Summary form only given. This paper presents the application of a space vector modulation (SVM) strategy for a ulti-module HVDC converter system that (i) enables low switching frequency, (ii) eliminates/minimizes AC-side voltage harmonics, particularly low-order harmonics, and (iii) provides maximum AC-side fundamental voltage component. The SVM strategy is based on a sequential sampling technique. The SVM provides harmonic cancellation/minimization by introducing appropriate phase-shift for the corresponding voltage harmonics of the converter modules, while maintaining the fundamental voltage components of modules in-phase to obtain maximum AC-side voltage. The SVM eliminates the need for complicated transformer arrangement for harmonic reduction, and thus provides high degree of modularity by utilization of identical transformers for converter modules. The proposed SVM strategy is developed for a back-to-back HVDC converter station in which each converter system is composed of four identical modules. Based on a dynamic model of the system, converter controls are designed and performance of the SVM strategy in terms of converter harmonics and dynamic performance are presented. The studies are performed in time-domain, using the PSCAD/EMTDC software tool.


The photoelectrochemical properties of polycrystalline GaFeO3 (GFO) thin films are investigated for the first time. Thin films prepared by sol–gel methods exhibit phase‐pure orthorhombic GFO with the Pc21n space group, as confirmed by X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Optical responses are characterized by a 2.72 eV interband transition and sub‐bandgap d–d transitions associated with octahedral and tetrahedral coordination of Fe3+ sites. DFT‐HSE06 electronic structure calculations show GFO is highly ionic with very low dispersion in the valence band maximum (VBM) and conduction band minimum (CBM). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals n‐type conductivity with a flat band potential (Ufb) of 0.52 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, indicating that GFO has the most positive CBM reported of any ferrite. The photoelectrochemical oxidation of SO32− shows an ideal semiconductor–electrolyte interfacial behavior with no evidence of surface recombination down to the Ufb. Surprisingly, the onset potential for the oxygen evolution reaction also coincides with the Ufb, showing interfacial hole‐transfer efficiency above 50%. The photoelectrochemical properties are limited by bulk recombination due to the short‐diffusion length of minority carriers as well as slow transport of majority carriers. Strategies towards developing high‐efficiency GFO photoanodes are briefly discussed.


We experimentally test alternative auction designs suitable for pricing and removing troubled assets from banks' balance sheets as part of the financial rescue. Many individual securities or pools of securities are auctioned simultaneously. Securities that are widely held are purchased in auctions for individual securities. Securities with concentrated ownership are purchased as pools of related securities. Each bank has private information about its liquidity need and the true common value of each security. We study bidding behavior and performance of sealed-bid uniform-price auctions and dynamic clock auctions. The clock and sealed-bid auctions resulted in similar prices. However, the clock auctions resulted in substantially higher bank payoffs, since the dynamic auction enabled the banks to better manage their liquidity needs. The clock auctions also reduced bidder error. The experiments demonstrated the feasibility of quickly implementing simple and effective auction designs to help resolve the crisis.


Proposed paper presents application of the patch test for meshless analysis of piezoelectric circular plate with functionally graded material properties. Functionally graded materials (FGM) are the special class of composite materials with continuous variation of volume fraction of constituents in predominant direction. Patch test analysis is an important tool in numerical methods for addressing the convergence. Meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method together with moving least-squares (MLS) approximation scheme is applied in the analysis. No finite elements are required for approximation or integration of unknown quantities. Circular plate is considered as a 3-D axisymmetric piezoelectric solid. Considering the axial symmetry, the problem is reduced to a 2-dimensinal one. Displacement and electric potential fields are prescribed on the outer boundaries in order to reach the state of constant stress field inside the considered plate as required by the patch test and the governing equations. Values of prescribed mechanical and electrical fields must be determined in order to comply with applied FGM gradation rule. Convergence study is performed to assess the considered meshless approach and several conclusions are finally presented.


PurposeTo compare the difference between 2 methods of measuring the intraocular pressure (IOP), namely, Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) and dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) and to study the relationship with the corneal parameters in patients with no glaucoma signs. MethodsOne hundred and eighteen eyes of 118 healthy subjects from 20 to 77 years of age underwent IOP measurements with DCT and GAT, central corneal thickness, and corneal volume measurements with Pentacam Scheimpflug camera. Pentacam examination has been performed first, then DCT and, after 10 minutes, GAT measurements. ResultsThe measurements with GAT ranged between 11 and 22 mm Hg (m=15.49±2.43 mm Hg), the measurements with DCT ranged between 10.5 and 25.1 mm Hg (m=17.59±2.9 mm Hg). DCT showed a statistically significant (P<0.0001) higher IOP measurement compared with GAT. A relation between differences in IOP with central corneal thickness and corneal volume was found, whereas no relation was found with corneal radius and age. ConclusionsOur results show a discrete correlation between GAT and DCT measurements, but DCT showed slightly higher values of IOP. If DCT should be considered the gold standard, higher values of IOP could still be considered normal. These 2 devices cannot to be used interchangeably.


Combined SDME and SPME worked as an elegant strategy to inject a large sampled mass of analytes into a GC. After headspace SDME of methyl derivatives of phenol, chlorophenols, methylphenols and other substituted phenols into 10 μL of solvent drop (1-butanol), the extract was subjected to headspace SPME (DVB/CAR/PDMS, 30/50 μm, fiber) for convenient transfer of analytes to the fiber and then into the GC. This combination resulted in achieving a high sensitivity of detection for a small volume (0.5–2 mL) of sample. The chromatographic separation of thirteen model phenols (as their methyl ethers) was complete within 10 min. A rectilinear calibration graph was obtained using combined headspace SDME/SPME and GC-MS in the range of 0.001–5 mg L−1, with a correlation coefficient of 0.990–0.999 and an average limit of detection of 20 ng L−1 (range 8–45 ng L−1), which was far better than that obtained by headspace SDME, 90 ng L−1 (range 50–138 ng L−1), or headspace SPME, 55 ng L−1 (range 36–70 ng L−1), when used alone. In spiking experiments on environmental water samples, the RSD of the results was in the range of 4.6–9.4%.


