B7-H3 is one of the most important members of the B7/CD28 family, and its expression level is abnormally high in a variety of tumors. B7-H3 inhibits T cell activation via binding to the corresponding receptors on T cells, thereby mediating tumor immune escape. Glycosylation is a common post-translational modification of proteins, which plays an essential role in protein expression patterns and biological functions. Current evidence has shown that the abnormal glycosylation of B7-H3 in tumors is of great significance for protein expression and ligand-receptor binding. Therefore, in-depth exploration of the underlying mechanism of glycosylation modification of B7-H3 is expected to provide new insights for tumor immunotherapy. To investigate the underlying mechanism of glycosyltransferase-mediated glycosylation of B7-H3. Firstly, the CHIPBase database was used to screen glycosyltransferases with a high correlation with the protein expression of B7-H3. Then their siRNAs were designed and synthesized to transfect into cells, and the western blotting assay was performed for further screening. Secondly, the siRNA and overexpression plasmid of the screened glycosyltransferase were respectively transfected into cells to verify the effect on the expression level of B7-H3. Thirdly, the effect of glycosyltransferase on the expression level of B7-H3 was explored by changing its substrate level. Finally, the co-immunoprecipitation experiment was conducted to verify whether protein binding existed between B7-H3 and the glycosyltransferase. The glycosyltransferase called A4GALT had the highest correlation with the protein expression of B7-H3. After knocking down or overexpressing A4GALT, the protein expression level of B7-H3 both changed significantly. When knocked down GALT to reduce the galactosyl donors, B7-H3 was significantly down-regulated. And B7-H3 was up-regulated while increasing the galactose in the medium. In addition, the Co-immunoprecipitation experiment proved that there was protein binding between B7-H3 and A4GALT. A4GALT can positively regulate the expression of B7-H3, and changing the level of galactosyl donors can also positively regulate the expression of B7-H3. There is a protein interaction between A4GALT and B7-H3.


We detail a comprehensive approach to preparing epiwafers for bipolar SiC power devices which entails etching the substrate, growing a semi-sacrificial basal plane dislocation (BPD) conversion epilayer, polishing away a portion of that conversion epilayer to recover a smooth surface and then growing the device epilayers following specific methods to prevent the reintroduction of BPDs. With our best processing, we achieve a BPD density of < 10 cm-2 and an extended defect density of < 1.5 cm-2. Specifics of low BPD processing and particular concerns and metrics will be discussed in regard to process optimization and simplification.


The risk of deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) is increasing in south-east Australia as populations of introduced deer expand rapidly. There are no investigations of the spatial and temporal patterns of DVC or predictions of where such collisions are most likely to occur. Here, we use an analytical framework to model deer distribution and vehicle movements in order to predict DVC risk across the State of Victoria. We modelled the occurrence of deer using existing occurrence records and geographic climatic variables. We estimated patterns of vehicular movements from records of average annual daily traffic and speeds. Given the low number of DVCs reported in Victoria, we used a generalised linear regression model fitted to DVCs in California, USA. The fitted model coefficients suggested high collision risk on road segments with high predicted deer occurrence, moderate traffic volume and high traffic speed. We used the California deer model to predict collision risk on Victorian roads and validated the predictions with two independent datasets of DVC records from Victoria. The California deer model performed well when comparing predictions of collision risk to the independent DVC datasets and generated plausible DVC risk predictions across the State of Victoria.


The predatory mite Phytoseiulus macropilis Banks (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is native to Florida. Some biology and ecology of this phytoseiid have been documented, but its potential as a biological control agent of phytophagous mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) has received less attention. The response of P. macropilis to 12 acaricides, 3 tetranychid mite species and 5 potential alternate foods was evaluated in laboratory bioassays. Pesticide residual effects on P. macropilis were evaluated by a double-disk leaf residue method. The synthetic pyrethroids Tame (fenpropathrin), Cymbush (cypermethrin) and Mavrik (fluvalinate) were highly toxic. Tolerance was observed to the acaricides, Omite (propargite), and Avid (abamectin), while Vendex (hexakis), Pentac (dienochlor), and Kelthane (dicofol) were highly toxic. The insecticides Orthene (acephate) and Diazinon and the fungicides, Domain (thiophanatemethyl) and Cleary (thiophanate) were not toxic to P. macropilis . Field efficacy tests of fenpropathrin and dicofol indicated that these chemicals lose toxicity to P. macropilis 21 and 7 d after application, respectively. In olfactometer bioassays, female predators were attracted to kairomones produced by their rearing host Tetranychus urticae Koch on bean leaves but not to kairomones of the tetranychids Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi) and T. evansi Baker and Pitchard on their respective host plants. Predators did not respond significantly to selected alternate foods: pollen from the hybrid daylily Hemerocallis spp., Phylloxera spp. larvae, eggs of false oleander scale Pseudaulacaspis cockerelli (Cooley), a sugar-water solution and water. This study identified several pesticides that could be integrated with use of P. macropilis as a biological control. Results also indicate that the predator may have a narrow prey range and require specific species of mite prey for survival and oviposition.


This thesis deals with the optical characterization of single quantum dot devices emitting at 1300nm. Thanks to the development and optimization of the growth technique we were able to achieve at the same time emission at 1300nm and ultra low QD densities. Our single QD devices present clear and reproducible spectral signatures in which we can identify exciton, biexciton and charged exciton transitions. Quasi-resonant excitation at 70K demonstrates background free single exciton transitions, which is very promising for the realization of a single photon device operating at temperatures in easy reach of thermoelectric coolers. A time-correlated single photon counting setup was built and used to measure the radiative lifetimes of single exciton transitions. These measurements also present new evidence on a background emission superposed to the narrow spectral transitions. Demonstration of single photon emission at these wavelengths required building a setup to measure the correlations between fiber-coupled single photons in a 300ps time window, emitted from a nano-device in free space at cryogenic temperatures, and with the capability of maintaining the optical alignment on a micrometer scale for several hours. With such a setup we have demonstrated that our QDs can generate single photon states at 1300nm. We used this single photon source to characterize novel detectors based on superconducting nanowires and measured for the first time the intensity correlation function at 1300nm on single photons from a QD. These detectors show at least 2 orders of magnitude improvement on the signal to noise ratio as compared to InGaAs APDs; this is very important since, for a QKD system, the detector noise, amongst others, determines the maximum distance over which a secure key can be exchanged. It should be noted that, due to the di±culties in these measurements, to date there has been only one other clear demonstration of single photon emission at 1300nm.


The isotherms and kinetics of the adsorption of a cationic dye in aqueous solution, methylene blue, on a local Algerian montmorillonite clay mineral (raw, sodium and thermally activated at 300 and 500°C) were determined experimentally. Various parameters influencing the adsorption were optimized, mainly solid–liquid contact time, mass of adsorbent, initial concentration of dye, pH of the solution and temperature. Results showed that the adsorption kinetics were fast: 30 min for the raw clay mineral, and 20 min for sodium clay mineral (SC) and thermally activated at 300°C, whereas with the clay mineral calcined at 500°C, the equilibrium was reached after 150 min only. The maximum adsorption capacity was reached at pH 6.6. Results deducted from the adsorption isotherms also showed that the retention follows the Langmuir model. In addition, it was found that the kinetics were in the order of 2 (K = 2.457 × 106 g/mg.h) for sodium clay and were limited by an intra-particle diffusion. SC was found to be a better adsorbent to remove methylene blue from industrial wastewater.


summary The articular disc of the temporomandibular joint was studied in a foetuses and children group (GI), a dentate group of adults (GII) and an edentulous, elderly group of humans (GIII) by light microscopy. The main, constituent bundles of type I collagen fibres are stratified and are orientated sagittally, transversely and obliquely in the middle portion of the disc. In the thick, posterior portion, transverse bundles constitute the main feature. In the anterior portion of the disc, the fibres are sagittally and obliquely orientated. Type III collagen fibres, intermingled with type I collagen fibres are present in all groups. The disc is cellular in nature in foetuses and children, becoming more fibrous with age. Chondroid cells are observed in all portions of the discs in groups GII and GIII. Elastic fibres are numerous in GI discs and decrease in number in the disc with age. These fibres lie parallel to the collagen fibres in all three portions of the three groups.


To unravel the pathophysiology underlying the large percentage of preterm born infants that will demonstrate neurodevelopmental impairments during childhood, a better understanding of brain development during what would have been the third trimester of pregnancy is needed. The aim of this thesis was to study longitudinal brain development in extremely preterm infants. We did so by utilizing serial MRI scans of a cohort of preterm infants born before a gestation of 28 weeks, that were scanned around 30 weeks postmenstrual age and again around term-equivalent age.

In this thesis, we show that volumetric measurements, the progression of cortical folding, microstructural development of the white matter and functional connectivity networks all confirm the central-peripheral and occipital-frontal gradient of brain development. Several clinical risk factors for deviations in brain development were studied and prolonged mechanical ventilation, whether as a representative of lung damage or of overall severity of illness, has the most severe negative influence on brain development throughout the different studies. By utilizing serial scans, we show that the remote effects of brain injury will become evident in the period between 30 and 40 weeks gestation, whereas the direct effects are already established by 30 weeks. Relating these findings to neurodevelopmental outcome around two years of age showed significant but modest effects, suggesting that outcome at a later age is needed to find deficits caused by mild brain injury.

