High-quality orthophotos are essential elements in cartographic databases that are required for engineering projects. Urban areas usually have many tall buildings, causing occlusions in aerial images. These occlusions can be severe depending on the height of the buildings, geometry of the imaging system, and image acquisition viewpoint. A product where no occlusion areas appear is called true orthophoto, and occlusion detection is a key step in its generation. This process requires a set of aerial images and surface representation, together with metadata and acquisition system information. This letter addresses a new approach for occlusion detection. The central idea that allows the development of the proposed method is based on the analysis of the surface height gradient at certain sampled directions, guiding the identification of occluded regions in the aerial images. A novel metric is introduced based on the height gradient computed along an available digital surface model, which can be obtained by different techniques. The refinement of the occlusion area is made by applying one morphological operator, aiming to fill some gaps in the detected occlusion areas. In order to validate the proposed approach, simulated and real data were used. The quality assessment was based on both visual and numerical analyses. For this methodology, the numerical analysis showed high completeness and correctness values, indicating that the proposed approach works properly.


I. Introductory. Without pretending to have discovered the primary cause of earthquakes, the author is firmly convinced that the plan which he has been elaborating for some years -will reduce the present chaos of seismological study to some sort of order, and will enable others to go farther than he has done. This plan is made up of four parts, and the present paper, which deals with the British Empire, is a section of the third part now approaching completion.These four parts, three of which will be briefly outlined in the following pages, are :— 1.Formation of an Earthquake Catalogue. 2.Refutation of the empirical laws previously enunciated. 3.Description of the globe from the seismic point of view. 4.Study of seismic phenomena in the United Kingdom and the British Colonies.II. Formation of an Earthquake Catalogue. More than 100,000 observations of earthquakes have been brought together, 6175 of which have been made use of in the present work. These observations vary much in value ; when they are the result of isolated narratives, gathered from documents of all kinds (but the object of none of which is the special study of earthquakes), we get so-called I historical series,9 generally of little account. If, on the other hand, scientific men have especially busied themselves with these phenomena in any particular country, and have taken careful note of the earthquakes felt by them or reported to them, we


BACKGROUND
Breastfeeding provides significant benefits to mothers and infants. In Australia, although the overall rate of breastfeeding initiation is high (96%), many women stop in the early months postpartum. There are also inequalities between high and low socioeconomic groups, with women in lower socioeconomic groups less likely to initiate or continue breastfeeding. SILC (Supporting breastfeeding In Local Communities) was a program of community-based strategies based on knowledge of the available evidence about breastfeeding and of the current breastfeeding rates and breastfeeding support programs in Victoria. The aim was to develop and evaluate two new strategies for increasing breastfeeding maintenance in Local Government Areas (LGAs) with breastfeeding rates lower than the Victorian state average. The project was funded by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) and was conducted by researchers from the Judith Lumley Centre (formerly Mother & Child Health Research), La Trobe University.
The primary aim of SILC was to explore whether there was an increased proportion of infants receiving any breast milk at four months in LGAs that offered early home-based breastfeeding support by a Maternal and Child Health Nurse (MCHN) for women at risk of early cessation of breastfeeding (herein referred to as the SILC-MCHN), with or without access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre, compared to comparison LGAs implementing standard Maternal and Child Health (MCH) care. Secondary aims were to determine whether there was an increased proportion of infants receiving any breast milk at three and six months in LGAs allocated to providing the SILC interventions compared with 'comparison' LGAs; to compare pre-intervention and post-intervention breastfeeding rates in each LGA and across trial arms; to explore women's reports of breastfeeding problems; to ascertain women's satisfaction with infant feeding support; and to explore the views and experiences of SILC-MCHNs and MCH co-ordinators.
METHODS
The SILC project was designed as a three-arm cluster randomised controlled trial (cluster RCT). Participating LGAs were first divided into three groups, depending on the number of births in each LGA. Within each group, LGAs were then randomly allocated to one of three trial arms:
1. Standard or usual care (comparison arm);
2. Early home-based breastfeeding support by a SILC-MCHN (trial arm 1); or
3. Access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre in addition to home-based breastfeeding support by a SILC-MCHN (trial arm 2).
The evaluation assessed breastfeeding outcomes obtained from routinely collected MCH centre data as well as from postal surveys to women. The research team monitored intervention uptake and assessed whether the interventions were implemented as planned. The intervention programs were pragmatically designed so that if they did increase breastfeeding, they could be readily incorporated into practice in Victoria.
RESULTS
Ten LGAs participated in SILC. Three LGAs were randomly allocated to each intervention arm and four LGAs were allocated to the comparison arm. The SILC interventions ran from July 2012 to March 2013; the first two months of the intervention was a 'run-in' period and data collected during this period were used to provide baseline rates of breastfeeding in each LGA to account for this in the final analysis of breastfeeding outcomes.


Abstract. The aim of this study was to compare the performances of Landsat and SPOT imagery to map wetland vegetation types in the Klipsriviersberg Nature Reserve, South Africa. The Gauteng Conservation Plan 3.3 (C-Plan 3) was used to delineate the boundaries of the wetlands in the study area. According to the plan, the proposed study area falls within the Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA) and Ecological Support Areas (ESA). Limited field data were collected within the boundaries of the wetlands during summer 2015 when the vegetation cover was relatively high. These data identified features including sparse vegetation, dense vegetation, grassland and bare land.Additional samples were added from Google Earth image to increase sample size. Both the field data and Google Earth data were used as reference against which the performances of SPOT and Landsat product were compared. Unsupervised classification was used to classify SPOT and Landsat images acquired in summer 2015. The results showed that overall accuracy of SPOT images is higher than Landsat images. This is attributed to its high spatial resolution of 1.5 m compared to 30 m spatial resolution of Landsat imagery. This indicates that SPOT imagery is recommended to map wetland vegetation diversity in a localised area such as the study area. The current high temporal resolution of the image has also an added advantage that conservationists should exploit.


Abstract Madagascar has approximately 175 species of Odonata. Of the Anisoptera ca 60% is endemic and of the Zygoptera almost 95%. The endemic species can roughly be separated into 'new endemics' that are probably recent arrivals from the African mainland and 'old endemics'. The latter group includes many members of the families Megapodagrionidae, Platycnemididae and Corduliidae, which are much more diverse here than on the African continent. Many of these species belong to endemic genera and appear to be restricted to rainforest habitat. The rate of deforestation on Madagascar is alarming, and therefore the majority of 'old endemics' is potentially threatened. One hundred and eleven species, 64% of the fauna, are listed as being of primary concern and their conservation status needs to be assessed immediately. Research on Madagascar's Odonata is urgently needed in all aspects from basic inventories and systematic work to studies on ecology, biogeography and conservation related issues.


We show that, in the Scottish Vowel Length Rule, the high vowels in the sequences /i#d/ and /##d/ are 68% longer than in the tautomorphemic /id/ and /ud/ sequences, while /ai#d/ is only 28% longer than /aid/. There is no quality difference associated with /i/ and /#/, but long and short /ai/ do differ in quality. Spectral analysis of F1 and F2 trajectories indicates that the prime difference in the vowels due to the SVLR appears to be the timing of formant movements, not the location of the targets in formant space. In the longer vowel of sighed, the rise towards a high front position starts at about 75ms-100ms into the vowel, and in the shorter vowel of side it is aligned nearer the start of the vowel. There are, moreover, genuine target differences which function as a marker of social class.


Although the majority of patients with Lyme disease can be cured with the standard 2-4 week antibiotic treatment, about 10-20% of patients continue to suffer from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). While the cause for this is debated, one possibility is due to persisters not killed by the current Lyme antibiotics. It has been reported that essential oils have antimicrobial activities and some have been used by patients with persisting Lyme disease symptoms. However, the activity of essential oils against the causative agent Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) has not been carefully studied. Here, we evaluated the activity of 34 essential oils against B. burgdorferi stationary phase culture as a model for persisters. We found that many essential oils had varying degrees of activity against B. burgdorferi, with top 5 essential oils (oregano, cinnamon bark, clove bud, citronella, and wintergreen) at a low concentration of 0.25% showing more activity than the persister drug daptomycin. Interestingly, some highly active essential oils were found to have excellent anti-biofilm ability as shown by their ability to dissolve the aggregated biofilm-like structures. The top 3 hits, oregano, cinnamon bark and clove bud, completely eradicated all viable cells without regrowth in subculture. Carvacrol was found to be the most active ingredient of oregano oil showing excellent activity against B. burgdorferi stationary phase cells, while p-cymene and α-terpinene had no apparent activity. Future studies are needed to characterize and optimize the active essential oils in drug combinations in vitro and in vivo for improved treatment of persistent Lyme disease. IMPORTANCE There is a huge need for effective treatment of patients with Lyme disease who suffer from PTLDS. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that B. burgdorferi develops persisters that are not killed by the current Lyme antibiotics as a possible contributor to this condition. Although essential oils are used by patients with Lyme disease with variable improvement in symptoms, their anti-borrelia activity has not been carefully studied. Here we found that not all essential oils have adequate anti-borrelia activity and identified some highly potent essential oils (oregano, cinnamon bark, clove bud) that have even higher anti-persister and anti-biofilm activity than the persister drug daptomycin. Carvacrol was found to be the most active ingredient of oregano oil and have the potential to serve as a promising oral persister drug. Our findings may have implications for developing improved treatment of persisting Lyme disease.


