I. INTRODUCTION The doctrine of forum non conveniens is one part of a complex web of issues relating to the ability of courts to decline jurisdiction in cases connected to more than one legal system.1 While the Latin term was first used in Scotland in the late nineteenth century, the doctrine is generally agreed to have its genesis in earlier Scottish cases of the seventeenth century. Both the doctrine and the term appear in most common law systems following the British model, but there often are important differences in the focus and effect of the doctrine from country to country. At base, the doctrine allows a court that has jurisdiction to stay or dismiss proceedings where there is a more appropriate forum for the litigation. The doctrine of forum non conveniens generally is unknown in legal systems following the continental civil law model. Rather than search for the most appropriate forum, most civil law states opt for what is considered to be greater predictability in the rules of jurisdiction, and apply a lis alibi pendens analysis when the possibility of parallel litigation in multiple forums arises. This approach emphasizes the plaintiffs choice of forum when forum shopping is possible, placing the focus on where the case is first filed rather than on the appropriateness of one forum as compared to others that are available. These differences in approach have been the subject of a carefully crafted compromise in the work of the Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which for nearly a decade has been working on a Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters. That compromise reflects elements of both the common law approach to forum non conveniens and the civil law approach to lis alibi pendens. This article begins with a discussion of the application of the forum non conveniens doctrine in four common law legal systems. It then briefly notes related concepts applied in the courts of two civil law systems. This discussion is followed in Part IV by a brief history of the negotiations at the Hague Conference on Private International Law for a Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters and a review of Articles 21 and 22 of the Interim Text of that Convention created at the June 2001 portion of the Diplomatic Conference.3 This review allows conclusions dealing with both the role of the forum non conveniens doctrine in contemporary transnational litigation and the effort to bring traditional common law and civil law approaches to parallel litigation closer together. II. FORUM NON CONVENIENS IN COMMON LAW SYSTEMS A. Scotland and England While Scotland is a part of the United Kingdom, its legal system developed separately, with significant French civil law influence. Despite this influence, Scotland is credited with generating the concepts that now underlie the common law doctrine of forum non conveniens and with giving the doctrine its name. Scottish cases from as early as the seventeenth century applied the plea of forum non competens to go beyond mere claims of lack of jurisdiction and encompass cases in which jurisdiction was clear under the law, but the parties were alien and trial in Scotland was deemed to be inconvenient.4 This application increasingly became common practice in Scottish cases in the nineteenth century, when forum non competens "was available both where the court lacked jurisdiction and where it was not expedient for the due administration of justice to hear the case."5 In the mid-nineteenth century, Scottish cases recognized that the question was one on the merits, and discussed the concept of "inconvenient forum."7 Later nineteenth century courts replaced the term forum non competens with forum non conveniens, recognizing that only a question of discretion, and not of jurisdiction, was involved.8 The first step in the application of the doctrine became the presence of an alternative forum: [T]he plea can never be sustained unless the court is satisfied that there is some other tribunal, having competent jurisdiction, in which the case may be tried more suitably for the interests of all the parties and for the ends of justice. …


Abstract

Background:

Currently, a number of synthetic hypolipidemic drugs are available and are effective but the associated side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, myositis and abnormal liver function severely handicap their application. Some patients are resistant to or are intolerant of conventional pharmacotherapy. Therefore, alternative approaches are eagerly needed, and plant-based therapies attract much interest, as they are effective in reducing lipid levels and show minimal or no side effects
Aims:
To evaluate the anti hyperlipidemic activity of oral administration of cardamom extract.
Methodology:
A total of 18 adult male and female Wistar rats, weighing 150-200g, and 60 days of age were selected for this study and divided into three groups with 6 rats in each group. Control group rats received only Rodent chow& water. Hyperlipedimic group received high fat diet and water. Cardamom group received high fat diet and water + Cardamom extract. Blood samples are collected from caudal vein at the tail tip to estimate total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and VLDL and triglycerides.
Results:
Oral administration of Cardamom extract significantly (p < 0.001) reduced total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and VLDL and triglycerides.

Conclusion:
From this study, we can conclude that the oral administration of cardamom extract have benefitial effects on blood cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL, HDL and LDL levels. However further pharmacological and biochemical investigations will clearly elucidate the mechanism of action and helpful in projecting these plant extracts as a therapeutic target in diabetes research.
Key words: Anti hyper lipidemic effect, cardamom extract.


Molecular dynamics simulations in conjunction with effective medium theory are used to investigate dielectric effects in water-filled nanotubes. The resulting effective axial dielectric constant shows a divergent increase for small nanotube radii that depends on the nanotube length, while the effective radial dielectric constant decreases significantly for thin nanotubes. By solving Poisson's equation for an anisotropic dielectric medium in cylindrical geometry, we show that the axial ion-ion interaction depends for small separations primarily on the radial dielectric constant, not on the axial one. This means that electrostatic ion-ion interactions in thin water-filled nanotubes are on the linear dielectric level significantly enhanced due to water confinement effects at small separations, while at large separations the outside medium dominates. If the outside medium is metallic, the ion-ion interaction decays exponentially for large ion separation.


At present "Islamic Architecture" is a controversial
topic of debate within architectural forums, very much
talked about but lacking a clear definition.
Saudi Arabia, birth place of Islam, modern pin-up board
for many an example of "islamic architecture", has
cause to be intimately linked with the area concerned
and has initiated a programme for its incorporation
within one of its universities. The following study is
an attempt to bring a conceptual clarity to the term
"Islamic Architecture" and devise an educational
programme for its teaching at tertiary level of
education in the Saudi Arabian context.
The adjective "Islamic" necessitates that any noun that
it qualifies should conform to the tenets of Islam.
This may not be possible with "Architecture" which, as
a term, is tinged with the ethos of. Classical Greece
and is associated with "technique" and "object
worship". In contrast, the equivalent term used in
Islam's own epistemology, Al-Imarah, associates the
discipline with "shaping the most suitable environment
for the sustenance of human life". Therefore it will be
more appropriate to speak of a distinct discipline of
Al-Imarah instead of "Islamic Architecture"
In defining the parameters of an independent discipline
of Al-Imarah one can also establish parameters for a
universal educational model that will train those who
will be responsible for the shaping of the environment
conforming with the attributes of Al-Imarah. In this
model, Islam's own "system of thought" and "world view"
will become the postulate and the ideal "Muslim Society
enjoined by Islam" as its terms of reference. Based on
this model a new university programme for the teaching
of AI-Imarah, together with the structure of the
courses, method of teaching of the courses, and
contents of the courses will be proposed. Existing
programmes for the teaching of "Architecture" are also
suggested to be modified in order to facilitate the
incorporation of ideals embodied in the concept of
Al-Imarah.


Generative modeling of high dimensional data like images is a notoriously difficult and illdefined problem. In particular, how to evaluate a learned generative model is unclear. In this paper, we argue that adversarial learning, pioneered with generative adversarial networks (GANs), provides an interesting framework to implicitly define more meaningful task losses for unsupervised tasks, such as for generating "visually realistic" images. By unifying GANs and structured prediction under the framework of statistical decision theory, we put into light links between recent advances in structured prediction theory and the choice of the divergence in GANs. We argue that the insights about the notions of "hard" and "easy" to learn losses can be analogously extended to adversarial divergences. We also discuss the attractive properties of adversarial divergences for generative modeling, and perform experiments to show the importance of choosing a divergence that reflects the final task.


Creative placemaking has become a popular strategy to revitalize distressed neighborhoods. Who is empowered to participate in these projects and in what capacity? Do such efforts reduce or reinforce existing race-class inequities in community development? Drawing on three years of participant observations, interviews with stakeholders, and analyses of project reports, we use Archon Fung's "Democracy Cube" framework to evaluate a creative placemaking initiative in one of the most segregated cities in the United States. We find that over the course of the project, participation patterns shifted from highly diffuse across many individuals with varied roles to highly concentrated, such that only a few individuals maintained knowledge of ongoing developments in the project. We argue that this shift was not inevitable and discuss strategies that funders and organizations can use to increase equity in placemaking and community development endeavors.


The 13 C a chemical shifts for 16,299 residues from 213 conformations of four proteins (experimentally determined by X-ray crystallography and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance methods) were computed by using a combination of approaches that includes, but is not limited to, the use of density functional theory. Initially, a validation test of this methodology was carried out by a detailed examination of the correlation between computed and observed 13 C a chemical shifts of 10,564 (of the 16,299) residues from 139 conformations of the human protein ubiquitin. The results of this validation test on ubiquitin show agreement with conclusions derived from computation of the chemical shifts at the ab initio Hartree–Fock level. Further, application of this methodology to 5,735 residues from 74 conformations of the three remaining proteins that differ in their number of amino acid residues, sequence and three-dimensional structure, together with a new scoring function, namely the conformationally averaged root-mean-square-deviation, enables us to: (a) offer a criterion for an accurate assessment of the quality of NMR-derived protein conformations; (b) examine whether X-ray or NMR-solved structures are better representations of the observed 13 C a chemical shifts in solution; (c) provide evidence indicating that the proposed methodology is more accurate than automated predictors for validation of protein structures; (d) shed light as to whether the agreement be-tween computed and observed 13 C a chemical shifts is influenced by the identity of an amino acid residue or its location in the sequence; and (e) provide evidence con-firming the presence of dynamics for proteins in solution, and hence showing that an ensemble of conformations is a better representation of the structure in solution than any single conformation.


