, we have studied whether human recombinant interleukin-1 beta (hrIL-1) could affect the renal handling of sodium and thus, could be implicated in natriuretic response to pyrogens or endotoxins. We observed that hrIL-1 intravenously injected into conscious rats provokes a marked increase in sodium excretion. This natriuretic response was not associated with any increase in glomerular filtration rate (clearance of [3H]inulin), nor was it accompanied by significant changes in the urinary excretion of potassium, calcium, or inorganic phosphate. The only concomitant alteration was a decrease in urinary pH. Pretreatment with indomethacin abolished the effect of hrIL-1 on urinary pH but did not modify the natriuretic response. In conclusion, hrIL-1 elicits a selective decrease in tubular sodium reabsorption, which does not appear to involve a change in prostaglandin synthesis. This observation strongly suggests that interleukin-1 could be a key mediator in endotoxin-induced natriuresis.


A parallel computational fluid dynamics code has been developed for the study of aerodynamic heating problem in hypersonic flows. The code employs the 3D Navier-Stokes equations as the basic governing equations to simulate the laminar hypersonic flow. The cell centered finite volume method based on structured grid is applied for spatial discretization. The AUSMPW+ scheme is used for the inviscid fluxes, and the MUSCL approach is used for higher order spatial accuracy. The implicit LU-SGS scheme is applied for time integration to accelerate the convergence of computations in steady flows. A parallel programming method based on MPI is employed to shorten the computing time. The validity of the code is demonstrated by comparing the numerical calculation result with the experimental data of a hypersonic flow field around a blunt body. Keywords—Aerodynamic Heating, AUSMPW+, MPI, Parallel Computation


Ritz vectors are parameters, which describe object dynamics in similar way as modal vectors. Their advantage with respect to modal vectors is a fact, that less number of them is required to estimate object response. It is also proofed, that Ritz vectors are more sensitive for damage detection then modal vectors. The problem which arises, when one wants to use Ritz vectors for damage assessment is that there are no many methods to extract Ritz vectors from operational data. In addition, the methods require knowledge of analytical mass matrix or state a space model matrix, which makes them rather complicated. In the paper two Ritz vectors extraction methods are taken into account. First bases on flexibility matrix and second is related with state space model. Both of them are evaluated with respect to analytical procedure of Ritz vectors calculation. For the vectors evaluation, a simulation data from theoretical model were used. In next step Ritz vectors were extracted from data measured on a real structure. On the structure damage was simulated. The Ritz vectors extracted with use of both tested methods were used to detect damage.


The interaction between the cell-cell adhesion proteins CD2 and CD58 plays a crucial role in lymphocyte recruitment to inflammatory sites, and inhibitors of this interaction have potential as immunomodulatory drugs in autoimmune diseases. Peptides from the CD2 adhesion domain were designed to inhibit CD2:CD58 interactions. To improve the stability of the peptides, β-sheet epitopes from the CD2 region implicated in CD58 recognition were grafted into the cyclic peptide frameworks of sunflower trypsin inhibitor and rhesus theta defensin. The designed multicyclic peptides were evaluated for their ability to modulate cell-cell interactions in three different cell adhesion assays, with one candidate, SFTI-a, showing potent activity in the nanomolar range (IC50: 51 nM). This peptide also suppresses the immune responses in T cells obtained from mice that exhibit the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis. SFTI-a was resistant to thermal denaturation, as judged by circular dichroism spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, and had a half-life of ∼24 h in human serum. Binding of this peptide to CD58 was predicted by molecular docking studies and experimentally confirmed by surface plasmon resonance experiments. Our results suggest that cyclic peptides from natural sources are promising scaffolds for modulating protein-protein interactions that are typically difficult to target with small-molecule compounds.


The last formal address given by Wilfred Trotter, a few months before his death, was on the subject 'Has the Intellect a function?' His whole life gave the answer—Yes—for that rare personality was the very embodiment and outcome of intellectual training and self-control. An obituary notice of him written by a surgical colleague began with these words: 'His death has deprived the world of one of the most contemplative minds that has ever been trained towards surgery. His penetrating intellect delighted in an impersonal activity of thought which had as raw material its own original observation of the workings of man's mind and of the sources of their conduct. The main stream of his life ran always towards the pursuit of truth, and his interest in surgery was the joy of a fine intellect in the practice of a worthy handicraft.' Surgery was his profession, and in it he rose to the highest mastery, becoming Sergeant Surgeon in turn to three successive Kings of England. Science gave him the test and aim of all that he regarded as good work, and the esteem of scientific men was the only honour that his ambition welcomed or would accept. Yet he made relatively few additions to that mass of verifiable knowledge which is comprised in science, and his memory will be honoured rather for the influence of his spirit and thought upon the minds of his generation.


Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the influencing factors on the preparation for retirement of the nurses. Methods: Participants were total 165 clinical nurses and data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, Kruskal Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test, Pearson correlation and multiple regression with SPSS 23.0. Results: There was significant negative correlation between retirement stress and preparation for retirement. Marital status and intention to reemployment were accounted for 12.1% of variance in preparation for retirement. Attitude for retirement was accounted for 16.4% of variance in retirement stress. Conclusions: The result of this study suggested that it is important to manage attitude for retirement and preparation for retirement in order to reduce retirement stress in clinical nurses. And we need to develop education program for retirement in order to opportunity to prepare retirement of clinical nurses.