The Sainte-Anne Formation (Châteaupanne Unit, Armorican Massif) consists of immature sandstones conformably deposited upon reefal limestones. Plant debris are abundant in the Saint-Anne sandstones (hence their older name of "Schistes et gres a Psilophytes"), but only rare crinoids and brachiopods have been found. The faunal content is analyzed in detail, consisting of a few columnals of crinoids and brachiopods (Ambocoelia and Plectodonta minor, the most common species). The distribution in space and time of the genus Plectodonta in Europe is analyzed, and allows proposing an Emsian to early Eifelian age for the Sainte-Anne Fm. Consequently, the Sainte-Anne Fm (Armorican Massif) could be the earliest record of the relief created at the beginning of the Variscan orogeny.


The study of the properties of nanostructures in an electric field is very important not only from the fundamental point of view but also for practical applications. According to classical physics, an insulating system will be broken down in a large electric field. Can we predict such a behaviour for nanostructures using ab initio calculation? Such an attempt is made in this paper. The electronic structure and charge distributions of the thinnest (SiO2)n wire in electric field are studied in detail with a first-principles method. It is found that the HOMO–LUMO gap increases with size and saturates at large values of 6.4 eV when , suggesting that the SiO2 chain can be a very good insulating nanowire. However, when the wire is in an applied electric field, the HOMO and LUMO energies of the wire decrease linearly at different speeds, and the gap approaches zero, at which point the insulating wire is broken down by the electric field.


A techno-economical evaluation of the processing result of waste sorting plants should at least provide a realistic assessment of the recovery yields of valuable materials and of the qualities of the obtained products. This practical data is generated by weighing all the output products and sampling these products. Due to the technological complexity of sorting plants, for example, lightweight packaging waste treatments plants and the high expenditures concerning time and costs of sampling with subsequent manual sorting for quality determination, usually only final products undergo such an investigation. Thereby, the transferability of the results depends decisively on the boundary conditions (extent, throughput of the plant, process parameterization). Given that the process is too complex, not all relevant information of the process steps can be determined by sampling. By model calculations and/or adjustment of reasonable assumptions, information concerning weak points in the process can be identified, which can be used for further plant optimization. For the example of the recovery of beverage cartons from co-collected and mechanically recovered mixtures of lightweight packaging waste, a methodical approach for the assessment of processing results will be presented.


As part of JHU´s CAPM Project (http://ldp.library.jhu.edu/projects/capm), Choudhury led the development of an evaluation methodology using multi-attributed, state-preference techniques. Multi-attribute, stated-preference methods feature choice experiments to gather data for modeling user preferences. In the choice experiments, often expressed as surveys, subjects state which alternatives (services or features) they most prefer; the alternatives are distinguished by their multi-attributes. This approach was used to consider tradeoffs in varying attributes for a specific service of access to materials in an off-site shelving facility. Patrons were asked to choose varying times for delivery, access to images, and ability to search full-text, along with differing (hypothetical) fees for each of the attributes.
During the 2002 JISC/CNI Conference, Choudhury mentioned the possibility of integrating the LibQUAL+TM and CAPM assessment methodologies. LibQUAL+TM helps identify gaps in a wide range of library services, but the question of priorities among the gaps is not immediately addressed. The CAPM methodology explicitly explores patrons´ preferences or choices for implementing a particular library service. Given the different, but complementary areas of emphasis and different theoretical underpinnings, there seemed to be potential for an integrated, and more comprehensive, approach. Fundamentally, the `outputs´ from a LibQUAL+TM analysis can provide the `inputs´ for a multi-attribute stated-preference analysis, which acknowledges the need for tradeoffs when making decisions regarding resource allocation. Even with this promising idea, there was arguably too large a difference in the levels of granularity between the two methodologies. Bielefeld´s ProSeBiCA provides the appropriate bridge.


Conformational heterogeneity is key to the function of many biomacromolecules, but only a few groups have tried to characterize it until recently. Now, thanks to the increased throughput of experimental data and the increased computational power, the problem of the characterization of protein structural variability has become more and more popular. Several groups have devoted their efforts in trying to create quantitative, reliable and accurate protocols for extracting such information from averaged data. We analyze here different approaches, discussing strengths and weaknesses of each. All approaches can roughly be clustered into two groups: those satisfying the maximum entropy principle and those recovering ensembles composed of a restricted number of molecular conformations. In the first case, the solution focuses on the features that are common to all the infinite solutions satisfying the experimental data; in the second case, the reconstructed ensemble shows the conformational regions where a large probability can be placed. The upper limits for conformational probabilities (MaxOcc) can also be calculated. We also give an overview of the mainstream experimental observables, with considerations on the assumptions underlying their usage.


In a study extending over five years 35 of 70 excessively overweight patients with subclinical diabetes mellitus who had not significantly changed their weight, demonstrated a further deterioration in glucose tolerance, and manifest diabetes occurred in ten. In the remaining 35 patients who had achieved 20% weight reduction from the initial level glucose tolerance had become normal. The two groups were similar as to age, initial weight, and original degree of glucose intolerance. There was a significant correlation between loss of weight and increased glucose tolerance. No such correlation occurred with subgroups of patients whose initial overweight was more than +100 relative percentage and who had been over 50 years old at the start of the study.


BACKGROUND
Mechanical ventilation used in patients with acute lung injury can damage pulmonary epithelial cells through production of inflammatory cytokines and excess deposition of the extracellular matrix protein lumican. Lumican participates in macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 and transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁) signaling during the fibroproliferative phase of acute lung injury, which involves a process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The mechanisms regulating interactions between mechanical ventilation and lung injury are unclear. We hypothesized that lung damage and EMT by high tidal volume (Vt) mechanical stretch causes upregulation of lumican that modulates MIP-2 and TGF-β₁ through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 pathway.

METHODS
Male C57BL/6 mice (either wild type or lumican null) aged 3 months and weighing between 25 and 30 g were exposed to low Vt (6 mL/kg) or high Vt (30 mL/kg) mechanical ventilation with room air for 2 to 8 h. Nonventilated mice were used as control subjects.

RESULTS
We found that high Vt mechanical ventilation increased microvascular permeability, neutrophil influx, production of free radicals, MIP-2 and TGF-β₁ proteins, positive staining of α-smooth muscle actin and S100A4/fibroblast-specific protein-1, Masson trichrome staining and extracellular collagen, and activation of lumican and ERK1/2 in wild-type mice. Decreased staining of the epithelial marker E-cadherin was also observed. Mechanical stretch-augmented EMT was attenuated with lumican-deficient mice and pharmacologic inhibition of ERK1/2 activity by PD98059.

CONCLUSIONS
The data suggest that lumican promotes high Vt mechanical ventilation-induced lung injury and EMT through the activation of the ERK1/2 pathway.


The numbers of females studying and working in computing progressively decreases disproportionately from early secondary education (age 11-14) to the workforce stage. Many possible contributing factors have been identified and analysed in related research work. This paper presents the findings of a study into issues and interventions in this area and then proposes a path for future work in game-based learning with a focus on the use of Computer Science (CS) learning games.
Over the years, a number of intervention strategies have tried to address the problem but still the downward trend continues. This paper focuses on the role of educational software (ES), which historically may have been part of the problem. It has been argued that the typical educational software is imbued with stereotypic social values which are discouraging to females. Although attempts have been made to make ES more acceptable to females through the design of gender neutral and gender specific software, the female representation continues to decline.
Game-based learning has been used in CS to improve learner motivation; however, these types of games are less popular with females than computer games designed for entertainment. A number of methodologies currently used in elicitation of requirements in designing educational software models comprise of tools and techniques that are predetermined by researchers such as the heuristic assessment, cognitive walkthroughs and aloud protocol which may not be relevant to the audience. We have designed a methodology that elicits criteria from the users to investigate and identify elements in computer games that appeal to females (11-14). The methodology will investigate the demographics data of games played and the elements peculiar to games genera that attracts 11-14-year-old girls. The procedure due to its user-driven nature will ensure that elements used in the model design are motivational to the subgroup of females (11-14). The quantitative and qualitative data collected via our survey is will be reviewed to identify these key elements. The investigation has also examined the elements in computer games that appeal to boys of a similar age group. The similarity or differences in the datasets from our survey will provide an insight into commonalities of game features that appeal to both genders. Furthermore, the "non-cross over elements" will be identified as peculiar features. A combination of these results will be used in proposing a framework for designing Computer Science educational games that will appeal to females in a similar manner computer games has appealed to females (11-14). We then intend to carry out an empirical investigation of the effectiveness of this design model, capturing both qualitative and quantitative data to provide a strong basis for future development.


OBJECT
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has emerged as an adjuvant radiation-based therapy for pituitary adenomas. Here, the authors present a systematic analysis of SRS for growth hormone-secreting adenomas to characterize the efficacy of SRS in the treatment of acromegaly.

METHODS
A comprehensive search of the English language literature revealed 970 patients with new, recurrent, or persistent acromegaly that had been treated using SRS along with assessable and quantifiable outcome data. Articles published between June 1998 and September 2009 were included in the analysis. Patient outcome data were aggregated and investigated based on tumor size, radiosurgery dose, and clinical outcomes both with and without medication.

RESULTS
The overall disease control rate without medication was 48%-53%, and the overall disease control rate with or without medication was 73%. The overall mean duration of the reported follow-up was 48.5 ± 25.8 months. The mean overall tumor volume in this analysis was 2.11 ± 1.16 cm(3). The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient for tumor volume and cure rate was not significant (r = 0.0668, p = 0.8546).

