Measures of presidential satisfaction have long been in the public's attention, but the factors that drive them have brought about much discussion. As a contribution to the literature, this study empirically examines presidential approval data in the Philippines using a unique survey of 1200 low-income voting age residents of Metro Manila. Using individual-level data, this study unpacks the possible factors underpinning survey results on citizens' satisfaction with leadership in the Philippines. While accounting for the personal circumstances of the respondents, this study finds evidence of bandwagoning among survey respondents; and partial evidence of personal economic conditions and disinformation possibly linked to presidential satisfaction. The findings here suggest there should be more caution in interpreting presidential satisfaction indicators.


Recent advances in research on compressed caches make them an attractive design point for effective hardware implementation for last-level caches. For instance, the yet another compressed cache (YACC) layout leverages both spatial and compression factor localities to pack compressed contiguous memory blocks from a 4-block super-block in a single cache block location. YACC requires less than 2% extra storage over a conventional uncompressed cache. Performance of LLC is also highly dependent on its cache block replacement management. This includes allocation and bypass decision on a miss as well as replacement target selection which is guided by priority insertion policy on allocation and priority promotion policy on a hit. YACC uses the same cache layout as a conventional set-associative uncompressed cache Therefore the LLC cache management policies that were introduced during the past decade can be transposed to YACC. However, YACC features super-block tags instead of block tags. For uncompressed block, these super-block tags can be used to monitor the reuse behavior of blocks from the same super-block. We introduce the First In Then First Use Bypass (FITFUB) allocation policy for YACC. With FITFUB, a missing uncompressed block that belongs to a super-block that is already partially valid in the cache is not stored in the cache on its first use, but only on its first reuse if any. FITFUB can be associated with any priority insertion/promotion policy. YACC+FITFUB with compression turned off, achieves an average 6.5%/8% additional performance over a conventional LLC, for single-core/multi-core workloads, respectively. When compression is enabled, the performance benefits associated with compression and FITFUB are almost additive reaching 12.7%/17%. This leads us to call this design the Synergistic cache layout for Reuse and Compression (SRC). SRC reaches the performance benefit that would be obtained with a 4X larger cache, but with less than 2% extra storage.


Gait analysis together with musculoskeletal modeling is widely used for research. In the absence of medical images, surface marker locations are used to scale a generic model to the individual's anthropometry. Studies evaluating the accuracy and reliability of different scaling approaches in a pediatric and/or clinical population have not yet been conducted and, therefore, formed the aim of this study. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) and motion capture data were collected from 12 participants with cerebral palsy and 6 typically developed participants. Accuracy was assessed by comparing the scaled model's segment measures to the corresponding MRI measures, whereas reliability was assessed by comparing the model's segments scaled with the experimental marker locations from the first and second motion capture session. The inclusion of joint centers into the scaling process significantly increased the accuracy of thigh and shank segment length estimates compared to scaling with markers alone. Pelvis scaling approaches which included the pelvis depth measure led to the highest errors compared to the MRI measures. Reliability was similar between scaling approaches with mean ICC of 0.97. The pelvis should be scaled using pelvic width and height and the thigh and shank segment should be scaled using the proximal and distal joint centers.


This paper presents a predicted model of surface roughness of radial relief for resharpening end-mill. This model is constructed using a polynomial network. The major factors affecting grinding parameters are considered to be wheel spindle speed, feedrate, and grinding depth of cut. Experiments under specified conditions are deliberately designed and conducted to obtain the corresponding tested data for surface roughness that are used for training data of the proposed polynomial network. Consequently, a predicted model for surface roughness is established. Furthermore, a computer program in VB language is written based on this model. It can quickly calculate predicted values of surface roughness by simply inputting required cutting parameters. According to the experimental results, the developed polynomial network model shows high predicting capability on surface roughness of radial relief, and possesses promising potential in the application of predicting surface roughness in resharpening end-mill operation.


Semantic Web is regarded as the next generation of the World Wide Web. It provides not only the structure of the Web but also meaningful semantics for the information presented. To make semantic Web services understandable for distributed agents, formal definitions of the ontologies and their consistencies are essential. However, the existing tools for reasoning about semantic Web ontologies are still primitive. We believe that mature software engineering tools, such as theorem provers, can contribute to the reasoning phase. In this paper, we present an approach of encoding the semantic Web ontology (DAML+OIL) into the generic theorem prover Isabelle/HOL for automatic reasoning. Furthermore, a translation tool was developed to transform semantic Web ontologies into their extended Isabelle theories. With additional intermediate lemmas, Isabelle can be used to perform both subsumption (class) level and instantiation (instance) level reasoning of the semantic Web ontologies.


What is it about movement in cells that commands our attention? What biologist has not enjoyed turning a microscope on a cell, almost any cell, really, and watching all the commotion? When vesicles, mitochondria, chloroplasts, nuclei, or chromosomes move, we are being treated to an elegant, easily observable manifestation of molecular events. Decades of effort to understand intracellular movement have given rise to two of the great thrusts of modern cell biology: the study of which things go where, usually referred to as intracellular trafficking; and the identification of the protein machines that generate movement, the molecular motors. But we have an incomplete picture of how the cell's array of motor proteins gives rise to the variety of journeys that their cargoes make. The kinesin motors that generate movement along microtubule tracks are a case in point (Vale and Fletterick 1997). As with other motor proteins, the dyneins or myosins, the study of kinesin by the methods of molecular genetics has demonstrated that kinesins are a large family of related motor proteins present across all eukaryotic phyla, and numbering 30–40 members in humans and mice (Kim and Endow 2000; http://www.blocks.fhcrc.org/kinesin). Most analysis of this diversity thus far indicates that different kinesins serve to move different cargoes in the cell (Manning and Snyder 2000). So, where does the trafficking information for the motor proteins reside? What is the cargo "receptor" for kinesin, and what specific protein–protein interactions govern this important matchmaking in the cell? Most work on this question has focused on the first kinesin family member to be discovered, so-called "conventional" kinesin, or kinesin-I. In the case of kinesin-I, the ER membrane protein kinectin has been proposed to be a cargo receptor, but its restricted cellular and phylogenetic distributions (Toyoshima and Sheetz 1996; Goldstein and Gunwardena 2000) have prompted some investigators to look further.

This search has recently borne fruit: two groups have reported that kinesin-I binds to cargoes via a set of proteins involved in intracellular signaling (Bowman et al. 2000; Verhey et al. 2001). The proteins, JIP-1, JIP-2, and JIP-3, are thought to serve as scaffolding proteins for the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway (Davis 2000). The high affinity and specificity of kinesin binding to the JIP proteins indicates that the complex pairing of motors and cargoes will soon be on the same footing with other protein–protein interactions essential to membrane traffic. Perhaps more exciting, these results connect the organization of organelle traffic with that of cell signaling: whereas the JIP proteins themselves apparently function to hold enzymes of the JNK pathway in proximity to each other, their interaction with kinesin-I may also determine the collective spatial organization of the signaling pathway within the cell.

One potential kinesin receptor was identified by Bowman et al. 2000 when they screened Drosophila melanogaster mutants for elements of the machinery of movement other than the motor proteins themselves. They examined larvae with potential axonal transport phenotypes previously seen in kinesin-I mutants (Hurd and Saxton 1996; Gindhart et al. 1998), and identified a Drosophila homologue of the proposed mammalian JNK scaffolding protein, JIP-3. It was clearly essential for transport in Drosophila, as mutant larvae had accumulations of vesicles along the axons of their segmental nerves. GFP-tagged JIP-3 protein was expressed in CV-1 cells, where it colocalized with kinesin-I and with Golgi and early secretory vesicles, but not with mitochondria or the ER-to-Golgi intermediate compartment. When they probed the interaction of kinesin-I and JIP-3 by yeast two-hybrid analysis and coprecipitation methods, they found that the NH2-terminal domain of JIP-3 bound a region of the kinesin light chain (LC) that contains six tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) motifs (Blatch and Lasle 1999). They propose that JIP-3 (which they named Sunday Driver) is an organelle membrane protein whose interaction with kinesin is required for transport.

In retrospect, it is not surprising that potential cargo receptors specifically bind the TPR domain of the kinesin LC. Kinesin-I is a heterotetramer comprised of 2 LCs and two heavy chains (HCs; see Fig. 1). It has been thought for some time that the kinesin tail region binds to the motor's cargo (Vale and Fletterick 1997). Both the HCs and LCs occupy this region of the tetramer, but the preponderance of genetic and biochemical data indicate that the LCs are important or even essential for cargo binding (Yu et al. 1992; Stenoien and Brady 1997; Gindhart et al. 1998; Tsai et al. 2000). Furthermore, the TPR domain of the LC stands out specifically as a likely binding site because antibodies directed against it disrupt kinesin–cargo interactions (Stenoien and Brady 1997), and it has well characterized, specific protein binding properties (Blatch and Lasle 1999).

Figure 1

Kinesin-I is a heterotetramer formed by a coiled-coil interaction between two heavy chains (HCs) and the binding of a LC to the COOH-terminal region of each HC. Each HC has an NH2-terminal catalytic motor domain that interacts with a microtubule during ...

The study by Verhey et al. 2001(this issue) used this view of the LC as a point of departure. They employed the kinesin LC TPR domain as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen of a mouse brain cDNA library and fished out three binding partners for kinesin: not only JIP-3, but also JIP-1 and JIP-2, which are unrelated to JIP-3, but very similar to each other. Closer examination of kinesin–JIP binding confirmed that the LC TPR domain binds the NH2-terminal region of JIP-3. But JIP-1 and JIP-2 resembled more closely other TPR-binding proteins, in that they interacted with kinesin via their COOH termini. Verhey et al. 2001 found that the mutation of a single tyrosine three residues from the COOH terminus eliminated JIP-1 binding to kinesin. This surprising result invites comparisons between motor–cargo binding and tyrosine-based sorting signals for protein traffic (Bonifacino and Dell'Angelica 1999). So kinesin binds, but does it deliver? To address this, they examined the distribution JIP-1 in neuronal cell lines (Fig. 2) and found that the kinesin-I/JIP-1 interaction was necessary for JIP-1 to accumulate in the tips of the neurites. They propose that the transport of JIP-1 to the neurite tip by kinesin-I is important in neuronal development.