Local observers are defined by orthonormal "non-holonomic" (aka "non-coordinate") tetrad gravity fields (Cartan's "moving frames"). The tetrads are spin 1 vector fields under the 6-parameter homogeneous Lorentz group SO1,3 of Einstein's 1905 special relativity. You can think of the tetrad gravity fields as the square roots of Einstein's 1916 spin 2 metric tensor gravity fields. We will see that we must also allow for spin 0 and spin 1 gravity because the spin 1 tetrads, in turn, are Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled quantum states of pairs of 2-component Penrose-Rindler qubits in the quantum pregeometry. The Wheeler-Feynman qubits are the square roots of the advanced and retarded null tetrads and can therefore be called the Galois solvable fourth roots of reality. The spherical wavefront tetrads are then formally the Bell pair states of quantum information theory. Penrose's Cartesian tetrads are a different choice from mine here. The different tetrad choices correspond to the different contours around the photon propagator poles in the complex energy plane of quantum electrodynamics. Both of his spinors in his spin frame are retarded in the same light cone, e.g. the forward cone. It seems that Penrose and Rindler implicitly answered Wheeler's question of how IT comes from BIT, but no one realized it until now.


The author considers homomorphisms H \to K from an affine group scheme H over a field k of characteristic zero to a proreductive group K. Using a general categorical splitting theorem, Andre and Kahn proved that for every H there exists such a homomorphism which is universal up to conjugacy. The author gives a purely group-theoretic proof of this result. The classical Jacobson-Morosov theorem is the particular case where H is the additive group over k. As well as universal homomorphisms, the author considers more generally homomorphisms H \to K which are minimal, in the sense that H \to K factors through no proper proreductive subgroup of K. For fixed H, it is shown that the minimal H \to K with K reductive are parametrised by a scheme locally of finite type over k.


The indoor variable floor for swimming pool gives many possibilities of usages in the area where exists, for example, swimming pool, welcoming room, and sport hall. Therefore, we came to the idea of using the indoor variable floor for swimming pool due the shortages of open areas in Gaza Strip. The heating of the water in this pool when it is closed saves a lot of energy and time. During the winter season, people do not go the sea; but the can go to indoor swimming pools. The indoor variable floor for swimming pools can be built in schools for teaching the swimming courses for all ages of students. Since the depth of the water can be controlled, all students with different ages and classes can use the pool with high safety. To insure that, we designed an expert system to determine the height of the water in the pool according to some factors like: age, type usage, and time of the day. In the outdoor variable floor for swimming pool, it can be closed easily when it is not used to keep it clean and avoid falling kids in it.


With organisations like Facebook restricting how their application programming interface (API) can be used and scholars questioning the legality and ethics of web scrapping (i.e., the use of technology in the automatic extraction of data from the Web) more discussions around a qualitative Netnographic approach is needed. This paper addresses these issues by reflecting on the application of a passive summative content analysis method to Netnography and how it can be used in marketing research. It focuses on the rollout of smart meters (meters that allow consumers and service providers to monitor power consumption), which the UK Government has now delayed because of a poor uptake. As such, it contributes to the marketing domain's theory and knowledge and provides a possible set of solutions that the UK Government and energy providers could consider to increase engagement. The study starts by providing an overview of the literature within Netnography and its use as a qualitative methodology. It then demonstrates, step by step, how a summative content analysis approach can be applied to Netnography, using NVivo as the platform of analysis. The case study utilises Mumsnet (UK's biggest network for parents, with approximately 10 million unique visitors and 100 million-page views per month) as the forum for analysis. Threads over a six-month period were considered. The key themes identified can be explained as: smart meters were not transferable between energy providers; users were concerned about being hacked; the connecting signals did not always work; and such meters were not compulsory. The study demonstrates how effective and efficient Netnography can be in market research. It also provides some clear guidance on how copyright issues should be addressed.


Professional socialization refers to the acquisition of values, attitudes, skills and knowledge pertaining to a professional subculture. This paper reviews the literature about professional socialization and the dimensions that contribute to the process and definition of professional socialization. This literature analysis is undertaken of cognate professions because there is no direct literature relating to valuers. The summary of the legislative requirements within Australia and the membership requirements of professional valuation bodies are examined to determine if these include elements of professional socialization from a real world perspective. A Comparative Study of Multiple Linear Regression Technique versus Artificial Neural


This report presents an overview of the economy of Fiji with an emphasis on the fishing and tourism industries and their contributions to the broader economy. This study highlights the important role natural resources fulfill not only in the tourism and fishing industries, but in the broader economy, in order to inform local policy making and improve the focus and policy relevance of subsequent environmental economic research in the country.


Catalytic operations, achieving considerable energy savings, continue getting wider application especially in clean energy systems. Perovskite materials, owing to their chemical and thermal stability, can be conveniently used as catalysts and electrode materials at wide temperature ranges. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) offers a new and abundant source of hydrogen, the ultimate energy carrier. In the present work, change in electrical conductivity of catalysts obtained by adding molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) as B to the perovskite structure with lanthanum (La) and strontium (Sr) as A and A′, respectively, has been studied within a temperature range of up to 1100 K. Samples La0.75Sr0.25MoO3 and LaSr0.5V0.5O3 demonstrated the highest values of conductivity at 1100 K. At lower temperatures, Cr‐added Mo and V catalysts La0.9Sr0.1Cr0.5Mo0.5O3 and La0.9Sr0.1Cr0.5V0.5O3 had higher conductivity, closely followed by LaSr0.5V0.5O3.


the potential for keloid formation increases the more proximal the site of injury on the upper outer arm." A survey we performed in 1986 of members of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons showed that 94 out of the 107 responding (an 85% response) were seeing one or more patients with distressing scars a year and 10 were seeing 10 or more cases a year. The commonest site was the point of the shoulder (reported by 87%), although the deltoid insertion was almost as common (81%). Seventy two surgeons felt that the recommended site was entirely unacceptable, but several replies mentioned the reluctance of some community physicians even to consider other sites. This reluctance seems to be based on the belief that unsightly scars are not a problem and that use of another site would lead to administration difficulties in mixed sex groups. Our survey showed that problem scars do occur with the current site, especially when it is misinterpreted. Although some ugly scars would be expected at any alternative site, these would at least be more amenable to treatment. If a more selective programme of vaccination is instituted' it is important to emphasise that the groups at high risk of tuberculosis (Afro-Asian emmigrants and their babies) are also those most likely to develop keloid reactions. Similarly, if infant vaccination becomes the norm the influence of age on scar formation and the effect ofgrowth on scar size should be remembered.