Abstract Ponomarev, A. L., Belli, M., Hahnfeldt, P. J., Hlatky, L., Sachs, R. K. and Cucinotta F. A. A Robust Procedure for Removing Background Damage in Assays of Radiation-Induced DNA Fragment Distributions. Radiat. Res. 166, 908–916 (2006). The non-random distribution of DNA breakage in PFGE (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis) experiments poses a problem of proper subtraction of the background DNA damage to obtain a fragment-size distribution due to radiation only. A naive bin-to-bin subtraction of the background signal will not result in the right DNA mass distribution histogram. This problem could become more pronounced for high-LET (linear energy transfer) radiation, because the fragment-size distribution manifests a higher frequency of smaller fragments. Previous systematic subtraction methods have been based on random breakage, appropriate for low-LET radiation. Moreover, an investigation is needed to determine whether the background breakage is itself random or non-random. We consider two limiting cases: (1) the background damage is present in all cells, and (2) it is present in only a small subset of cells, while other cells are not contributing to the background DNA fragmentation. We give a generalized formalism based on stochastic processes for the subtraction of the background damage in PFGE experiments for any LET and apply it to two sets of PFGE data for iron ions.


What is the Belt and Road Initiative and what implications could it have for America's grand strategy? As many observers have pointed out, China's Belt and Road suffers from a number of problems and ambiguities. However, it is a much more coherent, potent, and resilient endeavor than many experts believe. Belt and Road is deeply grounded within Chinese grand strategy and strategic culture, helps protect the foundations of China's national power, and allows Beijing to project influence across and beyond the Eurasian continent. If left unchecked, it could erode the foundations of America's post-World War II hegemony. However, provided U.S. leaders respond the right way, it could offer important benefits to Washington.


AIM AND OBJECTIVES The curriculum of a medical school should include teaching and assessment of Professionalism. This project aimed to introduce a new tool to assess Professionalism as part of the General Practice attachment in an Irish medical school, which previously had no formal assessment of Professionalism, and to evaluate it in this context. The primary objective was to improve the students' learning of Professionalism, as the assessment is formative in nature. Other objectives include increased accountability for the medical school, and better quality assurance for patients regarding the levels of Professionalism in graduating doctors. METHOD The assessment tool selected was a modified version of the Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Excercise (P-MEX), which has been shown to be a valid and reliable tool 1. The tool was introduced as a pilot study, utilising the HSE Model for Change. RESULTS Quantitative data was collected, using pre-test and post-test questionnaires, based on the students' self-rated scores of Professionalism. These indicated that the objective of improved learning had occurred. However, the evaluation method did not isolate the new assessment from the learning of Professionalism that occurred during the GP rotation as a whole. Further evaluation using qualitative methods is pending, and will evaluate the new assessment in isolation.


Luce Irigaray's provocative vision of eros is often expressed in what Elizabeth Grosz calls "rambling and apparently disconnected" language, and nowhere in Irigaray's texts is it presented as a coherent account. With the goal of elaborating the significance of Irigaray's vision, I here set out to construct such an account. After first defining the Irigarayan erotic encounter as a paradoxical conjunction of "separation and alliance," I then aim to show that its structure may be productively interpreted in terms of six co-present modes: (i) wonder, the affective mode; (ii) touch, the sensuous mode; (iii) transgression, the subjective mode; (iv) fluidity, the elemental mode; (v) future, the temporal mode; and (vi) threeness, the numerical mode. From this interpretation, I argue, there emerges a new understanding of the immense power of Irigarayan eros as a "sexual or carnal ethics" and as a constitutive force not only for embodied subjectivity and intersubjectivity but also for sexual difference itself.


This article explores the intersection between the need for judicial cooperation and comity in the coordination of multinational insolvency proceedings, on the one hand, and the duty of the courts to uphold state sovereignty, on the other. It explores this intersection from a uniquely Canadian perspective: a pluralistic, as opposed to a purely territorial or universal, approach, using examples of Canada-United States cross-border insolvencies. The article also briefly discusses the UNCITRAL Model Law and the potential impact, if any, of its recent adoption in principle into Canadian legislation.


The evolution of information technology brings an entirely new perspective to old issues of transportation and the problem of overloaded road traffic networks. At the forefront of progress in the field of information technology is the opportunity for the driver to acquire knowledge through media. The present study is aimed at investigating effects of spatial orientation in typical situations. To this end, it starts out from the following exemplary scenario: Traffic in the Zurich metropolitan area is congested. Vehicles often move at walking pace. Traffic demand leads to an average volume of 118 vehicles per kilometer. Every driver has planned his itinerary with the help of an off-the-shelf navigation device and sticks to his shortest route. In view of this situation, the question investigated in this study is: How much will the traffic situation improve if part of the drivers use real-time navigation information (such as may be available via smartphone)? The research to answer this question proceeds on the assumption that a driver behaves either in a "conventional" or in a "progressive" manner. The conventional drivers move along on the route they perceived as the shortest one when they planned it before starting on their trip. The progressive drivers are informed about the current traffic situation and head for their destination dynamically by choosing the currently most advantageous link at each traffic node on their trip. The decision processes of the informed drivers will be mapped in a simplified form and microscopically simulated using the MATSim software. A model postulated for the route choice describes the behavior of drivers guided by real-time navigation information, but not obstinately following it; their experience regarding the reliability of the traffic information also influences their route choice. The model analyzes how differing knowledge levels and modes of behavior of the drivers affect the state of the traffic system in the real-world setting of the Zurich metropolitan area. The results of the experiments testify to the existence of great differences in respect of the load on the road network, the mean daily travel times and the consequential properties of a trip up to the driver's arrival time at his destination. – A key result is that all drivers benefit even when only part of them navigate by using current traffic information. Further results show in detail the time savings that each of the two classes of drivers achieves, and also how the entirety of drivers benefits from certain shares of informed drivers. Especially interesting for the analyst is the finding that the effect of descriptive and normative behavior in respect of route choice varies significantly. The scenario's estimated mean saving potential of about 25 percent can be fully exploited if the informed drivers behave in a disciplined manner and follow the recommended links. When 30 percent of the drivers in the Zurich metropolitan area are guided by real- time navigation system information and comply exactly with it, the traffic density will be reduced from 118 vehicles to 56 vehicles per kilometer, and traffic speed will increase from four to 22 kilometers per hour. Starting from a share of 50 percent of informed drivers, traffic density will diminish to just above 30 vehicles per kilometer, and a driver will reach his destination at an average speed of little more than 50 kilometers per hour. The better distribution of the traffic may triple the distance of an informed driver, it is true; and yet it amounts to an 84 percent time saving for all drivers. – However, if more than 70 percent of the drivers go by real-time navigation system information, the traffic situation will again deteriorate to as many as 43 vehicles per kilometer moving at a speed of 34 kilometers per hour. This (probably unexpected) deterioration of the traffic situation at a high share of drivers being guided by real-time navigation system information asks for more research. Further analyses are required. Most likely they will show that to prevent this unwanted effect, the quality of the information must be improved. The hypothesis that suggests itself is that navigation system guidance must be based on marginal cost, which in turn requires that the traffic densities and the time-flow- capacity curves of the links