Punctate white matter lesions, nowadays the most common form of white matter injury in preterm infants, were seen in two distinctive patterns, suggestive of a difference in underlying pathology. Additional sequences (diffusion and susceptibility weighted imaging) are needed to reliably distinguish both. Volumetric growth showed regional differences with by far the largest growth in the cerebellum, which is also affected most by brain damage. The use of hydrocortisone for developing chronic lung disease, however, did not influence overall brain size or cerebellar volumes. While studying the progression of cortical folding, adult brain asymmetries were shown to develop already during the last ten weeks of gestation. In addition, cortical surface area and depth were correlated with neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years of age. Utilizing diffusion tensor imaging showed increases of fractional anisotropy in the white matter, but decreases in the cortex, fitting with the theory of cortical development. Damage to the corticospinal tracts in infants with cystic periventricular leukomalacia was seen within weeks after the insult, while the remote effects on thalamic volume develop over time and become clear at term-equivalent age. Finally, immature functional networks were already present at 30 weeks and were similar to adult networks. Both structural and functional connectivity networks develop between 30 weeks and term-equivalent age leading to an increase in integration capacity.

Identifying these processes in brain development, taking place while preterm infants are cared for in a neonatal intensive care environment with all its stressors and complications, as well as the deviations caused by preterm birth, will help in finding better predictive strategies and protective therapies to improve cognitive and behavioural outcome for this vulnerable population.


The incorporation of highly photochromic polyoxometalates (POMs) with spiropyran (SP) appended groups into polymeric matrices has been investigated via two synthetic approaches. First of all, a new unsymmetrical Anderson-type POM bearing both a photochromic SP entity and a methacrylate (MA) unit has been synthesized (SP-POM-MA). This compound has been copolymerized with methylmethacrylate (MMA) as a monomer leading to a covalently linked SP-POM polymer material (poly(SP-POM-MA-co-MA)). In a second part, a symmetrical Anderson-type POM functionalized by two SP units (SP-POM-SP) has been ionically associated with the cationic polymer poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (poly(SP-POM-SP-DMAEMA+)). The different hybrid materials elaborated have been fully characterized via1H NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography, assessing unambiguously the integrity of the SP-POM units once introduced into the polymer. The solid-state photophysical properties of these materials have been fully investigated under ambient conditions. The ionic poly(SP-POM-SP-DMAEMA+) polymer with 7.7% weight in SP, exhibits highly efficient photochromic performances including a fast and intense coloration response under low power UV irradiation, a strong photocoloration contrast, and a very slow thermal fading process. This can be explained by the great stabilization of the photogenerated zwitterionic merocyanine form in the polar cavities of the cationic polymer. In addition, this material exhibits a relatively low photofatigue. For the covalent poly(SP-POM-MA-co-MA) polymer containing 1.1% weight in SP, as expected the photocoloration contrast is lower, but noticeably, showing that even low loading in SP-POM can afford photoresponsive materials.


This thesis has been created and written following the traditions of interpretative sociology. Its aim was to interpret the lifeworld of European Studies students. In particular understanding should be created for their professional formation, the transition process between being a student and entering their career paths related to the EU and Europe. The core concepts handled in this study are the phenomenon of European Studies as an educational program, the potential professions following from this education and the process of professional formation as a theoretical link between these two. How do European Studies students experience the content of their own study programs? What is their understanding of European Studies as a profession? To what extent do they feel prepared for the life as a European profession by their study programs? How secure are these students about their future career paths? And finally how does a student's personal understanding of European Studies shape his or her professional formation? These phenomenographic questions build the corner stone of this thesis' framework. In order to answer them an online survey has been conducted, which is primarily directed at the students' ambitions for a career in one of the EU institutions, the way they think their European Studies program has changed their view on the EU and their way about feeling European. These so-called key questions were subsequently taken on by a series of personal interviews. These interviews were designed to gain a deeper insight into the choices the students have made in answering the key-questions and the way they link these choices back to their understanding of the phenomenon European Studies. As a last step the different understandings of this phenomenon could be linked to individual perceptions of students' professional formation. The outcome is the identification of three groups of students, who each share a certain understanding of European Studies and related career goals, and therefore perceive their professional formation in a similar way. These groups are: the EU Professionals, the Undecided and the Academics. A second step of analysis, the linking back of these groups as the outcomes of the interviews to the combinations of answers given to the three key-questions, as the outcomes of the survey, showed that the Undecided is the most prominent group amongst European Studies students.


Esports have become major international sports with hundreds of millions of spectators. Esports games generate massive amounts of telemetry data. Using these to predict the outcome of esports matches has received considerable attention, but micro-predictions, which seek to predict events inside a match, is as yet unknown territory. Micro-predictions are however of perennial interest across esports commentators and audience, because they provide the ability to observe events that might otherwise be missed: esports games are highly complex with fast-moving action where the balance of a game can change in the span of seconds, and where events can happen in multiple areas of the playing field at the same time. Such events can happen rapidly, and it is easy for commentators and viewers alike to miss an event and only observe the following impact of events. In Dota 2, a player hero being killed by the opposing team is a key event of interest to commentators and audience. We present a deep learning network with shared weights which provides accurate death predictions within a five-second window. The network is trained on a vast selection of Dota 2 gameplay features and professional/semi-professional level match dataset. Even though death events are rare within a game (1% of the data), the model achieves 0.377 precision with 0.725 recall on test data when prompted to predict which of any of the 10 players of either team will die within 5 seconds. An example of the system applied to a Dota 2 match is presented. This model enables real-time micro-predictions of kills in Dota 2, one of the most played esports titles in the world, giving commentators and viewers time to move their attention to these key events.


Consultant nurse and midwife roles, with the expectations of significantly moving forward the professions in relation to practice development, effective leadership and quality care provision, have been a major UK policy initiative since 2000. Whilst consultant nurses have received much attention, consultant midwives have been relatively little researched. This study aimed to explore the intricacies of the consultant midwife role. Using an in-depth qualitative case study design, the roles of eight consultant midwives across eight NHS Trusts in England were studied. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with consultant midwives, their heads of maternity services and consultant obstetricians; additionally, the consultant midwives were observed in practice and documentary evidence (their job descriptions) were examined. Data were analysed thematically and aggregated, revealing three dominant themes related to clinical wisdom, taking control and shaping the future. Findings showed that the consultant midwife is in a position of power, built on a foundation of clinically acquired wisdom, transformational leadership skills and a belief in woman centred care, essential to a profession fit for the future. Individually and collectively, the consultant midwives conveyed a passion for their role, whilst aware of the demands of their position. Their impact lay in relation to the way they used their experience, skills and understanding, to undertake complex roles in practice, juggling responsibilities to effect change and improve services for childbearing women and their families. Their strength was born out of acquired knowledge and expertise, as leaders and as role models, influencing not only practice but the midwives of the future. This thesis provides the first in-depth exploration of the consultant midwife role and as such greatly strengthens the hitherto limited evidence base. As well as focusing on the particular aspects of day-to-day consultant midwifery it also gives detailed recommendations for further development of the role organisationally.


In this paper, the basic concepts and methods of multidisciplinary design optimization, uncertainty analysis and robust design have been introduced. According to the features of a multi-functional open-air hydraulic drill, a new design theory called multidisciplinary robust optimization design was discussed. This theory can undertake uncertainty analysis and robust design in multidisciplinary design optimization. It fully considers both the synergy among each disciplinary or subsystem in the multi-functional open-air hydraulic drill to get the optimal solution to the whole system and the effect of the uncertainty factors upon the drill quality, and adopts the parallel design to improve the quality, robustness and reliability of the drill, to shorten the market cycles of products, to reduce product cost. Finally, the design points were discussed in detail in the paper.


Privilege law is arguably the most important doctrinal area in the law of evidence. Most evidentiary doctrines relate primarily to the courts' institutional concerns about the reliability of the evidence that the trier of fact relies on. In contrast, privileges impact extrinsic social policy such as out-of-court interactions between spouses and attorneys and their clients. It is no accident that since the adoption of the Federal Rules of Evidence in 1975, the Supreme Court has handed down more decisions relating to privilege law than concerning any other part of the Federal Rules.In particular, in recent years the topic of privilege waivers has garnered a good deal of attention. In 2008, Congress enacted Federal Rule of Evidence 502 governing waivers in federal court. There was a split of authority over the question of whether the inadvertent production of privileged material during pretrial discovery effected a waiver of the privilege. Litigants had begun to spend enormous sums of money on pre-production privilege reviews. In order to reduce that cost, Congress intervened and prescribed a general rule that inadvertent production does not result in a waiver. Although Rule 502 largely resolved one waiver issue, another dispute is ongoing. That dispute relates to another pretrial context, that is, business negotiations. In the past, when a waiver occurred, the courts applied the subject matter waiver rule: The scope of the waiver not only included the disclosed information but also extended to other communications relevant to the same subject matter. The rule seemed to apply to waivers during pretrial business negotiations as well as waivers occurring during litigation. However, in recent years several courts have refused to apply the subject matter waiver rule to extrajudicial waivers during business negotiation. They have advanced several arguments to justify their refusal. To begin with, they have noted several supposed distinctions between the negotiation and litigation settings. More importantly, they have asserted that the application of the subject matter waiver rule to the negotiation context will pressure clients to instruct their attorneys not to participate in negotiations.The thesis of this article is that the arguments against extending the subject matter waiver rule to the negotiation settling are flawed. Part II of the enclosed article examines the supposed distinctions between the negotiation and litigation settings and finds that they are largely illusory. Part II then turns to the prediction that the extension of the rule to business negotiations will drive attorneys from the bargaining table. Part II demonstrates that the prediction rests on fundamental misconceptions about the concept of "communication" in privilege law. Part II concludes that the argument underlying the prediction is "exactly backwards." This issue is of obvious importance to attorneys litigating waiver issues. However, the issue is of even greater importance to transactional attorneys who for decades have played an important role in their clients' business negotiations.