The growth of TiNi thin films by ion beam sputter deposition using a Kaufmann type ion source is described. Argon ions are used to sputter separate Ti and Ni targets to deposit nearequiatomic TiNi thin films. Typically, ion energies and current densities of 1500 eV and 1 mA cm-2 respectively are used, with an argon overpressure of around 0.05 mtorr, to achieve deposition rates of order 1 μm hr-1. The thermophysical properties of the deposited films were investigated by thermal imaging. Patterning of TiNi films and foils with micrometre resolution using KrF excimer laser ablation at 248 nm wavelength, with beam fluence up to 2.5 J cm-2, 15 ns pulse duration and pulse rates up to 100 Hz has also been investigated.


Abstract:In Jewish traditions of Biblical Hebrew, /r/ behaves like laryngeals and pharyngeals in that it resists gemination. Evidence from Septuagint transcriptions suggests that this lack of gemination is a late phenomenon of the post-biblical period. The Samaritan pronunciation tradition, on the other hand, attests to /rr/ in scores of forms. We offer the first comprehensive study of geminated /r/ in Samaritan Hebrew. A comparison with other traditions of Hebrew and with transcriptions allows for a fine-graded assessment of the phenomenon. It suggests that—apart from some instances of secondary development—/rr/ in Samaritan Hebrew essentially preserves an ancient trait that goes back to the biblical period. Thus, geminated /r/ represents one of the few cases in which Samaritan Hebrew is typologically older than the Tiberian tradition.


Altmetrics studies emerged ten years ago in the Global North context and after a few years spread around the world. The paper investigates who are the Latin American researchers, which topics are covered and the relationship between South and North in Altmetric Studies. This study combines global mapping, social networks analysis and Content Analysis, using Dimensions, VOSviewer and Iramuteq to measure co-authorship, bibliographic coupling and co-citation analysis and content analysis to identify topics and types of production in Latina America outputs on alternative metrics. Results (n=172) show the prominence of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico in altmetric research in Latin America. There is an internal national co-authorship, with a huge influence from the North as reference to Latin American altmetric studies, but with gradual recognition of Mexico and Brazil as leading exponents in the region. We identify main topics related to local issues and regional impacts and discussions about the social role of the university. We conclude that the landscape of science output on altmetrics is becoming multipolar. Latin America emerged as an alternative hub of altmetric studies, but it still depends on references and collaboration with central countries. We also observed an emerging discussion on critics about low covering of regional data and an innovative development of methodologies and technologies as alternatives to commercial platforms that provide data to evaluate the social impact of universities. Latin America altmetric community should invest in resources to strengthen regional collaboration.


In this paper, we demonstrate that the funding value adjustments (FVAs) of major dealers are debt overhang costs to their shareholders. To maximize shareholder value, dealer quotations therefore adjust for FVAs. Our case studies include interest‐rate swap FVAs and violations of covered interest parity. Contrary to current valuation practice, FVAs are not themselves components of the market values of the positions being financed. Current dealer practice does, however, align incentives between trading desks and shareholders. We also establish a pecking order for preferred asset financing strategies and provide a new interpretation of the standard debit value adjustment.


Abstract Since the Eurozone crisis, intense political debate has resurfaced about deservingness judgements in European solidarity. To contribute to this debate, this article proposes a refined concept of 'multi-level blame attribution'. It postulates that public support for EU-level welfare policies crucially depends on how citizens attribute responsibility for economic outcomes across different levels of agency. Results from an original public opinion survey conducted in 10 European Union member states demonstrate that attributing blame to individuals decreases citizens' willingness to show solidarity with needy Europeans, whereas attributing blame to the EU increases support. The role of attributing blame to national governments is dependent on the country context; beliefs that worse economic outcomes are caused by national governments' policy decisions tend to dampen support for EU targeted welfare policies only in the Nordic welfare states. The article concludes by discussing the implications of multi-level blame attribution for the formation of public attitudes towards European solidarity.


This thesis develops a theoretical account of the basis and justification for the doctrine of Joint Criminal Enterptise in international criminal law by examining principles governing the ascription of criminal responsibility in English and German criminal law. The first part consists of a comprehensive review of the development of the JCE doctrine, including its historical antecedents, its initial formulation by the ICTY, its subsequent explication by tribunals and academics, and recent alternatives doctrines proposed by the ICC and by commentators. It identifies the main loopholes and contradictions in the construction of these theories, and presents factual scenarios for which these theories, particularly JCE, either have no answers, or problematic ones. The second part examines whether any of the variants of JCE can be justified as principal responsibility. It first identifies elements that distinguish international crimes from their domestic counterparts, and which are pertinent in developing an account of criminal responsibility for international crimes. It also examines the concept of perpetration responsibility in English and German criminal law and theory. It then combines the insights gleaned from these analyses to conclude that only JCE I can be appropriately considered as perpetrator responsibility and proposes a modified version of the doctrine of Organisationsherrschaft in German criminal law as a more accurate characterisation of the role and function of high level participants in mass atrocity. The final part focuses on the concept of accomplice responsibility in German and English criminal law and doctrine to address whether JCE II and JCE III can be justified as modes of secondary criminal responsibility. It concludes that JCE II and JCE III can be retained as distinct modes of accomplice liability using expressive and risk justifications, provided their operation is limited in ways that correspond to principles of secondary responsibility in domestic jurisdictions.