Over recent decades the concept of evidence-based practice in health care has become part of the language of practitioners, policymakers and researchers. However, a gap between the production of research evidence and use of this evidence in practice has been identified, leading to repeated calls for solutions which will render the process more effective and efficient. It is increasingly acknowledged that getting evidence into, or out of, policy and practice arenas is not a straightforward or a linear process and to view it as such may be both misleading and overly simplistic. The term knowledge translation (KT) is used to describe the work required to close or bridge this gap and is becoming common vocabulary. However, as a concept KT (and related terms) are not yet clearly defined, nor are there agreed meanings in many areas including public health. While there is a growing body of literature exploring these concepts, using this evidence to inform public health practice, strategy, research and education is often difficult given the diverse range of sources, the worldviews upon which they are based and the need for local 'contextual fit'.

This study was commissioned by Fuse to explore how various stakeholder groups (e.g. practitioners, commissioners, academics, researchers, local authority/government) make sense of and experience the concepts and processes of knowledge translation, transfer and exchange.

The study aims were to:

Undertake a rapid review of recent literature syntheses pertaining to knowledge translation, exchange and transfer in public health,
Explore and articulate (map) stakeholder conceptualisations and interpretations of knowledge translation, exchange and transfer in public health.


The main purposes of this study were to test the effects of teaching at-risk 4th graders to provide explanations for their mathematics work and examine whether those effects occur by compensating for limitations in cognitive processes. We randomly assigned 212 children to 3 conditions: a control group and 2 variants of a multi-component fraction intervention. Both intervention conditions included 36 sessions, each lasting 35 min. All but 7 min of each session were identical. In the 7-min component, students were taught to provide high quality explanations when comparing fraction magnitudes or to solve fraction word problems. Children were pretested on cognitive variables and pre/posttested on fraction knowledge. On accuracy of magnitude comparisons and quality of explanations, children who received the explaining intervention outperformed those in the word-problem condition. On word problems, children who received the word-problem intervention outperformed those in the explaining condition. Moderator analyses indicated that the explaining intervention was more effective for students with weaker working memory, while the word-problem intervention was more effective for students with stronger reasoning ability.


In this testimony I discuss the causes and consequences of the rise of stock buybacks. Stock buybacks may sound like a technical matter of corporate finance: Why should it matter whether or not corporations repurchase their own stock? When a company executes a stock buyback, they raise the price of that company's shares for a period of time, but the funds spent on buybacks are then unavailable to be spent on the types of corporate activities that could make the company more productive over the long term: investments in future productivity and in the workforce. Stock buybacks are one of the drivers of our imbalanced economy, in which corporate profits and shareholder payments continue to grow while wages for typical workers stay flat.

Stock buybacks are virtually unregulated, even though Congress has recognized their potential for market manipulation. Importantly, there are currently no meaningful limits to stop executives from using corporate money on stock buybacks to raise share prices for their own short-term gain. Executives are not required to disclose that they have conducted a buyback until the next quarter's filing; meanwhile, there are no substantive limits to stop them from selling their own personal shares in the same quarter as they are conducting buybacks.


Pervasive computing is founded on the idea of technology disappearing from view and weaving itself into the fabric of our everyday lives. How does this idea apply to cognitive assistants, which are not intended to disappear? Ebling considers this question and identifies some of the ways cognitive assistants might weave their way into our lives without disappearing entirely.


We propose a learning problem involving adapting a pre-trained source model to the target domain for classifying all classes that appeared in the source data, using target data that covers only a partial label space. This problem is practical, as it is unrealistic for the target end-users to collect data for all classes prior to adaptation. However, it has received limited attention in the literature. To shed light on this issue, we construct benchmark datasets and conduct extensive experiments to uncover the inherent challenges. We found a dilemma -- on the one hand, adapting to the new target domain is important to claim better performance; on the other hand, we observe that preserving the classification accuracy of classes missing in the target adaptation data is highly challenging, let alone improving them. To tackle this, we identify two key directions: 1) disentangling domain gradients from classification gradients, and 2) preserving class relationships. We present several effective solutions that maintain the accuracy of the missing classes and enhance the overall performance, establishing solid baselines for holistic transfer of pre-trained models with partial target data.


This paper presents a novel post-fabrication tuning method which changes the resonant frequency of micromechanical beam resonators using Focused Ion Beam (FIB) deposition and removal of platinum. Tuning was achieved by depositing platinum on a 13x5m surface area at the tips of cantilever and the middle sections of bridge resonators in thicknesses ranging from 0.3 to 3.1m. Measurements on both types of resonator structures showed a maximum frequency change of -12% for 2.4 and 3.1m thick deposition. A decrease was observed in the quality (Q) factor due to the damping effect of the platinum material and the increased surface roughness of the resonator. After deposition, the change in resonant frequency was re-adjusted by precise milling of the deposited platinum


Arginine vasotocin, 0.02--1 nM, increases osmotic water permeability of frog urinary bladder, arginine vasotocin after a simultaneous addition to the mucosal and serosal Ringer solutions rises the water permeability to a lesser degree than on the hormone addition only to the serosal solution. 1 nM remestyp, an agonist of V1-receptors, from the apical membrane decreases the hydroosmotic effect of arginine vasotocin added to the serosal Ringer solution. When added to the mucosal solution, combination of the same concentrations of arginine vasotocin and SR 49059, an antagonist of V--receptors, or desmopressin, agonist of V2-receptor alone, increases the effect of the same concentration of arginine vasotocin added to the serosal solution. 1 nM arginine vasotocin at the luminal membrane increases secretion into the Ringer solution of prostaglandin E, and prostaglandin E1 but not of prostaglandin F2 alpha. The data obtained indicate the presence of the arginine vasotocin receptors responsible for the hydroosmotic effect only in the basolateral membranes, while arginine prostaglandin E, participation is shown in modulation of the arginine vasotocin effect.


A new supervised method for vessel segmentation in retinal images is studied here. Proposed method remolds the task of segmentation as a problem of cross-modality data transformation from retinal image to vessel map. A wide and deep neural network with strong induction ability is proposed to model the transformation, and an efficient training strategy is presented. Instead of a single label of the center pixel, the network can output the label map of all pixels for a given image patch. Our approach outperforms reported state-of-the-art methods in terms of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. The result of cross-training evaluation indicates its robustness to the training set. The approach needs no artificially designed feature and no preprocessing step, reducing the impact of subjective factors. The proposed method has the potential for application in image diagnosis of ophthalmologic diseases, and it may provide a new, general, high- performance computing framework for image segmentation. Key Words- new supervised method, cross-modality, cross-training evaluation.


Recent studies have begun to define the mechanisms through which Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) regulate intestinal homeostasis in health and disease. Current therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) mostly aim at interrupting the inflammatory cascade through agents that regulate TH1 or TH2 cytokine responses. As recognition grows for TLR dysfunction to play a role in IBD pathogenesis, TLRs could provide another valid interventional target for novel therapy development. However, seemingly contradictory results from studying different murine models of colitis have so far confounded whether therapeutically useful modulation of TLRs is best accomplished by activating, inhibiting, or rather a combination of both at different stages of mucosal disease. This review evaluates potential strategies as well as their rationale and future prospects.


PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to examine the external validity of the randomized TIME trial, when minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) was implemented nationally in the Netherlands, using data from the Dutch Upper GI Cancer Audit (DUCA) for transthoracic esophagectomy.

METHODS
Original patient data from the TIME trial were extracted along with data from the DUCA dataset (2011-2017). Multivariate analysis, with adjustment for patient factors, tumor factors, and year of surgery, was performed for the effect of MIE versus open esophagectomy on clinical outcomes.

RESULTS
One hundred fifteen patients from the TIME trial (59 MIE v 56 open) and 4,605 patients from the DUCA dataset (2,652 MIE v 1,953 open) were included. In the TIME trial, univariate analysis showed that MIE reduced pulmonary complications and length of hospital stay. On the contrary, in the DUCA dataset, MIE was associated with increased total and pulmonary complications and reoperations; however, benefits included increased proportion of R0 margin and lymph nodes harvested, and reduced 30-day mortality. Multivariate analysis from the TIME trial showed that MIE reduced pulmonary complications (odds ratio [OR], 0.19; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.61). In the DUCA dataset, MIE was associated with increased total complications (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.57), pulmonary complications (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.29 to 1.74), reoperations (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.42 to 2.14), and length of hospital stay. Multivariate analysis of the combined and MIE datasets showed that inclusion in the TIME trial was associated with a reduction in reoperations, Clavien-Dindo grade > 1 complications, and length of hospital stay.

CONCLUSION
When adopted nationally outside the TIME trial, MIE was associated with an increase in total and pulmonary complications and reoperation rate. This may reflect nonexpert surgeons outside of high-volume centers performing this minimally invasive technique in a nonstandardized fashion outside of a controlled environment.