In this age of technology, digital information such as image, text, audio, etc are exchanged over the network. Confidential text messages can easily be intercepted and misused if not send properly. So, data security has been a major area of research. Much of the research has been done to find the optimal solution for confidentiality, integrity and reliability of text. Combination of cryptography and steganography have proved to be useful, but every method has its own pros and cons. This paper implements a hybrid combination of the cryptography and steganography technique echo hiding for secret transfer of text data in an audio file. The metrices like PSNR, MSE and SNR have been used for evaluation of approach.


This article studies the repercussion of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) in Great Britain, narrated through the publications of the Left Book Club, founded in London in 1935. Throughout its 13 years of operation, the LBC has published 13 books on the subjects of War, of a total of 255 titles released, besides two special numbers of its official magazine —Left News. The paper demonstrates not only how the narrative offered by the LBC publications helped mobilize local public opinion when fascism was not yet perceived as a real danger to the Empire, but also, due to its developmental characteristics and the engagement of countless foreigners on both sides of the war, how the conflict had, from the outset, a transnational appeal. The book will reaffirm itself as much as a physical support for the circulation of ideas, as a place of memory, capable of contributing to the construction of the collective memory of war.


Although foamed bitumen has been widely applied in pavement construction some of its aspects are still not yet understood. In this study, some of these aspects including: effects of the foaming process on binder chemistry, characterization of foamed bitumen and development of a rational method to optimize foam characteristics, evaluation of aggregate particle coating within foamed bitumen treated materials, and development of a gyratory compaction procedure for laterite gravels treated with foamed bitumen were addressed. The effects of the foaming process on bitumen chemistry were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. Also, foam characteristics of three binders were established and a rational method to optimize foam characteristics proposed. Aggregate particle coating with foamed bitumen was studied using the concepts of surface energy and Rice density. In addition a gyratory laboratory compaction procedure for laterite gravels treated with foamed bitumen was established using the modified locking concept. Infrared techniques have shown that foaming does not cause any changes in the binder chemistry, suggesting that foaming may be a physical process. Further, foam characteristics are greatly influenced by binder viscosity. Also, the equiviscous temperature seems to produce foam with optimum foam characteristics. Rice density results showed that aggregate size fraction, binder expansion ratio and viscosity influenced aggregate particle coating. Surface energy results revealed that foamed bitumen exhibited better coating attributes than neat bitumen. A new compaction procedure for laterite gravels treated with foamed bitumen based on the modified locking point was developed.


This report presents a perspective on software reuse in the context of "ideal" software development capabilities. Software reuse is viewed as a means of achieving—or at least approximating—the ideal capabilities. A generic application and development model is proposed for unifying various types of software reuse. The model can be initially formulated as a project family architecture and produced from a domain features analysis. The approach presented in this report is intended to lead to a reuse strategy and methodology for software development.


Describes a transform to extract image regions at all geometric and photometric scales. It is argued that linear approaches have the shortcoming that they require a priori models of region shape. The proposed transform avoids this by letting the structure emerge, bottom-up, from interactions among pixels. The transform involves global computations on pairs of pixels followed by vector integration of the results. An attraction force field is computed over the image in which pixels belonging to the same region are mutually attracted and the region is characterized by a convergent flow. It is shown that the transform possesses properties that allow multiscale segmentation, or extraction of original, unblurred structure at all different geometric and photometric scales present. This is in contrast with much previous work wherein multiscale structure is viewed as the smoothed structure in a multiscale signal decimation. Scale is an integral parameter of the force computation, and the number and values of scale parameters associated with the image can be estimated automatically. Regions are detected at all a priori unknown scales resulting in automatic construction of a segmentation tree, in which each pixel is annotated with descriptions of all the regions it belongs to. Transform properties are presented for piecewise-constant images but hold for more general ones. Thus the proposed method is intended as a solution to the problem of multiscale, integrated edge and region detection, or low-level image segmentation. Experimental results are given.

http://vision.ai.uiuc.edu/publications/A Transform for Multiscale Image Segmentation by Integrated Edge and Region Detection.pdf


This article offers a comparative analysis of the perception and awareness people have concerning the circular economy (CE) in Nepal and the United States of America (USA). The survey in the form of online questionnaires were distributed through convenience sampling and data was collected from 29 respondents in Nepal and 25 in the USA. The results indicate that, across the sampled countries, though respondents were highly concerned about the environment and resources utilization, their perception and understanding of CE principals and its applicability were limited to the concept of reuse, recycle and remanufacture (3R). Similarly, organizational involvement in CE activities were found to be significantly low in both countries, indicating no structural or operational level support such as creating job positions for CE officers. Additionally, the practice of publishing sustainability and circularity reports to enable the CE were not found during the data analysis procedure. In comparison to Nepal, USA respondents picked inter and intra organizational collaboration and cooperation along with research and development (R&D) as an important enabler of CE. Finally, policy level interventions through mandatory and voluntary regulations, subsidization of CE activities and involvement of governmental and non-governmental agencies were recommended in creating a positive perception and awareness of CE.

Keywords: Circular economy, comparative study, awareness, perception


This specification provides an architectural framework, called IPv6
Label Switching Architecture or 6LSA, for an end-to-end, IP-centric
packet transmission technique that uses the IPv6 packet header Flow
Label to establish IPv6-based label switched paths. The label switched
paths, called 6LSPs, provide application and user specified routes for
efficient transport of packets and as means for quality of service
(QoS) delivery, IPv4 tunneling, VPN and other mechanisms. Through
look-ups of 20-bit labels instead of 128-bit IPv6 addresses, the
architecture may provide potential memory and processing savings, the
latter through significantly reduced address fetches for the low-
powered, handheld devices. The label has two components comprising
Global Label value and Local Label value. The Global Label value from
the source is delivered to the destination unmodified. However, the
intermediate network nodes in 6LSA are allowed to temporarily replace
the Local Label value with a value of local significance. This enables
6LSA flows to be hop-specific although session-based and as such a
unique QoS delivery technique for bandwidth constrained media. 6LSA
also enhances security since label generation and assignment
algorithms can be modified periodically. Finally, it must be pointed
out that the 6LSA concept of temporary flow label assignment is
applicable to the 6LSA domain only. The concept is not applicable to
domains outside the 6LSA.


The objective of this study was to prepare chitosan and starch composite films by the addition of 0–3 wt% graphene nanosheets. The film's tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), elongation at break (E), moisture uptake (Mu), and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) were investigated. The surface morphology of the composite films was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Regardless of biopolymer type, both the TS and TM of the composite films first increased and then decreased with graphene loading. Composite film made with native (unmodified) starch showed lower TS and TM than those with chitosan. Composite films exhibit lower E values than pure chitosan and starch; this is attributed to the increase in the hardness of the films. SEM micrographs indicated that, the surface roughness and phase separation increased with increasing graphene content. This is due to the aggregation of graphene nanosheets, leading to the reduced compatibility of biopolymers. The addition of graphene considerably decreased WVTR and Mu of the composite films. These results indicated that graphene is a promising reinforcing agent for biopolymer composite films. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2258–2263, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers


Background Neonatal multiparameter continuous physiological monitoring (MCPM) technologies assist with early detection of preventable and treatable causes of neonatal mortality. Evaluating accuracy of novel MCPM technologies is critical for their appropriate use and adoption. Methods We prospectively compared the accuracy of Sibel's Advanced Neonatal Epidermal (ANNE) technology with Masimo's Rad-97 pulse CO-oximeter with capnography and Spengler's Tempo Easy reference technologies during four evaluation rounds. We compared accuracy of heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), oxygen saturation (SpO2), and skin temperature using Bland-Altman plots and root-mean-square deviation analyses (RMSD). Sibel's ANNE algorithms were optimized between each round. We created Clarke error grids with zones of 20% to aid with clinical interpretation of HR and RR results. Results Between November 2019 and August 2020 we collected 320 hours of data from 84 neonates. In the final round, Sibel's ANNE technology demonstrated a normalized bias of 0% for HR and 3.1% for RR, and a non-normalized bias of -0.3% for SpO2 and 0.2°C for temperature. The normalized spread between 95% upper and lower limits-of-agreement (LOA) was 4.7% for HR and 29.3% for RR. RMSD for SpO2 was 1.9% and 1.5°C for temperature. Agreement between Sibel's ANNE technology and the reference technologies met the a priori-defined thresholds for 95% spread of LOA and RMSD. Clarke error grids showed that all HR and RR observations were within a 20% difference. Conclusion Our findings suggest acceptable agreement between Sibel's ANNE and reference technologies. Clinical effectiveness, feasibility, usability, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness investigations are necessary for large-scale implementation.