This paper describes an investigation into the selection and use of media in teaching Kiswahili Language in secondary schools in Emuhaya, Kakamega County in Kenya. The study was based on a descriptive survey design. The area of study was Emuhaya district, in Kakamega county Kenya. The study population consisted of 22 head teachers, 1333 students and 43 Kiswahili teachers. Saturated sampling was used to select a sample of 20 head teachers, while purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 20 Kiswahili teachers. Simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 400 students. Data was collected by use of questionnaire, document analysis guide and observation schedule, and data was analysed by use of descriptive statistics that included graphs, percentages and frequencies. Various factors were found to influence the use of media in teaching Kiswahili language. The other findings showed that there was inadequate provision of instructional media in schools from which teachers could select for teaching Kiswahili. It also revealed a low frequency use of the few available instructional media during Kiswahili teaching. The study makes recommendation, which if adopted would, increase the selection and use of media in teaching and learning Kiswahili. It also SUGGESTED the establishment of a regional instructional centre and formation of a body called 'KIVIKI' (Kituo cha Vifaa Vya Kiswahili) which will plan, produce, avail and evaluate Kiswahili Instructional Media, and lastly it recommended a model from which decision on media selection and use by teachers can be based.


The past decade has seen an escalating enthusiasm to comprehend chronic tinnitus from the perspective of both scientific understanding and clinical management. At the same time, there is a significant interest and commercial investment in providing targeted and individualized approaches to care, which incorporate novel sound-based technologies, with standard audiological and psychological strategies. Commercially produced sound-based devices for the tinnitus market include Co-ordinated Reset Neuromodulation ® , Neuromonics © , Serenade ® , and Widex ® Zen. Additionally, experimental interventions such as those based on frequency-discrimination training are of current interest. Many of these interventions overtly claim to target the underlying neurological causes of tinnitus. Here, we briefly summarize current perspectives on the pathophysiology of tinnitus and evaluate claims made by the device supporters from a critical point of view. We provide an opinion on how future research in the field of individualized sound-based interventions might best provide a reliable evidence-base in this growing area of translational medicine.


Instrumental variables have been used for a long time in the econometrics literature for the identification of the causal effect of one random variable, B, on another, C, in the presence of unobserved confounders. In the classical continuous linear model, the causal effect can be point identified by studying the regression of C on A and B on A, where A is the instrument. An instrument is an instance of a supplementary variable which is not of interest in itself but aids identification of causal effects. The method of instrumental variables is extended here to generalised linear models, for which only bounds on the causal effect can be computed. For the discrete instrumental variable model, bounds have been derived in the literature for the causal effect of B on C in terms of the joint distribution of (A,B,C). Using an approach based on convex polytopes, bounds are computed here in terms of the pairwise (A,B) and (A,C) distributions, in direct analogy to the classic use but without the linearity assumption. The bounding technique is also adapted to instrumental models with stronger and weaker assumptions. The computation produces constraints which can be used to invalidate the model. In the literature, constraints of this type are usually tested by checking whether the relative frequencies satisfy them. This is unsatisfactory from a statistical point of view as it ignores the sampling uncertainty of the data. Given the constraints for a model, a proper likelihood analysis is conducted to develop a significance test for the validity of the instrumental model and a bootstrap algorithm for computing confidence intervals for the causal effect. Applications are presented to illustrate the methods and the advantage of a rigorous statistical approach. The use of covariates and intermediate variables for improving the efficiency of causal estimators is also discussed.


Time correlated high‐speed video and electromagnetic data for 15 cloud‐to‐ground and intracloud lightning flashes reveal bursts of light, bright enough to be seen through intervening cloud, during the initial breakdown (IB) stage and within the first 3 ms after flash initiation. Each sudden increase in luminosity is coincident with a CG type (12 cases) or an IC type (3 cases) IB pulse in fast electric field change records. The E‐change data for 217 flashes indicate that all CG and IC flashes have IB pulses. The luminosity bursts of 14 negative CG flashes occur 11–340 ms before the first return stroke, at altitudes of 4–8 km, and at 4–41 km range from the camera. In seven cases, linear segments visibly advance away from the first light burst for 55–200 µs, then the entire length dims, then the luminosity sequence repeats along the same path. These visible initial leaders or streamers lengthen intermittently to about 300–1500 m. Their estimated 2‐D speeds are 4–18 × 105 m s−1 over the first few hundred microseconds and decrease by about 50% over the first 2 ms. In other cases, only a bright spot or a broad area of diffuse light, presumably scattered by intervening cloud, is visible. The bright area grows larger over 20–60 µs before the luminosity fades in about 100 µs, then this sequence may repeat several times. In several flashes, a 1–2 ms period of little or no luminosity and small E‐change is observed following the IB stage prior to stepped leader development.


Two layout and process key parameters for improving high voltage nLEDMOS (n-type lateral extended drain MOS) transistor hot carrier performance have been identified. Increasing the space between Hv-pwell and n-drift region and reducing the n-drift implant dose can dramatically reduce the device hot carrier degradations, for the maximum impact ionization rate near the Bird Beak decreases or its location moves away from the Si/SiO2 interface. This conclusion has been analyzed in detail by using the MEDICI simulator and it is also confirmed by the test results.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the vibrational spectrum of tolbutamide by ab initio techniques in combination with experimental studies. The Fourier transform infrared spectra (400–4000 cm−1) and Laser-Raman spectra (100–4000 cm−1) of tolbutamide have been obtained in the solid phase. Assignments have been found by the combination of the vibrational frequencies and the contribution of the potential energy distributions. Assignments have been compared with the theoretical and experimental results of similar structures as reported in the literature. Structural parameters such as bond lengths and angles, frequencies and infrared intensities and Raman activities of tolbutamide have been computed by density functional theory and Hartree–Fock methods using 6–311G++(d,p) and 6–31G(d) basis sets. The computed vibrational frequencies and optimized structural parameters are consistent with the corresponding experimental results. In addition, the images of tolbutamide frontier molecular orbitals (highest occupied and lowest unoccupied) and its energy gaps have been interpreted with the assistance of quantum chemical calculations. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


The paper is concerned with the causes and characteristics of threshold behavior in pulse-averaging and phase-coherent (``phase-locked loop'') FM subcarrier discriminators. An analytical discussion of the basic elements of each form of discriminator is first presented, leading to a comparison of the devices for input modulation indices of one and five, in the presence of noise. For the first time in the literature, the effect of additional output filtering following the ideal phase-coherent loop is discussed. Finally, the requisite modulation characteristics for an improved threshold in a phase-locked loop discriminator are presented, followed by a brief description of the approaches which may be taken in the design of such a system.