BACKGROUND
chest pain (CT) constitutes an important cause of consultation and diagnostic dilemma in the emergency room, especially due to the possible presence of coronary disease. Its presentation, diagnosis and prognosis are different between men and women.

AIM
to report a follow-up of patients attended at a Chest Pain Unit (CPU), evaluating gender differences.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
prospective evaluation of patients that consulted for chest pain in a period of 4 years. Baseline characteristics and the final diagnosis from CPU or hospitalization were registered. Telephonic follow-up was performed for at least one year. Mortality was determined using the national mortality registry.

RESULTS
a total of 1,168 patients aged 62 ± 23 years, 69 % men, were followed for a mean of 28 ± 20 months. A definitive diagnosis of coronary disease (CD) was done in 32 %. Mortality among women and men with CD was 28 and 14% respectively (p = 0,02). Predictor variables for mortality were the presence of a complete left branch block in the initial electrocardiogram, with an odds ratio (OR) of 12,5 (95% confi dence intervals (CI): 1,98-25,8), the presence of coronary disease with an OR of 3,98 (95% CI: 1,45-13,8) and elevated troponin I with an OR 2,12 (95% CI: 1,05-7,89). Female gender lost significance in the adjusted model.

CONCLUSIONS
complete left branch block, elevated troponin I and coronary etiology of CP are indicators of bad prognosis among patients that consult for CP. Women have twice the mortality of men after 28 months of follow-up.


Economy is regarded as the highest main cause of droup
out problem, yet presumably culture factor also involved. The head of Education Department in East Java, Rasiyo, stated that there are two reasons of cause for the highest
number of droup out from school. The first is family that they do not realize the utility of education, and the second is the access of students to the school. Based
on the both factors, it can be known that the from family factor that must have close correlation to economy factor, by unsupported economy condition, family though that education has less utility in which their children future orientation lay on. While, the factor of access to the school, mostly it makes students lazy to have study in school. Besides, it does not give guarantee that teenagers from sufficient economy family has willingness to go to school, may be because they get influence from environment and individual himself or herself in which they do not
want to go to school. It is also the factor of droup
out. The comprehension of future orientation from droup
out teenagers will be understood on how they should be treated. It is not apart from their burden as droup
out teenagers, life challenge they face is commonly different in normative life in the society.
This study uses qualitative approach. Data is collected by interview and guide interview as interview guidance. Subject in this study is droup out teenagers in 13 18 years old in Gabru, Kediri, they are 3 teens.
Based on the result of study, it can be concluded that future orientation image on droup out teenagers are as follows : (1) Future orientation of droup out teenagers is more than job aspect, yet also education and marriage. It is
because the three subjects want a better future by getting a job and get the best one. (2) Future orientation of droup
out teenagers in education is low, while in marriage, all subjects want to get happy family with theirs but not in this time. All subjects want to get married in the appropriate age after the subjects get better job in order they can life happily with their family.


Obesity in adolescents is prevalent worldwide. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is often associated with obesity in women, and it has serious metabolic and reproductive health implications. Although PCOS does not become clinically visible until early adolescence, its origins are likely much earlier. Therefore, we reviewed the recent literature regarding the mechanisms linking the development of PCOS and obesity in adolescent girls. We found that excess abdominal adipose tissue (AT) initiates metabolic and endocrine aberrations that are central in the progression of PCOS. As an example, abdominal AT impairs insulin action, which interacts with the progression of hyperandrogenism. In addition, excessive androgen levels lead to impaired glucose uptake, which also contributes to insulin resistance, which again increases the deposition of visceral fat. The body composition is influenced by testosterone, which decreases subcutaneous fat lipolysis and influences adipocyte distribution. These mechanisms may explain why PCOS girls have an increased visceral adipose mass independent of body mass index. Therefore, first-line treatment in adolescent PCOS is often lifestyle intervention to prevent the damaging effects of obesity. Pharmacological treatment of adolescent PCOS is not standardized because the long-term effects in adolescents have not yet been evaluated; therefore, drugs should be prescribed cautiously. Although the complex metabolic interrelationships between obesity and PCOS have yet to be fully understood, the co-occurrence of these conditions in adolescent girls tends to increase the severity of the negative health consequences of each condition.


Modelling of tide-induced watertable fluctuations in coastal unconfined aquifers has, for many years, been based on the assumptions of one-dimensional shallow flow and a vertical beach face. This approach is based on the Boussinesq equation, neglecting variations in the coastline and beach slope. Here, a closed-form analytical solution for a two-dimensional unconfined coastal aquifer, taking account the sloping and variable coastline, is derived. In the appropriate limits, this new solution reduces to the vertical beach, one-dimensional solution. The effects of different beach slopes and the coastline variability for a typical sandy beach environment are investigated. The results indicate that both the coastline shape and beachface slope are important parameters affecting the solution for tide-driven coastal groundwater fluctuations.