CONCLUSIONS
Data from this analysis suggest that tumor size may not be a significant prognostic factor in disease control after radiosurgery for acromegaly. The overall disease control rate was approximately 48% without suppressive medications after radiosurgery for acromegaly. With the advancement of increasingly sophisticated stereotactic planning and tumor targeting, the precision of radiosurgery may continue to improve in the treatment of acromegaly.


Objective: To determine the frequency of mismatch repair deficiency in colorectal carcinoma determined by immunohistochemistry.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Histopathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, from Aug 2018 to Jan 2019.
Methodology: A total of 101 patients of adenocarcinoma of colorectum who underwent surgical resections and their characteristic and clinical data were recorded. Immunohistochemical stains were performed using antibodies MLH1, MSH2, PMS2 and MSH6. Results were interpreted and mismatch repair deficiency status of all patients was determined. Patients with loss of expression for MLH1, MSH2, PMS2 and MSH6 antibodies were observed and noted.
Results: In this study, out of 101 patients with CRC, 71 (70.3%) were male and 30 (29.7%) female. The mean age was (54 years ± 15.9). Amongst the 101 cases loss of immunohistochemical staining for MMR proteins was noted in 19 patients (18.8%). The combined loss of all four antibodies was seen in one case, loss of MLH1 and PMS2 in 7, MSH2 and MSH6 in 5 and MLH1 only in 6 patients. However, no mismatch repair deficiency was detected in remaining 82 cases. According to statistical analysis no significant association between mismatch repair deficiency and variables was found.
Conclusion: The frequency of mismatch repair deficiency in colorectal carcinoma patients was found to be 18.8% in our population.


Groundwater flow models are important tools in assessing baseline conditions and investigating management alternatives in groundwater systems. The usefulness of these models, however, is often hindered by insufficient knowledge regarding the magnitude and spatial distribution of the spatially-distributed parameters, such as hydraulic conductivity ( K ), that govern the response of these models. Proposed parameter estimation methods frequently are demonstrated using simplified aquifer representations, when in reality the groundwater regime in a given watershed is influenced by strongly-coupled surface-subsurface processes. Furthermore, parameter estimation methodologies that rely on a geostatistical structure of K often assume the parameter values of the geostatistical model as known or estimate these values from limited data. In this study, we investigate the use of a data assimilation algorithm, the Ensemble Smoother, to provide enhanced estimates of K within a catchment system using the fully-coupled, surface-subsurface flow model CATHY. Both water table elevation and streamflow data are assimilated to condition the spatial distribution of K . An iterative procedure using the ES update routine, in which geostatistical parameter values defining the true spatial structure of K are identified, is also presented. In this procedure, parameter values are inferred from the updated ensemble of K fields and used in the subsequent iteration to generate the K ensemble, with the process proceeding until parameter values are converged upon. The parameter estimation scheme is demonstrated via a synthetic three-dimensional tilted v-shaped catchment system incorporating stream flow and variably-saturated subsurface flow, with spatio-temporal variability in forcing terms. Results indicate that the method is successful in providing improved estimates of the K field, and that the iterative scheme can be used to identify the geostatistical parameter values of the aquifer system. In general, water table data have a much greater ability than streamflow data to condition K . Future research includes applying the methodology to an actual regional study site.


Studies in Musical Theatre is the only peer-reviewed journal dedicated to musical theatre. It was launched in 2007 and is now in its seventh volume. It has an extensive international readership and is edited by Dominic Symonds and George Burrows.

This article investigates the use of the 'word' 'Oh' in a variety of different performance idioms. Despite its lack of 'meaning', the sound is used in both conversation and poetic discourse, and I discuss how it operates communicatively and expressively through contextual resonances, aesthetic manipulation and rhetorical signification. The article first considers the aesthetically modernist work of Cathy Berberian in Bussotti's La Passion Selon Sade; then it considers the rhetorically inflected use of 'Oh' to construct social resonance in popular song;finally, it discusses two important uses of the sound 'Oh' which bookend the Broadway musical Oklahoma!, serving to consolidate the allegorical and musico-dramatic narrative of the show.


Web services have the potential to offer the enterprises with the ability to compose internal and external business services in order to accomplish complex processes. Service composition then becomes an increasingly challenging issue when complex and critical applications are built upon services with different QoS criteria. However, most of the existing QoS-aware service composition techniques are simply based on the assumption that multiple QoS criteria, no matter whether these multiple criteria are conflicting or not, can be combined into a single criterion to be optimized, according to some utility functions. In practice, this can be very difficult as these utility functions or weights are not well-known a priori. In addition, the existing approaches are designed to work in certain environments, where the QoS parameters are well-known in advance. These approaches will render fruitless when facing uncertain and dynamic environments, e.g., cloud environments, where no prior knowledge of the QoS parameters is available. In this paper, two novel multi-objective approaches are proposed to handle QoS-aware Web service composition with conflicting objectives and various restrictions on the quality matrices. The proposed approaches use reinforcement learning in order to deal with the uncertainty characteristics inherent in open and dynamic environments. Experimental results reveal the ability of the proposed approaches to find a set of Pareto optimal solutions, which have the equivalent quality to satisfy multiple QoS-objectives with different user preferences.


The occurrence of pulmonary aspergillosis and of precipitins, positive skin tests, and sputum containing abundant Aspergillus fumigatus has been assessed and correlated in a survey of 107 consecutive patients attending hospital in Bristol with various chronic chest diseases. The series included three with aspergilloma, five with allergic aspergillosis, and one with chronic invasive aspergillosis. Of 46 asthmatic patients, 11% had definite and 22% had probable or definite allergic aspergillosis. Seven patients (15%) in the asthmatic group were found to have chronic upper lobe contraction, probably attributable to long-standing allergic aspergillosis. One of these patients developed aspergilloma, and another, invasive aspergillosis. The significance of precipitins is discussed, based on the survey patients together with 21 additional patients who had aspergillosis but were from outside the survey. In the survey patients without definite aspergillosis, precipitins and positive sputum were significantly associated and were found most commonly in patients with asthma, bronchiectasis, or cavitated lungs. Two patients with invasive aspergillosis who had weak precipitins are reported. We think that precipitins reflect recent or continuing fungal growth in body tissues or within damaged bronchi, and that their presence can be a useful indication of occult fungal colonization, which might rarely become invasive if host resistance were lowered as by steroids. Allergic aspergillosis is a more common condition and a more frequent cause of upper lobe damage than has been appreciated.


Land use/cover changes (LUCCs) in megacities can be rapid and extensive and lead to unintended consequences in sustainable watershed management. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of LUCC on hydrological components using Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in Terkos Basin, Turkey. Four LUCC scenarios (deforestation, urbanization, decrease in agricultural land and expansion in agricultural land) were set up regarding possible future land use changes in the watershed. Surface runoff was the main hydrological component that was impacted by LUCCs. Urbanization and conversion into agricultural lands scenarios resulted in considerable increases in surface runoff. Annual change of surface runoff for urbanization and conversion into agricultural lands scenarios was over 45% when compared to the baseline scenario. More remarkable changes were seen in dry months among the scenarios. Controlling the overall response of the hydrological systems to LUCC depends on better understanding of surface runoff processes. LUCC scenarios were also assessed based on freshwater availability components blue water and green water. The average annual total blue water potential, annual total green water flow and average green water storage of studied sub‐basin were 537, 584 and 108 mm/year for the baseline scenario, respectively. The trends of the blue water flow and green water storage were similar for each scenario, in that they were closely related to precipitation. This study provides valuable insight into hydrological impacts of possible land use changes on forested watersheds.


In this article, early career members of the Epidemiology and Environment Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) summarise a selection of five sessions from the ERS 2020 Virtual International Congress. The topics covered include risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases over the life course, from early life origins to occupational exposures in adulthood, and the interplay between these risk factors, including gene–environment interactions. Novel results were also presented on smoking prevention and potential risks of vaping. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for epidemiological and environmental research brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic were a major topic of this year's congress. Highlights of #ERSCongress 2020 from the Epidemiology and Environment Assembly https://bit.ly/3ogC1Me


Recordings of rat's diurnal ad libitum feeding patterns and responses to short term food deprivation suggested that analysis of diurnal feeding rhythms could provide a clue for understanding mechanisms involved in control and regulation of food intake. A simultaneous recording of free feeding patterns and of respiratory exchanges showed that a nocturnal positive energy balance and hyperphagia were mainly due to a diversion of ingested nutrients to fat deposition while negative energy balance and hypophagia during daytime were an effect of fat mobilization and oxidation. Further it was demonstrated that a neuroendocrine diurnal cycle underlined the lipogenesis-lipolysis cycle with hyper-insulinism and glucose tolerance at night, hypoinsulinism and glucose intolerance during the day. Similar phenomena were found along with the human scheduled feeding. Negative correlations between nocturnal lipogenesis and subsequent daytime lipolysis and the diurnal cycle of free fed rats compared to experimentally induced and reversible obesity and to seasonal cycles of hibernators give evidence on the nature of the lipostatic mechanism and its monitoring by hypothalamic ventromedial nuclei.