Cancer remains an important cause of mortality nowadays and, therefore, new therapeutic approaches are still needed. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) has been reported to possess antitumor activities both in vitro and in animal studies. Some of these activities were attributed to its major components, such as carnosic acid, carnosol, ursolic acid, and rosmarinic acid. Initially, the antitumor effects of rosemary were attributed to its antioxidant activity. However, in recent years, a lack of correlation between antioxidant and antitumor effects exerted by rosemary was reported, and different molecular mechanisms were related to its tumor inhibitory properties. Moreover, supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food and Safety Authority, specific compositions of rosemary extract were demonstrated to be safe for human health and used as antioxidant additive in foods, suggesting the potential easy application of this agent as a complementary approach in cancer therapy. In this review, we aim to summarize the reported anticancer effects of rosemary, the demonstrated molecular mechanisms related to these effects and the interactions between rosemary and currently used anticancer agents. The possibility of using rosemary extract as a complementary agent in cancer therapy in comparison with its isolated components is discussed.


Numerical modeling for the upper crustal deformation in the Southern Andes. In this work, the modeling of plate tectonic processes associated with crustal deformation through a numerical framework for non- collisional Andean type orogens is presented. The main objectives of the numerical framework are to develop a numerical model in order to represent large-scale deformation in Andean type subduction zones, to include appropriate physical and mathematical laws that describe the behavior of the lithosphere, to model surface erosion taking into account dominant winds direction and the synorogenic topography of the orogen as the crustal erosion caused by friction between the subducting and the overriding plate and to include isostatic compensation behavior taking into account flexural rigidity.


In order to benefit from the advantages of soft handoff it is important that the handoff parameters be well set. This paper analyzes the sensitivity of the soft handoff percentage to variations in the propagation environment. The sensitivity analysis is then used to design a robust handoff algorithm that reduces possible holes in coverage and excessive handoff overhead in real systems. The effects of handoff threshold settings on the mean number of active set updates and individual soft handoff statistics are also analyzed. Sectorized cells are considered, and the varied propagation parameters include the path loss exponent, the variance and cross-correlation of shadow fading signals arriving from multiple sectors of a base station and different base stations.


This study evaluates the influence of education on tax compliance among undergraduate students in Malaysia. The survey considers existing literature in the field of education and ascertains whether education can influence the respondents' compliance behaviour. The statistical findings confirm the prevalence of a relationship between education and tax compliance. This relationship is generally consistent, particularly so to the questions relating to general avoidance and personal avoidance. There is an improvement in personal tax compliance among students especially among females after one semester of pursuing a preliminary taxation course. It is suggested that universities providing courses in social science as well as business, management and accounting studies should offer the preliminary taxation course as a core subject to all their students.


A new approach treats spin-orbit and electric-dipole interactions simultaneously and proves that the notion of quantum interference is a misinterpretation based on inappropriate assumptions. Instead, fine-structure (fs-) quantum beats result from the conservation of the spin in spontaneous E1 transitions between in-phase precession states with different nutation frequencies as imposed by the spin-orbit interaction. The theory also adds new aspects regarding the origin of sensitized fluorescence by showing that mixed states and not fs-eigenstates are the most probable ones. Moreover, it predicts orientationally dependent lifetimes in spin-orbit interacting sublevels, dynamically reduced transition probabilities, and Fano-type lineshapes.


In the past forty years, the franchising system has undergone a remarkable expansion, notably in France, retaining more and more the attention of economy and service management researchers. A recurring question relates to the sources of competitive advantage that a franchise network may have. This paper intends to contribute to the debate based on the fundamentals of the resource/competence-based view, and applying the reflection to the case of the logistical service. Based on a case study driven within a franchise network, it is possible to conclude that the supply chain competences of a franchisor play an important role in the level of perceived satisfaction of franchisees when customised solutions are proposed thanks to information technologies.


The electrical properties of many materials are not well characterized at frequencies in the near Terahertz regime. As the applications of Terahertz radiation are multiplying, the lack of a good model for the behavior of both dielectrics and conductors is a problem. To address this, a computational model is being developed based on coupling an Ensemble Monte Carlo simulation with a Finite Difference Time Domain electromagnetic simulation to model conductivity in both silicon and metals. In conjunction with this computational simulation, a method to conduct conductivity measurements in the near terahertz regime in the lab has been developed. The high quality factor (Q) resonant cavity will confirm the results of the computational simulation, as well as working independently to measure any other items of interest.


This work wants to draw together two different medical therapies which in the past have shown great potential for treating a wide range of emotional disorders: music therapy and neurofeedback. Numerous studies support music therapy as an effective means to help people with depression, with highly satisfactory results with regard to both elderly people and adolescents. On the other hand, neurofeedback has become a very popular non-invasive technique thanks, in great measure, to the emergence of low and mid cost electroencephalography (EEG) devices in the market. Despite a lack of double-blind randomized studies in the literature, neurofeedback is starting to show effective results dealing with a wide variety of different medical conditions such as depression, anxiety or attention deficit disorder. Musical neurofeedback is a new approach, born from the combination of these two disciplines, which by recent studies seems to have a high potential for helping elderly people with depression. This thesis presentsan open musical neurofeedback system which is both easy to use and configurable for different disorder scenarios. We evaluate the system with a low-cost EEG device and assess experimentally which specific features extracted from the EEG activity contain more valuable information describing the emotional state of the users. Finally, we present the results of a pilot study consisting of seven 20-minutes musical neurofeedback sessions with an adolescent with depression.