Healthcare professionals are trained to "do good". Their role is to fulfil the welfare state's objective of curing or alleviating health problems among the population. The training of healthcare professionals is oriented towards the acquisition of comprehensive knowledge and is designed to make them authorities on the management of suffering. Traditionally the healthcare professions have adhered to strict ethical standards, where- among other things- concepts of equality and solidarity are intended to protect weak and marginalized groups. These ethical standards are also reflected in the official descriptions of their own roles promulgated by the health professions. An increasingly multicultural population has displayed demographic differences in disease incidence as well in cultural attitudes about health, disease and treatment. Service users from minority backgrounds are often categorized as problematic in the sense that they are not perceived as falling into a recognizable user category. These differences seem to create asymmetry in the professional field, due to lack of sufficient experience by health personnel or a lack of comprehensive knowledge about the appropriate handling of the group. This may create ambivalence in the professional practice of health personnel. I argue that health personell need to strengthen their multicultural competence to meet the healthcare needs of immigrant populations. The aim of the article is to contribute to a more thorough understanding of why healthcare professionals identity are challenged when they interact with a multicultural population. The article's method is based on discourse analytical persepectives through analyses of 31 text examples from health personell who strengthen their multicultural competence through education.


We report on femtosecond laser modification of Nd:SBN crystals. Basic properties such as the ablation threshold have been obtained from the analysis of the ablation depths at different laser fluences. The induced micromodifications have been investigated by optical microscopy as well as by microphotoluminescence and micro-Raman experiments. We have found that in the vicinity of the ablated volume material amorphization can be induced along different directions. Furthermore, we have found that this material amorphization is accompanied by a strong inhibition of the Nd3+ luminescence. The analysis of the spatial extension of the luminescence inhibition as a function of the laser fluence has been used to elucidate the origin of the femtosecond laser induced material amorphization.


This classic study clearly establishes a fundamental difference in viewpoint between the peoples of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. By examining the forms of kingship which evolved in the two countries, Frankfort discovered that beneath resemblances fostered by similar cultural growth and geographical location lay differences based partly upon the natural conditions under which each society developed. The river flood which annually renewed life in the Nile Valley gave Egyptians a cheerful confidence in the permanence of established things and faith in life after death. Their Mesopotamian contemporaries, however, viewed anxiously the harsh, hostile workings of nature. Frank's superb work, first published in 1948 and now supplemented with a preface by Samuel Noah Kramer, demonstrates how the Egyptian and Mesopotamian attitudes toward nature related to their concept of kingship. In both countries the people regarded the king as their mediator with the gods, but in Mesopotamia the king was only the foremost citizen, while in Egypt the ruler was a divine descendant of the gods and the earthly representative of the God Horus.


The goal of this Major Research paper is an exploration detailing how Canadian Electro-Pop artist Peaches Nisker transcends normative gender and sex politics through performance and frames the female erotic experience in a way that not only disempowers heterosexuality but also provides a broader more inclusive sexual politics. Through this analysis I focus specifically on three distinct spheres; performance, fandom and use of technology to argue that her critique of sexual conventions provides an cxpansive and transgressive new definition of female sexuality. Musical performances by female artists, particularly icons such as Madonna and Britney Spears, have demonstrated popular culture's inability to legitimize queer and non-compulsory heterosexual practices. These performances often function as limiting representations of the sexual female. Queerness in popular music culture is often showcased as
non-traditional and used as a form of spectacle. The appropriation of homoerotic imagery has traditionally served the purpose of appeasing the mass patriarchal pornographic gaze. I argue that Peaches embodies the essential queer spirit, presenting a politics that builds upon a more fluid sexuality. She reconfigures queer and heterosexual imagery using the language and framework that has been provided by compulsory heterosexuality, to shatter the foundation so often used against women and thereby presenting a new female erotic.


In this policy paper we discussed a broad range of topics covering student access to computers at home and school, different uses of computers for learning and the impact of ICT use on different groups of students. Introducing computers into schools generates both new opportunities and challenges. Basic computer skills are often acquired by students without any school involvement. The positive impact of usage of computers at school on student performance is questionable. The governments should no longer focus on providing ICT equipment as virtually all schools have computer labs and access to the Internet. More investment in this field would be counterproductive. The role of schools should be rather to teach students how to use computers and Internet in more sophisticated ways that facilitate learning and individual development. Teaching how computers work, e.g. with coding classes, should be introduced to school curricula. The other key issues are to teach students how to assess reliability of Internet resources, prepare materials that motivate students and invest in teacher training.


Lacquer has a long and ongoing tradition of use in Asia. Known as qi 漆 in China, its use can be traced back to the Neolithic period and it remains in use today. The earliest known Chinese archaeological lacquered object dates to approximately 6000 bce. Many Chinese classical texts and historical documents over the last 8000 years mention lacquer and related information. An extensive investigation of Chinese literature from different time periods was carried out to search for useful information scattered throughout Chinese texts. This article outlines some of the highlights and research challenges.


We study iterative methods for (two-stage) robust combinatorial optimization problems with discrete uncertainty. We propose a machine-learning-based heuristic to determine starting scenarios that provide strong lower bounds. To this end, we design dimension-independent features and train a Random Forest Classifier on small-dimensional instances. Experiments show that our method improves the solution process for larger instances than contained in the training set and also provides a feature importance-score which gives insights into the role of scenario properties.


The investigation of the antifungal activities of drugs whose primary activities are not related to their antimicrobial potential is in the current forefront of research. Statin compounds, which are routinely used as cholesterol-lowering drugs, may also exert direct antimicrobial effects. In this study, the in vitro antifungal activities of various statins (lovastatin, simvastatin, fluvastatin, atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and pravastatin) were examined against one isolate each of four dermatophyte species (Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis and Microsporum gypseum). Basically, statins were effective in inhibiting all dermatophyte studied, but were particularly active against M. canis and T. mentagrophytes. Fluvastatin and simvastatin were active against all of the tested fungi causing a complete inhibition of their growth at very low concentrations (6.25-12.5 μg/ml). Lovastatin and rosuvastatin had inhibitory effects at higher concentrations (25-128 μg/ml), while atorvastatin and pravastatin proved the less effective. The in vitro interactions between statins and different antifungals (ketoconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole, amphotericin B, nystatin, griseofulvin, terbinafine and primycin) were also investigated using a standard chequerboard broth microdilution method. Synergetic interactions were observed in several cases, most of them were noticed when statins were combined with terbinafine and the different azoles. Some combinations were particularly active (ketoconazole-simvastatin or terbinafine-simvastatin), as they were found to exert synergistic effect against all of the investigated isolates. The other antifungals showed synergistic interactions with statins in only certain cases. These results suggest that statins exert substantial antifungal effects against dermatophyte fungi and they should be promising components in a combination therapy as they can act synergistically with a number of clinically used antifungal agents.


The article research problem was to present the theoretical issues and statistics of entrepreneurship in all the rural districts of the Mazowieckie voivodeship. The article was to show the level and concentration of companies' number in the examined districts. This made it possible to identify the districts with the highest and the lowest level of entrepreneurship as well as the changes in its concentration that took place in the examined period. The research was conducted in 2014, and the main statistical material consisted of the data obtained from the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Offi ce. The research outcomes indicate that there was a slight but steady increase of the number concentration of enterprises located in the examined districts in the studied period.


Networking is an important developing trend in the field of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI). A remote control system makes it possible to access remote software and hardware resources and consequently users can achieve their intended aims by means of remote operations. Nowadays, mobile terminals are becoming essential in people's lives, so it is meaningful and significant to use them as a remote control and for data collection. This paper implements a remote control and data collection system based on an Android terminal to facilitate interactive data acquisition, the system uses a mobile terminal to control the data and computing resources of CAI in a PC terminal. This system could be installed on a smart phone or pad to communicate with a PC, implemented by means of a UDP protocol using socket technology. The main functions of the system are: simulating computer peripherals, remote data writing, remote desktop, data collection and management, and uploading data to a server.


The specific growth rate, G , is widely used in articles dealing with the growth of aquatic organisms under experimental conditions. When individuals are untagged, the arithmetic mean of G for a group of animals must be calculated from weight geometric means, not from arithmetic means. The type of weight mean used in articles to calculate the arithmetic mean of G is usually not reported, and an extended use of weight arithmetic means is common. The arithmetic mean of G so calculated is biased according to the increment in the squared coefficient of variation of body weights. Another potential bias in the calculation of the arithmetic mean of G is size-dependent mortality; this bias cannot be avoided when individuals are untagged, but maximal and minimal values can be obtained. In summary, in view of these analytical results, it seems prudent to calculate the arithmetic mean of G for a group of untagged animals from geometric means of weights, and to estimate the maximal error due to the possibility of size-dependent mortality whenever possible.


Abstract Irradiation of puparia in Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), sterile insect release programs can negatively affect adult fly performance. Emergence, survivorship, lure attraction, and mating competition tests were performed on irradiated and unirradiated Mediterranean fruit flies in Hawaii. Unirradiated flies of the Vienna-7 (tsl) strain had higher emergence, flight ability, and survivorship compared with irradiated flies. In general, unirradiated flies were more responsive to trimedlure, but this effect was not consistent for all strains at every age. Laboratory strains, of both unirradiated and irradiated flies, responded to trimedlure at a younger age than wild flies, which may be a result of inadvertent selection for decreased development time in laboratory-reared flies. Mating competition tests with irradiated and unirradiated flies showed no significant differences. Costs associated with the irradiation process and the development of alternative control techniques are discussed.


Local feature frameworks are difficult to learn in an end-to-end fashion, due to the discreteness inherent to the selection and matching of sparse keypoints. We introduce DISK (DIScrete Keypoints), a novel method that overcomes these obstacles by leveraging principles from Reinforcement Learning (RL), optimizing end-to-end for a high number of correct feature matches. Our simple yet expressive probabilistic model lets us keep the training and inference regimes close, while maintaining good enough convergence properties to reliably train from scratch. Our features can be extracted very densely while remaining discriminative, challenging commonly held assumptions about what constitutes a good keypoint, as showcased in Fig. 1, and deliver state-of-the-art results on three public benchmarks.