An ill-informed reading of Adam Ferguson's epitaph has given me an idea for securing posthumous recognition. Consider philosophers in the year 2201 who read my epitaph: 'Here lies Roy Sorensen who will be long remembered for his paradoxes'. If these future scholars remember me, then well and good. If they do not remember me, my epitaph will appear to be rendered false by their failure to recall me. Suppose the poignancy of this self-defeat leads my epitaph to be widely repeated. I thereby acquire ignominy as the forgotten philosopher. But wait! Eventually someone will notice that no one can remember that Roy Sorensen is forgotten. For if someone did remember that Roy Sorensen is forgotten, then he would be forgotten—not remembered. After all, memory implies truth. Thus the self-defeating aspect of my epitaph is itself self-defeating! The happy ending is that my epitaph becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy by a curious kind of double-negation.


In this study, a dynamic, lumped parameter mathematical model was developed for the peripheral auditory system of the goldfish (Carassius auratus). This model expands upon and couples existing models for the swimbladder (anterior chamber) and saccular otolith by including the swimbladder tunica interna and tunica externa, along with the Weberian apparatus. The viscoelastic properties of the tunica externa are based on data from Alexander [J. Exp. Biol. 38, 747–757 (1961)]. Model predictions correlate well with experimental data for swimbladder resonance frequency and damping and with audiograms obtained from behavioral conditioning experiments. Model results indicate that the Weberian apparatus has a major affect on auditory sensitivity throughout the audible frequency range of the goldfish. In addition, specific phase relationships between the Weberian, direct, and indirect contributions to saccular otolith motion are observed for changing source location. [Work supported by ONR Grant No. N00014‐94‐1‐0337.]


OBJECTIVES: To analyse the primary care therapeutic approach to urinary tract infections (UTI), and, a secondary objective, to obtain information on the microbiological profile and resistance to antibiotics in this field, with the aim of making therapeutic recommendations. DESIGN: The UTI diagnosed through systematic checking of sediment and/or culture, requests from health centres are described. SETTING: 9 Health Centres in Palma (Mallorca) during November 1992. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Out of 2,484 requests for sediment and/or uroculture, clinical history was found in 2,033. At the end there were 232 patients whose request for analysis was for suspected UTI, among whom there were 43 recurring cases, which meant a total of 275 cases. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The most frequent germ was Escherichia coli. 68% had complicated UTI. Empirical treatment was carried out in 60.7%. Treatment of the first episode of UTI was with quinolones in 73.3% of cases, with norfloxacine in 44.1%. There was a higher percentage of resistance of Escherichia coli to cotrimoxazole (49.0%), ampicilline-sulbactam (46.4%), ampicilline (42.0%) and cephalexin (31.4%). In 50 cases there was therapeutic failure, due (among the most commonly used drugs) to norfloxacine in 12.4%, to cotrimoxazole in 28.6%, to norfloxacine in 27.3% and to pipemidic in 18.9%. CONCLUSIONS: There are many more specific than empirical treatments as well as excessive use of drugs not recommended as first choice in primary care. The level of resistance to the new quinolones is considerable and is greater still for some antimicrobial drugs used for UTI.


This report documents the fourth Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Intercalibration RoundRobin Experiment (SIRREX-4), which was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on 3–10 May 1995. The agenda for SIRREX-4 was established by a consensus reached at the conclusion of SIRREX-3: there should be an emphasis on training and work to foster and encourage uniform use of accepted protocols for calibrating radiometric instruments in the laboratory. The goal was to host the activity in a setting where proper techniques could be discussed and demonstrated. It seemed appealing to split the day between morning lectures and afternoon laboratory exercises or practicals. The former gave the user community a chance to present what was important to them and discuss it with acknowledged experts in radiometry, while the latter presented a unique opportunity for training and evaluation in the presence of these same experts. The five laboratory sessions were concerned with 1) determining the responsivity of a spectroradiometer and the spectral radiance of an unknown integrating sphere source, 2) demonstrating spectral field calibration procedures for an integrating sphere using three different instruments, 3) measuring spectral radiance using the plaque method, 4) setting up and aligning lamp calibration transfer standards using the NIST specifications for irradiance measurements, and 5) characterizing radiometric instruments. In addition to documenting some supplemental studies performed outside the laboratory sessions, this report includes an evaluation of the hardware that has been used during the SIRREX activities plus a critical evaluation of SIRREX objectives.


Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in the Moloney sarcoma virus (MSV) system was evaluated in terms of the differential ability of IgG and IgM from MSV regressor animals to induce cytotoxicity by lymphocytes from lymph node, spleen, and thymus. The cell-mediated cytotoxicity induced by both IgM and IgG was specific for target possessing the appropriate virally determined cell surface antigen(s). IgM induced cytotoxicity by lymphocytes from all the organs tested. However, differences in magnitude and efficiency were revealed. Lymph node cells and thymocytes were most efficient against IgM-coated target cells. Against IgG-sensitized target cells, spleen and lymph node cells were about equally active, but thymocytes were inactive. Cortisone treatment of the donors of effector cells revealed that the cortisone resistant subpopulation of thymocytes, 2 days after cortisone injection, exhibited an increased cytotoxicity against target cells treated with unfractionated antiserum and its IgM fraction. This subpopulation of thymocytes was also cytotoxic against IgG-coated target cells. At 12 days after cortisone injection, the repopulated thymus showed little change in activity, compared to control thymus, against antibody-coated target cells.


This is the first book to clearly and fully demonstrate the process of using theory to guide nursing research and professional practice. It describes a step-by-step format for evaluating nursing theory's applicability to research, a format that links theory (both middle-range and grand theory) to research on a wide range of clinical populations and care delivery systems. The book describes how theory analysis models are used to examine various nursing phenomena as they relate to nursing research and professional practice, and provides key examples of how this is accomplished. The book takes the reader through the process of using a theory to guide research from inception of a research question to evaluation of future research. International experts in theory-related nursing research describe twelve theories that have previously been applied to research and practice and six theories that can be applied to future research and practice. Using a consistent analytic framework, each chapter applies a specific theory (from either nursing, psychology, sociology, or management) to a particular clinical population or care delivery issue. These encompass clinical, administrative, and educational nursing settings. The consistent format facilitates ease of comparison across different theories. Generous use of figures and tables further demonstrates the complex relationships between and among concepts embedded in the theories. Key Features:* Demonstrates a systematic format for evaluating middle-range and grand nursing theory's applicability to research* Links theory to clinical practice at patient population and care delivery levels* Provides a useful template for students of nursing disciplinary knowledge development* Presents the scholarship of international researchers of theory-related nursing* Includes theories from nursing, psychology, sociology, and management


Milton's presentation of God and Heaven is poetically convincing if various Hebraic elements in the books describing Heaven are closely examined. Hebraic allusions convey the religious and moral justification of God in council and in war and provide the conceptual link between the various scenes in Heaven. The counterpoise of justice and mercy in the dialogue between God and the Son is expressed through verbal echoes from the dialogues of Abraham and Moses with their God. Milton's ironic use of Psalm ii and other Old Testament references enhances the liveliness and dramatic power of the council scene in Book V, and his use of Hebraic figures like the Son's chariot and the angel Abdiel expresses the poet's conception of the war between the heavenly host and the rebel angels in Book VI as a battle in which spirit overcomes force.


Abstract. The complexity of the flow over a wind turbine blade makes its understanding and monitoring a challenging task, especially on operating wind turbines. The innovative electronic TellTale (e-TellTale) sensor is developed for that purpose – detecting the flow separation on wind turbines blades. In this paper, high-Reynolds-number wind tunnel tests have been performed with different configurations of full-scale e-TellTale sensors and wall pressure measurements on a wind turbine blade section. A comparison between the lift curve and the e-TellTale signal was used to evaluate the ability of the sensor to detect flow separation. Results show different interesting properties of the sensor response depending on its size, position along the chord and fitting process that could be used in real applications.


A Mobile Ad-hoc NETwork (MANET) is composed of Mobile Nodes (MNs) without any infrastructure. MNs selforganize to form a network over radio links. In this environment, multicast routing protocols are faced with the challenge of producing multi-hop routing under host mobility and bandwidth constraint. Multicast routing plays a significant role in MANETs. In recent years, various multicast routing protocols with distinguishing feature have been newly proposed. In order to provide a comprehensive understanding of these multicast routing protocols designed for MANETs and pave the way for the further research, a survey of the multicast routing protocols is discussed in detail in this paper. Qualitatively, based on their primary multicast routing selection principle, we show that all these protocols could be placed under one of two broad routing selection categories: multicast routing based on application independence and multicast routing based on application dependence.


The invention relates to a new crystalline form of the methanesulfonic acid addition salt of 4-(4-methylpiperazin-1-ylmethyl)-N-[4-methyl-3-(4-pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-ylamino)phenyl]-benzamide of formula 1, which may be used for example for tumour therapy.


The study was to examine Promotional mix influence towards customer's satisfaction, loyalty and retention in the mobile phone technology.Case study was Airtel customers. The study involved a sample of 100 customers who represented 1000 customers from Ilala, kinondon and temeke district in Dar-es- Salaam region. Questionnaires were mailed to Airtel customers randomly in Dar-es-Salaam. and 60 questionnaires were responded and returned back. This study had three specific objectives; (i) To examine promotional mix influence towards customers 'satisfaction. (ii) To asses promotional mix influences towards customers 'loyalty. (iii) To investigate promotional mix influence towards customers' retention. Data analysis used thesoft science model i.e IBM SPSS 21 version and simple percentage model for data analysis. The study was subjective, descriptive, holistic , exprolatory and qualitative. The study has features of validity, reliability, transferability, dependability, credibility and transferibilty. The hypotheses were formulated and tested. The contingency tables of variables of interest were generated and analysis made.The chi-square test was used to test the three (3)hypothesis of the study at 95% confidence level (error probability, P=0.05) and df 4 values.The study involved independent variables namely Advertisement,sales promotions, public relation, personal selling and direct marketing .The study was concluded the statistical dat a supports the study hypothesis that promotional mix influences customers satisfaction, loyalty and retention in mobile communication.
Key Words: Promotional Mix, Mobile phone Communication, Airte Tanzania Customer's Satisfaction, Loyalty and Retention.