In order to obtain good starting performance of the electric scooter driven by brushless permanent-magnet direct circuit motor(BLPMDCM),modules of RMxprt and Maxwell 2D in Ansoft software are used to build finite element simulation model of BLPMDCM. We simulated and studied the basic features and starting process of BLPMDCM. The results of internal magnetic field distribution and dynamic performance simulation are obtained when the motors are in different positions. The results provide a theoretical basis to further optimize the design, improve the starting torque and reduce torque ripple for this new type of permanent magnet motor and its control system.


Community engagement and participation in academic research is growing in popularity and acceptance. Communities are now routinely engaged and participate in academic research design, implementation and interpretation, but the capacity of communities to conduct their own research is not always a product of these engagement initiatives. This article describes a collaboration between an organisation that supports Native American participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and university researchers to expand the organisation's capacity to conduct research by creating a searchable database from their organisational records. We discuss how strategic design of a research collaboration can result in infrastructure development that contributes to community capacity.


Rapid population growth and urbanization is increasing challenges to maintain food security. In this context, large multinational companies are coming forward to supply food to the whole world. They are supplying junk food items that have attractive packaging and good taste with very low nutritive value. These foods are getting popular due to time factor, taste factor and appealing advertisements. Specially, school aged children are getting addicted to these foods which is hampering their growth and development and are being vulnerable to non-communicable diseases. In developing countries, this has added double burden of disease creating new challenge to the health system. This increasing popularity is due to globalization and market liberalization in food marketing. To control its consumption, huge capital expenditure in food marketing and false advertisement should be restricted. Meanwhile, effective health promotion activities will help to create awareness about dietary needs among general population. Health for All Vol.2 2014: 6-8


This report describes a calculation method for mine ventilation networks with a nodal head method.The generalized equations and calculation methods for solving a steady-state mine ventilation network have been written to clear the algorism of a computer program.The use of the modified Choleski's decomposition algorism has an advantage of rapid convergence to solve the linear system for the pressure corrections of nodes consisting of a symmetric matrix.The four examples of the mine ventilation networks, of which the total numbers of the nordes N are 8, 14, 51 and 141 respectively, were calculated with a personal computer (640KB, MS-DOS system). As the convergence criterion, it was employed that the maximum tolerance of the summed flow-rates in continuity at each node is less than 0.1 m3 /min. Under the condition that the pressure of the main fan is kept constant and the acceleration constant for convergence is taken 1.4, the numbers of the iteration until the convergence are nearly 13 for each example. The CPU times of an iteration are roughly in proportion to N3/2.


We present results for the electromagnetic form factors of the proton and neutron computed on the Coordinated Lattice Simulations (CLS) ensembles with $N_f = 2 + 1$ flavors of $\mathcal{O}(a)$-improved Wilson fermions and an $\mathcal{O}(a)$-improved conserved vector current. In order to estimate the excited-state contamination, we employ several source-sink separations and apply the summation method. The quark-disconnected diagrams entering the isoscalar quantities are computed explicitly. For this purpose, a stochastic estimation based on the one-end trick is performed, in combination with a frequency-splitting technique and the hopping-parameter expansion. By these means, we obtain a clear signal for the form factors including the quark-disconnected contributions, which have a statistically significant effect on our results. From the $Q^2$-dependence of the form factors, we determine the electric and magnetic charge radii and the magnetic moments of the proton and neutron. The chiral interpolation is carried out by simultaneously fitting the pion mass and $Q^2$-dependence of our form factor data directly to the expressions resulting from covariant chiral perturbation theory including vector mesons. To assess the influence of systematic effects, we average over various cuts in the pion mass and the momentum transfer, as well as over different models for the lattice spacing and finite volume dependence.


This paper presents the results of a study that investigated cross-community communication patterns in the Northern Ireland (NI) workplace. Work is one of the many institutions in NI affected by the deep politico-religious fault-line of division that pervades much of social life. That said, the workplace represents an environment where members of both communities do come together and associate. When this contact is typified by tension, disharmony and mutual recrimination, both the organisation and the wider community suffer. Good internal working relationships, on the other hand, have the potential not only to profit the organisation, but to ripple out through the wider community. It is therefore surprising that little research has been conducted into cross-community relations in the NI workplace. Indeed, institutions generally have been criticised for failing to play a more prominent role in promoting positive community relations. The main objectives of the study were to determine the manner in which contentious situations of a sectarian nature can best be managed, based on a comparison of organisational practice and to document 'best practice' guidelines to advise public and private sector organisations on effective methods of dealing with cross-community relations at work. The study involved 4 major organizations. Data was collected using an inventory to measure cross-community communication (n = 440); 22 in-depth interviews; and 16 focus groups. A very clear finding was that it was strongly felt that all of the organisations could do significantly more to reduce tensions between the two religious groupings. The results of the study will be discussed in terms of both organisational and relational communication.


Significance Crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) kill pest insects and reduce the use of conventional insecticides. However, the evolution of Bt resistance can diminishes these benefits. The western corn rootworm is a serious pest of maize and is managed with Bt maize. Beginning in 2009, western corn rootworm with resistance to maize producing the Bt toxin Cry3Bb1 imposed severe injury to Cry3Bb1 maize in Iowa. We show that cross-resistance exists between Cry3Bb1 maize and mCry3A maize and is associated with severe injury to Bt maize in farmers' fields. These results illustrate that Bt crops producing less than a high dose of toxin against target pests may select for resistance rapidly; consequently, current approaches for managing Bt resistance should be reexamined. The widespread planting of crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) places intense selective pressure on pest populations to evolve resistance. Western corn rootworm is a key pest of maize, and in continuous maize fields it is often managed through planting of Bt maize. During 2009 and 2010, fields were identified in Iowa in which western corn rootworm imposed severe injury to maize producing Bt toxin Cry3Bb1. Subsequent bioassays revealed Cry3Bb1 resistance in these populations. Here, we report that, during 2011, injury to Bt maize in the field expanded to include mCry3A maize in addition to Cry3Bb1 maize and that laboratory analysis of western corn rootworm from these fields found resistance to Cry3Bb1 and mCry3A and cross-resistance between these toxins. Resistance to Bt maize has persisted in Iowa, with both the number of Bt fields identified with severe root injury and the ability western corn rootworm populations to survive on Cry3Bb1 maize increasing between 2009 and 2011. Additionally, Bt maize targeting western corn rootworm does not produce a high dose of Bt toxin, and the magnitude of resistance associated with feeding injury was less than that seen in a high-dose Bt crop. These first cases of resistance by western corn rootworm highlight the vulnerability of Bt maize to further evolution of resistance from this pest and, more broadly, point to the potential of insects to develop resistance rapidly when Bt crops do not achieve a high dose of Bt toxin.