Figure 2

Immunofluorescent staining of differentiating CAD cells shows the expression and localization of endogenous JIP-1 (left) and tubulin (right) proteins. In cells that have not yet begun to extend neurites (arrow at left), JIP-1 expression and localization ...

But is this really to do with signaling pathways, or is JIP-1 doing double duty as a kinesin receptor? When Verhey et al. 2001 examined whether kinesin also carries any of the signaling proteins that are thought to bind to the JIP-1 scaffold, they identified one kinase in the kinesin/JIP-1 complex that functions upstream of the JNK pathway. Also present was ApoER2, a membrane receptor that may serve as the link between a kinesin/JIP-1 complex and the cargo membrane. They suggest that the link between kinase scaffolding proteins and kinesin motors serves not only to localize membrane proteins and conventional cargoes, but to provide motor-driven spatial regulation of cytoplasmic signaling pathways.

So, is it time to start drawing seminar slides of kinesin-based transport centered on these two classes of receptors, JIP-1/2 and JIP-3? Of course not! Already another cargo receptor for kinesin-I has been identified: the amyloid precursor protein, a well-known membrane protein that also interacts with the LC TPR domain (Kamal et al. 2000). In addition, there is good evidence that some cargoes bind the kinesin LC, via other receptors, outside the TPR domain. For example, although several classes of organelles are thought to be moved by kinesin-I, Verhey et al. 2001 found that blocking the binding of the kinesin LC TPR domain to other proteins did not disrupt the organelle distribution in CAD cells. Also, antibody disruption of binding to the LC only displaces about one-third of the kinesin-I from vesicles (Yu et al. 1992), even when the antibodies are directed specifically against the TPR domain (Stenoien and Brady 1997). And it remains possible that some cargoes bind not the LCs, but the HCs, of kinesin-I at least in some organisms. Not only can the HCs of heterotetrameric kinesin-I bind vesicles in vitro (Skoufias et al. 1994), but Neurospora crassa kinesin, which lacks LCs completely, binds its cargo via a site on the HC that is highly conserved among members of the kinesin-I family (Seiler et al. 2000).

The existence of many motor protein receptors, with or without signaling functions, seems not only likely but essential, given the plethora of motors and cargoes in the cell. Indeed, receptors or signaling molecules that bind to other kinesin family members have been reported already (Nagata et al. 1998; Nakagawa et al. 2000; Setou et al. 2000). If you would like to take part in the construction of the phylogenetic tree of motor protein receptors, you had better order your PCR primers soon.


Chemical Transformations of Nanomaterials (CTNMs) is a powerful method to modify as-synthesized nanomaterials into forms with novel composition and structure. CTNMs allows access to nano-based materials that are difficult to synthesize by conventional means, including metastable materials through partial transformations. These new nanomaterial forms can have property and stability advantages when used for energy applications. This short review highlights recent research progress in chemical transformations of non-metallic nanomaterials as a means to create useful energy materials, such as metastable structures, with a focus on fuel cell catalysts and battery technologies. In addition to discussing progress with chemically transformed materials, this review briefly highlights several metastable materials that have been used for energy applications but were synthesized through conventional means. Synthetic protocols of CTNMs could be used to produce these metastable energy materials, which may result in novel properties. Finally, the review concludes with a forward looking perspective of metastable materials that have yet to be synthesized, but are good candidates for catalysis/batteries as metastable materials. These proposed systems could yield next generation catalysts/battery materials.


There is a growing interest on large-width asymptotic properties of Gaussian neural networks (NNs), namely NNs whose weights are initialized according to Gaussian distributions. A well-established result is that, as the width goes to infinity, a Gaussian NN converges in distribution to a Gaussian stochastic process, which provides an asymptotic or qualitative Gaussian approximation of the NN. In this paper, we introduce some non-asymptotic or quantitative Gaussian approximations of Gaussian NNs, quantifying the approximation error with respect to some popular distances for (probability) distributions, e.g. the $1$-Wasserstein distance, the total variation distance and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov distance. Our results rely on the use of second-order Gaussian Poincar\'e inequalities, which provide tight estimates of the approximation error, with optimal rates. This is a novel application of second-order Gaussian Poincar\'e inequalities, which are well-known in the probabilistic literature for being a powerful tool to obtain Gaussian approximations of general functionals of Gaussian stochastic processes. A generalization of our results to deep Gaussian NNs is discussed.


Spectrally characterizing exoplanet atmospheres will be one of the fastest moving astronomical disciplines in the years to come. Especially the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope
(JWST) will provide spectral measurements from the near- to mid-infrared of unprecedented precision. With other next generation instruments on the horizon, it is crucial to possess the tools necessary for interpretating observations. To this end I wrote the petitCODE, which solves for the self-consistent atmospheric structures of exoplanets, assuming chemical and radiative-convective equilibrium. The code includes scattering, and models clouds. The code outputs the planet's observable emission and transmission spectra. In addition, I constructed a spectral retrieval code, which derives the full posterior probability distribution of atmospheric parameters from observations. I used petitCODE to systematically study the atmospheres of hot jupiters and found, e.g., that their structures depend strongly on the type of their host stars. Moreover, I found that C/O ratios around unity can lead to atmospheric inversions. Next, I produced synthetic observations of prime exoplanet targets for JWST, and studied how well we will be able to distinguish various atmospheric scenarios. Finally, I verified the implementation of my retrieval code using mock JWST observations.


The regulation of the sexually differentiated metabolism of 4-[4-14C]androstene-3,17-dione and the presence of PRL receptors in rat liver were studied. Electrolytic lesions in male rats placed in a restricted area in the anterior hypothalamic periventricular area caused a feminization of hepatic steroid metabolism (i.e. increased the 5 alpha-reductase and decreased the 6 beta- and 16 alpha-hydroxylase activities) and of the levels of PRL receptors (increased binding of [125I]-labeled human PRL). After periventricular lesions, histochemical analysis revealed a decrease in somatostatin-like immunoreactive cell bodies in the periventricular area. Also the number of immunoreactive somatostatin fibers in the median eminence was dramatically reduced. Somatostatin levels in the median eminence, as measured by RIA, were reduced to approximately 2-10% of control values after periventricular lesions. Large lesions in the amygdaloid complex in male rats caused a partial feminization of hepatic steroid metabolism and PRL receptors. Passive immunization during 4 days by multiple injections of an antiserum generated against somatostatin resulted in a partial feminization of the male rat liver. When somatostatin was injected into female rats, the PRL receptors were reduced to approximately 60% of the control female receptor levels. The present study indicates that the anterior periventricular hypothalamic area is important in the control of the sexually differentiated steroid metabolism and PRL receptors in the liver and that the amygdaloid complex also may have regulatory influences on this system. A possible central neuro-endocrine mediator of these sex differences in the liver could be somatostatin or a related compound.


The aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of motivation on profession and field choice scale (Mayr 1998). Construct validity of the scale was analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was carried out using the data obtained from 216 pre-service teachers attending to Hacettepe University, Faculty of Education. The findings reveal that the scale has four-factor construction in parallel to its original and that its Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients of subscales vary between 0,85 and 0,73. The factor structure of the scale found was tested with a confirmatory factor analysis based on the data obtained from another sample including 371 pre-service teachers. The findings of the analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the scale. Therefore, the Turkish version of the scale that has four dimensions of intrinsic and extrinsic field choice, and intrinsic and extrinsic profession choice is valid and reliable.


Although much public attention has focused on the US digital TV transition- and the resulting reallocation of analog TV channels by auction to wireless carriers - the US Federal Communications Commission will decide how to reallocate an even larger swath of prime TV band spectrum this year: the unused "white space" between occupied DTV channels. This reallocation of unused spectrum from broadcasting to broadband permits unlicensed access for both fixed and mobile applications. Although this policy is strongly supported by high-tech companies and consumer advocates, it's just as strongly opposed by broadcast licensees and other incumbent users of the TV band.


The objectives of this study were to identify staphylococci isolated from different animal clinical samples, to examine some of the virulence factors in the isolates, to determine relationships between these virulence factors and coagulase positive Staphylococcus (CoPS)/coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) strains. A total of 180 strains of Staphylococcus spp. were isolated from bovine mastitis, dogs with otitis externa and chickens with various infections. The isolates were identified as S. aureus (29.4%), S. hyicus (16.7%), S. intermedius (3.9%), S. chromogenes (16.1%), S. lentus (13.3%), S. epidermidis (11.1%), S. simulans (7.8%) and S. haemolyticus (1.7%). The rate of positiveness for deoxyribonuclease (DNase) test, thermonuclease (TNase) test, presence of the capsule, slime and biofilm formation, hemolysis, and hemagglutination tests for CoPS strains were 42.2%, 43.3%, 53.3%, 77.8%, 74.4%, 58.9%, 46.7%, and for CoNS strains were 54.4%, 5.6%, 13.3%, 44.4%, 36.7%, 28.9% and 41.1%, respectively. The virulence factors which were investigated were determined CoNS and CoPS strains. Thus, it was thought that CoNS strains might be as dangerous as CoPS strains for both animals and humans.