Liposarcomas are a subtype of soft tissue sarcomas arising from adipocytes. These mesenchymal tumors have been sub classified into well differentiated liposarcoma (WDLPS), dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS), myxoid liposarcoma (MLPS) and pleomorphic liposarcoma (PLPS). This article reviews what has been reported regarding the responsiveness of these sarcoma subtypes to traditional and newly developed systemic therapies. The evolution of molecular targets for therapeutic intervention within the distinct histologies is discussed, along with, available evidence regarding the efficacy of novel target directed therapies. Response rates and outcomes for advanced disease therapeutic trials comprises the majority of this information, and where available, data from adjuvant therapy trials is reviewed. Overall survival for patients with advanced liposarcoma treated with systemic therapy is 16.3 months. The article addresses our progress toward the goal of improved liposarcoma outcomes through tailored interventions.


Neocortical neuronogenesis occurs in the pseudostratified ventricular epithelium (PVE) where nuclei of proliferative cells undergo interkinetic nuclear movement. A fraction of daughter cells exits the cell cycle as neurons (the quiescent, or Q, fraction), whereas a complementary fraction remains in the cell cycle (the proliferative, or P, fraction). By means of sequential thymidine and bromodeoxyuridine injections in mouse on embryonic day 14, we have monitored the proliferative and postmitotic migratory behaviors of 1 and 2 hr cohorts of PVE cells defined by the injection protocols. Soon after mitosis, the Q fraction partitions into a rapidly exiting (up to 50 μm/hr) subpopulation (Qr) and a more slowly exiting (6 μm/hr) subpopulation (Qs). Qr andQs are separated as two distributions on exit from the ventricular zone with an interpeak distance of ∼40 μm. Cells in Qr andQs migrate through the intermediate zone with no significant change in the interpeak distance, suggesting that they migrate at approximately the same velocities. The rate of migration increases with ascent through the intermediate zone (average 2–6.4 μm/hr) slowing only transiently on entry into the developing cortex. Within the cortex, Qr andQs merge to form a single distribution most concentrated over layer V.


As the scale and complexity of data continue to grow at unprecedented rates, scientists are increasingly relying on Large, High-Resolution Displays to visualize and analyze scientific datasets. Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of these displays in supporting cognitively demanding data analysis and sensemaking tasks. While there has been an abundance of research on rendering algorithms for large, high-resolution displays, far less effort has gone into designing interactive visual analytic interfaces to effectively leverage these displays in visual exploration and sensemaking scenarios involving large collections of data. In this paper, we present an interactive visual analytics application for the exploration of large trajectory datasets. Our application utilizes large, high-resolution 3D display environments to simultaneously visualize and juxtapose a large number of trajectories. It also integrates a scalable visual query technique, which can be used to quickly formulate and verify hypotheses, encouraging scientists to contemplate multiple competing theories before drawing conclusions. We evaluate our design within the context of a behavioral ecology case study. We also share our observations from a pilot user study to provide insights on how scientists might utilize large display environments in visual exploration and sensemaking scenarios.


: The unidirectional synergistic effect of the vegetative nervous system departments was studied at the regulation of the activity of internal organs. It was shown that the sympathetic nerve intensification of the vagal stimulation of EMA of stomach, urinary bladder, ureters, uteruss, fallopian tubes and deferent duct is realized by means of activation of serotonergic fibrae preganglionares that transmit the activation to 5-NTS,4 serotonin receptors of intramural ganglia that, in their turn, activate 5-NT1,2 serotonin receptors of effector cells.


Generative machine learning models have recently been applied to source code, for use cases including translating code between programming languages, creating documentation from code, and auto-completing methods. Yet, state-of-the-art models often produce code that is erroneous or incomplete. In a controlled study with 32 software engineers, we examined whether such imperfect outputs are helpful in the context of Java-to-Python code translation. When aided by the outputs of a code translation model, participants produced code with fewer errors than when working alone. We also examined how the quality and quantity of AI translations affected the work process and quality of outcomes, and observed that providing multiple translations had a larger impact on the translation process than varying the quality of provided translations. Our results tell a complex, nuanced story about the benefits of generative code models and the challenges software engineers face when working with their outputs. Our work motivates the need for intelligent user interfaces that help software engineers effectively work with generative code models in order to understand and evaluate their outputs and achieve superior outcomes to working alone.


We present situated live programming for human-robot collaboration, an approach that enables users with limited programming experience to program collaborative applications for human-robot interaction. Allowing end users, such as shop floor workers, to program collaborative robots themselves would make it easy to "retask" robots from one process to another, facilitating their adoption by small and medium enterprises. Our approach builds on the paradigm of trigger-action programming (TAP) by allowing end users to create rich interactions through simple trigger-action pairings. It enables end users to iteratively create, edit, and refine a reactive robot program while executing partial programs. This live programming approach enables the user to utilize the task space and objects by incrementally specifying situated trigger-action pairs, substantially lowering the barrier to entry for programming or reprogramming robots for collaboration. We instantiate situated live programming in an authoring system where users can create trigger-action programs by annotating an augmented video feed from the robot's perspective and assign robot actions to trigger conditions. We evaluated this system in a study where participants (n = 10) developed robot programs for solving collaborative light-manufacturing tasks. Results showed that users with little programming experience were able to program HRC tasks in an interactive fashion and our situated live programming approach further supported individualized strategies and workflows. We conclude by discussing opportunities and limitations of the proposed approach, our system implementation, and our study and discuss a roadmap for expanding this approach to a broader range of tasks and applications.


Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) involves recording the sounds of animals and environments for research and conservation. PAM is used in a range of contexts across terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments. However, financial constraints limit applications within aquatic environments; these costs include the high cost of submersible acoustic recorders. We quantify this financial constraint using a systematic literature review of all ecoacoustic studies published in 2020, demonstrating that commercially available autonomous underwater recording units are, on average, five times more expensive than their terrestrial equivalents. This pattern is more extreme at the low end of the price range; the cheapest available aquatic autonomous units are over 40 times more expensive than their terrestrial counterparts. Following this, we test a prototype low‐cost, low‐specification aquatic recorder called the 'HydroMoth': this device is a modified version of a widely used terrestrial recorder (AudioMoth), altered to include a waterproof case and customisable gain settings suitable for a range of aquatic applications. We test the performance of the HydroMoth in both aquaria and field conditions, recording artificial and natural sounds, and comparing outputs with identical recordings taken with commercially available hydrophones. Although the signal‐to‐noise ratio and the recording quality of HydroMoths are lower than commercially available hydrophones, the recordings with HydroMoths still allow for the identification of different fish and marine mammal species, as well as the calculation of ecoacoustic indices for ecosystem monitoring. Finally, we outline the potential applications of low‐cost, low‐specification underwater sound recorders for bioacoustic studies, discuss their likely limitations, and present important considerations of which users should be aware. Several performance limitations and a lack of professional technical support mean that low‐cost devices cannot meet the requirements of all PAM applications. Despite these limitations, however, HydroMoth facilitates underwater recording at a fraction of the price of existing hydrophones, creating exciting potential for diverse involvement in aquatic bioacoustics worldwide.


Thirty prepubertal patients with thalassaemia major (15 boys and 15 girls) aged from 9.3 to 17.2 years (mean 12.9) who had successfully undergone allogenic bone marrow transplantation were studied. Before the transplant all patients were given short courses of high doses of busulphan (total dose 14 mg/kg) followed by cyclophosphamide (total dose 200 mg/kg). Pituitary gonadal function was assessed between 0.7 and 5.1 years (mean 2.3) after bone marrow transplantation. Increased gonadotrophin concentrations indicating gonadal damage were found in 80% of the girls, probably as a result of the chemotherapy. In all the prepubertal boys the basal follicle stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone concentrations were normal. Most of the boys had reduced gonadotrophin and testosterone responses after gonadotrophin releasing hormone and human chorionic gonadotrophin tests. This could have been the result of iron overload but the effect of cytotoxic agents cannot be excluded. These findings emphasise the need for vigilant long term follow up of thalassaemic patients treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy for bone marrow transplantation so that those requiring hormone replacement can be identified and treated.


: This research is a part of an experimental study to examine the effect of lap splicing tension steel bars reactive powder concrete (RPC) beams under repeated loads. Eight RPCbeams whose tension steel bars were spliced at mid-span for a length equals 20 times the bar diameter and one RPC beam without lap splice were casted and tested. These beams were simply supported and tested up to failure under the action of two point repeated loads. The studied parameters were: the steel fiber volumetric ratio (1.5%,1.75% and2%), diameter of tension steel bars (12mm, 16mm and 20mm) and the repeated loading regime in which three types of loading were used depending on the minimum to maximum ratio of the applied load. The first loading regime with ratio of 0% with 0 kN for the minimum load while the maximum was the load beyond that causes yielding of steel bars and this is determined from the previous monotonic load test. The second type with 27% ratio (30 kN for the minimum and 105-110 kN for the maximum). The last type was with 20% ratio (the minimum12 kN and the maximum 60 kN).It should be mentioned that 10mm bar diameter was used to the top reinforcement and stirrups for all beams. The mid-span deflection as well as cracks propagation were recorded for each beam throughout the test. The main results showed that the adopted spliced length of tension steel bars was sufficient in monotonic load but insufficient under the action of high number of cycles of the repeated load. In addition, there were beams of splice failure that having low steel fiber ratio or larger diameter of tension steel bars.