An in-depth study of the adsorption and micellization behavior of a series of fatty amide ethoxylates is presented. The effect of the amide bond is studied as well as variations in unsaturations in the hydrocarbon chain and in the length of the oxyethylene headgroup. Ellipsometry is used to determine adsorption on a hydrophobic silica plate while 1H-NMR self-diffusion is used to study micelle size and structure. The amide bond was found to increase the hydrophilicity of the surfactant leading to less-favorable packing at the interface. The micelles formed by these surfactants were more compact, compared to alcohol ethoxylates with the same hydrophobe. Effects of unsaturations on the interfacial packing were not observed. The micelle structure was somewhat affected by the unsaturations due to increased bulkiness of the surfactant hydrophobe.


Claudio Ciborra argued that the position of information and communications technology (ICT) in organisations requires a shift from the present focus on the "scientific paradigm" to an "alternative centre of gravity: human existence in everyday life". The paper proposes to make a contribution by examining the role of "empathy" in relationships among people working in industrial teams. Relevance is addressed by means of empirical evidence that emerged during interviews carried out in the longitudinal case-study of a supply chain transformation initiative in American Power Conversion (APC) Ireland. Rigour is applied by building on the legacy of Ciborra viewed through the lens of the phenomenology of Edith Stein which was developed during her doctoral studies as a student of Edmund Husserl. Furthermore it is proposed that Stein's philosophy of "empathy" can provide a theoretical framework for the understanding of organizations, teamwork and information systems. The concept can also provide impetus for future work in the area of human computer interaction (HCI) that is increasingly being employed in automated business transactions. In addition, it is suggested that Husserl's proposition that "an objective external world can only be experienced inter-subjectively" has the potential to contribute some new insights to the present impasse within the positivist-interpretivist debate.


One form of input for interacting with large shared surfaces is through mobile devices. These personal devices provide interactive displays as well as numerous sensors to effectuate gestures for input. We examine the possibility of using surface and motion gestures on mobile devices for interacting with 3D objects on large surfaces. If effective use of such devices is possible over large displays, then users can collaborate and carry out complex 3D manipulation tasks, which are not trivial to do. In an attempt to generate design guidelines for this type of interaction, we conducted a guessability study with a dual-surface concept device, which provides users access to information through both its front and back. We elicited a set of end-user surface- and motion-based gestures. Based on our results, we demonstrate reasonably good agreement between gestures for choice of sensory (i.e. tilt), multi-touch and dual-surface input. In this paper we report the results of the guessability study and the design of the gesture-based interface for 3D manipulation.


1. The heart-rate response during sustained hand grip was studied in four normal subjects before and after intravenous atropine, propranolol and combined cardiac autonomic blockade with both drugs. The results suggest that the increase in heart rate during the first 30 s is due to parasympathetic withdrawal, whereas the further increase between 30 s and 180 s is probably mediated by a combination of parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic stimulation. 2. The increases in heart rate during each minute of sustained hand grip were compared in 26 normal subjects, 37 diabetic subjects without and 24 diabetic subjects with proven autonomic neuropathy. In the diabetic subjects with autonomic neuropathy the increase in heart rate during the first minute was impaired, whereas the increases during the second and third minutes were similar in all three groups. 3. The initial increase in heart rate over the first 30 s of hand grip and the later increase between 30 s and 180 s were compared in nine normal subjects, ten diabetic subjects without and six diabetic subjects with autonomic neuropathy. The increase during the first 30 s was impaired in the diabetic subjects with autonomic neuropathy, whereas the later phase of the response was similar in all three groups. 4. It is concluded that impairment of the heart-rate response to sustained hand grip in diabetic autonomic neuropathy is mainly due to impairment of the early parasympathetic phase, but that the presence of cardiac sympathetic damage can also be detected.


Neisseria meningitidis, the cause of meningococcal disease, has been the subject of sophisticated molecular epidemiological investigation as a consequence of the significant public health threat posed by this organism. The use of multilocus sequence typing and whole genome sequencing classifies the organism into clonal complexes. Extensive phenotypic, genotypic and epidemiological information is available on the PubMLST website. The human nasopharynx is the sole ecological niche of this species, and carrier isolates show extensive genetic diversity as compared with hyperinvasive lineages. Horizontal gene exchange and recombinant events within the meningococcal genome during residence in the human nasopharynx result in antigenic diversity even within clonal complexes, so that individual clones may express, for example, more than one capsular polysaccharide (serogroup). Successful clones are capable of wide global dissemination, and may be associated with explosive epidemics of invasive disease.


Polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis are members of the Philadelphia negative chronic subgroup of Myeloproliferative neoplasm. Published studies showed that the mutation JAK2 V617F is mostly responsible for the diseases; therefore, an accurate, low-cost and rapid molecular method to identify this mutation is important in screening and early diagnostic of these diseases. Different methods for genotyping of JAK2 V617F have been proposed. In this study, we evaluated the quality and cost-effectiveness of three genotyping methods, i.e., PCR-ARMS, PCR-RFLP, Sanger sequencing, to determine the appropriate genotyping for JAK2 V617F and predicted in silico the effect of this mutation on the structure and function of Janus kinase 2 protein. Results showed that the Sanger sequencing and PCR-RFLP genotyping methods were more accurate than PCR-ARMS. PCR-RFLP was also more rapid and economical than the other methods. In silico studies also demonstrated that the JAK2 V617F mutation had a large effect on the activity of corresponding protein. These results provided the initial data for further studies on genetic screening and prediction of myeloproliferative neoplasm and other related diseases in the Vietnamese population.