Recent studies show that ADH‐stimulated water flow across toad bladder may be regulated at a site other than the luminal membrane. In these studies luminal membrane particle aggregate frequency has been used as a measure of luminal membrane water permeability. In fully stretched bladders the relationship between total tissue permeability and aggregate frequency is curvilinear, rather than linear. This implies a resistance in series with the luminal membrane that can become rate‐limiting for water flow during ADH stimulation. The possibility that transtissue water movement is actually regulated at such a post‐luminal membrane resistance is suggested by the finding that within 30 min following exposure to hormone, water flow becomes attenuated without any change in aggregate frequency. Supporting this possibility, recent data from follow‐up studies suggest that the apparent water permeability per luminal membrane aggregate is not reduced with time. Finally, for bladders in which prostaglandin synthesis is inhibited (by naproxen), increases in both base‐line water flow and water flow consequent to treatment with a submaximal dose of ADH (0.125 mU/ml), are much less than expected from simultaneously observed changes in luminal membrane aggregate frequency. In parallel experiments to these, moreover, direct measurements of luminal membrane water permeability from the rate of change of cell volume consequent to a transluminal membrane osmotic challenge, confirm that luminal membrane water permeability increases to the extent expected from changes in aggregate frequency. All of the data taken together argue for a post‐luminal membrane barrier in toad bladder which regulates tissue permeability during ADH stimulation.


Sayong fired clay is a raw material for Labu Sayong craft making in Malaysia. Labu Sayong is a pottery where it's functioning as a water vessel which the design and form was adapted from the pumpkin. Basically, the term labu is a pumpkin and Sayong is a location in Kuala Kangsar, Malaysia. Hence, it was called Labu Sayong to signify the origin of the clay and its uniqueness. Originally, Labu Sayong appeared in black with decoration on its surface where the motive of the decoration was inspired from flora and fauna. In present, Labu Sayong is one ofthe most iconic ofthe
national heritage. In this thesis, the aim and motivation of the work is to revive the appearance of Labu Sayong by introducing the luminescent effect on its body without compromising its original appearance. Hence, SrAlz04:(Eu z+,Dy +) ceramic compound was employed as a candidate for the luminescent materials. In the
preliminary investigation, it was concluded to apply the luminescent materials on the decoration of the Labu Sayong. The SrAlz04:(Eu 2+,Dy +) was successfully synthesized and sintered at 1250°C for 2 hours. In this investigation, the use of glazing technique was introduced as a mean to mount the luminescent materials on Labu Sayong body. This had affected the originality of the Labu Sayong but it was very minimal. In present, there is also modification performed by other craft makers to give an added value to the Labu Sayong. Thus, the low temperature transparent glaze was composed with several recipes as an adhesive to the luminescent materials to the Labu Sayong body. The final recipes used as a mounting adhesive was 80% boric acid, 10% kaolin and 10% silica as sintered at 800oe/O.5 hours. Finally, it was determined that SrAlz04:(Eu z+,Dy +) powder was successfully mounted on the Labu Sayong body via under glaze technique. The glowing of the luminescent materials was successfully measured using a photometer. The highest luminescent effect was 2.509 cd/rrr' for 2 minutes for the sample of on glaze technique. However the longest luminescent effect was 6 minutes with 0.358 cd/rrr' for under glaze sample. In general all samples were faded after 6 minutes. Finally this finding will benefit other researches and ceramic artist to embark on this innovative technique on other product and artwork and also to revive the Labu Sayong appearance as another of the significant national heritage icon as well as to preserve it.


Abstract:In this empirical study, the author assesses an argument advanced by several scholars that the framework for the selection of standards of review articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Dunsmuir v New Brunswick leads to less deference being shown by judges to administrative decision makers than the prior pragmatic and functional approach. An examination of the Court's voting record in 177 cases dating back to Pushpanathan v Canada suggests that, to the contrary, members of the Court have shown greater deference to administrative decision makers in the years since Dunsmuir was decided than they did under the prior framework. For example, the rate at which the correctness standard was selected after a standard of review analysis was undertaken decreased from 43 per cent before Dunsmuir to 17 per cent in subsequent years. The rate at which members of the Court voted to overturn administrative decisions after identifying the applicable standard decreased from 38 per cent before Dunsmuir to 23 per cent thereafter. While a multiple regression analysis to control for confounding factors was not undertaken, these changes appear to flow from a change in the Court's approach rather than from factors such as changes in the composition in the Court or changes in the kinds of cases that were heard after Dunsmuir. The author suggests, however, that this shift in approach is not necessarily inherent to the Dunsmuir framework itself and that there are signs that the Court may have already begun to adopt a somewhat less deferential posture.


This technical note serves as the main reference for the updated Aqueduct™ 4.0 water risk framework. It details the data and methodology used to create 13 indicators of global water risk. Indicators reflect both current conditions and future projections of water supply, demand, stress, and more. This paper also describes how water risks can be aggregated into categories of risk, such as physical and quality, as well as administrative risk.


This paper presents findings from a longitudinal field study of web-design undertaken in a webdevelopment company. The main contribution is a comparison of some early predictions on the implications of the increased usage of www-technologies for more complex information systems and core findings from two field studies of a specific web-development work setting. The two studies are snapshots from a longitudinal study. Focus in the studies has been on organization of the development work, essential characteristics of the development work, and core characteristics of the products developed. Many of the core problems to be handled in web-based information systems (WIS) development are quite analogous to challenges known from "traditional" information systems development, although the pace and the number of involved competencies increase, there is a lack of standards in many areas, and there is an increase in communication problems between the different competence groups.


This paper investigates the feasibility of the application of a hybrid HVDC transmission system for the grid integration of offshore wind farms. The proposed hybrid HVDC consists of a pulse width modulated current source converter (PWM-CSC) and a line-commutated converter (LCC). The PWM-CSC is connected to the offshore wind farm and the LCC connects the onshore grid. The hybrid topology takes advantages from self-commutated converters as well as LCCs. On the one hand, LCC-based HVdc is the most mature technology with the lowest power losses and lowest cost. On the other hand, PWM-CSC has the same features that a voltage source converter for offshore applications, i.e., the ability to operate without an external commutation voltage, reactive power control capability, and a relative small footprint. Moreover, both the PWM-CSC and the LCC are current source converters and hence the coupling can be effortlessly done. The control design for the entire system is presented and verified using numerical simulations. Simulations are performed using PSCAD/EMTDC under different conditions including changes in the wind speed and ac and dc faults.


We present 88 multi-epoch Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) images (most at an observing frequency of 8 GHz) of 20 TeV blazars, all of the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac (HBL) class, that have not been previously studied at multiple epochs on the parsec scale. From these 20 sources, we analyze the apparent speeds of 43 jet components that are all detected at four or more epochs. As has been found for other TeV HBLs, the apparent speeds of these components are relatively slow. About two-thirds of the components have an apparent speed that is consistent (within 2σ) with no motion, and some of these components may be stationary patterns whose apparent speed does not relate to the underlying bulk flow speed. In addition, a superluminal tail to the apparent speed distribution of the TeV HBLs is detected for the first time, with eight components in seven sources having a 2σ lower limit on the apparent speed exceeding . We combine the data from these 20 sources with an additional 18 sources from the literature to analyze the complete apparent speed distribution of all 38 TeV HBLs that have been studied with very long baseline interferometry at multiple epochs. The highest 2σ apparent speed lower limit considering all sources is . This suggests that bulk Lorentz factors of up to about 4, but probably not much higher, exist in the parsec-scale radio-emitting regions of these sources, consistent with estimates obtained in the radio by other means such as brightness temperatures. This can be reconciled with the high Lorentz factors estimated from the high-energy data if the jet has velocity structures consisting of different emission regions with different Lorentz factors. In particular, we analyze the current apparent speed data for the TeV HBLs in the context of a model with a fast central spine and a slower outer layer.


determine eligibility for bezlotoxumab infusion at an outpatient infusion center. Since exacerbation of congestive heart failure is a potential side e ff ect of bezlotoxumab, patients with heart failure were excluded from the analysis. Results: Datafrom hospitalizationsof patients withCdi ff colitis (June2022 → June2023-N81) were collected.Wefurtherexcludedpatients whoeither leftAgainst medical advice(3) orexpiredduringthesame hospitalvisit (2) and patients withhistory of heart failure(9). Out of the remaining 67 patients identi fi ed as having CDI, 37 (55%) patients were considered appropriate candidates forbezlotuxamab infusionfor prevention of CDI. However, bezlotoxumab infusion was recommended in only 3 patients (8%). Conclusion: TworandomizedcontrolledtrialshaveshownreducedCIDrecurrenceafterinitialcureat12weekswithuseofbezlotoxumab.However,bezlotoxumabremainsunderutilizedforpreventionofCDI. Increase in awareness about this intervention may reduce CDI recurrence.


Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an extremely powerful tool in the field of bionanotechnology because of its ability to image single molecules and make measurements of molecular interaction forces with piconewton sensitivity. It works in aqueous media, enabling studies of molecular phenomenon taking place under physiological conditions. Samples can be imaged in their near-native state without any further modifications such as staining or tagging. The combination of AFM imaging with the force measurement added a new feature to the AFM technique, that is, molecular recognition imaging. Molecular recognition imaging enables mapping of specific interactions between two molecules (one attached to the AFM tip and the other to the imaging substrate) by generating simultaneous topography and recognition images (TREC). Since its discovery, the recognition imaging technique has been successfully applied to different systems such as antibody-protein, aptamer-protein, peptide-protein, chromatin, antigen-antibody, cells, and so forth. Because the technique is based on specific binding between the ligand and receptor, it has the ability to detect a particular protein in a mixture of proteins or monitor a biological phenomenon in the native physiological state. One key step for recognition imaging technique is the functionalization of the AFM tips (generally, silicon, silicon nitrides, gold, etc.). Several different functionalization methods have been reported in the literature depending on the molecules of interest and the material of the tip. Polyethylene glycol is routinely used to provide flexibility needed for proper binding as a part of the linker that carries the affinity molecule. Recently, a heterofunctional triarm linker has been synthesized and successfully attached with two different affinity molecules. This novel linker, when attached to AFM tip, helped to detect two different proteins simultaneously from a mixture of proteins using a so-called "two-color" recognition image. Biological phenomena in nature often involve multimolecular interactions, and this new linker could be ideal for studying them using AFM recognition imaging. It also has the potential to be used extensively in the diagnostics technique. This Account includes fundamentals behind AFM recognition imaging, a brief discussion on tip functionalization, recent advancements, and future directions and possibilities.