Finding useful patterns in stock market data requires tremendous analytical skills and effort. To help investors manage their portfolios, we developed a tool for clustering and visualizing stock market data using an unsupervised learning algorithm called Self-Organizing Map. Our tool is intended to assist users in identifying groups of stocks that have similar price movement patterns over a period of time. We performed a visual analysis by comparing the resulting visualization with Yahoo Finance charts. Overall, we found that the Self-Organizing Map algorithm can analyze and cluster the stock market data reasonably.


Background: Malnutrion has negative effects on patient outcome, in particular in patients with COPD. Recognition of malnutrition in an early phase might be beneficial for patients and screening for malnutrition in an outpatient setting might, therefore, be worthwhile.

Aim: To determine the extent of malnutrition in outpatients with pulmonary diseases using different methods.

Methods: All patients visiting our outpatient department of pulmonary diseases for the first time (period Oct. 2010 - Febr. 2011) were screened for malnutrition. Different methods were used to screen for malnutrition: body mass index (bmi), Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ), and a fat free mass measurement (FFM; bio-impedance by Bodystat® 1500).

Results: Data of 121 outpatients (mean age 59, 49% male, 29% COPD) were analysed. Obesity (bmi > 30) was found in 26% of patients and underweight (bmi 65 yrs) was found in 7 patients. The SNAQ score detected 9 and 3 patients being severely or moderately malnourished. FFM revealed 17 patients (14%) with malnutrition. Combining SNAQ and bmi resulted in detection of 17 malnourished patients. However, different patients are detected (Table 1).

View this table:

Table 1. Malnutrition: FFM vs. SNAQ + bmi

A low FFM was found more often in patients with COPD (23%) and in females (21%).

Conclusion: This study revealed malnutrition in 6 to 14% of outpatients with pulmonary diseases. Measurement of bmi only seems to underestimate nutritional problems. The discrepancies in detecting different patients emphasise the need for determining a gold standard for defining and measuring malnutrition.


Pb_xBa_1−xTiO_3 (0.2 ⩽ x ⩽ 1) thin films were deposited on single-crystal MgO as well as amorphous Si_3N_4/Si substrates using biaxially textured MgO buffer templates, grown by ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD). The ferroelectric films were stoichiometric and highly oriented, with only (001) and (100) orientations evident in x-ray diffraction (XRD) scans. Films on biaxially textured templates had smaller grains (60 nm average) than those deposited on single-crystal MgO (300 nm average). Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has been used to study the microtexture on both types of substrates and the results were consistent with x-ray pole figures and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs that indicated the presence of 90° domain boundaries, twins, in films deposited on single-crystal MgO substrates. In contrast, films on biaxially textured substrates consisted of small single-domain grains that were either c or a oriented. The surface-sensitive EBSD technique was used to measure the tetragonal tilt angle as well as in-plane and out-of-plane texture. High-temperature x-ray diffraction (HTXRD) of films with 90° domain walls indicated large changes, as much as 60%, in the c and a domain fractions with temperature, while such changes were not observed for Pb_xBa_1−xTiO_3 (PBT) films on biaxially textured MgO/Si_3N_4/Si substrates, which lacked 90° domain boundaries.


Within the hematopoietic system, monoclonal antibodies reactive with antigenic determinants, expressed in a lineage- and stage-restricted fashion, can be used to map myeloid differentiation. We have generated a series of monoclonal antibodies that reacts with myeloid-associated determinants on committed myeloid stem cells and their progeny. Their reactivity with peripheral blood cells was identified by immunofluorescence assays, with bone marrow cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and with committed hematopoietic progenitor cells by both cytotoxic assays and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Antibody 1G10, which has previously been reported to react with cells of the granulocytic lineage and with a minor subset of mature monocytes, was shown to react with granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units (CFU-GM). Three antibodies not previously characterized (T5A7, L4F3, L1B2) were shown to react with both granulocytic and monocytic cells and in fluorescence-activated cell sorting studies to detectably stain granulocytic cells at different stages of maturation. These three antibodies also react with CFU-GM, two (L4F3 and L1B2) reacting with all CFU-GM, while T5A7 reacts with only a portion of the day 7 CFU-GM. Antibody L4F3 also reacts with a portion of erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E). In contrast, the previously reported antibody 5F1, which reacts with monocytic cells, nucleated erythroid cells, and platelets, was shown to react with erythroid colony-forming units (CFU-E). Potential applications of these antibodies to studies of normal and malignant hematopoiesis are discussed.


Abstract : Composite monolayer films spontaneously adsorb onto the surface of Au from an ethanolic mixture of two mercaptans to form a nanoporous surface. The monolayers consist of an electron transfer-retarding n-alkanethiol framework, which passivates the Au surface, and a much shorter aromatic mercaptan which induces molecule-sized defects within the passivating framework. Electrochemical experiments indicate that the chemical nature of the template and the template/framework ratio of the deposition solution control the size, number and chemical characteristics of the defects. For example, 4-hydroxythiophenol/1- hexadecanethiol mixed monolayers yield assemblies that admit Ru(NH3)6(3+) probe molecules but not Fe(CN)6(3-).


PROGRESS is a project and strategic research centre at Mälardalen University in Sweden that is funded for 2006 -- 2010 by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). PROGRESS research targets embedded software in the vehicular, automation, and telecom domains, focusing on the areas of component technology, verification and analysis for predictability, predictable execution, as well as reuse and maintenance of legacy embedded software. We first describe the funding, organization and research areas of PROGRESS, and then give several examples of research that addresses maintenance of legacy embedded software with the goal to improve program comprehension, quality assurance, and debugging. Specifically, we describe research in tracing and trace visualization, impact analysis of temporal behavior, slicing, and system-specific static analyses.


It is a core problem in any field to reliably tell how
close two objects are to being the same, and once this relation has been
established we can use this information to precisely quantify potential
relationships, both analytically and with machine learning (ML). For inorganic solids,
the chemical composition is a fundamental descriptor, which can be represented
by assigning the ratio of each element in the material to a vector. These
vectors are a convenient mathematical data structure for measuring similarity,
but unfortunately, the standard metric (the Euclidean distance) gives little to
no variance in the resultant distances between chemically dissimilar
compositions. We present the Earth Mover's Distance (EMD) for inorganic
compositions, a well-defined metric which enables the measure of chemical
similarity in an explainable fashion. We compute the EMD between two
compositions from the ratio of each of the elements and the absolute distance between
the elements on the modified Pettifor scale. This simple metric shows clear
strength at distinguishing compounds and is efficient to compute in practice.
The resultant distances have greater alignment with chemical understanding than
the Euclidean distance, which is demonstrated on the binary compositions of the
Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD). The EMD is a reliable numeric
measure of chemical similarity that can be incorporated into automated
workflows for a range of ML techniques. We have found that with no supervision
the use of this metric gives a distinct partitioning of binary compounds into
clear trends and families of chemical property, with future applications for nearest
neighbor search queries in chemical database retrieval systems and supervised
ML techniques.


Despite the increasing number of studies on the systematics of the Stephanoberycoidei (bigscales, pricklefishes, gibberfishes, hispidoberycids, and whalefishes) globally, knowledge about the diversity and distribution of the group in the western South Atlantic still remains fragmentary. In this study, we present new anatomical (meristic and morphometric) and distributional data for 18 species of the Stephanoberycoidei based on the examination of 150 specimens recently collected during the ABRACOS (Acoustics along the BRAzilian COaSt) expeditions off northeastern Brazil, including the Rocas Atoll, Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, and the seamounts off Rio Grande do Norte State, and additional museum specimens. In the Melamphaidae, remarks on the taxonomy of Melamphaes polylepis and of the Poromitra crassiceps and P. megalops species groups are made based on specimens examined. In addition, Scopeloberyx opercularis, currently considered as a junior synonym of Scopeloberyx robustus, is recognized as a valid species. Among the species identified, nine have their distributions extended in the western South Atlantic based on confirmed records: Melamphaes polylepis, M. typhlops, Poromitra megalops, Poromitra sp., Scopeloberyx opercularis, Scopeloberyx opisthopterus, Scopelogadus mizolepis, Cetostoma regani, and Rondeletia loricata. Eight further species are reported for the first time in Brazilian waters: Cetomimus sp. 1, Cetomimus sp. 2, Ditropichthys storeri, Gyrinomimus bruuni, Melamphaes eulepis, M. leprus, M. longivelis, and Melamphaes sp. Additional remarks on the taxonomy and distribution of the Stephanoberycoidei in the western South Atlantic are also provided.


Prospective memory (PM), or memory for realizing delayed intentions, was examined with an event-based paradigm while simultaneously measuring neural activity with high-density EEG recordings. Specifically, the neural substrates of monitoring for an event-based cue were examined, as well as those perhaps associated with the cognitive processes supporting detection of cues and fulfillment of intentions. Participants engaged in a baseline lexical decision task (LDT), followed by a LDT with an embedded PM component. Event-based cues were constituted by color and lexicality (red words). Behavioral data provided evidence that monitoring, or preparatory attentional processes, were used to detect cues. Analysis of the event-related potentials (ERP) revealed visual attentional modulations at 140 and 220 ms post-stimulus associated with preparatory attentional processes. In addition, ERP components at 220, 350, and 400 ms post-stimulus were enhanced for intention-related items. Our results suggest preparatory attention may operate by selectively modulating processing of features related to a previously formed event-based intention, as well as provide further evidence for the proposal that dissociable component processes support the fulfillment of delayed intentions.