With the growing number of aging population and chronic illnesses, how to help elderly residents access the health care service timely is a challenge for health care institutions in Taiwan. Recent advances in information, communication and biomedical technologies have combined to allow the development of various types of telemedicine technology designed to enhance or expand the health care services of elderly residents. However, most telecare studies focused only on medical care or development of technology rather than on comprehensive evaluation of residents' (or patients') perception about service processes. The purpose of this study was to explore rural residents' perceptions and usage intention of a telecare system after they have used it. Results from this exploratory study showed that most elderly people have never heard or touched telecare systems before the study was conducted. However, the general perceptions of such systems included improvement of interacting with medical staffs, safety protection, convenient care, and one needed item of services in daily life. Especially, the mostly risk perception was privacy risk, that is, data confidentiality and individual privacy. Generally, most elderly residents evaluated their telecare experiences and perceptions as being positive. Besides, most elderly resident were willing to use the telecare system without fees. However, they felt risky about confidentiality and privacy toward this technology. To improve trustworthy perception of this novel technology, telecare providers should implement appropriate safeguards to protect patient health information exchanged in a telecare setting. Also, the physicians/nurses should take the time to communicate with the residents, especially in the form of education, about the benefits of technology. To optimize the effectiveness of this promising technique, more research on the relationship between residents' (or patients') perceptions and influences of technology will need to be conducted continually in future.


In this paper we present the European Union-funded eContent project WebALT—Web Advanced Learning Technologies. The authors' group is building a "significant application which exploits a combination of existing standards for representing mathematics on the web (e.g. MathML and OpenMath) and linguistic technologies in order to enable the creation of language-independent mathematical content" in the form of a web-based repository of exercises for mathematics students. This mathematical content will be particularly well suited for localization in a multilingual and multicultural environment, because problems will be stored in the languageindependent form of content markup and generated for several linguistic and cultural contexts.


E-learning has lately grown into a proliferating area because of its good potentials for instructional and assessment purposes. Context of instruction where e-learning is commissioned can bear implications for the scope and instances of application. The present study addresses the major challenges faced in this respect by Iranian practitioners and also offer some practical solutions to these challenges. As a descriptive study in nature, the data population comprised 350 Iranian citizens from various social, economical and educational backgrounds aged between 16 and 53 who were asked to prioritize six major challenges Iranian people face regarding the e-learning arena on a standardized Likert-type scale. The challenges were selected from among those earlier cited in the related literature. Six major challenges to be prioritized were: lack of government support, lack of public awareness, high costs of e-learning, collectivist society of Iran, low-speed internet, internal filtering and external sanctions. The results indicated that lack of public awareness, lack of government support and collectivist society of Iran were chosen by the participants as the main hurdles in the path of e-learning development in Iran, respectively. Further solutions and implications of the study are discussed in the study.


Corn silk is an economically and nutritionally significant natural product as it represents a staple food for a large proportion of the world population. This study investigated the anticancer activity of corn silk extract in human colon cancer cells and human gastric cancer cells. Following treatment with corn silk extract, certain apoptosis-related events were observed, including inhibition of cell proliferation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), release of Ca2+ and release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol. Our results revealed that corn silk extract inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells and increased the level of apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Western blot analysis revealed that corn silk extract upregulated the levels of Bax, cytochrome c, caspase-3 and caspase-9, but downregulated the levels of B-cell lymphoma 2. These results suggest that corn silk extract may induce apoptosis through the mitochondria-mediated pathway.


Analyze the ways to get fault information for heavy equipment fault diagnosis system, which are the control system of the device, layout sensors to get the key performance parameters, and human-computer interaction. In order to improve accuracy and efficiency of the diagnostic system, the methods of fault location tree retrieval and similar case retrieval are applied respectively according to the difference of fault information content in the diagnosis information database. The diagnosis system introduced in the paper gets effective initial application in the heavy equipment fault diagnosis system.


Considerations surrounding "the Word" among the Uitoto reveal its place within their symbolic universe. The Word is the foundation upon which the Uitotos' speech, doings, knowledge, duties, desire, thought and power
are based; all in all, the Word reflects the mission, perspective and organization of the world they inhabit. The following document is an attempt to present the results of an exploratory research project designed to recognize cultural aspects within Uitoto communities related to what they call "the true Word". This project was concerned mainly with the connections existent between this "true Word" and other symbolic manifestations of Uitoto culture such as the maloca, the mambeadero, the basket of knowledge, coca, tobacco, etc


A complete antenna pattern characterization procedure for spherical near-field antenna measurements employing a high-order probe and a full probe correction is described. The procedure allows an (almost) arbitrary antenna to be used as a probe. Different measurement steps of the procedure and the associated data processing are described in detail, and comparison to the existing procedure employing a first-order probe is made. The procedure is validated through measurements.


Sickle cell disease, particularly in homogeneous state, has significant contribution to the morbidity and mortality of this disorder during crisis. The various types of crises cause changes in different organs of the body, some of which may have long term complications to the sickle cell patient. Most of these changes occur in the abdominal organs, that is the liver, kidneys, spleen, gall bladder as well as the pancreas. Early detection of these changes which are mostly due to vaso-occlusion enables those involved in the care of sicklers to take preventive measures which may help reduce the degree of morbidity and mortality due to sickle cell anaemia. Ultrasound being the most simple, cheap and easily accessible imaging investigation modality, may play an important role in early detection of these changes so that appropriate intervention measures can be carried out. Determination of the pattern and prevalence of abnormal ultrasonographic findings in sickle cell patients in our set up was an important step to enable us decide whether or not there is importance of early ultrasonographic screening for all .sickle cell patients. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the types and prevalence of abdominal ultrasonographic abnormalities in patients with sickle cell disease, attending sickle cell clinics of MNH. Materials and Methods A total of 152 patients with sickle cell anaemia at Muhimbili National Hospital were screened for intra-abdominal abnormalities in the liver, gall bladder, spleen and kidneys from October 2009 to January 2010. Their ages ranged from 3 to 46 years. 32% were below the age of 10 years and 79% below 20 years. 41.4% were males and 58.6 % were females. All patients were homozygous for HbSS. None of the patients had any clinical evidence of acute sickle cell crisis at the time of ultras ono graphic examination. At the time of examination, 4 (2.6%) patients had undergone splenectomy and 2 (1.3%) patients had undergone cholecystectomy. VIII Results The most frequent US findings were hepatomegaly (28.3%), splenomegally(22.4%) and cholelithiasis (17%). Bright liver was identified in 19(12.5%) patients, increased renal echogenicity in 15(10%) patients, shrunken spleen in 14(9%) patients, and renal enlargement in 6 (4%) patients. Biliary sludge was identified in 4(3%) patients, autosplenectomy in 10(6.6%) patients and renal cysts in 5(3%) patients. Conclusion In conclusion, abdominal US imaging of patients with sickle cell anaemia revealed a significant prevalence of abdominal abnormalities, in the liver, gall bladder, kidneys, and spleen. Recommendations There is a need to conduct further similar studies in order to establish the average prevalent rates for each of the abdominal pathologies in sickle cell patients Also there is a need for correlation studies, to establish whether or not there is any association between US findings and biochemistry changes in these patients


ABSTRACT:Multispectral imaging—the process of obtaining image data from a range of both visible and invisible wavelengths—is a new frontier in medieval studies, raising the possibility of recovering damaged or palimpsested texts that have been illegible for centuries. In this paper we show the remarkable results of applying this technology to University of X, MS D.460 1000-003, a previously unidentified single-folio fragment that was gifted to the university in 1968. Formerly used as a limp vellum binding for a seventeenth-century volume, the text has become so worn that it is all but completely unreadable to the naked eye. The fragment has consequently received little scholarly attention prior to our investigation. Our team recovered nearly all of the lost text and identified the fragment as an excerpt from Richard FitzRalph's Summa de Questionibus Armenorum. Although this text survives in 45 other manuscripts and fragments, our discovery is highly significant because the Rochester fragment is the only copy of any of FitzRalph's works in a non-European collection. Moreover, the fragment, whose handwriting dates to no later than 1370, may be the oldest extant copy of the Summa by at least half a decade. We present the process of this discovery, our conclusions about the text, and the potential for multispectral imaging to unlock new information hidden in known but understudied fragments held in archival collections around the world.


Purpose: The purpose of this prospective 3-year follow-up was to investigate the association of glucose, insulin, and cholesterol levels with peripheral nervous system function in overweight and obese subjects. Methods: Forty nondiabetic overweight and obese adults were enrolled, of whom 29 completed the follow-up. Peripheral nervous system function was measured and defined by conduction studies of the peroneal motor nerve and the radial, sural, and medial plantar sensory nerves. Serum insulin and glucose levels were determined with an oral glucose tolerance test, and cholesterol levels were measured. The measurements were performed at baseline and after 3 years. Results: The change in serum insulin level at 120 minutes after an oral glucose tolerance test was positively associated with changes in peroneal nerve conduction velocities and F-wave mean, sural nerve conduction and medial plantar nerve conduction velocities. Action potential amplitudes decreased consistently and significantly in all sensory nerves. Conclusions: The change in serum insulin level at 120 minutes appears to be positively associated with changes in nerve conduction velocities more than 3 years but not with nerve action potential amplitudes. Significant decreases in the action potential amplitudes of all sensory nerves suggest that such changes might be the earliest detectable sign of damage to the peripheral nervous system in overweight and obese people without type 2 diabetes.