Vision Transformers (ViT)s have recently become popular due to their outstanding modeling capabilities, in particular for capturing long-range information, and scalability to dataset and model sizes which has led to state-of-the-art performance in various computer vision and medical image analysis tasks. In this work, we introduce a unified framework consisting of two architectures, dubbed UNetFormer, with a 3D Swin Transformer-based encoder and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and transformer-based decoders. In the proposed model, the encoder is linked to the decoder via skip connections at five different resolutions with deep supervision. The design of proposed architecture allows for meeting a wide range of trade-off requirements between accuracy and computational cost. In addition, we present a methodology for self-supervised pre-training of the encoder backbone via learning to predict randomly masked volumetric tokens using contextual information of visible tokens. We pre-train our framework on a cohort of $5050$ CT images, gathered from publicly available CT datasets, and present a systematic investigation of various components such as masking ratio and patch size that affect the representation learning capability and performance of downstream tasks. We validate the effectiveness of our pre-training approach by fine-tuning and testing our model on liver and liver tumor segmentation task using the Medical Segmentation Decathlon (MSD) dataset and achieve state-of-the-art performance in terms of various segmentation metrics. To demonstrate its generalizability, we train and test the model on BraTS 21 dataset for brain tumor segmentation using MRI images and outperform other methods in terms of Dice score. Code: https://github.com/Project-MONAI/research-contributions


At the centre of one of the most well-known and seemingly intractable societal conflicts in modern history, a movement of Jewish and Palestinian Israelis has tried over the decades to work towards equality, a shared society, and positive inter-group relationships. Within this movement is the community of Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom ('Oasis of Peace' in Arabic and Hebrew), where 30 Jewish families and 30 Palestinian families have chosen to live together and run educational outreach projects to share their theories about peace and equality with others in Israel-Palestine. Key to this moral endeavour is dialogue, which really means being able to talk through difference; villagers believe in talking with each other despite the political and social barriers that may stand in their way, and making those very socio-political differences into objects of discussion.
This thesis, based on 17-months fieldwork in Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom, explores three puzzles with implications for the mission of the community as well as anthropological theory. First, what kind of language ideologies underlie the idea of talking as a tool for peace? Second, what concept of difference do community members have, given the potentially negative implications of either emphasizing or downplaying difference? Third, what motivates people in social movements to live their ethical ideals
in the everyday?
Given the highly politicised context in which the villagers live, and the moral objectives they live by, even seemingly banal linguistic choices can affect relationships. Friendships across difference can be formed, strengthened, or fall apart as the result of verbal and non-verbal interactions — energising those involved when they go well and producing feelings of discomfort or embarrassment when they do not. In sum, this thesis suggests that everyday ethical approaches to difference draw on a mixture of political awareness and sensitivity, explicit theories about the way to engage with others, and the internal dynamics of interactions. These internal dynamics bring up moments of ambiguity that require reflection but also provide the potential for people to challenge their differences and how best to deal with them.


Clinical observations were made to assess the value of standard transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation apparatus for enhancement of osteogenesis. Pulse width and rate were adjusted to obtain maximum stimulation time. Electrode placements were selected dependent on the presence of plaster immobilization, accessibility of the fracture site, and anatomical limitations. In all cases, minimal current intensities were used because earlier studies stressed microamperage levels. Linear, crossed, and transverse electrode placement patterns were used. Standard equipment was used, including monophasic and biphasic units with single and dual channels. Three case reports were cited in which fractures had been nonunited for at least six months prior to study. The patients administered the stimulation daily at home, with rented units, for one month before reevaluation. Radiographic changes reported were fibrous bridging and early ossification activity. Interestingly, the patients reported decreases in pain even though electrode placements were not optimal for analgesic effects. This simple, safe, effective, and inexpensive technique for stimulating early osteogenesis with nonunited fractures is suggested as a routine procedure with all fractures.


Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent and capable of self‐renewal. ESC aggregates, termed embryoid bodies (EBs), have been widely adopted as an in vitro differentiation model. However, the mass production of uniform size and shaped EBs has been challenging. Herein is described the development of a culture plate containing a large number of concave microwells with minimal use of tools, labor, skill, and cost, enabling the production of a large number of homogeneous EBs simultaneously using the culture plate. The large number of concave well structures is self‐constructed through the surface tension of the viscoelastic PDMS prepolymer. Murine ESCs (mESCs) are then seeded onto the concave wells for mass production of monodisperse EBs. It is observed that the EBs produced over a large area are uniform in shape and size regardless of microwell position and differences in cell seeding densities, and whether their phenotype is maintained. The capability to differentiate into adult cells (neuron and endothelial cells) from EBs is also evaluated and the neural spikes from differentiated neuron cells are measured to observe their function. Uniform size and shape EBs are successfully generated in large scale and their pluripotency is maintained similar to other methods.


We aimed to develop a micro-robot that can crawl on contact surfaces in biological environments. The prototype chassis of this micro-bot consists of a lipid membrane that encapsulates and bonds micro-sized magnetic particles. By applying a rotating magnetic field, we hope to obtain a micro-crawler robot. In this report, we describe our observations of the rotational movement of liposomes (10–60 µm in diameter) encapsulating magnetic particles following manipulation of an external magnetic field using a neodymium magnet. Since this robot actively makes contact with the external environment, it will be possible to salvage some important molecule from the contact surface. It is expected that development of this system will lead to the development of new diagnostic and treatment systems.


BACKGROUND: In order to plan the pertinent surgical technique for each patient with melanoma or other skin malignancies, it is mandatory to identify those lymphatic basins at risk for metastases. The advent of radiotracers for functional studies of the cutaneous lymphatic system during the last decade has resulted in the disclosure of an unexpected interindividual variability of the lymphatic drainage in both head and neck and trunk. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the usefulness of lymphoscintigraphy for depicting the cutaneous lymphatic draining basins in patients with primary melanoma of the head, trunk and limbs, and to compare the observed lymphatic drain with the expected pattern of lymph flow according to the classical anatomical studies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective study in a university hospital (Barcelones Nord area). Consecutive patients with the diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma were recruited after excisional biopsy of the primary tumor. Every patient was intradermally injected with rhenium-sulfide colloids or colloidal technetium labelled with Tc-99m in four quadrant doses of 0.3 ml around the lesions or its excisional scar. Scintigraphic imaging of the migrating radiotracer resulted in a flow pattern that was compared with its "classical" expected counterpart. RESULTS: Altogether, 55 lesions were studied, including 9 in the head, 21 in the trunk and 25 in the limbs (7 upper and 18 lower). The scintigraphic drain pattern did not match the expected classical pattern in 37.0% of the lesions overall (14% upper limbs, 42% truncal lesions out from an area 2.5 cm at both sides of Sapey's line or the midline, 16.6% lower limbs and 89% head and neck). CONCLUSIONS: Lymphatic drain of the skin shows a very high intrapersonal variability leading to the need for an individual work-up in order to know the lymphatic basins at risk for metastases. The high rate of unexpected or non-matching patterns casts some doubts over those previous studies that did not include lymphoscintigraphy on a patient-basis.


We welcome the inclusion in this month's BJGP of the article by Albury et al , which employs Conversation Analysis (CA) to understand how weight-loss interventions can be introduced effectively into the discourse of general practice consultations.1 It shows how the initial spoken responses of patients who are offered weight-loss management services by their GP, demonstrate strikingly consistent patterns in relation to subsequent uptake of these services. Somewhat surprisingly, 'yes' or 'yeah' responses did not have a significant association with attendance. On the other hand, responses prefaced with 'oh' (for example, 'oh right, I'll try anything' ) did have an association with attendance at weight-management services.

The findings demonstrate how bringing together evidence from a large number of audiorecorded consultations (226 recordings in this study) in this kind of research can challenge some of the assumptions we might otherwise make about our talk. The study is unusual as it took place within the context of a trial, enabling the researchers to integrate their analysis with statistical data about actual attendance at the suggested service. They have demonstrated, in a nuanced way that these interactional patterns are relatively predictable. We make the case that the empirical study of interaction, though time-consuming, is crucial if we are to provide communication skills guidance to practitioners and students that is effective for real-life practice and takes full account of the consultation as a co-constructed accomplishment.

CA is the study of naturally-occurring interaction. It has a long tradition in medical settings but remains poorly …


Exon skipping uses chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides to modulate RNA splicing. Therapeutically, exon skipping can bypass mutations and restore reading frame disruption by generating internally truncated, functional proteins to rescue the loss of native gene expression. Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2C is caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the SGCG gene, which encodes the dystrophin-associated protein γ-sarcoglycan. The most common SGCG mutations disrupt the transcript reading frame abrogating γ-sarcoglycan protein expression. In order to treat most SGCG gene mutations, it is necessary to skip 4 exons in order to restore the SGCG transcript reading frame, creating an internally truncated protein referred to as Mini-Gamma. Using direct reprogramming of human cells with MyoD, myogenic cells were tested with 2 antisense oligonucleotide chemistries, 2'-O-methyl phosphorothioate oligonucleotides and vivo-phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers, to induce exon skipping. Treatment with vivo-phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers demonstrated efficient skipping of the targeted exons and corrected the mutant reading frame, resulting in the expression of a functional Mini-Gamma protein. Antisense-induced exon skipping of SGCG occurred in normal cells and those with multiple distinct SGCG mutations, including the most common 521ΔT mutation. These findings demonstrate a multiexon-skipping strategy applicable to the majority of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2C patients.