Abstract Background The negative impact of trauma on children and adolescents is well documented. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between coping and trauma and distress symptoms after man-made disasters, especially those not related to war. Objective This study investigated the relationship between children's coping styles and their self-reported levels of trauma and distress symptoms after an explosion disaster in a residential area. Method Participants were recruited through the local public school that served the affected residential area. A total of 333 children and adolescents from grades 3 through 10 participated in the study 16 months after the explosion. All participants filled out questionnaires to assess their trauma and distress symptoms as well as their coping strategies. The adolescents answered additional questions about pre-, peri-, and post-traumatic factors and filled out questionnaires about their trauma and distress symptoms, including aspects of somatization and negative affectivity. Results The following variables were associated with a higher degree of trauma symptoms for children in grades 6 through 10 and explained 39% to 48% of the unique variance in these symptoms: female gender; the experience of traumatic events pre-disaster; the destruction of property or danger to life occurring during the disaster; the experience of traumatic events post-disaster; and the use of self-blame, emotion regulation, wishful thinking, and cognitive restructuring. For the younger children, pre-, peri-, and post-disaster factors were not measured. However, female gender and the use of self-blame as a coping strategy explained 26% of the variance in trauma symptoms. Conclusions This study generally supports the findings of the limited literature addressing coping skills after man-made disasters. However, contrary to previous findings in community samples after episodes of terrorism, adaptive coping strategies such as cognitive restructuring were found to influence the variance of trauma and distress symptoms.


In common with other volumes in this series, both these books are written by several authors and are superlatively produced. In spite of their being written in German, they are easy to read—even for the non-German-speaking reader, and an English-German vocabulary and index is provided to assist with this. The references are comprehensive, and, although the German literature is predominantly cited, there are many references to works in English. In spite of their overall excellence, a number of criticisms can be made. The volume on tumors initially considers primary chorionepithelioma, sarcomata of lung, bronchiolar carcinoma, and bronchial adenomata under the heading of malignant or semimalignant tumors. This is followed by an excellent review of benign primary tumors in which the admixture of drawings, roentgenographs, and specimens is to be commended. Then, there is a chapter on the large group of pseudotumorous conditions including fungal disorders, lipoid pneumonias, infarcts, and amyloidosis,


This paper analyzes the current monetary problems, associated with the fiduciary currency and expansionary monetary policy. And it suggests a possible solution in which the return to sound money and deflation plays an important role. The paper discusses the nature of fiat money in the current system, highlighting the dangers involved in the present worldwide monetary policy. It claims that we should reconsider the qualities of a monetary and financial system based on a commodity money that establishes natural limits to the expansionary policies. The paper also systematizes the different sorts of deflation. It analyzes and debunks the main arguments against deflation and concludes that the alternative is a return to sound money, the spontaneous creation of the social order, and a rejection of the meddling of central banks.


The demand for organic food products has expanded rapidly in the past decade on a global basis, stimulated by consumer perceptions that organic products are safer, cleaner and more ethical than conventional products. The demand for organic products was estimated to grow at a rate of 15-20 per cent per annum in key organic markets, such as the United States and Europe, which are major importers of organic foods. Australia, as a major exporter of agricultural products, stands to benefit from this expansion in demand. However, not much is known about the Australian organic industry, especially by other agribusiness sectors, because little market research and policy analysis on organics has been conducted and published. The objective of this paper is to provide a contemporary overview of the Australian organic food products industry, including production, marketing and certification of organic foods. Major supply issues, such as the small production base and the low rate of conversion to organic farming, and major demand issues, such as availability, prices and product integrity, are discussed. Areas identified for further research include collection and reporting of data on production, consumption and trade of organic products, consumer and producer attitudes towards, and expectations of, organic farming, product integrity and labelling regulation, competition from other sustainable farming systems, and future industry structure of the Australian organic sector. Outputs from the suggested areas for further research will provide additional market information to the organic industry and help identify marketing opportunities and develop strategies for meeting market requirements and sustaining industry growth


The purpose of the research presented in this article was to identify the social perception regarding ethical values and the way they are reflected in the daily activity of the inhabitants in the North-Eastern Region of Romania. The Romanian society is in a developmental phase, characterized by a rejection of the individualistic, modern values and the respect for social, communitary and family values, of (post)traditional lineage. The impact of the religious factor on public morality is significant, as the Romanian society is in a post-secular stage of development. However, religious values are transmitted indirectly, through education received within the family. Research results highlight the existence of a conflict between the ethical values that the individual adheres to in his personal life, and those to which he adheres while participating in the public sphere, especially in his professional activity, and the conflict is solved by a contamination of one of the spheres with the values specific to the other sphere.


Dendritic cell is one of the professional antigen presenting cells, and it bridges innate immunity and adaptive immunity. To fully activate naïve T cells, it requires DC to provide at least two signals, the interaction between T cell receptor and the MHC class II molecule loaded with antigen processed by DC, and the co-stimulatory signals provided by the co-stimulatory molecules expressed on DC. The identification of more and more co-stimulatory molecules expressed on DC and the studies on their functions highlight the importance of co-stimulatory molecules on the regulation of DC functions. We here hypothesized that different expression levels of co-stimulatory molecules expressed on DC is pivotal of directing DC function towards immunity, tolerance and polarization of Th1/Th2 immune response. Using CD40 as the model molecule to study the effect of its expression levels on DC functions, we found that no/low expression level of CD40 on DC induced antigen-specific immunological tolerance was due to the induction of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, while the polarization of Th2 immune response induced by DC with medium expression level of CD40 was partially due to the impaired IL-12 production by DC during CD40 crosslinking. Our findings that different levels of co-stimulatory molecules have different regulations on DC functions has the significance in DC based immunotherapy for GVHD as well as the Th1 diseases.