Solid state lighting presents a new paradigm for lighting - controllability. Certain characteristics of the lighting environment can be manipulated, because of the possibility of using multiple LEDs of different emission wavelengths as the illumination source. This will provide a new, versatile, general illumination source due to the ability to vary the spectral power distribution. New effects beyond the visual may be achieved that are not possible with conventional light sources. Illumination has long been the primary function of lighting but as the lighting industry has matured the psychological aspects of lighting have been considered by designers; for example, choosing a particular lighting distribution or color variation in retail applications. The next step in the evolution of light is to consider the physiological effects of lighting that cause biological changes in a person within the environment. This work presents the development of a source that may have important bearing on this area of lighting. A circadian light source has been developed to provide an illumination source that works by modulating its correlated color temperature to mimic the changes in natural daylight through the day. In addition, this source can cause or control physiological effects for a person illuminated by it. The importance of this is seen in the human circadian rhythm's peak response corresponding to blue light at ~460 nm which corresponds to the primary spectral difference in increasing color temperature. The device works by adding blue light to a broadband source or mixing polychromatic light to mimic the variation of color temperature observed for the Planckian Locus on the CIE diagram. This device can have several applications including: a tool for researchers in this area, a general illumination lighting technology, and a light therapy device.


The pathway for hepatic glycogen synthesis in the postprandial state was studied in meal-fed rats chronically cannulated in the portal vein. Plasma glucose concentration in the portal vein was found to be 4.50 +/- 1.01 mM (mean +/- SE; n = 3) before a meal and 11.54 +/- 0.70 mM (mean +/- SE; n = 4) after a meal in rats meal-fed a diet consisting of 100% commercial rat chow for 7 d. The hepatic-portal difference of plasma glucose concentration showed that liver released glucose in the fasted state and either extracted or released glucose after feeding depending on plasma glucose concentration in the portal vein. The concentration of portal vein glucose at which liver changes from glucose releasing to glucose uptake was 8 mM, the Km of glucokinase [E.C. 18.104.22.168]. The rate of glycogen synthesis in liver during meal-feeding was found to be approximately 1 mumol glucosyl U/g wet wt/min in rats meal-fed a 50% glucose supplemented chow diet. The relative importance of the direct vs. indirect pathway for the replenishment of hepatic glycogen was determined by the incorporation of [3-3H,U-14C]glucose into liver glycogen. Labeled glucose was injected into the portal vein at the end of meal-feeding. The ratio of 3H/14C in the glucosyl units of glycogen was found to be 83-92% of the ratio in liver free glucose six minutes after the injection, indicating that the majority of exogenous glucose incorporated into glycogen did not go through glycolysis. The percent contribution of the direct versus indirect pathway was quantitated from the difference in the relative specific activity (RSA) of [3H] and [14C]-glycogen in rats infused with [3-3H,U-14C]glucose. No significant difference was found between the RSA of [3H]glycogen and [14C]glycogen, indicating further that the pathway for glycogen synthesis in liver from exogenous glucose is from the direct pathway. Our results do not support the thesis that the majority of liver glycogen is synthesized from glucose-6-phosphate derived from gluconeogenesis. Reasons for the discrepancy between current findings and other reports supporting the indirect pathway for glycogen synthesis in the liver are discussed.


In the time it will take you to read this editorial eight patients will be injured, and one will die, from preventable medical errors. Medication error—wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong route of administration, wrong patient, wrong time—is the most common single preventable cause of patient injury. When all sources of error are added up the likelihood that a mishap will injure a patient in hospital is at least 3% and probably much higher.1–4 This is a serious public health problem. When one considers that a typical airline handles customers' baggage at a far lower error rate than we handle the administration of drugs to patients, it is also an embarrassment.

Given the prevalence of errors in our work, and given also that one of our first principles is "first do no harm," it is strange that we talk so little in our hospitals and consulting rooms about this problem. Perhaps it is because we tend to view most errors as …


The antigen levels of components of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) system of plasminogen activation are correlated with prognosis in several types of cancers, including breast cancer. In the present study involving 2780 patients with primary invasive breast cancer, we have evaluated the prognostic importance of the four major components of the uPA system [uPA, the receptor uPAR (CD87), and the inhibitors PAI-1 and PAI-2]. The antigen levels were determined by ELISA in cytosols prepared from primary breast tumors. The levels of the four factors significantly correlated with each other; the Spearman rank correlation coefficients (r(s)) ranged from 0.32 (between PAI-2 and PAI-1 or uPAR) to 0.59 (between uPA and PAI-1). The median duration of follow-up of patients still alive was 88 months. In the multivariate analyses for relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), we defined a basic model including age, menopausal status, tumor size and grade, lymph node status, adjuvant therapy, and steroid hormone receptor status. uPA, uPAR, PAI-1, and PAI-2 were considered as categorical variables, each with two cut points that were established by isotonic regression analysis. Compared with tumors with low levels, those with intermediate and high levels showed a relative hazard rate (RHR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of 1.22 (1.02-1.45) and 1.69 (1.39-2.05) for uPA, and 1.32 (1.14-1.54) and 2.17 (1.74-2.70) for PAI-1, respectively, in multivariate analysis for RFS in all patients. Compared with tumors with high PAI-2 levels, those with intermediate and low levels showed a poor RFS with a RHR (95% CI) of 1.30 (1.14-1.48) and 1.76 (1.38-2.24), respectively. Similar results were obtained in the multivariate analysis for OS in all patients. Furthermore, uPA and PAI-1 were independent predictive factors of a poor RFS and OS in node-negative and node-positive patients. PAI-2 also added to the multivariate models for RFS in node-negative and node-positive patients, and in the analysis for OS in node-negative patients. uPAR did not further contribute to any of the multivariate models. A prognostic score was calculated based on the estimates from the final multivariate model for RFS. Using this score, the difference between the highest and lowest 10% risk groups was 66% in the analysis for RFS at 10 years and 61% in the analysis for OS. Moreover, separate prognostic scores were calculated for node-negative and node-positive patients. In the 10% highest risk groups, the proportion of disease-free patients was only 27 +/- 6% and 9 +/- 3% at 10 years for node-negative and node-positive patients, respectively. These proportions were 86 +/- 4% and 61 +/- 6% for the corresponding 10% lowest risk groups of relapse. We conclude that several components of the uPA system are potential predictors of RFS and OS in patients with primary invasive breast cancer. Knowledge of these factors could be helpful to assess the individual risk of patients, to select various types of adjuvant treatment and to identify patients who may benefit from targeted therapies that are currently being developed.


Since achieving low and stable inflation alongside economic growth considered as the ultimate goals of central banks and success in macroeconomic performance, on this paper effectiveness of monetary policy in Iran is investigated. In other words, the aim of this study is to determine optimal monetary policy rule to stabilize output gap and inflation deviation. In this way, using Dynamic Programming, monetary policy maker's loss function with respect to monetary transmission mechanism constraints will be minimized and optimal monetary policy rule is extracted. In this paper, to evaluate optimal rule changes during the 1994-2015, the total time period is divided into two periods 1994-2004 and 2005-2015 and the efficiency monetary policy changes in two periods examined and compared. The results of optimization and achieving optimal monetary rule in the first and second period shows the sensitivity of policy makers to deviations of inflation and output gap in the second period has increased than the first period. And also, the reaction of money supply growth rate to output gap was more severe than inflation deviation in the whole period. According to the estimated results, policy makers could increase economic growth in the short term by monetary expansion but should accept higher inflation and lower long-term growth during 2005-2015. In the other words, policy makers obtain benefits by monetary contraction in the form of lower inflation and long-term economic growth.


The ongoing implementation of e-government has brought many governments to consider issuing digital identity cards. This thesis focuses on the impact of digital identity cards on the citizen's privacy. Potential privacy threats are discussed and countermeasures that pertain to enhancing privacy are proposed. We advocate that digital identity should not solely be based on elements that disclose a citizens identity. Instead this thesis proposes a concept for digital identity cards that includes an anonymous component. This proposed approach is different from the approach taken by the current pro jects for digital identity cards. We propose a concept that comprises pseudonymous credentials as part of the citizen's digital identity. We discuss current implementations of pseudonymous credential systems and consider problems resulting from the implementation in resource-restricted smart card environments. We discuss requirements for the use of credentials as part of the citizen's digital identity. We discuss conceptual issues that must be addressed for a deployment of credentials. We consider the infrastructure that is necessary to support pseudonymous credentials. We discuss conceptual issues such as the choice of credential system, devices for the secure storage of credentials, non-transferability and revocation of digital credentials. An architecture is proposed that supports the use of the extended form of digital identity. We discuss barriers that must be overcome on the way to implementation. With the ongoing migration towards digital identity cards, we expect that privacy will become an issue of growing importance. This thesis contributes to the discussion on privacy in the domain of e-government and proposes anonymous services based on pseudonymous credentials as a means to alleviate potential privacy problems related to the use of electronic identity cards.