This investigation relates to an improved water-based mud fluid composition by mixing with natural rubber latex (NRL) as additives. The objective of this study is to investigate rheological properties of water base drilling mud mixed with NRL. The methodology was analyzed by adding 0.3, 0.5 and 1 percent of weight by volume of NRL at 30, 45, 60 and 80°C, respectively. The rheological properties of drilling mud mixed with NRL included viscosity, gel strength, filtration, and pH, which tested based on the API RP 13B-1 standard. The test results indicated that the apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, yield point, and gel strength of drilling mud mixed with NRL increased with the increment of NRL concentration and temperature. The API fluid loss values of drilling mud mixed with 0.3, 0.5 and 1 percent NRL concentration are better than the base drilling mud as 6, 13 and 19 percent respectively improvement. Value of pH ranged from 10.0-10.2 which it can minimize corrosion problem of steel in drilling fluid circulation process. The cost for the water-based mud mixed with NRL is cheaper than of base mud with another commercial additive. The inexpensive NRL is an ecological friendly biopolymer, which is easily affordable in Thailand.


Background: In 1990, a study of the reproductive habits and cervical pathology in women of the Qashgha'i nomadic tribe, resulted in a high prevalence of cervicitis. This led us: to explore the likely infectious agents responsible for such a high prevalence; to assess the difference in cervicitis rates between nomadic and non-nomadic populations in the same area ; to determine the risk factors for and the relationship between cervicitis and bacterial vaginosis (BV) Method and materials: In 1996-1997 a study was carried out of 839 married women of the QashghaT tribe, 274 of the Lor nomadic tribe, and 388 non-nomadic urban women in southern Iran. A gynaecological examination. Pap smear and vaginal secretion for assessing cervicitis and BV by gram staining respectively were performed. Data were analysed by univariate and multiple logistic regression first with cervicitis as the outcome, then with BV as the outcome. Backward stepwise regression was used to assess multivariate effects on risk of cervicitis.
Results: Overall, the prevalence of cervicitis was 88% among Qashgha'i women, 85% in the Lor and 71% in the urban population. There was a significantly lower number of cervicitis cases in those over 40 years old (p = 0.004) and in those with a history of postpartum bleeding in Qashgha'i women. In the Lor tribe, the predictors were an increased risk after more than four pregnancies (p < 0.01) and the use of any contraception (p < 0.002). Among the urban population, the risk of cervicitis was increased with the use of oral contraceptive previously (p = 0.03) or currently (p = 0.01). BV was strongly associated with cervicitis, with a relatively high attributable risk.
Discussion: Both sexual and childbirth exposures may be associated with cervicitis in these populations. We found a very strong positive association between bacterial vaginosis and cervicitis. Bacterial vaginosis was a powerful risk factor for cervicitis even after adjustment for other risk factors for cervicitis. Attributable risks were also high, suggesting that bacterial vaginosis may be implicated in 60% of cases of severe cervicitis cases. Both cervicitis and bacterial vaginosis are known to be associated with chlamydia. We found a strong positive association between high levels of histiocytes and presence of cervicitis (RR=8.69). Even taking account of the imprecision of this as an indicator of chlamydial infection, it is strongly suggestive of chlamydia as a major cause of this high rate of cervicitis.
Recommendation: In terms of the reproductive health status of the populations studied, the cervical inflammation is not only widespread, but also had a strong association with BV in all three populations. Abscence of dyskariosis, a high level of bacterial vaginosis, a strong association between cervical inflammation and BV, and a strong positive association between high level of histiocytes and the presence of cervicitis suggest that chlamydia is largely responsible for the cervicitis in the population. This should be verified by definitive testing and rectified by treatment programmes.


Phosphorus (P) is one of the essential nutrients for plant growth; however, it is usually in low availability to plants in most soils. P deficiency/low-P in the early growth stages of wheat can cause reductions in tiller and head formation, which poses a threat to wheat productivity and global food security. Genetic variation of phosphate use efficiency (PUE) has been documented in wheat. PUE can be improved under P deficiency/low-P by P-stress-responsive adaptation mechanisms that increase P acquisition and/or utilisation. Major regulatory components involved in PUE include Pi itself, microRNAs, hormones and sugars. In addition, several transcriptional factors (TFs) appear to play crucial roles in the regulatory complexity controlling the expression of P-stress-responsive genes. A better understanding of their roles may help to achieve favourable expression patterns of downstream genes and hence potentials to develop wheat cultivars with improved PUE in future crop improvement programme. Using bioinformatic approaches, this study identified two TFs, TaPtf1 and TaMyb67, which may act as key components in PUE in wheat. Their roles in regulating PUE were investigated through molecular and transgenic approaches. Overexpression constructs for TaPtf1 and TaMyb67 were created and subsequently transformed into wheat by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Selected transgenic lines were studied for overexpression of these transgenes and their effects on growth-, harvest- and PUE-related plant traits in a soil-pot experiment under different P supply. The phenotypic effects of TaPtf1 in the transgenic lines were implicated to be P-stress responsive and likely associated with plant height, biomass, grain filling and P accumulation in shoots. The results appeared to be consistent with previous studies of TaPtf1 in wild-type wheat suggesting that TaPtf1 has a functional divergence from OsPtf1/ZmPtf1. On the other hand, TaMyb67 was shown to be a likely ecotypic variation of TaPhr1-B1. TaMyb67 transgenic lines gave no clear evidence of phenotypic differences, presumably due to the downstream P-stress-responsive genes regulated by TaMyb67 being unresponsive to high-P and the low level of (or no) overexpression of TaMyb67 under low-P in these lines.


This paper empirically explores the role of the lead directors in the corporate governance system and strives to empirically examine the association between the lead directorship and firm performance. I measure firm performance by three empirical proxies: Tobin's Q, returns on assets (ROA) and stock returns. I explore the research question on the relationship between lead directorship and firm performance in both cross-sectional and inter-temporal contexts. The sample consists of S & P 500 firms from 2001 to 2004 that have all the required financial, stock returns, and other relevant information. Overall, the empirical results of both cross-sectional and inter-temporal analyses indicate a positive association between lead directorship and firm performance.


The set of real numbers R is linearly ordered, but in the fuzzy set theory, this relation is true only for some set of fuzzy numbers where the sets of fuzzy numbers are expressed as the linguistic variables. Different types of Fuzzy machines based on fuzzy logic have been invented where fuzzy logics are described by fuzzy numbers and the fuzzy numbers are needed to compare. Besides these, many techniques are available to assist decision-makers to compare different fuzzy numbers. For these reasons, it is necessary to compute the maximum and the minimum of fuzzy numbers. Till now many researchers introduced different methods for computation, which are done by hand calculation, but these are very disgusting and time consuming to us. In this paper, we presents an algorithm to compute the maximum and the minimum of any two triangular fuzzy numbers, so that one can compare two fuzzy numbers easily in a short time and visualize the analytic expressions and the graphical representations of the maximum and the minimum of any two triangular fuzzy numbers. By using CAS (MATHEMATICA 7.0), the algorithm is implemented in a computer program in order to do these. This algorithm can easily be extended to apply for any type of fuzzy numbers which are comparable. Even it is able to compare more than two fuzzy numbers by comparing the maximum fuzzy number or minimum fuzzy number with another new fuzzy number. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ganit.v31i0.10313 GANIT J. Bangladesh Math. Soc. (ISSN 1606-3694) 31 (2011) 105-115


Background Since the rise of the internet, online health information seeking has become a worldwide phenomenon. However, health and health communication are inherently culture bound. A data-driven cross-country comparison enables us to better understand how cultural factors moderate the association between individual-level determinants and online health information seeking. Objective The objective of the study was to examine similarities and differences in determinants of internet cancer information seeking between the US and Chinese general public (excluding cancer patients and survivors) under the framework of a behavioral model of health services use. Methods This study used Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2017 (US data) and HINTS-China 2017 data to answer the research question. It focused on people with no cancer history and with internet access. For the HINTS 2017, the sample size was 2153; for the HINTS-China 2017, the sample size was 2358. To compare China and the United States, the researchers selected the same set of study variables for each dataset. Under the framework of the behavioral model of health services use, these predictors were predisposing factors, enabling factors, and need factors. Results In terms of the predisposing factors, a higher age, college degree or above, being currently unemployed, and having a family history of cancer were associated with internet cancer information seeking for the Chinese respondents; none of these factors were related to information seeking for the US respondents, although a lower age was associated with information seeking. Regarding the enabling conditions, lower trust in family members and friends as reliable information sources was the only factor associated with information seeking for the Chinese respondents, while no enabling factor was related to information seeking for the US respondents. Regarding the need factors, perceived health status was not related to information seeking for the Chinese respondents, while perception of poorer health condition was related to information seeking for the US respondents. Higher cancer fear was related to information seeking for both groups, but the magnitude of association was smaller for the Chinese respondents than for the US respondents. Conclusions Overall, under the framework of the behavioral model of health services use, the results based on multivariate logistic regression reveal clear patterns of cross-country/cultural differences in the factors associated with internet cancer information seeking behaviors: predisposing characteristics and enabling conditions are more important in China, while perceived needs are more significant in the US. Such differences might reflect possible US-China differences in job environment (eg, job pressure) and culture (individualism vs collectivism and family structure).