Abstract. We report mixing ratios of soluble reactive trace gases sampled with mist chambers and the chemical composition of bulk aerosol and volatile inorganic bromine (Brg) sampled with filter packs during the Reactive Halogens in the Marine Boundary Layer (RHaMBLe) field campaign at the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO) on Sao Vicente island in the tropical North Atlantic in May and June 2007. The gas-phase data include HCl, HNO3, HONO, HCOOH, CH3COOH, NH3, and volatile reactive chlorine other than HCl (Cl*). Aerosol samples were analyzed by neutron activation (Na, Al, Cl, V, Mn, and Br) and ion chromatography (SO42−, Cl−, Br−, NH4+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+). Content and quality of the data, which are available under doi:10.5281/zenodo.6956 , are presented and discussed.


This article examines direct appeals to Portuguese monarchs and how this extrajudicial option was invoked by slaves and free persons of African descent in colonial Brazil. It also addresses the production and content of appeals and what these reflect of the lives of Afro-Brazilians, relations between slave and owner, manumissions, judicial and individual abuse of women and popular perceptions and expectations of a monarch. The pros and cons of this appellate recourse are discussed in the context of colonial governance and of how royal acts of private justice reinforced the moral authority of monarchs, the sacred quality of monarchy and those personal qualities of magnanimity and compassion associated with the ideal of kingship.


The paper presents one of the methods of nonproductive machine time optimization of tools during milling of parts with complex surfaces on combined machine. In particular, there was described an algorithm to minimize the idle movements of spherocylindrical and conical cutters. Calculations were performed on the test parts with complex surfaces.


Social and political change in Europe, increasing labour mobility, development of the new European social policy and increasingly global nature of the social problems had a profound effect on the socio-cultural and socio-educational work in community and on its objectives. In order to keep these new communitarian standards of social policy, the first steps have to be made in fostering local community with the perspective it will reach the western European communitarian level. That is the reason why university in these changes started to turn more and more to the society and first of all has put a great emphasis on the community research. This initiative was induced by non-existence of civic tradition during the communist period, the gap in the development of civil society and its culture, the weakness and the poorness of the third sector. This paper is based on the analysis of the community and civil society research conducted during recent years by the researchers of Kaunas University of Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences. The paper involves a review of the research methodology, interpretation of the received data and summary of the results. It discusses both theoretical and empirical possibilities of building and developing inclusive community.


In this paper we consider the implications that emerging market economies have on the global economy, with a view to strengthen bilateral ties in trade and promote balanced as well as sustainable growth. There has been a rise and fall in such emerging powers as indicated by the "BRICs"- Brazil, Russia, India and China, resulting in a shift of the economy at a global level, as well as changes in international politics, which have both positive and negative implications. In addition, due to their rapid growth there are changes that can be seen in the structure of trade, production, consumption, capital flow and distribution of power. This article aims at understanding the potential effect BRICs has on the global economy in terms of economic sustainability and illustrates the need for stable economic powers to actively consider sharing the management of international systems and rules. This article analyses the challenges faced by BRICs to manage political and economic growth, while being able to maintain stability, social and political. It provides recommendations for actions that should be taken to effectively deal with the rise of these economies because of possible ramifications they could have on economic and social stability. The study brings out the importance of emerging market economies in international trade and their impact on maintaining economic sustainability at a global level. The research work is predominantly doctrinal in nature. Various research methods, such as Historical method, Analytical method and Evaluative method are employed. Keywords: Emerging powers, BRICs, economic sustainability, political stability, international trade, balanced growth


Ageing populations require larger healthcare facilities, in spite of growing public budget constraints, inducing to wonder whether we can afford what we increasingly need, accompanying sustainable and careful demography. New healthcare infrastructures, compliant with Eurostat rules, may not be accounted as public debt increasing investments, if financed with PFI, transferring adequate risks to the private counterpart. There is so little wonder that project finance is increasingly popular in countries as Italy. This paper contains original analysis of sources of funding (capital, subordinated and senior debt, together with public grant …), with their timing and risk profile, essential for correct pricing of cost of debt and bankability. Growing spreads due to recessionary credit crunch somewhat offset decreasing interest rates and leverage has unsurprisingly become more expensive and less popular, this being a back-to-the-earth lesson that both practitioners and academics are painfully starting to learn.


Due to the high specific strength, high specific modulus and good fatigue characteristics, carbon/epoxy composite bicycle frame can have superior performance to aluminum bicycle. As the strength of composite frame varies according to the number of layers and stacking sequence, it is necessary to determine the appropriate number of layers and stacking sequence for designing light weight composite frame. The frame is divided into six parts, i.e. head tube, seat tube, top tube, bottom tube, seat stay, and chain stay parts. Since different stress levels are generated among the different parts, different numbers of layer with different stacking sequences are considered for each part. Three different loading conditions, i.e. horizontal loading, vertical loading, and pedal loading, are considered in the analysis. The superb stacking sequence and number of layers of the composite frame with the lowest failure index were determined which satisfy the three different loading conditions.


Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have long been observed to "twinkle" (i.e., their brightness varies with time) on timescales from days to years in the UV/optical bands. Such AGN UV/optical variability is essential for probing the physics of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), the accretion disk, and the broad-line region. Here, we show that the temperature fluctuations of an AGN accretion disk, which is magnetically coupled with the corona, can account for observed high-quality AGN optical light curves. We calculate the temperature fluctuations by considering the gas physics of the accreted matter near the SMBH. We find that the resulting simulated AGN UV/optical light curves share the same statistical properties as the observed ones as long as the dimensionless viscosity parameter α, which is widely believed to be controlled by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the accretion disk, is about 0.01–0.2. Moreover, our model can simultaneously explain the larger-than-expected accretion disk sizes and the dependence of UV/optical variability upon wavelength for NGC 5548. Our model also has the potential to explain some other observational facts of AGN UV/optical variability, including the timescale-dependent bluer-when-brighter color variability and the dependence of UV/optical variability on AGN luminosity and black-hole mass. Our results also demonstrate a promising way to infer the black-hole mass, the accretion rate, and the radiative efficiency, thereby facilitating understanding of the gas physics and MHD turbulence near the SMBH and its cosmic mass growth history by fitting the AGN UV/optical light curves in the era of time-domain astronomy.