In taking heed of the so-called 'spatial turn' in social theory this paper explores how the spatial intersects with boys' performances of gender and (dis)pleasures in school physical education (PE). In particular, the paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how the organisation and implementation of physical and social spaces in PE can be seen as enabling or restricting boys' participation and enjoyment in this subject. The research setting was a multicultural single-sex boys' secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand which is widely known for its strong focus on sports and especially rugby. The data was generated through a participatory visual research approach involving video recordings, focus groups and individual interviews. In order to interpret the data I draw on Foucault's theorising of the disciplinary use of space, what he calls 'the art of distributions', to examine the co-construction of gender, space and (dis)pleasures within boys' PE. I demonstrate how through their performances of gender, as shaped by discourses and relations of power associated with sport and masculinity, the boys capitalise on the spaces of PE to highlight them as productive and pleasurable spaces.


RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Guidelines recommend inviting family members of intensive care unit (ICU) patients to rounds. We aimed to create a toolkit to support family participation in ICU bedside rounds, based upon evidence from research and in collaboration with ICU family member representatives and healthcare providers.

METHODS
Ethnographic observations of rounds and interviews and focus groups with family members and ICU healthcare providers were analyzed for key themes, barriers and facilitators of participation, and suggestions. A full day workshop with family representatives and providers (physicians, nurses, social workers, and unit managers) from a diverse range of adult ICUs in Western Canada, including several community ICUs and a majority of large, urban ICUs enabled the collaborative development of key toolkit elements.

RESULTS
We have developed an evidence-informed approach to patient-and-family-centered rounds that highlights the importance of six key elements foundational to patient and family centered rounds: Invitation, Orientation, Engagement, Summary, Questions, and Communication Follow-Up. We describe strategies, techniques, and templates to optimize these elements and interactions so that communication is more meaningful, and to facilitate the ability of family members to adopt a meaningful role as contributing members of the care team.

CONCLUSION
There is consensus on general strategies for facilitating family participation in rounds and meaningful communication between family and the healthcare team during rounds as an important element of the continuum of communication in the ICU. The incorporation of these elements should be standardized, though tailored to user needs.


Coal gangue was used as the main material to fabricate floor tiles in this paper. The mixture of coal gangue, quartz, feldspar and bentonite, with the weight percentage of 55, 20, 20 and 5, was wetly milled, dried, and then pressed into green compacts. The obtained compacts were sintered at 1180-1240 oC and the floor tiles were obtained. The obtained tiles were characterized by XRD, SEM, linear shrinkage, water absorption, bulk density and flexural strength. The results indicate that the tiles were composed of glassy phases, quartz and mullite phases. The phase composition, microstructure, physico-mechanical properties of the samples change with the sintering temperature. The tile sintered at 1220 oC achieves the linear shrinkage, water absorption and bulk density values of 6.18%, 0.16%, 2.45 g/cm3, respectively. Its flexural strength reaches the maximum of 92.0 MPa.


Abstract Objectives: To evaluate the impact of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on the vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs), to assess interpretation of these regulations, and to evaluate changes in hospital vaccination policies. Design: Between June 1, 1992, and August 15, 1992, a telephone survey was conducted among 150 hospitals selected randomly from participants in the American Hospital Association 1991 annual survey. Results: Of the 150 hospitals, 96 (64%) provided information on hepatitis B vaccination coverage of their employees. Of the 103,419 employees in these hospitals, 77,302 (75%) were eligible to receive the hepatitis B vaccine, and 38,850 (51%) of these were vaccinated completely (had received 3 doses of vaccine). Following issuance of the final regulations, 73% of hospitals reported greater employee acceptance of hepatitis B vaccine, and hospitals were more likely to offer hepatitis B vaccine to maintenance workers, security personnel, dietary staff, and clerical personnel. Seventy-five hospitals (59%) reported conducting postvaccination serologic testing on all hospital employees, 12 (8%) as a result of OSHA regulations. Twenty-three hospitals (16%) reported administering routine booster doses of hepatitis B vaccine at 3, 5, or 7 years. Conclusions: The new OSHA standard resulted in a greater awareness of risk for HBV infection among HCWs and an increase in the number of HCWs receiving hepatitis B vaccine; however, vaccination coverage remained suboptimal. Postvaccination serologic testing of employees with negligible risk and the routine administration of vaccine booster doses may be diverting resources and preventing comprehensive coverage of high-risk employees.


GH receptor (GHR) mRNA is expressed in bovine in vitro produced embryos up to the blastocyst stage and GH improves the quality of bovine embryos by increasing blastocyst cell numbers and reducing the incidence of apoptosis as evaluated by DNA strand-break labelling. Porcine in vitro produced blastocysts have lower cell numbers than in vivo blastocysts and exhibit higher incidences of apoptosis. Therefore we investigated the effects of 100 ng GH/ml NCSU23 medium during in vitro culture of presumptive in vitro fertilized sow zygotes on embryo development and blastocyst quality (defined by diameter, cell number, apoptosis and survival after non-surgical transfer). In vivo produced blastocysts were analysed concurrently as a reference value. GHR was expressed in embryos from the 2-cell to blastocyst stages. GH had no effect on blastocyst development or cell numbers, but increased the mean blastocyst diameter. The incidence of apoptosis, detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL), was decreased by GH, but when non-TUNEL-labelled apoptotic fragmented nuclei were included, no difference was seen. GH appeared to slow down the progression of apoptosis though. In vivo produced blastocysts presented no apoptotic nuclei, and contained higher cell numbers and larger diameters. Pregnancy rates on day 11 were similar for all groups, but survival was poorer for in vitro than in vivo produced blastocysts. In this study GH appeared to be beneficial only from the blastocyst stage, but the presence of GHR from early cleavage stages nevertheless indicates a role for GH throughout porcine embryo development and deserves further investigation.


New and existing tunnels can present structural risks related to surrounding geotechnical and hydrological conditions as well as unknowns related to design assumptions and construction materials. Such risks can materialize through the apparition of abnormal deformations, cracks, water ingress or, in the worse cases, collapse. The localization of such events or their precursor signs is a-priori unknown, so traditional instrumentation in chosen cross-sections is ineffective for damage detection and localization. Regular visual inspection is more effective in terms of detection probability, but is typically limited in terms of temporal intervals between visits. Additionally, tunnels are often difficult to inspect since the access is restricted due to operational reasons. If such structural risks have been recognized in the design phase or have been identified by inspection, installing a distributed fiber optic sensing system allows a permanent monitoring of the tunnel over its whole length. Sensing cables are typically installed longitudinally along the tunnel length at different positions around the section and provide detection and localization or abnormal deformations and settlements, formation or development of cracks and unusual temperatures. This contribution presents the application of distributed optical fiber sensing to the permanent monitoring of a highway, a railway and a penstock tunnel. For each project we provide information about the system design, installation and monitoring results.


In vitro studies of drug absorption processes are undertaken to assess drug candidate or formulation suitability, mechanism investigation, and ultimately for the development of predictive models. This study included each of these approaches, with the aim of developing novel in vitro methods for inclusion in a drug absorption model. Two model analgesic drugs, ibuprofen and paracetamol, were selected. The study focused on three main areas, the interaction of the model drugs with co-administered antacids, the elucidation of the mechanisms responsible for the increased absorption rate observed in a novel paracetamol formulation and the development of novel ibuprofen tablet formulations containing alkalising excipients as dissolution promoters.Several novel dissolution methods were developed. A method to study the interaction of drug/excipient mixtures in the powder form was successfully used to select suitable dissolution enhancing exicipents. A method to study intrinsic dissolution rate using paddle apparatus was developed and used to study dissolution mechanisms. Methods to simulate stomach and intestine environments in terms of media composition and volume and drug/antacid doses were developed. Antacid addition greatly increased the dissolution of ibuprofen in the stomach model.Novel methods to measure drug permeability through rat stomach and intestine were developed, using sac methodology. The methods allowed direct comparison of the apparent permeability values obtained. Tissue stability, reproducibility and integrity was observed, with selectivity between paracellular and transcellular markers and hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds within an homologous series of beta-blockers.


Landscape complexity provides opportunities for local adaptation and creates population genetic structure at limited geographic scales. We determined if fine-scale genetic structure was evident in a population of ringtails (Bassariscus astutus) inhabiting the Guadalupe Mountains, a small, isolated, and ecologically diverse mountain range in the southwest United States. We hypothesized that ringtails would exhibit either a genetic pattern of isolation by distance (IBD), because their small body size would most likely limit dispersal distances, or a pattern of isolation by resistance (IBR), because the topographical complexity of the mountain range would result in complex dispersal patterns. To investigate for the presence of fine-scale genetic structure in this population, we genotyped 153 ringtails at 15 microsatellite loci and described genetic structure using 2 Bayesian clustering techniques. Six genetic clusters were identified revealing complex spatial genetic structure within a localized geographic area. We used partial Mantel tests to test for a correlation between genetic distance and geographic distance or resistance distance but found no evidence for a genetic pattern related to IBD or IBR. We subsequently tested for an association between genetic structure and isolation by environment (IBE) using a discriminant function analysis and classified a high proportion of individuals (> 91%) to their observed genetic cluster based exclusively on landscape features. We also used a nonparametric, multivariate analysis of variance to further explore the role of land-cover type and found that plant association explained 26% of the genetic variation. These results suggest that IBE influences the genetic structure of ringtails at local geographic scales, a finding that deserves consideration in conservation planning.