This paper will focus on the reiterated presence of the notion of 'distance' in Samanta Schweblin's three collections of short stories (El núcleo del disturbio, 2007; Pájaros en la boca, 2009; Siete casas vacías, 2015). Such distance seems to be represented in different ways and from diverse perspectives, as Schweblin's characters experience the distance from other family members, the distance between health and sickness, and between reality and imagination. The paper will argue that there is a significant difference between Schweblin's first and last stories, and that such difference is related precisely to the representation of distance, which is featured through discursive modalities in which the depiction of space and its objects has a specific function.


The emergence of IT-based trading activities like algorithmic trading or high-frequency trading alters the traditional trading environment within financial markets. Thus, the question arises whether this technological arms race positively affects market quality or represents a risk related to market integrity. Within this study, we evaluate the order-to-trade-ratio for measuring overall IT-based trading activity. Furthermore, in a longitudinal study, we assess the impact of the order-to-trade-ratio on market quality. We find strong indications that price uncertainty has decreased with an increased order-to-trade-ratio and therefore has a positive impact on financial markets. However, the mere upgrade of the trading systems does not relate into increased market liquidity.


A fundamental problem faced by object recognition systems is that objects and their features can appear in different locations, scales and orientations. Current deep learning methods attempt to achieve invariance to local translations via pooling, discarding the locations of features in the process. Other approaches explicitly learn transformed versions of the same feature, leading to representations that quickly explode in size. Instead of discarding the rich and useful information about feature transformations to achieve invariance, we argue that models should learn object features conjointly with their transformations to achieve equivariance. We propose a new model of unsupervised learning based on sparse coding that can learn object features jointly with their affine transformations directly from images. Results based on learning from natural images indicate that our approach matches the reconstruction quality of traditional sparse coding but with significantly fewer degrees of freedom while simultaneously learning transformations from data. These results open the door to scaling up unsupervised learning to allow deep feature+transformation learning in a manner consistent with the ventral+dorsal stream architecture of the primate visual cortex.


BST/PLT composite thick films with various content of PbO-B2O3 glass additive from 5mol% to 25mol% were successfully prepared by screen-printing the paste onto alumina substrates. XRD, SEM and impedance meter were used to analyze the phase structures, morphologies and dielectric properties of the thick films. The results showed that the BST phase has no interaction with PbO-B2O3 glass in the composite thick films at 750 oC. Diffusion between PLT phase and PbO-B2O3 glass phase occurs and the c axis of PLT phase in thick films reduces slightly. The high infiltration between the glass phase and particles densify the composite thick films and the uniform microstructure can be obtained in the thick films with PbO-B2O3 glass additive content of 10mol%. Good temperature stability of dielectric properties is achieved with the 25mol% content of PbO-B2O3 glass additive and the variance of the relative dielectric constant in the temperature range between 0oC and 300oC is 15%.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if the incidence of psychiatric emergencies involving drugs or alcohol supports the argument that mentally ill persons contribute to elevated mortality during the days following disbursement of private earnings and public income transfers.

STUDY DESIGN
Interrupted time-series using Box-Jenkins methods.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS
Daily counts of adults admitted to psychiatric emergency services in San Francisco after using drugs or alcohol were derived from medical records for the period January 1 through June 30, 1997.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Psychiatric emergencies among males who had used drugs or alcohol were elevated in the early days of the month. Such emergencies among females were not similarly elevated. Emergencies among females who had not used drugs or alcohol were elevated in the early days of the month.

CONCLUSION
Elevated mortality in the first week of the month may be attributable, in part, to the "check effect" or use of drugs and alcohol by mentally ill males in the days after they receive income. The contribution of women is more complex and may be induced by drug or alcohol abuse among persons in their social networks. The check effect suggests that persons with a history of substance abuse and mental illness should be offered the opportunity to have their income managed by someone who can monitor and influence how the money is being spent. The fact that drug- or alcohol-related admissions among males exhibit temporal patterns suggests that the provision of preventive as well as treatment services may be strategically scheduled.


The existing formal techniques are not suitable for elegantly modeling passing value indeterminacy and describing batch processing function in real-time cooperative systems. Moreover, the correct behavior of the systems depends on not only the logical correctness of the results obtained through running workflows but also the time of producing them before critical deadlines. For these purposes, this paper proposes an interorganizational logical workflow net (ILWN) for modeling and analyzing real-time cooperative systems based on time Petri nets, workflow techniques, and temporal logic. Through attaching logical expressions to some actions of an ILWN model, the size of the model is reduced. Thus, ILWNs can efficiently mitigate the state explosion problem to some extent. Also, this paper analyzes the soundness of a subclass of ILWNs: the or-restricted ILWNs. A rigorous analysis approach is given based on their static net structures only. The concepts and techniques proposed in this paper are illustrated with a seller-buyer example in electronic commerce.


Azoarene photoswitches are versatile molecules that interconvert from their E-isomer to their Z-isomer with light. Azobenzene is a prototypical photoswitch but its derivatives can be poorly suited for in vivo applications such as photopharmacology due to undesired photochemical reactions promoted by ultraviolet light and the relatively short half-life (t1/2) of the Z-isomer (2 days). Experimental and computational studies suggest that these properties (λmax of the E isomer and t1/2 of the Z-isomer) are inversely related. We identified isomeric azobisthiophenes and azobisfurans from a high-throughput screening study of 1540 azoarenes as photoswitch candidates with improved λmax and t1/2 values relative to azobenzene. We used density functional theory to predict the activation free energies and vertical excitation energies of the E- and Z-isomers of 2,2- and 3,3-substituted azobisthiophenes and azobisfurans. The half-lives depend on whether the heterocycles are π-conjugated or cross-conjugated with the diazo π-bond. The 2,2-substituted azoarenes both have t1/2 values on the scale of 1 hour, while the 3,3-analogues have computed half-lives of 40 and 230 years (thiophene and furan, respectively). The 2,2-substituted heteroazoarenes have significantly higher λmax absorptions than their 3,3-substituted analogues: 76 nm for azofuran and 77 nm for azothiophene.