During the 1990s, a number of restructuring plans were carried out at the Source Perrier, a factory located in southern France, after it had been bought out by the Nestlé group. This had an important social and cultural impact. The site was reorganized, a thousand jobs were cut, and management principles were revised. All these changes called into question professional relationships at the workplace, as well as how, since the end of World War II, power had been divided between the board of directors and the main local union, the CGT-Perrier. By focusing on the social and cultural dimension of the changes that occurred at this company, this article aims to reveal exactly what was at stake in the restructuring of power, in the Foucaultian sense of that word. To do so, the article highlights three main trends which emerged during the 1990s, and which played a large part in the new order progressively implemented in the factory: the forms taken by the restructuring itself, the growing influence of the law on relationships between social agents, and the mobilization of memory as a means to carry on social struggles.


The dry sliding wear behaviour of the full pearlite in a novel bimetal consisting of low carbon steel and hypoeutectoid steel has been studied by means of pin-on-disc type wear tests at room temperature. Thermomechanical treatments were performed on the bimetallic samples to obtain different interlamellar spacings. It was found that interlamellar spacing decreased with an increase in plastic strain to a great extent initially and followed by a lower extent of decrease. This decrease not only increases the hardness and strain hardening capacity of the fully pearlitic microstructure, but also is in favor of stabilizing the friction coefficient during sliding process. The observations of wear tracks show that delamination dominated the wear process when interlamellar spacing is higher than 200 nm, while pronounced oxidational wear occurred with interlamellar spacing below 200 nm.


E-selectin plays a critical role in mediating tissue-specific homing of T cells into skin, and of primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) into bone marrow (BM). Though it is known that a glycoform of PSGL-1 (CLA) functions as the principal E-selectin ligand on human T lymphocytes, the E-selectin ligand(s) of human HPCs has not been identified. We used a shear-based adherence assay to analyze and define the E-selectin ligand activity of membrane proteins from human HPCs. Our data show that PSGL-1 expressed on human HPCs is an E-selectin ligand, and that HPCs also express a previously unrecognized E-selectin ligand, CD44. The E-selectin ligand activity of CD44 is conferred by the elaboration of sialylated, fucosylated binding determinants on N-glycans. This glycoform of CD44 is expressed on primitive CD34+ human HPCs, but not on more mature hematopoietic cells. Under physiologic flow conditions, this molecule mediates E-selectin–dependent rolling interactions over a wider shear range than that of PSGL-1, and promotes human HPC rolling interactions on E-selectin expressed on human BM endothelial cells. These findings offer new insights into the structural biology and physiology of CD44, and into the molecular basis of E-selectin–dependent adhesive interactions that direct homing of human HPC to BM.


We study integral methods applied to the resolution of the Maxwell equations where the linear system is solved using an iterative method which requires only matrix?vector products. The fast multipole method (FMM) is one of the most efficient methods used to perform matrix?vector products and accelerate the resolution of the linear system. A problem involving N degrees of freedom may be solved in CNiterNlogN floating operations, where C is a constant depending on the implementation of the method. In this article several techniques allowing one to reduce the constant C are analyzed. This reduction implies a lower total CPU time and a larger range of application of the FMM. In particular, new interpolation and anterpolation schemes are proposed which greatly improve on previous algorithms. Several numerical tests are also described. These confirm the efficiency and the theoretical complexity of the FMM.


Effective control in a multi-level cooperating knowledge source problem solver (such as Hearsay-II) requires the system to reason about the relationships among competing and cooperating knowledge source (KS) instantiations (both past and potential) that are working on different aspects and levels of the problem. Such reasoning is needed to assess the current state of problem solving and to develop plans for using the system's limited processing resources to the best advantage. The relationships among KS instantations can be naturally represented when KS activity is viewed simultaneously from a data-directed and a goal-directed perspective. In this paper we show how data- and goal-directed control can be integrated into a single, uniform framework, and we present an example and experimental results of sophisticated focusing using this framework.


This publication contains a compilation of summaries of country reports from members of IEA Bioenergy Task 37 (Energy from Biogas). The individual country reports include information on the number of biogas plants in operation, biogas production data, how the biogas is utilised, the number of biogas upgrading plants, the number of vehicles using biomethane as fuel, the number of biomethane filling stations, details of financial support schemes in each country and some information on national biogas research and development projects. The publication is an annual update and is valid for information collected in 2014.


Inflammatory signs and symptoms of redness, swelling, heat and pain are due to the effects of inflammatory mediators released during the inflammatory response. Depending on the type of injurious stimuli and the tissue involved, the array of mediators may differ but eicosanoids are involved in the genesis of inflammatory pain. They are responsible for the hypersensitisation of the nociceptors (allodynialhyperalgesia). The basic mechanism of analgesic action of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs results from the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis (prostacyclin or PGE2), thus preventing nociceptor threshold lowering. Because there is a temporal hierarchy in the release of inflammatory mediators, there are several targets for the action of peripheral acting analgesics before and after the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis. Blockade of the release and inhibition of inducible cyclooxygenase explain the analgesic action of glucocorticoids. Nimesulide also has an inhibitory action on the cascade of hypersensitising cytokines. Some analgesics, such as dipyrone, flurbiprofen or diclofenac, act directly upon ongoing inflammatory hypersensitisation. Those analgesics restore the nociceptor by stimulating the arginine/NO/cGMP/K(ATP) channel pathway.


WE PRESENT AN unusual patient with a medical history of a fibrosing pseudotumor of the left orbit that had been stable for 8 years who presented with acute anterior hypophyseal failure. During the next 10-month period, sequential magnetic resonance scans showed a rapid growth of a plaque-like sellar and parasellar mass extending into the right cavernous sinus, right Meckel's cave, along the dural surfaces of the clivus, dens, and body of the second cervical vertebra. A transsphenoidal biopsy revealed sphenoid and intrasellar pseudotumor that invaded the adenohypophysis and had microscopic features identical to those of the previously excised orbital pseudotumor. Rapid growth of the pseudotumor continued despite a course of radiotherapy. Palsies of cranial nerves V and VI and of the sensory root of the cranial nerve VII developed on the right side. Steroid therapy was associated with improvement of the cranial nerve palsies. This is the first report of a sellar fibrosing pseudotumor producing not only anterior hypophyseal failure, but also cranial nerve dysfunction secondary to plaquelike extension into the cavernous sinus, Meckel's cave, and cranial base dura. This intracranial plaquelike extension of a fibrous pseudotumor corresponds to a hypertrophic intracranial pachymeningitis, which is a rare, previously described phenomenon associated to the syndrome of multifocal fibrosclerosis.


Professionalism is a key component of good general practice, and self-awareness is a key component of professionalism. Being self-aware means understanding your own fitness to practice as a GP. It is a critical skill for ePortfolio reflections and appraisals, as it is a critical skill for good practice. In this article I will offer an approach to professional self-awareness through a set of four questions: What are my goals? What are my beliefs? What are my values? and What is my condition?


The technical aspects of the biportal anterior approach for right apical and posterior segmentectomy are described. The approach is a fissure-less one. The first step is the division of the apical vein anteriorly, followed by the dissection and division of the apical artery. This step will expose the apical B1 segmental bronchus, which is divided. Following this division, the ascending posterior segmental branch of the pulmonary artery (rec A2) is exposed and divided. The next step is the division of the B2 segmental bronchus. The fissure is not violated in any of the steps presented in this technique. Finally the intersegmental plane between the two segments and the anterior segment is completed along the inflation-deflation line.


ABSTRACT. The field studying unusual mitochondria in microbial eukaryotes has come full circle. Some 10–15 years ago it had the evangelical task of informing the wider scientific community that not all eukaryotes had mitochondria. Advances in the field indicated that although some protists might not have mitochondria, the presence of genes of mitochondrial ancestry suggested their lineage once had. The subsequent discovery of mitochondrial compartments in all supposedly amitochondriate protists studied so far indicates that all eukaryotes do have mitochondria indeed. This assertion has fuelled novel eukaryotic origin theories and weakened others. But what do we know about these unusual mitochondria from anaerobic protists? Have they all converged onto similar roles? Iron–sulphur cluster assembly is often hailed as the unifying feature of these organelles. However, the iron–sulphur protein that is so important that a complete organelle is being maintained has not been identified. Is it to be expected that all unusual mitochondria perform the same physiological role? These organelles have been found in numerous protists occupying different ecological niches. Different selection pressures operate on different organisms so there is no reason to suspect that their mitochondria should all be the same.


Carbon cycling in tropical rainforests is an important component of the global carbon budget. A better understanding of controlling mechanisms and magnitude of CO2 sources from tropical forests will improve our ability to predict future impacts of climate changes. The research presented in this dissertation has focused on determining the magnitude and characteristics of the CO2 flux from tropical wood and soil surfaces. Stem CO2 fluxes were measured in a tropical moist forest at Tapajos National Forest (TNF) in Brazil and in a tropical wet forest at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica (LS) using infrared gas analysis methods. Annual Stem CO2 fluxes for TNF and LS averaged 1.7 mumol m-2 s-1 and 4.5 mumol m-2 s -1, respectively. At TNF wood surface area was calculated (4161 m 2 ha-1) and wood CO2 flux extrapolated to ground area resulted in an annual flux of 259 g C m-2 yr -1. Soil-atmosphere CO2 fluxes were measured at TNF using infrared gas analysis methods. Line sampling of soil CO2 fluxes made on randomly placed 30 meters transects averaged 4.7 +/0.2 mumol m -2 s-1 with higher rates during the wet season (4.9 +/0.3 mumol m-2 s-1) than during the dry season (4.4 +/0.2 mumol m-2 s-1). Fluxes were weakly correlated with precipitation and not correlated with soil moisture or temperature. Geostatistical analysis of grid sampling of soil CO2 fluxes indicated that they were not spatially dependent. Fluxes measured during wet season and dry season on grid sampling averaged 5.6 +/0.2 mumol m-2 s-1 and 4.5 +/0.1 mumol m-2 s-1, respectively. The estimated annual average of soil surface CO2 flux for the TNF was 1780 g C m-2 yr-1. Assuming that root and heterotrophic respiration each contribute about 50% of soil CO 2 efflux, then approximately 890g C m-2 yr-1 derive from each source. The estimated gross primary photosynthesis for the TNF is 3000 g C m-2 yr-1 (Miller et al., 2004). Therefore, estimated contribution of wood and root CO2 flux to the GPP are respectively 8.7% and 15%.