Amorphous (a-Si) and polycrystalline silicon(c-Si) films have been obtained by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) in fixed silane flow at low pressure (200 mtorr) with variable growth temperature. Measurement of residual stress of polysilicon films growth between 570°C to 620°C was reported. Residual stress of polycrystalline silicon depends on film microstructure. The poly-silicon microstructure is a strong function of LPCVD growth temperature and pressure. In this work, Raman Scattering and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to study the film structure and composition. The multilayer optical model of Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) was used to crosscheck the crystallinity fraction. The surface roughness was identified by Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and SE. The residual stress changed from compressive to tensile and back to compressive for deposition temperature between 570°C and 620°C. Film's c-Si fraction increased as a function of deposition temperature. The roughness surface was found at deposition temperature of 580°C. For deposition temperature larger then 580°C, all films shown (200) texture. The (220) grain size increased from 18.6 nm to 25 nm when deposition temperature increased from 580°C to 620°C. The film residual stress change can be explained by grain structure, surface stress and volume stress. At deposition temperature from 580°C to 587°C, grain is equi-axes type and volume stress dominate which cause the tensile stress. For temperature higher then 587°C inverse conical grain formed from oxide interface to surface and surface stress dominate cause the stress back to compressive. The columnar structure formed when deposition temperature > 600°C, grain growth push the compressive stress decrease again.


An excellent atlas, this book is edited by Bell et al who have teamed up with 58 contributors throughout the United States in their first edition. This is a new format, conceptually designed to reflect recent changes in gastrointestinal surgery. It is divided into 7 parts (on esophagus, stomach and duodenum, biliary system, liver, pancreas, small intestines, and large intestines) that comprise 43 chapters. At the end of each section, an atlas of well-formatted, up-to-date technical information is marked with a green edge to be readily identifiable by the reader. This book is specifically designed for senior trainees and experienced surgeons; it is remarkably user friendly. The contributors are well-established clinical investigators in the areas of their expertise who write with remarkable clarity. The diagrams are sharp, relevant, and helpful to the reader looking for ready references in these 7 areas. Digestive Tract Surgery is a worthwhile investment, carries divergent


It is generally assumed that African states have yet to explore the full potential of their traditional institutions and the specific role that society wants them to play in modern states. While focusing on Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire, this empirical research seeks to explore legal pluralism in modern African democracy. The study specifically answers the research question: is the traditional justice system applicable to Nigerians and Ivorians in contemporary dispensation? The study finds out that a significant population at the grassroots rely on the traditional justice system, when compared with their counterparts in the cities. The rural population argues that the formal justice system is quite expensive and that the legal procedures are difficult to understand, coupled with the fact that court houses are mostly located in the cities. On the other hand, the gender-biased and male-dominated outlook of the traditional justice mechanism and its proneness to external influences, as well as the impact of modern religions, have continued to propel a considerable population (especially in urban areas) to patronize the formal justice system. Meanwhile, the adoption of western institutions of government by African states has forced traditional institutions to occupy the back seat. Hence, there is a mixed social environment wherein both formal and traditional justice systems are weak, and the states being weak themselves are significantly responsible for the weakness of traditional institutions. Consequently, flaws in both justice systems have compelled people to take the law into their own hands and to resort to jungle justice.


This study, assuming a balanced budget, attempts to estimate the optimal size of devolved government expenditure in 47 Kenyan counties using the panel ARDL regression and Scully (2008) model for the period 2014-2018. The estimation model examined Armey's idea of a quadratic curve that explains the level of government expenditure in an economy and the corresponding level of economic growth. The panel ARDL series analysis reveals that devolved government size is optimized when county expenditures stand at 9.7% of GCP (Gross County Product). The estimated threshold size is higher than the current size of county government in Kenya. The low level of devolved government size in counties reflects the low level of economic activities in Counties. This study therefore recommends that county governments should increase its spending budget on infrastructure, social and economic activities to 9.7% of GCP to stimulate overall county economic growth.


The Lazy Runner follows Laura Fountain from starting out as a novice runner - unfit, clueless about running, and incredibly lazy - to finishing her first marathon, and beyond. At first unable to run 400 metres without stopping, Laura has now completed five marathons, the most recent in under four hours. Along the way, Laura learns countless lessons about running, most of them the hard way. But most importantly this self-confessed couch potato learns to love running. As well as offering inspiration and motivation to get out there and run, her book offers tips on how to make running easier and more enjoyable. Offering practical information on buying the right kit, choosing the best race and what to do on race day, it also tackles the important running questions you might be embarrassed to ask - like when will it get easier? And what happens if I need the toilet?


The thesis is divided into seven chapters and is mainly devoted to an analysis, in formal terms, of the grammatical categories of mood, polarity, tense, person, number, transitivity and aspect that need to be set up for a synchronic description of the verbal piece in Nzema. The introductory first chapter presents a general classification of the verb as a linguistic unit in the grammar, the characteristic phonological features of the verb word and its grammatical features; and, as a convenient reference, a summary of the grammatical categories set up together with the systems of their terms is provided. Chapter 2 presents, as a necessary background, a phonetic and phonological description of the speech sounds of Nzema. The remaining chapters 3-7 contain the main body of the analysis of the grammatical categories. Chapter 3 deals with the three terms of indicative, interrogative and imperative set up within the category of Mood. Chapter 4 considers the category of Polarity in its specific relation to imperative mood clauses and treats together the two categories of Polarity and Tense as they relate to indicative and interrogative mood clauses. In the description of the various tense forms and their distinctive features, two contexts, marked by a nominal phrase or pronominal subject, are selected for the examples. Chapter 5 presents together the closely-related categories of Person and Number. Chapter 6 deals with the sets of grammatical relations between the verb and any items that may follow it in the clause by means of the seven terms; transitive, complex transitive, intransitive, complex semi-transitive, semi-transitive, ditransitive and relational within the category of Transitivity. A sub-classification of the verbs capable of occurring in each transitivity clause-type is also provided. Finally, Chapter 7 treats the tripartite distinction between normal and ingressive, dynamic and stative, and causative and non-causative within the category of Aspect.


The dynamical formulation of the optimal transport can be extended through various choices of the underlying geometry ($\textit{kinetic energy}$), and the regularization of density paths ($\textit{potential energy}$). These combinations yield different variational problems ($\textit{Lagrangians}$), encompassing many variations of the optimal transport problem such as the Schr\"odinger bridge, unbalanced optimal transport, and optimal transport with physical constraints, among others. In general, the optimal density path is unknown, and solving these variational problems can be computationally challenging. Leveraging the dual formulation of the Lagrangians, we propose a novel deep learning based framework approaching all of these problems from a unified perspective. Our method does not require simulating or backpropagating through the trajectories of the learned dynamics, and does not need access to optimal couplings. We showcase the versatility of the proposed framework by outperforming previous approaches for the single-cell trajectory inference, where incorporating prior knowledge into the dynamics is crucial for correct predictions.


Abstract. Near-surface air temperature is a key factor in many studies and its spatiotemporal patterns are highly dependent on the ground surface characteristics and vary over time and space. So Land Surface Temperature (LST) is an important parameter for air temperature estimation. In this study, it is tried to model the air temperature by deploying some of the parameters that affect it . The parameters that have been taken into account in this study include land surface temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Vapor Pressure (VP) and Lifted Index (LI) as a measure of atmospheric stability. To assess the impact of each of these parameters, different linear regression models, were tested. Support Vector Regression (SVR) and hybrid artificial neural network methods were also performed. To model and evaluate the time series data of Georgia State in The United States of America over 1 year have been used. The NDVI, Total Precipitable Water (TPW), LST and LI parameters are products of MODIS. VP is calculated by using a logarithmic model from the TPW. Finally, it was found out that the LST and VP have positive effects, LI has negative and NDVI had a slightly positive impact on the air temperature at 2 meters height. The achieved accuracy in the linear model when all parameters are involved was 2.29 °C with a correlation coefficient of R=0.96. Next, the SVR model was examined and applied to the linear model taking all parameters into account. It was found that it does not end up to any significant increase in accuracy but certainly increases the computation time. The accuracy of this model was about 2.25 °C with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. Finally, a hybrid artificial neural network was examined. It was found that it increases the accuracy but certainly increases the computation time. The achieved accuracy of this model was about 2.14 °C with a correlation coefficient of 0.96.


Objective: To measure the impact of medico-legal matters on doctors' health and well-being by comparing doctors who have experienced complaints and litigation with those who have not. Method: 1239 members of the medical defence organisation United Medical Protection were surveyed with 566 respondents (46%). The survey was self-report and included a demographic component, history of medico-legal matters, General Health Questionnaire (psychiatric morbidity), AUDIT (alcohol use), Sheehans Disability Scale to assess level of function in home, social and family life, and Quality of Life. Results: Those with a ''current legal matter'' reported increased disability and reduced quality of life and showed significantly increased levels of psychiatric morbidity compared to those doctors who did not have a current legal matter. Those who had sought assistance for a medico-legal matter reported significantly higher levels of alcohol use and increased levels of disability in work, social and family life and lower Quality of Life. Significantly more males reported current and past legal matters and had significantly higher alcohol usage and increased disability scores compared to females. Conclusion: Unsurprisingly, doctors who have current medico-legal matters have a higher level of disability and distress. However, doctors with a past medico-legal matter continue to have increased levels of disability in the domains of work, social and family life, lower reported quality of life and higher levels of alcohol use. The findings of this study need to be addressed in medical professional training and by medical defence organisations to better assist doctors through these processes.