Large-scale data losses experienced across both public and private sector organisations have led to expectations that organisations will develop a culture that supports information security aims and objectives. Despite the fact that many organisations now run awareness, education and training programmes for their employees, however, information security incidents due to employee misuse of information still keep occurring. This suggests that these programmes are not working. The research presented in this thesis examines ways to better understand employees' attitudes towards information security with a view to improving current organisational practice. The research explores whether Chief Information Security Officers are delivering organisational change for information security, before moving on to better understand employee's attitudes and how these are translated into behaviours. The research takes a mixed-methods approach that is not often used in information security research and combines both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods, grounded in the theory of social psychology. Case studies are carried out with Chief Information Security Officers as well as at the Office of Fair Trading and Prudential plc. The research delivers a survey tool that can be used in organisations to better understand how to frame information security messages so that they achieve their aims. An expert panel of users evaluated the survey. The research concluded that end users fall into two groups – the 'I Can Handle It Group' and the 'It's Out of My Control Group' and these substantive findings have been validated by a field experiment. By mirroring the attributions of the dominant group the field experiment demonstrates that it is possible to influence employees' behaviour.


The Indian Ocean has received increasing attention for its large impacts on regional and global climate. However, sea surface temperature (SST) variability arising from Indian Ocean internal processes has not been well understood particularly on decadal and longer time scales, and the external influence from the tropical Pacific has not been quantified. This paper analyzes the interannual-to-decadal SST variability in the tropical Indian Ocean in observations and explores the external influence from the Pacific versus internal processes within the Indian Ocean using a linear inverse model (LIM). Coupling between Indian Ocean and tropical Pacific SST anomalies (SSTAs) is assessed both within the LIM dynamical operator and the unpredictable stochastic noise that forces the system. Results show that the observed Indian Ocean basin (IOB)-wide SSTA pattern is largely a response to the Pacific ENSO forcing, although it in turn has a damping effect on ENSO especially on annual and decadal time scales. On the other hand, the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) is an Indian Ocean internal mode that can actively affect ENSO; ENSO also has a returning effect on the IOD, which is rather weak on decadal time scale. The third mode is partly associated with the subtropical Indian Ocean dipole (SIOD), and it is primarily generated by Indian Ocean internal processes, although a small component of it is coupled with ENSO. Overall, the amplitude of Indian Ocean internally generated SST variability is comparable to that forced by ENSO, and the Indian Ocean tends to actively influence the tropical Pacific. These results suggest that the Indian–Pacific Ocean interaction is a two-way process.


Avalanche forecasting involves the prediction of spatial and temporal variability of the snowpack. To predict avalanches with more accuracy it is important to determine whether the snowpack is becoming more spatially variable or more spatially uniform. Greater variability increases uncertainty in extrapolation and prediction. Our results offer a look at the evolution of the spatial variability of shear strength and stability of a buried surface hoar layer in southwestern Montana, USA, from shortly after burial until it was no longer the weakest layer in the snowpack. We selected the study site for its 27degree planar slope, uniform ground cover, and wind-sheltered location. This simplified the comparison of the plots by minimizing initial spatial differences so we could focus on temporal change. Within the site, we sampled four 14 m x 14 m arrays of more than 70 shear frame tests in a layout optimized for spatial analysis. Over a three-week period, the sampling of the four adjacent arrays showed temporal change. The variability of the shear strength of this layer initially decreased then became increasingly variable through time. This suggests that extrapolating test results to other locations becomes increasingly unreliable as layers age, a result that matches practical experience. The data also provide indications that shear strength has a correlation length, the distance at which test results are related, of just a few meters. This short correlation length demonstrates quantitatively why stability tests that are relatively close together can be quite different.


The introduction of the euro in 1999 marked the starting point of the development of a very liquid and heterogeneous EUR credit market, which exceeds EUR 350bn with respect to outstanding corporate bonds. As a result, credit risk trading and credit portfolio management gained significantly in importance. The book shows how to optimize, manage, and hedge liquid credit portfolios, i.e. applying innovative derivative instruments. Against the background of the highly complex structure of credit derivatives, the book points out how to implement portfolio optimization concepts using credit-relevant parameters, and basic Markowitz or more sophisticated modified approaches (e.g., Conditional Value at Risk, Omega optimization) to fulfill the special needs of an active credit portfolio management on a single-name and on a portfolio basis (taking default correlation within a credit risk model framework into account). This includes appropriate strategies to analyze the impact from credit-relevant newsflow (macro- and micro-fundamental news, rating actions, etc.). As credits resemble equity-linked instruments, we also highlight how to implement debt-equity strategies, which are based on a modified Merton approach.

 The book is obligatory for credit portfolio managers of funds and insurance companies, as well as bank-book managers, credit traders in investment banks, cross-asset players in hedge funds, and risk controllers.


Background: Apremilast is an oral phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor that has been approved as monotherapy for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. No data exist on the safety or efficacy of apremilast as a component of combination therapy with either phototherapy or conventional systemic or biological therapies. Objective: To evaluate the short term-efficacy and safety of apremilast in combination with at least one form of photo-, systemic, or biologic therapy in the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients who received apremilast in addition to systemic, biologic, or phototherapy. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients achieving at least 75% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (PASI-75). Results: A total of 81 patients with plaque psoriasis were treated with apremilast in combination with at least 1 other therapy (NB-UVB, methotrexate, acitretin, cyclosporin, etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab, or ustekinumab). Fourteen patients (17%) discontinued treatment before completion of 12 weeks of apremilast therapy. Sixty-seven patients continued on drug past 12 weeks. Of these patients, 81% achieved PASI-75 at week 12 after apremilast was added to an existing therapy. Nausea and/or diarrhea were reported in 25% of these patients, and weight loss was observed in 15%. Conclusion: Apremilast can be safely and effectively combined with phototherapy, systemic, and/or biological agents in patients with plaque psoriasis not responding adequately to these agents alone. Gastrointestinal side effects were manageable in the majority of patients.


Somatization is "the tendency to try and communicate somatic discomfort and symptoms that can't be explained by pathological causes and assigned to physical diseases" (Lipowski, 1988, p. 1359). The literature has noted an association between somatic complaints and the increase of the stress levels. Although several studies and investigations have been made, since early, about somatization and the stress effects at the arising of diseases, this has focused, essentially, in adult population. Indeed, research in children and adolescents is still scarce and there are a lacking evaluation tools a adapted to the Portuguese population. The Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI-24), is intended to assess the presence and the degree of intensity of somatization, between 8 and 18 years old. The present study aims to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the Children's Somatization Inventory (ISC-24), in order to adapt to the Portuguese population a valid measure of somatization. Key- words - Somatization, Children and Adolescents, Inventory, Adaptation.


To the Editor. —The testing of visual acuity in a young child or an illiterate patient is often a difficult task. Poor attention and comprehension of the examination may compromise the accuracy or validity of the results. The HOTV acuity testing system (Good-Lite Co, Forest Park, Ill) is a widely used method for testing visual acuity in these patients. However, the testing is complicated by difficulty in directing the patient's attention to the letter of interest. We have devised a technique for handlight retroillumination of the standard HOTV visual acuity chart to simplify the examination procedure. The patient is seated in the examination chair holding the HOTV's standard letter board. The patient is instructed in the technique of recognition of matched letters for the examiner's HOTV chart to the patient's board. The examiner faces the patient from a distance of 10 ft and holds up the HOTV acuity chart. Using


There is increasing penetration of renewable generation in buildings and districts. There are challenges in making the effective use of this generation. The objective of the ORIGIN project (Orchestration of Renewable Integrated Generation In Neighborhoods) is to shape loads so that the fraction of energy consumed that is from local renewable generation is maximized, and energy imported from outside sources is minimized. This paper presents the overall approach taken in the ORIGIN project and explores building physics aspects of solar thermal storage system orchestration. The case study districts are briefly introduced and characteristics of their generation, buildings, districts and shiftable loads described. The orchestration approach taken in ORIGIN is then presented. At the core of the ORIGIN system is the orchestration algorithm which generates informational and control outputs to shape future loads to best meet the objectives. The model based approach used to quantify thermal and electrical load shifting opportunities for pre-charging, coasting or avoiding loads, while meeting thermal comfort and other demands, is described using a solar thermal storage system as an example. The future steps for the ORIGIN project; retrofit of the ORIGIN system into existing districts and potential for other future applications is briefly discussed. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the CENTRO CONGRESSI INTERNAZIONALE SRL.


Push–pull conjugated polymers have shown high performance in organic photovoltaic devices and yet, there have been fewer studies of the fundamental structure–property relationship in this class of materials compared to prototypical conjugated homopolymers MEH-PPV and P3HT. Here we report a single molecule study of a push–pull polymer poly[N-(1-octylnonyl)-2,7-carbazole]-alt-5,5-[4′,7′-di(thien-2-yl)-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole] (PCDTBT) to understand the origin of the substantial band gap narrowing and the sensitivity of peak position to chain length even for long polymer chains. In bulk solution, the peak of the emission spectrum was observed to shift from a higher energy emission state to a lower energy state above a critical molecular weight. This same trend was observed at the single molecule level where there were two clear emission species. At low MW the single molecules showed emission predominately from the higher energy state. Above the critical molecular weight, the single molecules changed and showed emission from the low energy species. At the transition MW, a mixture was observed with molecules emitting from one or the other of the two species. The transition from the high energy to low energy state at a particular molecular weight is likely the result of substantial intermolecular self-interactions between chain segments that leads to excitation delocalization. This is made possible at even higher molecular weight and lengths where there are more energy transfer pathways for the already long polymer chains.