Understanding the influence of environmental factors on population dynamics is fundamental to many areas in biology. Survival is a key factor of population biology, as it is thought to be the predominant driver of growth in long-lived passerines, which can be influenced by both biotic and abiotic environmental conditions. We used mark-recapture methods and generalized linear mixed models to test the influence of density and climatic variation, measured at a regional and local scale (Southern Oscillation Index [SOI] and rainfall, respectively), on seasonal variation in survival rates of an insular population of Silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus), during a 15-year study period, off the east coast of Australia. We found overall high survival rates for adults and juveniles (81% and 59%, respectively). Local scale climate (i.e. rainfall) and density were the principal environmental factors influencing their survival, both with a negative relationship. A significant interactive effect of density and rainfall influenced survival as they both increased. However, survival remained low when density was at it highest, independent of the amount of rainfall. Nestling survival was negatively influenced by rainfall and density, positively by SOI, and chicks that hatched later in the breeding season had higher survival rates. The regional scale climate variable (i.e. SOI) did not explain survival rates as strongly as rainfall in any age class. Our results contribute to the understanding of insular avian population dynamics and the differential effects of environmental factors across age classes. Climatic predictions expect El Niño events to increase, meaning dryer conditions in eastern Australia, potentially increasing Silvereye survival across age classes. However, the long-term effect of lower rainfall on food availability is unknown; consequently, the outcome of lower rainfall on Silvereye survival rates is uncertain.


: Due to the important improvement represented by the latest computed tomography (CT) technology in respect of detail and excellent contrast resolution normal and pathological structures of the inner and middle ear can be visualised. The clinical and diagnostic value of CT in comparison to standard x-rays and tomography is prospectively evaluated on the basis 74 patient examinations. Today CT is unsurpassed in the diagnosis of cholesteatomas and glomus tumours and ranks first among all imaging modalities. Chronic inflammatory diseases and deformities of the middle ear can be evaluated in most cases on the basis of standard x-rays and tomography. The importance of CT is primarily complementary, except in preoperative cases. Fractures should be visualised first via standard x-rays. In cases of questionable complications (e.g. tympanic or intracranial haematomas), CT should be the next step. Conventional tomograms are not necessary.


Spectrum in the wind profile radar data processing, radar detection of low-level spectral data from the library there are usually clutter, intermittent clutter, clutter and atmospheric echoes magnetic mixed overlap situation. In order to effectively restrain and remove clutter and increase the wind profile radar detection range and accuracy, must be on the air back to the effective spectrum of the spectral moments estimation. Based on the wind profile radar Doppler echo power spectral analysis, maximum likelihood method based on estimated spectral data of radar echo spectrum method using MATLAB simulation analysis , compared with the conventional method of analysis to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm, also, try the algorithm is applied to the complexity of the weather with a strong interference case of precipitation particles; Data analysis showed that the actual detection, from the library in the lower spectrum moment estimation has been improved significantly.


Objective: To evaluate the ultrasound features of tuberculosis in the female genital system. Methods: Fourty female patients with histologic diagnosis were included in this study. Among them, eighteen were TB and 22 were ovarian cancer. The pelvic sonogram was performed with gray-scale and color Doppler techniques. Serum CA-125 of the patients' were obtained. Results: Multiple hyperechoic foci of 0.5–2.5 cm were found in the chorion of uterus and ovaries in 82% of TB patients and 12% in ovarian cancer patients. Miliary nodules were found on peritoneal in 64% TB patients and 16% in ovarian cancer patients. Visualization of the ovaries was limited in 33% TB patients with solid or complex pelvic masses. Bilateral ovary enlargement was seen in 67% TB patients. Ascites was found in 66% TB patients and in 78% ovarian cancer. Omental thickening was found in 77.8% ovarian cancer and 11% in TB. Color flow signals were detected in 12% TB mass that involved ovaries and in 91% ovarian cancer mass. Serum CA125 level were high in TB and ovarian cancer patients. Conclusion: The genital system tuberculosis should be suspected when multiple small nodules were found on uterus and ovary in young women.


The compact attack graphs implicitly reveal the threat of sophisticated multi-step attacks by enumerating possible sequences of exploits leading to the compromising given critical resources in enterprise networks with thousands of hosts. For security analysts, the challenge is how to analyze the complex attack graphs with possible ten thousands of nodes for defending the security of network. In the paper, we will essentially discuss two issues about it. The first is to compute non-loop attack paths with the distance less than the given number that the real attacker may take practically in realistic attack scenarios. The second is to find the solution to removing vulnerabilities in such a way that given critical resources cannot be compromised while the cost for such removal incurs the least cost. We propose two scalable approaches to solve the above two issues respectively. These two approaches are proved to have a polynomial time complexity and can scale to the attack graphs with ten thousands of nodes corresponding large enterprise networks.


Electrochemical migration (ECM) tests and rapid whisker growth on Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder candidates doped with Zn and Bi on Cu-plated FR-4 printed circuit board were conducted by applying constant voltage. The results showed that dendritic shape were different when the doped metals were different. When Zn was doped in SAC solder, dendrites looked like tree trunk, while that of Bi doping looked like rose, which was due to the different composition of SAC candidates. Comparing the length of dendrites at the same condition, it could be concluded that dendrite growth might be suppressed by Bi addition, which the contrary effect suitable to Zn addition. EDAX results showed that the main content on dendrites was Sn with or without Bi doping, while the main content was Zn, Sn, and Ag with Zn doping and Zn/Bi dopings. Whisker growth test verified that Sn accounted for a majority (larger than 95wt.%), no difference could be seen on whiskers of SAC solder candidates although the contents of SAC solder candidate were differently. The whisker growth rate were not different although the doped metals were different largely. Both dendrite growth and rapid whisker growth of SAC solder candidates doped with Zn and Bi were harmful to micro/nanoelectronic packaging attributing to bridge short circuit in PWBs industries.