In our previous study, fluoride ([AlF4]−) disturbed ER‐to‐Golgi transport through the activation of ER‐resident heterotrimeric G protein (ER‐G protein). Therefore, ER‐G protein may be implicated in ER‐to‐Golgi transport at the early stage prior to coat protein assembly. Sar1 translocation onto the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane is suppressed by non‐selective protein kinase inhibitor H89, suggesting the participation of H89‐sensitive kinase in this process. To investigate the involvement of ER‐G protein in ER‐to‐Golgi transport, the effect of Gi protein activator (mastoparan 7) was examined on Sar1 translocation onto the ER in a cell‐free system consisting of microsome membrane and cytosol. Sar1 translocation onto the microsome membrane was induced by addition of GTPγS in the cell‐free system. Translocation of Sar1 by GTPγS was suppressed significantly by both H89 and mastoparan 7. Mastoparan 7 suppressed the translocation of Sar1 onto the microsome membrane with dosage dependency, but mastoparan 17, the inactive analog of mastoparan 7, had no effect on Sar1 translocation. The suppressive effect of mastoparan 7 was recovered by treatment with pertussis toxin (IAP). Moreover, Gi2 protein was detected on the microsome membrane by western blotting for heterotrimeric Gi proteins. These results indicate that ER‐Gi2 protein modulated Sar1 translocation onto the ER, suggesting that ER‐resident Gi2 protein is an important negative regulator of vesicular transport at the early stage of vesicle formation before coat protein assembly on the ER. J. Cell. Biochem. 112: 2250–2256, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Focusing on emigration discourse in Chinese contemporary
 literature, the present study proposes reflection on mechanisms that connect
 literary writing with what is usually perceived as extra-textual reality,
 that is the sphere of individual and collective lived experience. Through the
 prism of the evolution of (our approach to) literary genres, with a special
 focus on the essay and related phenomena in both Chinese and Western literary
 traditions, I try to observe "paradigm slippages" in literature, i.e. moments
 when a certain way of understanding and describing literature and its
 interactions with "the world" proves insufficient, and a new way to do so
 emerges.
 Instead of adopting a literary-historical perspective marked by breakthroughs
 in collective consciousness, like those between the ancient, the modern, and
 the postmodern, I concentrate on shifts that run through single literary
 works and are more effectively captured in the language of natural sciences.
 I argue that at different levels and in different circumstances, texts may be
 understandable and describable within different physics of literature: from
 genre-based "Newtonian" physics, to universalizing "Einsteinian" physics
 whose conceptual structures are reflected in the essay, to "quantum" physics
 whose microdynamic I observe when scrutinizing processes of essayization.


Intention of this research is to analyse Underpricing. Underpricing is a price which the stock on IPO is relatively lower than the price on secondary market. Some influencing factors to Underpricing in this research are Underwriter Reputation, KAP Size, Financial Leverage, and Earning Per Share. This research uses doubled regression analysis that is aimed to find out and analyze the influence of those factors toward Underpricing.
There are 80 companies that meet the criteria and taken as samples in this research. The result of regression analysis shows that KAP size variable gives the significant negative influence to Underpricing,while Financial Leverage variable influences to Underpricing in the significantpositive way. Neither Underwriter Reputation nor DER variables give any significant influence to Underpricing.

Keywords : Underpricing, Underwriter Reputation, KAP Size, Financial Leverage and Earning Per Share (EPS).


The accurate design of trickle irrigation laterals needs to determine the total energy losses that includes the pipe friction losses along the lateral line and the local pressure losses, sometimes called minor losses, due to the protrusion of emitter barbs into the flow. Evaluation of energy losses is usually carried out by assuming the hypothesis that minor losses can be neglected, even if previous experimental studies indicated that minor losses can become a significant percentage of total energy losses as a consequence of the high number of emitters installed along the lateral line. In this study, a simple analytical procedure is presented to evaluate the effect of minor losses which is characterized by a coefficient αi, expressing the amount of minor head losses as a fraction of the kinetic head, on trickle lateral design. According to both the design cases of without and including minor losses, the dimensionless design curves were developed for both the various lateral diameters and lengths. The results of two practical examples for designing either the diameter or the length indicated that, in some design cases, neglecting minor losses may lead to erroneous designs of the lateral diameter and length. This method is simple and easily adaptable to solve lateral hydraulic problems but sufficiently precise in comparison with the alternative procedures. The proposed equations are useful when applied for design and evaluation purposes and offer a practical field solution for laterals used in irrigation systems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper presents new evidence regarding the relation between profit, revenue, and cost efficiencies of U.S. commercial banks. Building on the widely used nonstandard profit function (NSPF) approach, we show (i) why estimation of NSPF would be wrong and (ii) how revenue and cost efficiencies contribute to profit efficiency. Using data from U.S. commercial banks from 2001 to 2010, we find that losses due to profit inefficiency represents about 8.2% of banks' equity of which 3.5% is due to revenue inefficiency and 4.7% to cost inefficiency. Cost efficiency weighs more than revenue efficiency in estimated profit efficiency. However, compared with cost inefficiency, revenue inefficiency affects more overall profitability.


BACKGROUND
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death among women globally. Cardiovascular disease-related events are more common in older women compared with men and are more likely to result in death. Although research in high-income countries suggests that women have unique sociobiological CVD risk factors, only a few study authors have examined risk factor knowledge among women from low- and middle-income countries.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess CVD risk factor knowledge among low-income urban Indian women.

METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted among a nonprobability sample of 607 slum-dwelling women, 40 to 64 years old, living in Mysore, India, between October 2017 and May 2018. Participants underwent an interviewer-administered questionnaire measuring demographics, CVD risk factor knowledge, and medical history.

RESULTS
Cardiovascular disease risk factor knowledge was low in this population and was associated with age, education, income, and caste. Approximately half of the participants (47%) answered less than 50% of the questions correctly, and a third had knowledge scores greater than 70%, which we defined as "good knowledge." Only 4 of 7 traditional CVD risk factors (ie, physical activity, smoking, overweight, and high cholesterol) were recognized by greater than half of the participants. The lowest knowledge levels were among older single women with no education and monthly household incomes less than Rs 3000 (approximately US $42).

CONCLUSIONS
Previous research among slum dwellers in India reported a high prevalence of modifiable CVD risk factors compared with more affluent urban peers. Interventions aimed at CVD risk factor knowledge may be an important first step in controlling heart disease in this vulnerable population.


Efforts to account for the emergence of large-scale cooperative human societies have focused on a range of cultural advances, from the advent of agriculture to the emergence of new forms of political regulation and social identification. Little attention has been accorded to the role of writing and recordkeeping in cultural evolution. Recent insights garnered here from behavioural economics, palaeography, grammatology, evolutionary psychology, and anthropology suggest that writing and recordkeeping helps to solve the problem of cooperation in large groups by transcending the severe limitations of our evolved psychology through the elaboration of four cooperative tools – (1) reciprocal behaviours, (2) reputation formation and maintenance, (3) social norms and norm enforcement, and (4) group identity


Reinventing Richard Nixon: A Cultural History of an American Obsession Daniel Frick. Lawrence. Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2008. Does the country really need yet another book about its obsession with the only president to have resigned the office, Richard M. Nixon? Daniel Frick believes it does, and has immersed himself in all things Nixon. Frick, who teaches the English language at Franklin and Marshall College and directs its Writing Center, presents an exhaustive analysis of the cinema, cartoons, drama, jokes, novels, verse, and other cultural artifacts that emerged from the life and career of this most fascinating president, who was at once so attractive and so repellant. As a result of the groundwork that Nixon's administration constructed, and the influence that Nixon had upon his party and those it elected as his successors, Frick is correct. To understand the recent past, one must also understand the Nixon years, and the Nixon effect upon subsequent Republican presidents and their administrations. Certainly Nixon changed America and the world. Central to Nixon's character was class consciousness and the bitterness of a victim. As Frick notes, "churning underneath the surface" of one of Nixon's political biographies, "the seemingly complacent optimism of Six Crises", there was "a festering, resentful anger that prefigures the mentality that created the Watergate scandal" (45). It was Nixon who prepared the way for the "win at any cost" strategy so evident in so many of the subsequent political races. It is illustrative to compare two powerful and successive presidents, who each came from modest backgrounds. Lyndon Johnson developed a burning resentment, as did Nixon, but it was a resentment against poverty and discrimination and against outcasts and the powerless. For all his faults, he concentrated his energies on eliminating poverty, and creating The Great Society. Nixon, too, developed a burning resentment, but the result was quite different. Nixon's determination was to "screw his enemies," or those who had scorned (or even worse, defeated) him. Ironically, the boy who made his way from nothing to the top - as Nixon presented himself - came to identify with the wealthy and powerful, yet he echoed the George Wallace refrain that conservatives have used so effectively ever since; the refrain that their opponents are "elitists." It was not power or wealth that Nixon saw as elitist, but rather style, as was so notable in the debonair John F. Kennedy, who defeated him. His party's concern grew through the years to include those who are educated, who value science and reason, who might be "liberal," and thus by (their) definition "look down upon" the average voter (while conservatives chortle quietly in private). …


The aim of this thesis was to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and coping strategies for individuals with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD), and to study the effect of a group-based patient information on anxiety/depression and HRQoL. HRQoL and anxiety/depression were investigated (n=492) (Study I). In Study II, anxiety/depression, HRQoL, satisfaction with information and evaluation of the patient information were studied (n=49). Coping with disease activity was investigated in 166 patients reporting current exacerbation (Study III). Fifteen patients were interviewed about disease-related stress, how this is managed and the need of support from the health care (Study IV). Patients with UC reported better HRQoL and less anxiety/depression than did patients with CD during both remission and exacerbation. Satisfaction with information had increased at follow-up 6 months after patient information. The information and the possibility to discuss with lecturers and group members were valued as most important. No change was found in anxiety/depression or HRQoL at follow-up. Both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies were employed to cope with disease activity, with no difference between patients with UC or CD. The urgent need of toilet availability and stress associated to social situations were the major disease-related stressors. This stress was managed by finding out the location of toilets, bringing toilet paper and extra underwear and emptying bowel before an activity. The patients wanted information and possibilities to talk to experienced staff and to other patients about how to live with the disease. This thesis shows that HRQoL for some patients with UC, and primarily for patients with CD, is impaired. Thus medical staff should be observant of the psychosocial well-being of patients with CD and also of patients with relapse. Methods to identify and support patients with anxiety/depression and poor HRQoL need to be developed. Interventions should target the patient's specific problems and at appropriate times.