Open Source Software (OSS) products started to become popular in the market as an alternative to closed source software. Companies and organizations are starting to adopt OSS on large scales and several governmental initiatives have encouraged the usage of OSS in the private sectors. The objective of this paper is to identify all possible OSS characteristics and propose new quality characteristics for selecting OSS in the adoption process. In general, the adoption of OSS among potential users in public sector agencies is still low and needs to be encouraged. This paper provides a brief history of OSS and open source's key programming languages. It also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of OSS. In order to improve user confidentiality, this paper identifies all possible OSS characteristics and proposes new internal quality characteristics for selecting OSS that can be added to each DeLone and McLean information system model dimensions.


Sarsia, Euphysa, and other hydromedusae have been studied by electrophysiological techniques and are found to have nonnervous conducting epithelia resembling those described earlier for siphonophores. Simple, nonmuscular epithelia fire singly or repetitively following brief electrical stimuli. The pulses recorded with suction electrodes are biphasic, initially positive, and show amplitudes of 0.75–2.0 mv, durations of 5–15 msec, and velocities of 15–35 cm/sec with short refractory periods. In the swimming muscle (myoepithelium) 2.0–4.0 mv composite events lasting 150–300 msec are associated with contraction waves. Propagation in nonnervous epithelia is typically all-or-none, nondecremental, and unpolarized. The subumbrellar endoderm lamella conducts independently of the adjacent ectoderm. The lower regions of the tentacles do not show propagated epithelial events. The spread of excitation in conducting epithelia and associated effector responses are described. Examples are given of interaction between events seemingly conducted in the nervous system and those in nonnervous epithelia. Either system may excite the other. Spontaneous activity, however, appears to originate in the nervous system. Conduction in nonnervous tissues is unaffected by excess Mg++ in concentrations suppressing presumed nervous activity, although this may not be a wholly adequate criterion for distinguishing components of the two systems. Evidence from old work by Romanes is considered in the light of these findings and the general significance of epithelial conduction is discussed.


The vast majority of buried pipelines are not designed to accommodate significant localized ground movement caused by landslides, earthquakes, or subsidence/settlement. When a ground movement event occurs along the ROW of a buried pipeline, it is imperative that the pipeline operator determine whether the ground movement is a threat to pipeline integrity to protect those responding to the event, those living near the affected ROW, and the environment.
 This paper covers the development of a response plan that provides guidance to pipeline operators responding to a ground movement event while considering the unique conditions associated with such events.
 The response plan covers some critical decisions after an event, including, but not limited to (1) whether the event affects the pipeline, the local ROW, or those living adjacent to the ROW, (2) control of flow, i.e., the need for shutdown or pressure reduction, and (3) work needed to return the line to full-pressure service. The overall response plan is presented in three main phases:
 • Phase 1: Immediate Response,
 • Phase 2: Follow-on Assessment and Actions, and
 • Phase 3: Long-term Management.
 The structured response plan and associated guidance are presented in a self-contained stand-alone document available from PRCI. Parts of the document or the entire document can be adopted by operators, depending on the extent of existing procedures an operator may have. Alternatively, company-specific information and procedures can be added to the document to form a company-specific SOP.


Micronuclei are small, extranuclear bodies that are distinct from the primary cell nucleus. Micronucleus formation is an aberrant event that suggests a history of genotoxic stress or chromosome mis-segregation events. Accordingly, assays evaluating micronucleus formation serve as useful tools within the fields of toxicology and oncology. Here, we describe a novel micronucleus formation assay that utilizes a high-throughput imaging platform and automated image analysis software for accurate detection and rapid quantification of micronuclei at the single cell level. We show that our image analysis parameters are capable of identifying dose-dependent increases in micronucleus formation within three distinct cell lines following treatment with two established genotoxic agents, etoposide or bleomycin. We further show that this assay detects micronuclei induced through silencing of the established chromosome instability gene, SMC1A. Thus, the micronucleus formation assay described here is a versatile and efficient alternative to more laborious cytological approaches, and greatly increases throughput, which will be particularly beneficial for large-scale chemical or genetic screens.


We consider the dynamic pricing problem of a durable good monopolist with full commitment power, when a new version of the good is expected at some point in the future. The new version of the good is superior to the existing one, bringing a higher ow utility. If the arrival is a stationary stochastic process, then the corresponding optimal price path is shown to be constant for both versions of the good, hence there is no delay on purchases and time is not used to discriminate over buyers, which is in line with the literature. However, if the arrival of the new version occurs at a commonly known deterministic date, then the optimal price path may be decreasing over time, resulting in delayed purchases. For both stochastic and deterministic arrival processes, posted prices is not the optimal mechanism, which on the other hand, involves into bundling of both new and old versions of the good and selling them only together.


Background The high positivity rate of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET in the setting of biochemical failure (BCF), even when conventional imaging is negative, is promising. Purpose To assess the disease detection rate of PSMA-based PET/CT with fluorine 18-DCFPyL as a radiotracer and the PET-directed management change in men with suspected limited recurrent prostate cancer. Materials and Methods This prospective multicenter registry (Ontario PSMA-PET Registry for Recurrent Prostate Cancer, or PREP) enrolled men with BCF after primary therapy (radical prostatectomy plus or minus salvage radiation therapy or primary radiation therapy) and zero to four disease sites at conventional imaging (CT and bone scintigraphy). The positivity rate of PSMA PET according to serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level; frequency of local-egional, oligometastatic, and extensive metastatic recurrence; and rate of change in management after PET findings were recorded. The nonparametric Mood median test was used to assess the association between serum PSA level and change in management. Results A total of 1289 men (median age, 71 years [interquartile range, 65-75 years]) were evaluated. PSMA PET helped detect disease in 841 of 1289 men (65%) and in 615 of 999 men (62%) with negative conventional imaging. The recurrence detection rates according to serum PSA level at enrollment were 38% (160 of 424 men), 63% (107 of 171 men), and 83% (573 of 692 men) for PSA under 0.5 ng/mL, 0.5-1.0 ng/mL, and above 1.0 ng/mL, respectively. At PSMA PET, 399 of 1289 men (31%) had local-regional recurrence, 314 (24%) had oligometastatic disease, and 128 (10%) had extensive metastases. Following PET examination, a change in planned management was recorded in 748 of 1289 men (58%), and in 371 of 1250 men (30%), there was a change in management intent, more commonly from palliative to potentially curative intent (255 of 1289 men [20%]). Conclusion Prostate-specific membrane antigen PET helped detect additional sites of disease compared with conventional imaging in approximately 60% of men with biochemical failure and suspected low-volume metastatic disease, resulting in frequent change in management, including a change from palliative to curative or radical intent therapy in 20% of men. Long-term follow-up is needed to determine whether this impacts disease control. Clinical trial registration no. NCT03718260 © RSNA, 2022 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Civelek in this issue.


Noise in hospital wards has the potential to slow down the recovery of patients. A comprehensive and systematic analysis of noise levels and noise sources has been carried out in two intensive care units and one high dependency unit in two Edinburgh hospitals (UK). Noise levels LAeq,1min and LAFmax were measured at 1 minute intervals for 24 hour periods, and noise sources responsible for LAFmax were identified. High noise levels were found in the three wards, the lowest LAeq,1min being measured in the modern ward tested, where an acoustic ceiling was present. A substantial number of noise sources have been observed and analysed statistically, many of which had never been identified by previous research. It was found that 34% of these are totally avoidable and 28% are partially avoidable. Noise control solutions are presented, with practical solutions affecting 48% of the noise sources, and staff education affecting 14% of the sources. Practical application: The analysis and classification of noise sources obtained has lead to the identification and presentation of practical noise control solutions, some of which can be implemented at the design stage. This is of direct relevance to building services engineers who play a role in the design of hospital wards, and can therefore use this information. It can also be noted that average and maximum noise levels measured in this study could form the basis for the development of noise guidelines in intensive care units and high dependency units, as current limits do not appear to be appropriate for such spaces.


We describe several improvements that are being pursued to improve the dynamic range of lowpass phase modulation-demodulation (PMD) analog-to-digital converters (ADC). The existing ADC has been tested at sampling frequencies up to 29.44 GHz; a 89.15 dB signal to noise ratio (SNR) is achieved for a 10 MHz sinusoidal input, with the noise being measured in a reference 10 MHz bandwidth in the decimated band. The first improved approach involves a multi-rate ADC where the modulator sampling frequency is increased in multiples of the decimation filter clock. We have tested the multi-rate ADCs at sampling frequencies up to 46.08 GHz and 29.44 GHz for chips fabricated using the 4.5 and 1 kA/cm2 fabrication processes respectively. For a single channel ADC, with a 9.92 MHz sinusoidal input, sampled at 29.44 GHz, the SNR is 83.93 dB in a reference 10 MHz bandwidth. The spur-free dynamic range (SFDR) is 95 dB. In another improved architecture, called the quarter-rate ADC, the modified quantizer quadruples the input dynamic range by distributing the input in a cyclical fashion to four output channels, each operating at a quarter of the fluxon transport rate. This enables quadrupling the synchronizer channels, providing an opportunity for up to 12 dB performance enhancement. A parallel counter following the multi-channel synchronizer converts the differential code to a multi-bit binary code, which is further processed by the decimation filter. A prototype version of this ADC with a two channel synchronizer, fabricated using the 4.5 kA/cm2 process, has been tested up to a sampling frequency of 25.6 GHz. For a 10 MHz sinusoidal input, the SNR is 82.54 dB, with the noise measured in a reference 10 MHz bandwidth. We are also designing a subranging ADC with two PMD front-ends. Simulation results promise greater than 20 dB performance enhancement.