Although customer satisfaction and loyalty have attracted a lot of attention in service management research, relatively few studies have examined the impact of waiting time and service quality on customer satisfaction and repurchase frequency. In this study, we model the relationships between customer satisfaction, repurchase frequency, waiting time and other service quality factors in fast food outlets. The results indicate that waiting time and other service factors such as staff attitude, environment, seat availability and food quality significantly influence the customers' return frequency. Results also show that waiting time, staff attitude, food quality and food variety all significantly affect customer satisfaction. It is also found that the significance of the relationship depends on the timing of the visits. These models will help managers to understand the critical factors that influence customer loyalty and satisfaction in the fast food industry and help them make improvements accordingly.


In this thesis we describe in detail a generic matrix manipulator system that performs operations on matrices in a flexible way, using a graphical user interface. A user defines allowable data entries called a coefficient set, as well as closed n-ary operations based on the coefficient set, called coefficient operators. Together the coefficient set and the coefficient operators form a basis. The defined coefficient operators can then further define operations on matrices. A basis and n-ary matrix operations can be entered into the system by various ways including predefined, Java data types, JavaScript, and various XML formats defining certain mathematical structures. This described system functions similar to the RelView system, while offering additional features. These features are designed to increase convenience and usability for a user by providing support for arbitrary coefficient set types, cross platform capability, and automatic type checking for user defined expressions.


Aim: In the present study, the antibacterial activity of the Ethanol Extract of Propolis (EEP), collected from various regions (Mendoza, Santiago del Estero, and Corrientes) in Argentina, against Streptococcus mutans ATCC® 35668™ and Actinomyces viscosus ATCC® 15987™ (MicroBioLogics Inc., USA) was investigated. Methods: Identification of geographic and botanical origin was based on a reconnaissance survey. Phytochemical screening of propolis was carried out on ethanolic extracts using standard methods to identify the constituents (aluminum chloride colorimetric method, Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method, thin layer chromatography). The agar diffusion method (discs and wells) and serial dilution method (plates and tubes) were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of EEP. Results: EEP exerted various degrees of antibacterial activity against S. mutans and A. viscosus, depending on the geographic area of collection. Phytochemical screening showed that the bioactive compounds correspond to phenolic compounds and flavones. EEP from Tunuyán (Mendoza), where the most abundant vegetation belongs to Populus sp., showed the highest content of phenolic compounds (220.92±2.01 mg/g) and flavonoids (30.39±0.25 mg/g). This sample showed the most profound antibacterial activity among the EEP tested.  By the agar-well diffusion method, we found a high susceptibility with an inhibitory halo of 11.25 ± 4.68 mm and 10.90 ± 4.21 mm against S. mutans and A. viscosus, respectively. It also presented low Minimum Inhibitory Concentration and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration values against S. mutans (MIC 0.05 mg/mL - MBC 0.46 mg/mL) followed by A. viscosus (MIC 0.11 mg/mL - MBC 0.93 mg/mL). Conclusions: The combined results from all methods indicated that S. mutans is more susceptible to the effect of the Tunuyán EEP than A. viscosus.Uniterms: Propolis. Streptococcus mutans. Actinomyces viscosus. Microbial sensitivity tests.


We propose the use of an approximate bootstrap exchange-correlation kernel to account for vertex corrections in self-consistent GW calculations. We show that the approximate kernel gives accurate band gaps for a variety of extended systems, including simple sp semiconductors, wide band-gap insulators, and transition-metal compounds with either closed or open d shells. The accuracy is comparable with that obtained via the solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation but only at a fraction of the computational cost.


The dynamic mechanical properties of rod like polymer specimens, plastics, and rubbers have been studied in some detail during the last decade. Nevertheless, comparatively less information is available on fibres of normal textile counts. This project, therefore, was undertaken with a view to investigating the dynamic mechanical properties of several no rural and synthetic fibres of normal textile counts over a wide range of temperature and/or huiaivlity. For this purpose two experiment techniques have been developed in the Fibre Science laboratory at the University of Strathclyde. One of the experimental techniques is similar to that used by Meredith and for measuring the dynamic bending properties of dry fibres in vacuo over a range of temperature. Certain modifications in the design of the apparatus have been made in order to minimise conduction losses through the fibre moimting system so that in vacuo the temperature recorded by the sensing; element vras as close as possible to the temperature of the fibre. The other experimental technique is similar to that employed by 75 Yoshino and Takayanagi for measuring the dynamic tensile properties of films and monofilaments. To make dynamic tensile measurements possible on fibres of rurmcl textile corats end fibres from tyre cords over a wide range of tempereture and/or humidity the apparatus was designed in the laboratory and made in the work show nitb finer strain gauge systems and other necessary accessories, A detailed description of the apparatus and working procedures have been given in the thesis. Measurements were carried out on several fibres like wool, silk, Fibrolane, ramie, Portisan, viscose rayon, acetate, Tricel, Acrilan 16, Orion, three types of polypropylene, eight types of nylon 66, Terylene, Dacron and finally three types of polyblend fibres. The results are discussed in the light of the information available to the dynamic mechanical properties, IMI spectroscopy and infra-red spectroscopy on high polymers. Optical, physical and tensile properties of some of the synthetic fibres have also been studied to find the correlation of these properties with the observed dynamic mechanical piroperties. Finally the effect of heat setting of Acrilan 16, nylon 06 type 900 and Terylene on to optical, physical and mechanical properties of these fibres have been studied.


This paper takes behavioural propriety as the source of ritual or the ritualistic in indigenous philosophy in the Philippines. Filipino understanding of behavioural propriety is seen in what have been identified as elements or features of indigenous philosophy in the country. These features are stored in pre-hispanic era (pre-16th century CE) maxims or proverbs and myths. In this paper, I engage conception of behavioural propriety in Filipino philosophy with that in Confucian philosophy. In Confucian philosophy, it is "li" 禮 which relates to ritual. Li encompasses ritual propriety and behavioural propriety. It is originally about ritual or ceremony and, as understood in contemporary scholarship, it has the general meaning of proper conduct; it refers first and foremost to rules of proper conduct. In this paper, I address the question of what each understanding offers for the enrichment of the other. I suggest that importantly, Confucian understanding of li offers the view of behavioural propriety as having an ennobling function, and that Filipino understanding of behavioural propriety offers a perspective on the debate in Confucianism about whether it is ren 仁 or li that is more fundamental in Confucius's thought. A point that appears to be present in the Filipino understanding is that propriety in behaviour cannot be separated from humaneness (ren). The point comes from the view in the proverbs that a person of ren is necessarily a person of li. Accordingly, the perspective which the Filipino understanding offers proposes the view that behavioural propriety is a necessary condition for humanity (ren).


Critical data for the interpretation of Laramide structure, a major tectonic problem bearing on the formation of the Rocky Mountains, have been obtained by the Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP) in the form of deep crustal seismic-reflection profiles. The Wind River Mountains in Wyoming have been uplifted by the Wind River thrust, which can be traced on COCORP seismic-reflection profiles to at least 24-km depth with an average dip of 30° to 35°. This Laramide uplift is thus the result of extensive horizontal compression with a minimum horizontal displacement of 21 km and a minimum vertical displacement of 13 km. The crust appears to have deformed essentially as a rigid plate. Gravity anomalies across the uplift can be modeled by a thrust, with the same geometry as indicated by the seismic-reflection profiles.


Experimental studies have been performed in a 10 em diameter, 36 m long, multiphase flow loop to examine the effect of drag reducing agents using 6 cP oil. Studies were performed for superficial liquid velocities of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m/s and superficial gas velocities between 2 and 12 mls. Carbon dioxide was used as the gas phase. The drag reducing agent (DRA) concentrations were 20 and 50 ppm. The system was maintained at a pressure of 0.13 MPa and a temperature of 25 0c.The comparison of the conditioning of flow with DRA between 2.5 cP oil and 6 cP oil is presented. The results show that pressure drop in both 2.5 cP oil and 6 cP oil was reduced significantly in multiphase flow with addition of DRA. A DRA concentration of 50 ppm was more effective than 20 ppm DRA for all cases. As the oil viscosity was increased from 2.5 cP to 6 cP oil, the transition to annular flow was observed to occur at lower superficial gas velocities. For slug flow and lower superficial gas velocities, the effectiveness in 2.5 cP oil was much higher than that in 6 cP oil with addition of DRA. However, for higher superficial gas velocities, the effectiveness in both oils was similar. For annular flow, the effectiveness in 2.5 cP oil was higher than in 6 cP oil with 50 ppm DRA. At low superficial gas velocities, DRA in 2.5 cP oil was more effective in reducing the slug frequency. This led to a higher average pressure drop reduction in 2.5 cP oil. However, at higher superficial gas velocities, the slug frequency


The second hyperpolarisability, γ, of (HF)n, where n= 6, 8, and the interaction hyperpolarisability, Δγ, of (HF)2 are computed by employing ab initio and semiempirical techniques. The results demonstrate the cooperative character of the intermolecular interactions between the H-bonded hydrogen fluoride molecules and their considerable effect on the second hyperpolarisability. The results also show that remarkable variations in Δγ and γ may be induced by a change in the shape of the HF cluster.