The effective control of the main physiological systems during spaceflight and investigation of the mechanisms involved is a difficult problem, but the success of manned space missions greatly depends on the solution of these problems. In this respect, the cerebral circulation system is of particular importance for control and research. The large amount of experimental evidence concerning the functional peculiarities of the cerebral circulation system gives us every reason to suggest that this part of the circulatory system could be readily affected by spaceflight dynamic factor-accelerations and weightlessness.


Palynofacies analysis was carried out on 92 core samples from the fluvio-deltaic Middle to Upper Triassic Mungaroo Formation, Northern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The analyses demonstrate that each depositional environment ("depofacies") sampled has a characteristic palynofacies assemblage reflecting the varied origins, transport, sorting, and preservation histories of organic particles in sediments. The sampling covered a wide range of depofacies identified in fluvial channel, floodplain, crevasse splay, distributary channel, and tidal zone paleoenvironments and included laminated to massive mudstones and siltstones, cross-bedded sandstones, immature pedogenically altered paleosols, and coals. Although each depofacies has a characteristic palynofacies association, there is a high degree of variability within and overlap between preparations. Black-opaque particles were the dominant component in active fluvial, crevasse, and distributary channels. In contrast, palynomorphs, brown wood particles, and cuticle were more common in abandoned channels, floodplain lakes, and other lower-energy environments. The composition of palynomorphs also varies greatly between depofacies due to factors including the bioproductivity of the surrounding vegetation source area, water-table levels, preservation potential, and the fluid dynamic properties of organic particles. The depofacies were grouped into five "process regimes" (active channels, abandoned channels, lakes and periodically flooded areas, paleosols and swamps, tidal mudflats) based on their dominant depositional process. Depofacies in the same process regime tended to have similar palynofacies associations. Active channels yielded similar assemblages irrespective of whether they were fluvial, crevasse, or distributary channels because their dominant characteristic is high flow energy, which encourages the bypass of finer-grained particles, enhances the mechanical degradation of plant debris, and may inhibit local vegetation growth. Organic particles found in lower-energy environments (e.g., floodplain lakes) are on average larger, more elongate, and better preserved than particles found in high-energy environments (e.g., active channels). Although this study was restricted to samples from the upper Samaropollenites speciosus and lower Minutosaccus crenulatus biostratigraphic zones in a geographically limited area, its results are not influenced by the specific taxonomic composition of the vegetation but by the physiographic structure of surrounding plant communities; this suggests that palynofacies analysis could be used to distinguish depositional environments in deltaic settings from other stratigraphic intervals.


This paper introduces the concept of adaptive coordination of damping controllers for enhancing power system stability. The coordination uses phasor measurement units (PMUs) to adapt to different disturbances by selecting the switching status (on/off) of damping controllers that minimizes an energy-based dynamic performance measure. This dynamic performance measure, referred to as total action (TA), uses a physical interpretation of excited modes rather than fixed targeted modes as in the traditional damping control design. The coordination is formulated as a binary integer programming problem, which is solved by using the total action sensitivity (TAS). The concept of oscillation energy and the implementation of the adaptive coordination scheme is tested in the western North America power system (wNAPS). The results show that the proposed adaptive control scheme can improve oscillation damping for different short-circuit locations even in the presence of large communication delays.


The triterpenoid compound glycyrrhizin (GL) is widely used in Japan for the treatment of viral hepatitis. GL, carbenoxolone sodium (CBX), and cicloxolone sodium (CCX) exhibit broad range antiviral activity both in vivo and in vitro. Both in vitro and in vivo anti-HIV activity has also been reported for GL. This thesis investigates the effect of triterpenoid compounds on replication of two retrovirus in tissue cultures; Feline leukaemia virus type A (FeLV-A) and Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Both of these viruses cause AIDS-like immunodeficiency diseases in cats. The anti-retrovirus activity of the triterpenoid compounds is contrasted with the effect of the drugs on the replication of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) in MDBK cells. Triterpenoid compounds are lipophilic and effect the host cell membrane functions. In order to determine drug concentrations in which cytotoxic effect of the drug could be uncoupled from the antiviral activity, cyotoxicity tests were performed. The effect of the drugs on cell culture growth and percentage cell viability were determined by trypan blue dye exclusion. The highest drug concentrations tolerated were; for FeA and CrFK cells 100muM CCX, or 100muM CBX and for MDBK cells 300muM CCX (used for BHV-1 studies). Drug removal experiments have shown that the effect of the drugs was reversible and that two days treatment with 100muM CCX, or 100muM CBX had no effect on the subsequent growth of FeA or CrFK cell cultures. The IC50 concentrations (concentration of the drug inhibiting cellular growth by 50%) determined for both CrFK and FeA cells after 24h or 48h drug treatments were > 300muM and 150muM respectively. Based on the data obtained from cytotoxicity tests, it was concluded that CrFK and FeA cells could be placed within the grouping of CCX-resistant cell lines classified by Galt et al., (1990). In order, to investigate the intracellular location of CCX molecules, an attempt was made to generate an anti-CCX antibody in immunise rabbits. Despite detection of an apparent anti-CCX antibody in an ELISA test, experiments designed to demonstrate the specific antibody tagging of CCX molecules in drug treated cells by immunofluorescence were unsuccessful. Previous studies have shown that CCX treatment impaired the glycosylation of HSV, VSV, and SFV glycoproteins, suggesting that the Golgi apparatus might be a target for triterpenoid compounds. A trans-Golgi specific monoclonal antibody (directed against the p58 protein) was employed to investigate the effect of CCX on the MDBK and CrFK cells Golgi apparatus. While perinuclear (Golgi) immunofluorescence was observed in drugfree cultures, little or no such staining was detected in cells treated with CCX, suggesting that the drug perturb the Golgi apparatus. It was further postulated that up-regulation of Na+/K+ATPase activity (a known effect of triterpenoid compounds) might play a role in the effect of CCX on the Golgi apparatus. To test this hypothesis, ouabain (a specific inhibitor of Na+/K+ATPase activity) was used in Golgi immunofluorescence labelling experiments. The effect of CCX on the Golgi apparatus of MDBK cells was impaired when cells were pre-treated with ouabain, confirming that the CCX-induced perturbation of the trans-Golgi compartment was associated with the up-regulation of Na+/K+ATPase activity. A model that can explain the effect of the triterpenoid compounds on Golgi apparatus has been given. CBX and GL exhibit mild virucidal activity against FeLV-A, FIV, and BHV-1. 300muM CCX treatment of virus particles in suspensions resulted in a 4 fold reduction in FeLV-A, and 10 fold reduction of FIV infectivity. Treatment of BHV-1 particles with 1500muM GL resulted in a 4.2 fold reduction infectivity. FeLV-A infectious virus yield, drug-dose-response experiments in which infected FeA cells were treated with increasing concentrations of CCX, CBX, or GL resulted in extracellular reductions of 155, 101, and 128 fold, when treated with 150muM CCX, 150muM CBX, or 2500muM GL respectively. The kinetics of the dose-response curves obtained for each drug were triphasic; an initial ~ 10 fold reduction in infectivity when cells were treated with 25muM CCX, 25muM CBX, or 500muM GL, followed by a near plateau in the curve up to 100muM CCX, 100muM CBX or 2000muM GL, and a sharp decrease in the curve at 150muM CCX, 150muM CBX, or 2500muM GL. The results suggest that the antiviral activity of triterpenoid compounds may operate by inhibiting two different target functions; the first, a function that enhances but is not essential for virus infectivity and which is sensitive to low drug concentrations, and the second, a function which is probably essential for virus replication and which is only sensitive to high concentrations of the drugs. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).


A comparative study of the function of the left hand and right ventricles in different myocardial infarction periods was carried out in 100 patients. The principal method used for specific analysis of the phase structure in the function of the left and right ventricles was that of precardial cardiography. The data obtained indicate that in the acute infarction stage both ventricles function hypodynamically. Later, some asynchronism in the restoration of the affected contractile function of both ventricles is observed. The study of the kinetics of the left and right heart ventricles enables one to evaluate the markedness of the compensatory processes and some of their mechanisms.