In this paper, we study the low-rank tensor completion problem, where a high-order tensor with missing entries is given and the goal is to complete the tensor. We propose to minimize a new convex objective function, based on log sum of exponentials of nuclear norms, that promotes the low-rankness of unfolding matrices of the completed tensor. We show for the first time that the proximal operator to this objective function is readily computable through a hybrid singular value thresholding scheme. This leads to a new solution to high-order (low-rank) tensor completion via convex relaxation. We show that this convex relaxation and the resulting solution are much more effective than existing tensor completion methods (including those also based on minimizing ranks of unfolding matrices). The hybrid singular value thresholding scheme can be applied to any problem where the goal is to minimize the maximum rank of a set of low-rank matrices.


Background and aims – Discovering the degree of patient satisfaction in a medical practice setting may put substantial impact in improving health status and quality of care provided. In this study, the researchers evaluated the degree of patient satisfaction following medical encounters and re-examined the validity and reliability of the used questionnaires.
Methodology – An institutional, cross-sectional, observational study was carried out involving 390 participants in February, 2013 in five out-patient clinics of Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Howrah, India. A 12-item Japanese short-form self-administered consultation satisfaction questionnaire translated into Bengali with a 5-point Likert scale was used. The questionnaire generated 5 subscales – overall satisfaction, complete examination, whole person care, examination time, and patient centeredness. Visual analogue scales (VASs) of 100mm were provided with each single question item and each subscale.
Results – The questionnaire appeared reliable and valid. Internal consistency scores Cronbach's α were between 0.7-0.9 and test-retest reliability Cohen's κ was greater than 0.7 for each item. Concurrent validity Pearson's r between total questionnaire and VASs was 0.60, P < 0.001; each subscale scores 0.8 < r < 0.9, P < 0.0001, and each question score 0.8 < r < 0.9, P < 0.0001. Comparison of mean scores of five different subscales for five different outpatient clinics yielded F ratios between 4.3-9.8 (P < 0.05, df = 4, 95% CI) establishing discriminant validity.
Conclusions – Overall, the patients' satisfaction appeared to be high. Further works should be undertaken adapting the questionnaire globally in different languages.


Service composition has become an important paradigm for building distributed applications and e-business processes. While effort has been reported to verify a posteriori whether a given composition such as a BPEL schema satisfies the predefined behavioural properties, little effort has been made to utilise the properties to assist the designer in developing a correct service composition in the first place. This paper reports our first attempt towards this goal by presenting a framework and associated techniques to provide automated guidance to the designer during the composition design process. The guidance can be suggestions on the next valid steps in the business process, identifications of missing/misplaced steps, and/or propositions for inserting, deleting or reordering activities. The guidance is provided based on the temporal business rules which state the temporal/sequential relationships between business activities.


SUMMARY: Cell walls and outer membranes, free of thylakoids and cytoplasmic membranes, were isolated from the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 6307. Electron microscopy revealed C-shaped cell wall fragments, which were partially converted to outer membrane vesicles after removal of the peptidoglycan by lysozyme digestion. The major constituents of the outer membrane were proteins and lipopolysaccharide, while lipids and carotenoids were minor components. The polypeptide patterns of the outer membranes were dominated by two major proteins (M
r 52000 and 54000). Five strongly polar lipids (unidentified), free fatty acids and small amounts of sulpholipid were detected in extracts of partially purified cell wall fractions, but monogalactosyldiglyceride and digalactosyldiglyceride were not found. The peptidoglycan layer (10 nm thick) was also isolated. Its chemical composition indicated an Alγ-type structure. The degree of cross-linkage was 57%. A polysaccharide, consisting of fucose, mannose, galactose and glucose, was bound to the peptidoglycan, most likely via muramic acid 6-phosphate.


An adhesive or resin-bonded bridge is a tooth saving construction for the replacement of a lost tooth, especially when the abutment teeth are relatively sound. In this article an overview is presented of the different types of resin-bonded bridges, their advantages and disadvantages and their indications. The direct methods are very suited for the immediate replacement of a lost anterior tooth. The all composite adhesive bridge has a survival rate that is surprisingly good.


A wide variety of tools have been used to dissect biochemical pathways, inhibitors being chief among them. Combinatorial approaches have made the search for inhibitors much more efficient. We have applied such an approach to identify hexapeptides which inhibit different steps in a site-specific recombination reaction mediated by the bacteriophage lambda integrase protein. Integrase's mechanism is still incompletely understood, in large part because several pathway intermediates remain hard to isolate. Integrase-catalyzed recombination is very efficient, but if blocked, it is highly reversible to substrates; this combination makes some intermediates exceedingly transient. We have used synthetic peptide combinatorial libraries to screen for hexapeptides that affect the recombination pathway at different stages, and have identified two families of peptides: one probably blocks DNA cleavage, the other may stabilize the Holliday junction intermediates. These peptides do not resemble parts of integrase or any of the other helper functions in the pathway. The deconvolution of hexapeptide libraries based both on inhibition of an enzymatic reaction as well as on accumulation of reaction intermediates is a novel approach to finding useful tools for dissecting a biochemical pathway.


Nanocrystalline lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) films have been deposited on molybdenum foil by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The as-deposited films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD pattern shows the cubic crystallinity of the LaB6 film. The AFM studies reveal that the conical shaped LaB6 nanostructures have height 60 nm, base 800 nm, and a typical radius of curvature ∼20 nm. A comparison of force and in situ current imaging AFM studies reveals that current contrast does not originate from the surface topography of the LaB6 film. Field emission studies have been performed in the planar diode configuration. A current density of 4.4 × 10−2 A cm−2 is drawn from the actual emitting area. The Fowler–Nordheim plot is found to be linear, in accordance with the quantum mechanical tunneling phenomenon. The field enhancement factor is estimated to be 3585, indicating that the field emission is from LaB6 nanocrystallites present on the emitter surface, as confirmed by the AFM. The emission current–time plots show current stability to the extent of 5% fluctuation about the average current over a period of 3 h.


In previous work we presented CoCoNAD (Continuous-time Closed Neuron Assembly Detection), a method to find significant synchronous patterns in parallel point processes with the goal to analyze parallel neural spike trains in neurobiology3,9. A drawback of CoCoNAD and its accompanying methodology of pattern spectrum filtering (PSF) and pattern set reduction (PSR) is that it judges the (statistical) significance of a pattern only by the number of synchronous occurrences (support). However, the same number of occurrences can be significant for patterns consisting of items with a generally low occurrence rate, but explainable as a chance event for patterns consisting of items with a generally high occurrence rate, simply because more item occurrences produce more chance coincidences of items. In order to amend this drawback, we present in this paper an extension of the recently introduced CoCoNAD variant that is based on influence map overlap support (which takes both the number of synchronous events and the precision of synchrony into account), namely by transferring the idea of Jaccard item set mining to this setting: by basing pattern spectrum filtering upon item cover similarity measures, the number of coincidences is related to the item occurrence frequencies, which leads to an improved sensitivity for detecting synchronous events (or parallel episodes) in sequence data. We demonstrate the improved performance of our method by extensive experiments on artificial data sets.


T his article explores the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the philanthropic landscape in New Orleans, drawing on the perspective of participants in the field—staff and board members of community, local, and national foundations and key nonprofits—who were surveyed or interviewed for this purpose. It does not offer a definitive statement about the disaster as it pertains to philanthropy; nor does it consider the crucial leadership role of the many individuals involved in the recovery process, even though that role often intercepted with the philanthropic sector. Instead, it seeks to identify general trends that emerge from a qualitative assessment of the collected data. Katrina was in many ways an unprecedented disaster: over a million people fled Louisiana, more than two hundred thousand dwellings in New Orleans were destroyed, 80 percent of the city was at some point under water, and two thousand lives were lost. Taking into account the scope of the impact of Katrina and the role typically played by philanthropy in such circumstances, this article inquires whether and how philanthropic activity was itself transformed by the storm, as interpreted by philanthropic participants. The narrative that emerges from the analysis is one of significant transformation. Extraordinary circumstances called for extraordinary measures, and members of the philanthropic community responded, deeply transforming the philanthropic landscape in the process. These changes occurred at the local level but also percolated upward to national funders. The most salient examples the participants cited are presented here and are followed by a brief discussion of potentially missed opportunities and lessons learned.


Several kinds of biomaterials are known to possess osteoinductive ability without bone inductive substances in ectopic implantation. β-TCP is one such material that has been reported to exhibit this ability in a canine model. In addition, prostaglandin E2 has been proved to accelerate osteogenesis in a rodent model, and one of its receptors EP4 has been considered to play a particularly important role. We examined that the EP4 agonist accelerates β-TCP-induced osteoinduction in a canine model. The results suggested that the EP4 agonist accelerated not only osteoinduction but also osteoclastogenesis prior to bone formation.