Numerical finite element method using solid elements discretisation is increasingly used to simulate the impact behaviour of composite materials. In order to describe the intralaminar damage of composite materials, a three dimensional damage model is investigated. The purpose of this work is to explore the effect of the failure criteria on the dynamic failure properties of carbone fibre composite laminate. The intralaminar damage model is performed with different failure criteria including the twodimensional Hashin criteria extended to the three-dimensional case and the threedimensional Hashin criteria for the fibres coupled with the Puck criteria for the matrix. The two criteria were than incorporated in a VUMAT subroutine implemented in the explicit finite element code Abaqus. Furthermore, the delamination is simulated by the bilinear cohesive zone model (CZM) available in the finite element code Abaqus. To validate the material model implemented in the VUMAT subroutine and the effect of its association with the CZM, the numerical impact computations performed for various incident velocities were compared to the experimental measurements available in the literature. The results show that the impact response in term of residual velocity presents some difference due essentially to the effect of the criteria used in the intralaminar model. The Hashin criteria for the fibres associated with the Puck criteria for the matrix presents good agreement with the experimental data. The association of the intralaminar model with the CZM leads to a slightly larger value of the residual velocity. This research work outlines the importance of the use of appropriate failure criteria at high velocity impact analysis.


We identify and investigate the basic 'hold-up problem' which arises whenever each party to a contract has to pay some ex-ante cost for the contract to become feasible. We then proceed to show that, under plausible circumstances, a 'contractual solution' to this hold-up problem is not available. This is because a contractual solution to the hold-up problem typically entails writing a 'contract over a contract' which generates a fresh set of ex-ante costs, and hence is associated with a new hold-up problem.


A series of polymer/dye composite pairs, where the same polymer Poly (3-hexylthiophene2,5-diyl) or P3HT paired with a series of three molecular dyes [Meso-Tetra(4-carboxyphenyl) porphine (TCPP), Ferriprotoporphyrin IX chloride (Hemin), and Protoporphyrin IX (Proto)] of different frontier orbitals and absorption coefficients are systematically investigated for potential optoelectronic conversion applications. A facile method to distinguish the charge and energy transfer contributions between emissive P3HT and dyes under certain conditions via concentration dependent photoluminescence (PL) is described. The experimental results from this study also revealed that the optoelectronic energy conversion efi¬ciencies of the P3HT/dye based OE devices appear to be affected more critically by the P3HT/dye pair PL quenching than the optical absorption coefi¬cients of the dyes, and that there appears to exist an optimal LUMO offset of P3HT/dye pair for most severe PL quenching or the best optoelectronic conversion efficiency. These study could be very useful for the design and development of next generation high efi¬ciency soft materials based optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and photodetectors.


Turkey has three major bio-geographical regions namely Euro–Siberian, Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian. There are very different types of ecosystems such as agricultural, mountain, forests, steppes and wetlands, as well as coastal and marine. The country has rich floral and faunal diversity, high endemism and wide genetic diversity. A good progress has been made in protecting nature and biodiversity rich areas. Since 1990, the extent of protected areas has almost doubled to reach 7.2% of the territory. There are 40 national parks, 31 nature conservation areas, 107 natural monuments, 184 nature parks, 81 wildlife reserve areas, 58 conservation forests, 239 genetic conservation areas, 373 seed stands, 15 specially protected areas, 1273 natural sites, 14 Ramsar sites and 1 biosphere reserve. In this paper information on different ecosystems of the country is presented.


Antitrust and the financial sector have traditionally had a wary relationship with each other. However, an analysis of the special features of finance and of financial regulation shows that the pro-competition stance of antitrust is as appropriate for the financial sector as it is for the other sectors of the U.S. economy to which antitrust enforcement regularly applies. More recently, the involvement of "too big to fail" (TBTF) financial institutions in the financial crisis of 2008-2009 has caused some antitrust practitioners to believe that the "big" in TBTF must mean that antitrust somehow has a role to play in dealing with the TBTF problem. But TBTF is fundamentally a problem of subsidy and negative externalities, not of market power; consequently, this is not an antitrust issue. Nevertheless, antitrust is relevant for many of the standard issues of the creation, enhancement, and/or exercise of market power in and around the financial sector. In addition, whether the communication among and/or collective action by securities holders in various circumstances (e.g., the creditors of a troubled enterprise) warrants antitrust scrutiny deserves some careful thought and analysis.


Mothers' Darlings of the South Pacific: the children of indigenous women and US Servicemen, World War II (2015) is written 74 years after the arrival of United States servicemen to the Pacific Islands during the Second World War. The cover image of two servicemen flanking an unnamed indigenous woman holding a baby was taken r months after the arrival of US forces in Tonga in 1942. The work of the editors and co‐authors Judith Bennett and Angela Wanhalla alongside the contribution of seven authors has culminated in an important text. This book acknowledges a gap in the military history of World War II which it proposes to fill, that of women, Pacific Islanders and the intimacy of encounter.


The development in the late 1980s of two-dimensional bar code symbols capable of storing kilobytes of information in a single symbol and unlimited data in multiple symbols has led to the suggestion that the bar code could be used as a medium for transmitting electronic data interchange (EDI) messages. This paper considers whether this suggestion targets any real business problem and whether such a system would work in practice. The transmission of shipment information between suppliers and customers was identified as a potential application of bar code EDI. Problems arising from lack of synchrony between the electronic message and physical delivery are encountered with conventional EDI approaches, and these problems become especially acute in a just-in-time replenishment environment. This paper reports the results of three studies to address the organizational, technical, and practical feasibility of bar code EDI.


When you've visited someone in a large apartment or office complex, chances are that a security guard in the lobby granted you access. Perhaps over time, the guard has learned to associate you with the person you plan to visit and immediately notifies that person over the building intercom when you arrive. Argus, named after the vigilant watchman from Greek mythology, is an automated version of such a security guard: a system for automatic visitor identification. We successfully implemented and tested Argus at Just Research. To detect visitors, Argus's digital camera photographs the building entrance at regular intervals, and a motion detection algorithm identifies potential scenes containing visitors. Using a neural-network-based face detector, Argus extracts faces from these images. A memory-based face recognition system examines these faces and attempts to find visually similar matches in its stored database of visitors. An interface agent notifies system users whenever visitors arrive. Users can also provide feedback to Argus in the event of misclassified visitors. Because the face recognizer can learn online, Argus immediately incorporates these corrections into its face recognition data set.


Introduction: This article discusses the experience of mothers during the process of falling ill of their children with congenital heart disease.
Method: This is a descriptive research with qualitative approach conducted with nine mothers who had their babies admitted to a pediatric cardiology unit in a reference center for treatment of congenital heart disease in the North and Northeast regions in Brazil located in Fortaleza, Ceara. Information and reports on the experience of these mothers emerging from the diagnosis process, surgery, treatment and hospitalization were collected in semi-structured individual interviews. After interviews, the testimonies of mothers were transcribed in full-length, identifying the speeches with the codes M1, M2,...M9, thereby ensuring anonymity. We used the thematic analysis technique of Minayo (2012) for treatment of information and design of the content of this article. This article is part of the research project: Breastfeeding babies with heart disease, approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Messejana Hospital, under Opinion No 1,285,784.
Results: The study demonstrated that infants with congenital heart disease require specific and specialized care and that mothers undertake a long and sometimes painful journey in the search for the healing of their child.
Conclusion: Based on the collected speeches, we learned that mothers also need to be assisted by professionals of the health team. They must support the mother's empowerment in the child care and strengthen the relationship of the mother-infant binomial, and help in coping and adapting to the reality in the process of falling ill and healing of their child.

Key words: Congenital heart disease. Experience of mothers


INTRODUCTION
Pilots are susceptible to over-reliance on distance when making relative time-to-contact (TTC) judgments of surrounding intruders, referred to as "the distance bias." We tested the effect of adding perceptual cues and an information feature to cockpit displays of traffic information to mitigate this bias.

METHOD
There were 14 general aviation pilots who participated in a simulated flight scenario and were asked to make relative TTC judgments. Three levels of perceptual cue (blinking, color-change, and no-cue) were crossed with two levels of velocity data tag (present and absent) with identification of the highest risk intruder as a response.

RESULTS
Perceptual cues were associated with more accurate high-risk intruder selection (color = 95.95% correct, blinking = 95.98%, no-cue = 87.89%), decreased response time (color = 3.68 s, blinking = 3.19 s, no-cue = 6.08 s), reduced visual attention demand (color = 57% of attention, blinking = 58%, no-cue = 62%), lower workload ratings (color = 28.38/100, blinking = 29.66/100, no-cue = 48.91/100), and higher performance confidence ratings (color = 83.92/100, blinking = 82.71/100, no-cue = 58.85/100) than the no-cue displays. There was no difference between blinking and color cue displays. The data tag was associated with lower response times (present = 4.13 s, absent = 4.50 s) and higher confidence ratings (present = 78.69/100, absent = 71.63/100) than displays without. Displays including the blinking cue, color-change cue, and data tag were preferred over displays that did not include these features (color = 8 pilots, blinking = 6, no-cue = 0).

DISCUSSION
The added display features were effective in mitigating the effect of the distance bias on pilot performance measures and received favorable subjective ratings.


There are a growing number of machine learning algorithms which operate on graphs. Example applications for these algorithms include predicting which customers will recommend products to their friends in a viral marketing campaign using a customer network, predicting the topics of publications in a citation network, or predicting the political affiliations of people in a social network. It is important for an analyst to have tools to help compare the output of these machine learning algorithms. In this work, we present G-PARE, a visual analytic tool for comparing two uncertain graphs, where each uncertain graph is produced by a machine learning algorithm which outputs probabilities over node labels. G-PARE provides several different views which allow users to obtain a global overview of the algorithms output, as well as focused views that show subsets of nodes of interest. By providing an adaptive exploration environment, G-PARE guides the users to places in the graph where two algorithms predictions agree and places where they disagree. This enables the user to follow cascades of misclassifications by comparing the algorithms outcome with the ground truth. After describing the features of G-PARE, we illustrate its utility through several use cases based on networks from different domains.