Google distributes proprietary applications for its open-source Android mobile operating system (OS) free of charge. Some of those applications (apps) are offered together as a suite of apps known as Google Mobile Services (GMS). Manufacturers of mobile devices can agree, pursuant to Google's Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA), to install the suite of apps on their devices at a price of zero. Some theorize that Google's policy of offering some applications together as a suite of apps harms competitors or menaces consumer welfare. In April 2015, the European Commission expressed such concerns when it initiated a formal antitrust investigation that will scrutinize Google's licensing practice with respect to Android, mobile apps, and mobile services. In April 2014, an antitrust class-action complaint filed against Google by individual mobile device owners in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California presented similar allegations. However, the theory that the MADA's requirements have anticompetitive effects is wrong. As a matter of economics, Google's practice of distributing free mobile apps in the GMS suite benefits consumers (as well as manufacturers, mobile carriers, app developers, and advertisers) by stimulating demand, by reducing the risk of fragmentation of the Android OS, and by preventing Google's competitors from free riding on its investment to make the Android OS and mobile apps a viable open-source competitor to closed and proprietary — "walled garden" — platforms for mobile devices. As a matter of antitrust law, Google's distribution of apps as part of a larger whole — GMS — is lawful under the Supreme Court's four-part test for such arrangements. Google does not force consumers to pay for apps they do not want, and the MADA's requirements enhance competition overall. The same conclusion holds with even greater certainty under the rule-of-reason analysis for software integration that the D.C. Circuit adopted in its historic Microsoft decision. Although European competition law differs in some respects from American antitrust law, the pertinent economic analysis does not vary by jurisdiction. Google's licensing practice has invigorated competition among mobile platforms and mobile devices. Google's distribution of free mobile apps in GMS has produced a market success, not a market failure, and should not be considered anticompetitive.


In a recent paper published in Gut Sharif and co-workers have investigated the role of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and its co-receptor CD14 in experimental pancreatitis. Using genetically modified strains of mice in which TLR4 or CD14 had been deleted the authors found significantly less pancreatic injury and systemic inflammation in the milder, caerulein-induced pancreatitis as well as the more severe L-arginine-induced variety.1 Toll-like receptors belong to a family of pattern recognition receptors that mediate innate immune recognition and inflammatory responses. They are activated by products of microbial metabolism and for TLR4 the best established ligand is lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of Gram-negative bacteria. Surprisingly, the beneficial effect of TLR4 or CD14 deletion on pancreatitis was completely independent of either the presence of LPS, or the translocation of bacteria.1 If TLR4 were to have a …


This article is the report of a large-scale, international research project involving focus group interviews of adolescent and young adult members of a variety of self-initiated visual culture groups in five urban areas (Amsterdam, Budapest, Chicago, Helsinki, and Hong Kong). Each group was established by young people around their interests in the production and use of a form of visual culture. The research questions for this study focused on: a) conditions of visual culture communities, b) group practices in visual culture communities, c) individuals in a visual culture community, and d) peer teaching and learning processes. The results of this study indicate that visual culture groups act as powerful student communities for auto-didactic and peer initiated learning. Although the education that occurs in these groups may be considered informal, students maintain them to increase their art knowledge and skills, as well as for entertainment and social networking. Several answers to each research question are reported and applications for formal art education are recommended.


Excerpt] This study is a comprehensive analysis of employer behavior in representation elections supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The data for this study originate from a thorough review of primary NLRB documents for a random sample of 1,004 NLRB certification elections that took place between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2003 and from an in-depth survey of 562 campaigns conducted with that same sample. Employer behavior data from prior studies conducted over the last 20 years are used for purposes of comparison. The representativeness of the sample combined with the high response rate for both the survey (56%) and NLRB unfair labor practice (ULP) charge documents (98%) ensure that the findings provide unique and highly credible information. In combination, the results provide a detailed and well-documented portrait of the legal and illegal tactics used by employers in NLRB representational elections and of the ineffectiveness of current labor law policy to protect and enforce workers rights in the election process.


Abstract—Hepatocyte growth factor is a pleiotropic cytokine with cardioprotective properties. Its serum concentration is markedly raised in end-stage renal disease. This study assessed the relation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) with left ventricular mass and geometry in end-stage renal disease. Serum HGF measurements and echocardiographic studies were performed in 185 patients receiving hemodialysis. Patients with serum HGF above the median (1.85 ng/mL) had more frequent cardiovascular complications. This cytokine was directly related to mean left ventricular wall thickness (r =0.23, P =0.002) and relative wall thickness (r =0.25, P =0.0001); a multivariate analysis showed that this relation was independent of other risk factors. Accordingly, the prevalence of left ventricular concentric geometry (either concentric left ventricular hypertrophy or remodeling) was much higher (n=49, 53%) among patients with HGF values above the median that in those with values ≤1.85 ng/mL (n=31, 34%). Furthermore, the risk for left ventricular concentric geometry was higher in patients with HGF values above the median (odds ratio, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.33 to 4.98;P =0.005), and multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed that this association was independent of other risk factors. In patients receiving hemodialysis, elevated serum HGF is associated with concentric left ventricular geometry. This is consistent with reports that link this cytokine to arterial remodeling and survival in patients with end-stage renal disease and suggests that it is part of a counterregulatory response aimed at attenuating cardiovascular damage in this high-risk population.


When people are exposed repeatedly to a conflict in visually and haptically specified shapes, they adapt and the apparent conflict is eventually eliminated. The inter-modal adaptation literature suggests that the conflict is resolved by adapting the haptic shape estimator. Another possibility is that both estimators adapt by amounts that depend on their relative variances. Thus, the visual estimator could adapt if its variance were high enough. Is relative reliability the better predictor of visual-haptic adaptation? We examined this by manipulating the variance of the visual signal during inter-modal adaptation and then measuring changes in the within-modal (vision-alone and haptics-alone) shape percepts. The stimulus was a 3D object with a rectangular front surface. It was specified visually by random-dot stereograms and haptically by PHANToM force-feedback devices. In pre- and post-tests, observers judged whether its front surface was taller or shorter than it was wide. For each modality, we found the aspect ratio that was perceptually a square. During adaptation, a conflict was created between the visually and haptically specified shapes by independently altering the visual and haptic aspect ratios of the front surface. The variance of the visual estimator (determined by dot number) was either low or high. We assessed the amount of visual and haptic adaptation by comparing pre- and post-test shape estimates. When the visual estimators variance was low, essentially all of the adaptation occurred in the haptic estimator. When the visual estimators variance was high, we observed visual and haptic adaptation. These results suggest that the relative reliability of visual and haptic estimators determines the relative amounts of visual and haptic adaptation.


The Affect-tag solution measures physiological signals to deliver indicators derived from cognitive science. To provide the most accurate and effective results, a database of electrodermal activity (EDA) signals acquired using the Affect-tag A1 band was created. An experimental paradigm was designed to measure action-taking, autonomic regulation, cognitive load (CL), emotions, and stress, affects, and social stress. The Affect-tag emotional power (EP), emotional density (ED), and CL affective and cognitive indicators were refined based on the physiological responses of 48 participants during these tasks. Statistical significance was obtained for all indicators in tasks they were designed to measure, resulting in a total accuracy score of 89% for the combined indicators. Data obtained during this study will be further analyzed to define emotional and affective states.


The current tennis performances are supported by advanced technology that favors performance at the highest level. A number of devices able to assist the work of the specialist team around the tennis player were introduced, as additional means, in the training activity. Simulators are included in this category; they are used mainly in cyclical sports (rowing), but in recent years they are also used in acyclic sports, such as tennis. By using the simulator, tennis players could have huge benefits, both at mental and physical level, as the simulator creates the possibility of training in conditions similar to a tennis game. The simulator demonstrated that changing a couple of items we can find quick body answers. After these answers we can set the best exercises for each player to obtain the high performance. The research was conducted with a group of eight (8) tennis players who are included in national teams. They had simulator-assisted trainings during three calendar periods. The content of the training included both a technical component and a physical one. The technical training comprised practice of forehand, backhand and service. During the physical training, emphasis was placed on developing the specific strength of the tennis game, the speed of execution and repetition. Simulator training allows the player to become aware of the movements, and to increase his/her physical and mental capacity. In the wake of this experiment we found that the period of pre-competitive training sessions can be reduced, and tennis players can get faster in good physical shape.


In December 2009, SNRI/ADRON received from Bayer CropScience six of its hybrid rice varieties SRH10001, SRH10002, SRH10003, SRH10004, SRH10005 and SRH10006, which have been tested with three of ADRON varieties, ADRON-117, ADRON-125 and ADRON-130 in an Observational Yield Trial. The hybrid varieties were sown at a density of 45 kg seed/ha and the ADRON varieties at two densities 45 kg/ha and 150 kg/ha. The experiment was executed in two instalments sown some four weeks apart to see if sowing date would have an effect on the performance of the varieties. Overall, the earlier plantings gave higher yields both for the hybrids and the ADRON varieties. The later sowing date had a more profound effect on the performance of the hybrids with SRH 10003 and SRH 10004 yielding approximately 2 ton/ha less. The different seeding rates used with the ADRON varieties did not seem to result in big differences in yield, thus suggesting that for the inbred ADRON varieties a lower seeding rate could be applied. While the hybrid varieties gave good yields, traits as phenotypic acceptability, grain dimensions, culm strength and milling quality were not as good as the ADRON varieties.


Early studies have shown that musical program auralisations can convey structural and run-time information about Turbo Pascal programs to listeners [3, 4, 10]. Auralisations were effected by mapping program events and structures to musical signature tunes, known as motifs. The design of the motifs was based around the taxonomical nature of the Turbo Pascal language constructs [3]. However, it became clear that as the musical complexity and grammatical rigour of the motifs increased, their discernability by the average user decreased. Therefore, from the lessons learnt from our work we propose a set of organising principles for the design and construction of musically-based program auralisations. These organising principles are aimed towards providing accessible auralisations to the average programmer who has no formal musical training.