The Christian church in its turn attempted to Christianise the symbol by writing a double R and this was said to be an invocation to Raphael and his response, Responsum Raphaelis. But the alchemists later returned to the original Greek symbol and this continues to this day. In the Age of Reason the symbol was rationalized and said to be the initial R of the Latin Recipereceive-this prescription, or take up these ingredients.


Geopolymer is an alternative for Portland cement-based binder. It has shown better or similar engineering and durability properties compared to Portland cement-based binders. The properties of geopolymer depend on the characteristics of the aluminosilicate source material used. Hence, it is important to identify the characteristics of the source material that results in a binder with good mechanical properties. This paper investigates the levels of reactive (amorphous) SiO2 and Al2O3 contents of source materials and alkali oxides content of Si-rich geopolymer binders required to achieve enhanced mechanical properties. The study also evaluates the roles of Na?O and particle size in the development of geopolymer micro-structures.We have used six different Australian class F fly ashes as aluminosilicate source materials in geopolymer binders. These materials were characterised using XRF, XRD, and particle size analyser in order to determine the bulk chemical composition, mineralogy (including content of amorphous phases) and particle size distribution. Geopolymer pastes were subsequently prepared by activating the selected fly ashes with liquid alkaline activators and the samples where cured at 60 ?C for 24 hours. A constant flow was maintained for all mixtures hence, contributions of Na?O, SiO? and H?O content from the alkaline activator are different for each fly ash source. The compressive strength results showed that high strengths are given for mixtures in which the molar ratio of reactive constituents lie within the ranges SiO2/Al2O3 < 5 and Na2O/ reactive (SiO2 + Al2O3) 0.09-0.12.


According to Individuation Theory, adolescents become more and more autonomous while the level of parent-adolescent connectedness is constant. However, connectedness is hypothesized to attain a more reciprocal, peer-like quality. These assumptions were tested using a sample of 968 students of ages 13 and 16 The sample was quite representative with respect to the various German school tracks. Besides effects of age on the relationship, corresponding age differences in the levels of authoritative parenting (affection, behavior control, and psychological autonomy granting) were investigated. At age 16, adolescents claimed more autonomy from parents, and parents had less knowledge of their offspring's life. The parent-adolescent connectedness remained fairly constant across age, that is, it did not change towards reciprocity. Older participants experienced less paternal support than younger subjects. With age, parental behavior control decreased. Fathers also were less affective with increasing age of participants. The father-adolescent relationship was less close than the mother-adolescent relationship, especially for girls. Furthermore, school track differences were revealed. The results are discussed with respect to Individuation Theory and notions of detachment.


: An 18-year-old man visited the outpatient cardiology clinic because of a cardiac murmur found at a medical examination for military service. An Ebstein's anomaly was diagnosed, with tricuspid valve insufficiency. Exposure to lithium in utero was established. Literature reports indicate an association between exposure to lithium in utero and cardiac anomalies, notably Ebstein's anomaly.


The occurrence of perforating ulcer of the foot with certain disorders of the nervous system has long been recognized. The first description was given by Nelation in 1852. Since that time the condition has been described in connection with a number of nervous conditions. It is frequent in diseases of the spinal cord, such as tabes and syringomyelia, and has been noted in spina bifida, diseases of the conus medullaris, diabetes and alcoholism. Injuries to the sciatic and tibial, as well as tumors and local inflammatory disturbances of these nerves, have also caused this condition. It is frequent in the neuritis of leprosy. Its occurrence in multiple neuritis, aside from the form due to diabetes, is very infrequent. In the accessible literature I have not been able to find any record of its occurrence in alcoholic neuritis. Sonnenburg noted it in an alcoholic with anesthesia of the foot. Remak


In this paper we introduce Curryfied Term Rewriting Systems, and a notion of partial type assignment on terms and rewrite rules that uses intersection types with sorts and ω. Three operations on types – substitution, expansion, and lifting – are used to define type assignment, and are proved to be sound. With this result the system is proved closed for reduction. Using a more liberal approach to recursion, we define a general scheme for recursive definitions and prove that, for all systems that satisfy this scheme, every term typeable without using the type-constant ω is strongly normalizable. We also show that, under certain restrictions, all typeable terms have a (weak) head-normal form, and that terms whose type does not contain ω are normalizable.


Declining trade union density in Australia and overseas has been an issue of concern to the trade union movement and some industrial relations researchers. Many reasons have been proposed for this decline at both the macro and micro level, including changes in the structure of the economic base in Australia from manufacturing to services, and an increasingly hostile environment for unions. These issues are explored in a broad survey of the literature on declining union density. Drawing on the author's experience in the call centre industry, the thesis uses a marketing research technique to investigate perceptions about unions held by call centre employees. Recruiting members in call centres has proved challenging due to factors such as geographical location of some call centres, anti-union management and a high level of non standard employment in call centres and an increasing tendency to individualism. Viewing the problem from a consumer behaviour perspective, the first issue was to find out what perceptions are held about unions by call centre staff and the second, how do these perceptions influence the union joining decision? Primary research using marketing research tools, Laddering and Means End Chain Analysis, provide a qualitative perspective on the decision making process and the perceptions of unions which underlie the union joining decision. Laddering is the interview technique associated with Means End Chain Analysis. It was developed to elicit the data needed to be analysed using Means End Chain and develop the Hierarchical Value Map. The Hierarchical Value Map indicated the links between the perceived attributes of unions: Powerful, Resources, Troublemaker, Costly and Outmoded and how these were linked to perceived consequences through to the goals or values held by the respondents of: Security, Social Value/Self Esteem, Achievement and Belonging. Factors which were found to affect perceptions were first, whether the respondent was viewing the union joining decision from a collective or individualist perspective, and second, whether they were taking an instrumental, ideological or normative approach to union joining. The use of cross discipline research methods offers further potential for research into trade union density.


Premature ejaculation (PE) is a male sexual dysfunction that creates considerable anguish for the man, his partner and their relationship. PE is not one disorder but includes the four subtypes (lifelong, acquired, natural and subjective) each with unique psychological concerns and issues. Psychological treatment for men and couples with PE addresses sexual skills/techniques but also focuses on issues of self-esteem, performance anxiety and interpersonal conflict. The outcome studies for psychotherapy alone are difficult to interpret and compare because of poor methodological design (lack of control groups, small sample size, poor outcome measures and lack of follow-up). However, the few studies that surmount these methodological hurdles suggest that psychological intervention offers men and couples a promising treatment option. Combination pharmaco- and psychotherapy is the most promising intervention for lifelong and acquired PE and offers superior efficacy to drug alone. This is because men and couples learn sexual skills, address the intrapsychic, interpersonal and cognitive issues that precipitate and maintain the dysfunction.


In this article I will consider the discussion on the educational system in Bolivia. Education is a potentially powerful way of communication. The educational reform of 1994 was a radical reform making it possible for the Indigenous peoples to receive education in their native languages. Nevertheless the government of Evo Morales abolished it as soon as they were in position, starting the process of making a new law with the slogan "decolonizing the education". "Education is oppression or liberation", with these words in the spirit of Paulo Freire the president of the Bolivian senate Santos Ramirez answered when I asked him why the new Bolivian government wants to change the educational system.


Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are advantageous in gusty, turbulent winds with rapidly changing direction such as surface winds by the virtue of their omnidirectional and simple design. Thus, a small-scale VAWT is favorable in urban areas, e.g., on top of a building, as well as in rural areas away from integrated grid systems where it can be used as a portable generator. In this thesis, a methodology is presented for the assessment of overall performance for a small-scale VAWT system that consists of a three-straight-bladed rotor with high solidity, electromechanical and power electronics components and controller. Salient features of this approach include a validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and a hardware-inthe- loop (HIL) simulation. The time-dependent, two-dimensional CFD model is coupled with the dynamics of the rotor subject to inertia and generator load. The HIL test-bed consists of an electrical motor, a gearbox, a generator, a rectifier and a programmable electronic load. In this setup, the electrical motor emulates the VAWT rotor. The HIL simulation is used to study the impact of electromechanical energy conversion on the overall performance and to evaluate control algorithms in real-time. For variable-speed control of the turbine, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and model predictive control (MPC) algorithms and a simple MPC-mimicking control are designed and tested. According to results, the coupled CFD model is an effective tool in evaluation of the realistic transient behavior of the VAWT including the inertial effects of the rotor and the feedback control; the electromechanical energy conversion has a profound effect on the power characteristics and the efficiency of the VAWT system; the MPC and MPC-mimicking control algorithms outperform the MPPT algorithms in terms of energy output by allowing deviations from the maximum power instantaneously for future gains in energy generation; and all of the controllers perform satisfactorily under step wind, wind gust and real wind conditions.


Selecting between competing statistical models is a challenging problem especially when the competing models are non-nested. In this paper we offer a simple solution by devising an algorithm which combines MCMC and importance sampling to obtain computationally efficient estimates of the marginal likelihood which can then be used to compare the models. The algorithm is successfully applied to a longitudinal epidemic data set, where calculating the marginal likelihood is made more challenging by the presence of large amounts of missing data. In this context, our importance sampling approach is shown to outperform existing methods for computing the marginal likelihood.


Physico-chemical analysis such as temperature, pH , dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, chloride, total alkalinity, calcium and magnesium h ardness, sulphate, phosphate nitrate of bore wells water was carried out from twenty sampling sof kathalal territory area during the February-2011 in order to assess water quality inde x.