In this bold and timely work, law professor Jeffrey Shulman argues that the United States Constitution does not protect a fundamental right to parent. Based on a rigorous reconsideration of the historical record, Shulman challenges the notion, held by academics and the general public alike, that parental rights have a long-standing legal pedigree. What is deeply rooted in our legal tradition and social conscience, Shulman demonstrates, is the idea that the state entrusts parents with custody of the child, and it does so only as long as parents meet their fiduciary duty to serve the developmental needs of the child. Shulman's illuminating account of American legal history is of more than academic interest. If once again we treat parenting as a delegated responsibility--as a sacred trust, not a sacred right--we will not all reach the same legal prescriptions, but we might be more willing to consider how time-honored principles of family law can effectively accommodate the evolving interests of parent, child, and state.


Transformation of the State Islamic Institute (IAIN) to the State Islamic University (UIN), can be seen as a necessity of history and civilization. The process of transformation of higher education institutions of Islam is actually already happened several times. Beginning of the institutional status of official academy Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Department of Religious Science Academy name (ADIA).First, the presence of UIN faced with the global era and the third millennium. Global era marked by the rise of science and technology. Along with it, social thought and humanities dealing with a new outlook, known as postmodernism, poststructuralism (Franz Dahler and Eka Budianta, 2000: 84). The third millennium is characterized by a shift in the value system that refers to the permissiveness (permissive). Secondly, with this transformation UIN faced with the preparedness to meet new status bears, namely the university. These changes however, needs to be supported by changes in patterns and ways of thinking of the Pengola or academicians who preceded by paradigm change. Building kelimuan tradition is a milestone in the development of the supporting values of Islam in the realm of civilization built on the UIN. The formation of the scientific tradition directly related to the values contained in the primary sources of Islam, namely the Qur'an and Hadith. UIN realization through the transformation process at least not limited to institutional alone. Moreover UIN also required to develop themselves, to change the paradigm, the paradigm refers to the Qur'an (derived from the values of the teachings of the Qur'an), as was done by Muslim scientists Classical era in building the Islamic scientific tradition . Muslim scientists motivated motivated by the values of the teachings of the Qur'an. At least realized, that a system of doctrine, not useful, and it will not bring good life promised, if not implemented (Majid, 1992: xiv- xivi).


Design pattern density is a metric that measures how much of an object-oriented design can be understood and represented as instances of design patterns. Expert developers have long believed that a high design pattern density implies a high maturity of the design under inspection. This paper presents a quantifiable and observable definition of this metric. The metric is illustrated and qualitatively validated using four real-world case studies. We present several hypotheses of the metric's meaning and their implications, including the one about design maturity. We propose that the design pattern density of a maturing framework has a fixed point and we show that if software design patterns make learning frameworks easier, a framework's design pattern density is a measure of how much easier it will become.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of and risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) following canine thoracic and pelvic limb amputations.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective, multicenter study.

ANIMALS
Dogs (n = 248).

METHODS
Medical records were reviewed for preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables including indication for amputation, amputation type, method of muscle transection, duration of surgery and anesthesia, and wound classification. Follow up was ≥30 days or until SSI development. Logistic regression and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare SSI incidence to variables of interest.

RESULTS
The incidence of SSI was 12.5% for all procedures and 10.9% for clean procedures. Factors increasing odds of SSI were muscle transection with a bipolar vessel sealing device (P = .023 for all procedures, P = .025 for clean procedures), procedure classified as other than clean (P = .003), and indication for amputation of bacterial infection (P = .041) or traumatic injury (P = .003) compared to neoplasia.

CONCLUSION
Use of bipolar vessel sealing devices for muscle transection increased the odds of developing an SSI whereas use of electrosurgery and/or sharp transection did not. Dogs with surgical sites that were other than clean, or with bacterial infection and/or traumatic injury were also at increased odds of SSI.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Use of electrosurgery or sharp transection for muscle transection should be considered rather than use of bipolar vessel sealing devices to decrease odds of SSI in dogs undergoing limb amputation. Further studies across a variety of procedures are needed to validate these findings given the increasing popularity of these devices in veterinary medicine.


2 Abstract: Cloud storage units are becoming more and more popular these days and hence they require the mechanism to down their utilization cost and provide more efficiency and security to client's data. Deduplication is the technology which stores only a single copy of echoing data and so it reduces the required storage space. In order to provide confidentiality to the client's data and at the same time acquiring data deduplication, so we provide a technique called as convergent encryption. In this data is encrypted before outsourcing. To provide better data security this first talks the problem of authorized data deduplication, in this we further enhance this with sharing the files among the users on the basis of privileges. Secondly, this gives right to the user to revise the content of its data and share it with other users with keeping the integrity of data intact. Also we have presented several security schemes with data deduplication construction in a hybrid cloud model. The proposed method shows that the users are able to share the data and revise the data, in cloud and with efficiency and security. Our performance measures show that the proposed system gives more security in terms of insider and outsider attacks.


[reaction: see text] Trifluoropropanoic acid reacts with 1 equiv of POCl3 in DMF to generate the trifluoromethyl enamine (7). At this stage, two reaction manifolds are available. The expected reaction with additional POCl3 generates the 2-trifluoromethyl vinamidinium salt (3c). However, thermally driven loss of fluoride generates an iminium ion, which sets the stage for a [2 + 2] cycloaddition to ultimately generate the dimethylaminomethylene vinamidinium salt (1).