All four stereoisomers of carnosadine were shown to be accessible from the lactone (1) or the diester (10) (or their enantiomers). Members of the cis series (Z-cyclo-Arg') were obtained via a sequence involving opening lactone (1) with ammonia, Hofmann rearrangement, and incorpora- tion of the guanidine group via an azide (3). The trans series (i.e. The E-cyclo-Arg' series) was prepared via a route which is similar, except that it begins with hydrolysis of the less hindered ester functionality of diester (10). Products from both series were manipulated into protec- ted forms for peptide synthesis using the BOC or the FMOC approach


Gate-level simulators are usually thought of in terms of their benefits to logic designers, while behavioral simulators are considered to be the province of system architects. However, the behavioral modeling capabilities of a multilevel gate/behavioral simulator significantly enhanced the performance and accuracy of what are essentially gate-level simulations. The Behave simulator is a multilevel simulator that can simulate circuits at several levels of abstraction¿behavioral level, gate level, or a mixture. Zero delay and rank order capability are also available in Behave and can be used to advantage. For example, in a simulation of an array multiplier involving 10,000 vectors, the time decreased from 16 hours to 38 minutes, simply because the elements were rank ordered. This range of processing is possible because of the flexibility in software for general-purpose CPUs.


Primary commodities are used as inputs into all production processes, yet they account for approximately 16 percent of world trade. Despite their share in trade, we show that the aggregate gains from trade are largely understated if we ignore key features of commodities: low price elasticities of demand (difficulty in finding substitutes), low price elasticities of supply, and high dispersion of natural resources across countries. We develop a general-equilibrium model of consumption, production, and input-output linkages that explicitly accounts for these features. Our simulations confirm that the gains from trade are significantly larger, especially when considering large trade cost changes.


We propose an approach to model a robotic hand as a hybrid discrete-continuous dynamical system. The discrete event aspect is the grasp state specifying whether fingers are in contact or not. The hybrid approach yields a comprehensive model of a closed-hoop controller for dextrous (re)grasping. Insights in the closed-loop behavior and compensation strategies for discrete state errors due to object geometry modeling errors are presented. Simulations validate the hybrid systems approach to regrasping.


Fish-habitat associations in streams have been widely studied; however, temporal considerations have been neglected, particularly during the winter. We quantitatively sampled perennial headwater streams in the Missouri Ozarks during the summer (n = 13) and winter (n = 4) to evaluate possible habitat shifts by three benthic fishes at two spatial scales: channel unit and microhabitat. Density of all three headwater species in streams was generally lower in winter than summer, with some species being ubiquitous in channel units of streams during the summer and almost entirely absent from the same streams during winter. Presence of each of three species during the summer varied by stream and channel unit, but patterns of channelunit use did not change depending on stream sampled. Ozark sculpin (Cottus hypselurus) was more likely to be present (> 50% probability) in riffles and runs, but not pools. Fantail darter (Etheostoma flabellare) was much more likely to be found in riffles than other channel units whereas rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) was more likely to occur in runs or pools than riffles. During winter, each of the three species was equally likely to be present or absent from any of the channel units indicating a more general use of channel units. However, each of the three species used deeper microhabitats within pools and slower-velocity areas of riffles during winter compared to summer. Results of this study indicate benthic, headwater species used habitat more generally during cold-water periods compared to warm-water periods, but density estimates indicated changes in channel unit use occurred in some streams and patterns of fine-scale microhabitat shifts did occur.


Designing a sustainable and economical distillation system is a big global challenge in the industrial chemical field. To address this issue, one of most promising solutions is the so-called dividing wall columns addressed in this work, which not only can cut energy cost but also use limited installation space. An improved shortcut design approach is developed in this work to provide accurate models for each section of dividing wall columns; meanwhile Underwood's and Gilliland's equations are employed to determine minimum reflux ratio and total number of stages in different column sections in terms of corresponding design specifications and operating conditions. This proposed approach has been applied to separations of mixtures of hydrocarbons and alcohol with different values on the ease of separation index. To test its effectiveness, the preliminary design parameters obtained through the improved proposed shortcut method are further validated by a rigorous simulation in Aspen HYSYS. Furthermore, the results indicate that this method could provide much more accuracy of average interconnecting stream composition of the prefractionator and main column than those of other methods. In practice, this method has been applied to a case of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) separation with three targeted products in an industrial liquefied petroleum gas plant. The applications and efficiency of the shortcut method in this study lay a theoretical foundation for designing the separation of ideal mixtures involving dividing wall columns.


Since the late 2010s, there has been renewed debate about the merits and demerits of progressive wealth taxation. This debate has largely been motivated by the increase in wealth concentration in recent decades. In the United States, the share of total household wealth owned by the top 0.0001 percent wealthiest Americans—a group that includes 18 individuals with more than $50 billion in wealth in 2021—has been multiplied tenfold since Forbes started publishing data on the richest Americans in 1982. Wealth concentration has increased particularly fast during the COVID-19 pandemic (see Figure 1). All estimates show a dramatic increase in wealth concentration since the late 1970s (see Saez and Zucman 2020 for a discussion of the data and reconciliation of the various estimates). Moreover, as wealth concentrated, the ratio of wealth to national income doubled from less than three in the late 1970s to over six in 2021. Top-end wealth is large relative to the economy and therefore a sizable potential tax revenue source (Saez and Zucman 2019a). To shed light on the practicality and desirability of taxing wealth, this paper studies the historical experience with wealth taxation in Europe. Using new research on the distribution of wealth over time in Europe, we show that the European wealth taxes had a narrow base, due to large exemptions, tax avoidance, and tax evasion. We explain why such exemptions were granted and how they undermined European wealth taxes, leading in many cases to their repeal. Drawing lessons from this experience, we conclude by laying out the design and enforcement features that are required for a successful wealth tax in the twenty-first century. We compare this ideal wealth tax to proposals recently made in the United States.


This paper looks at how differing conceptions of justice (Eriksen 2016) are reflected in, and impact upon, the EU's efforts in the thematic area of ethno-national conflict resolution. As seen in the case studies of Serbia - Kosovo (Tomic 2020) and Cyprus (Diez 2019), the EU's conflict resolution policy has been characterised by inconsistency. In each case, the EU showed potential for different approaches to justice to be utilised however the focus predominantly remained within a state-centred, approach. As ethno-national conflicts are based on a variety of factors, including territorial disputes, identity, culture and historical injustice, the limitations of justice within such a framework become evident, highlighting the potential of alternative justice models. Simultaneously the EU has aligned its conflict resolution strategy to its ongoing integration and enlargement policies. With enlargement directly linked to the EU's efforts in conflict resolution, the two case studies show that the EU's lack of coherence, vis-a-vis its enlargement strategy, prevents it from effectively contributing to ethno-national conflict resolution within its integration policy. In those cases where the EU membership is not the primary aim, the EU's vision portrays a tentative balance between different approaches to global justice with consequences for policy coherence and effectiveness (Tomic and Tonra 2018). The conclusion provides a summary of considerations to be made for the EU's role in global justice and ethno-national conflict resolution to be better aligned.


Estimation of the CO2 plume from monitoring data is needed in order to assure safe carbon sequestration in geological formations. Synthetic field measurements and numerical simulations are used to estimate the plume position and obtain a better understanding of the characteristics of geological formations that govern the CO2 flow. The challenge is to be able to give an accurate prognosis of the plume location with relatively few monitoring observations while dealing with uncertainties and model error. We use the TOUGH2 program, which is a numerical simulator for multi-phase fluid and heat flow in porous and fractured media, along with the ECO2N module, specific for CO2 flow in brine. This model describes the coupling of flow and transport processes in heterogeneous geologic systems. The optimization program 'Stochastic RBF' is used to calibrate the model parameters. Stochastic RBF has proven to be computationally efficient for environmental models that are computationally expensive. It is a derivative-free method, which makes it easier to use in conjunction with a complex nonlinear simulation model. We use three-dimensional saline aquifers with different geological characteristics for the application. We show that estimating shale permeability is critical to determine the plume shape and position, while other facies higher permeabilities can be estimated with less accuracy with little effect on the estimate of the location of the CO2 plume. We also investigate how parameter lumping affects the calibration and the amount of measurements needed in order to accurately estimate plume position. In many cases, it has been found that pressure measurements suffice, while other types of measurements are needed in cases with more parameters to estimate. The plume position can be determined with a correlation coefficient equal to 87 percent with our method with a minimal amount of measurements and number of simulations. Using only pressure observations and no gas saturation samples, a slightly smaller correlation coefficient was obtained.


Incorporation of zeolite into polyurethane (PU) membranes was investigated by using as-synthesized and calcined zeolite beta particles at two different loading contents (0.1 and 1 wt %). The chemical interaction between the zeolite beta crystals and PU was observed by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The SEM results suggested that the calcined zeolite beta crystals were more homogeneously dispersed in the composite membranes than the as-synthesized zeolite beta crystals. DMA results demonstrated that all composite membranes had higher storage modulus in the rubbery state and higher stability towards thermal and mechanical degradation with respect to the control groups. Tensile testing results also showed increased tensile strength and elongation at break for all composite membranes. This study suggests that incorporating zeolite beta in its as-synthesized or calcined forms and at different amounts can be applied as an alternative method for tailoring the mechanical properties of PU membranes without changing its structural characteristics.