Abstract Even though heritability estimates suggest that the risk of asthma, hay fever and eczema is largely due to genetic factors, previous studies have not explained a large part of the genetics behind these diseases. In this genome-wide association study, we include 346 545 Caucasians from the UK Biobank to identify novel loci for asthma, hay fever and eczema and replicate novel loci in three independent cohorts. We further investigate if associated lead single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have a significantly larger effect for one disease compared to the other diseases, to highlight possible disease-specific effects. We identified 141 loci, of which 41 are novel, to be associated (P ≤ 3 × 10−8) with asthma, hay fever or eczema, analyzed separately or as disease phenotypes that includes the presence of different combinations of these diseases. The largest number of loci was associated with the combined phenotype (asthma/hay fever/eczema). However, as many as 20 loci had a significantly larger effect on hay fever/eczema only compared to their effects on asthma, while 26 loci exhibited larger effects on asthma compared with their effects on hay fever/eczema. At four of the novel loci, TNFRSF8, MYRF, TSPAN8, and BHMG1, the lead SNPs were in Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) (>0.8) with potentially casual missense variants. Our study shows that a large amount of the genetic contribution is shared between the diseases. Nonetheless, a number of SNPs have a significantly larger effect on one of the phenotypes, suggesting that part of the genetic contribution is more phenotype specific.


From 1 July 2012 the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) imposed land tax, in the form of
general rates, on all commercial and residential property in the ACT, including owner
occupied homes, on a progressive basis. Marginal rates of tax are applied on increased
values of the land. The ACT is unique in that there is no local government so the ACT
government was able to increase its general rates on owner-occupied homes and reduce
land tax on investment properties and commercial properties. As a result of the
subsequent increase in government revenue, the ACT has substantially reduced stamp
duty on real property conveyances with a view to abolishing stamp duty over the next
20 years. The ACT government undertook a review of its tax system in 2012 and one of
the major recommendations was to broaden the land tax base to all principal places of
residence and to abolish stamp duty on conveyances of real property. This approach
follows the recommendations of the Henry Tax Review. This paper will examine the
current approach to the imposition of land tax in the ACT as well as the
recommendations on the need to broaden land tax contained in the Henry Tax Review.
The conclusion arrived at in the paper is that the ACT approach to the abolition of stamp
duty and the imposition of a land tax on all property in the ACT should eventually be
adopted by all States in Australia and the Northern Territory.


We consider a wireless sensor network consisting of n sensors, each having a recorded bit, the sensor's measurement, which has been set to either "0" or "1". The network has a special node called the fusion center whose goal is to compute a symmetric function of these bits; i.e., a function that depends only on the number of sensors that have a "1." The sensors convey information to the fusion center in a multi-hop fashion to enable the function computation. The problem studied is to minimize the total transmission energy used by the network when computing this function, subject to the constraint that this computation is correct with high probability. We assume the wireless channels are binary symmetric channels with a probability of error p, and that each sensor uses rαunits of energy to transmit each bit, where r is the transmission range of the sensor. The main result in this paper is an algorithm whose energy usage is Θ (n(loglogn)(√logn/n)α), and we also show that any algorithm satisfying the performance constraints must necessarily have energy usage Ω (n(√logn/n)α). Then, we consider the case where the sensor network observes N events, and each node records one bit per event, thus having N bits to convey. The fusion center now wants to compute N symmetric functions, one for each of the events.


Melinda Sweeney, BS RN The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' patient and family education standards pose a challenge to large medical centers. Prior to 1994, Joint Commission standards required all healthcare disciplines to instruct their patients about issues relevant to their health. There was no requirement that the information that was given to patients by providers in various disciplines, units, or clinics be coordinated. Now that education is a functional chapter in the Joint Commission's Accreditation Manual for Hospitals, an integrated approach to providing such education is necessary. This article proposes a theoretical model intended to help medical centers meet the new standards, improve patient education, and improve communication among healthcare providers.


Current conditions related to food security lead to study alternative forms of food production in cities such as vertical urban farming in high dense urban environments. This paper discusses the development of the Innovate UK award-winning project consisting of a dynamic system model that generates a large dataset of artificial environments linked to a multi-objective optimization model of urban massing for one square kilometer of development along the coastline of Singapore. The scope of the model is to reach the highest level of self-sufficiency in relation to food consumption. The model operates, as a dynamic system constituted of different subsystems including transport, water, agriculture and energy. These systems dynamically interact among each other and with their environment, which is considered the primary source of energy and the main provider of hydrological resources. A large dataset of artificial environments is created employing a Dynamic System Modelling Software; this includes different scenarios of environmental stress such as sea level rise, population growth or changes on the demand side. Such dataset of artificial environments serves as an input for the multi-objective optimization model that employs genetic algorithms to produce a large data set of urban massing including the distribution of a range of food production technologies in relation to pre-established conditions for vertical urban agriculture and compatibility with other urban programs. Connectivity, solar radiation and visual cones are the fitness criteria against which the model has been tested. This paper assesses whether artificial environments further away from the pareto front produce populations of urban design solutions that respond to extreme environmental conditions and environmental shocks.


Acquiring dynamics is an essential topic in robot learning, but up-to-date methods, such as dynamics randomization, need to restart to check nominal parameters, generate simulation data, and train networks whenever they face different robots. To improve it, we novelly investigate general robot dynamics, its inverse models, and Gen2Real, which means transferring to reality. Our motivations are to build a model that learns the intrinsic dynamics of various robots and lower the threshold of dynamics learning by enabling an amateur to obtain robot models without being trapped in details. This paper achieves the"generality"by randomizing dynamics parameters, topology configurations, and model dimensions, which in sequence cover the property, the connection, and the number of robot links. A structure modified from GPT is applied to access the pre-training model of general dynamics. We also study various inverse models of dynamics to facilitate different applications. We step further to investigate a new concept,"Gen2Real", to transfer simulated, general models to physical, specific robots. Simulation and experiment results demonstrate the validity of the proposed models and method.\footnote{ These authors contribute equally.


Proper temporal epigenetic regulation of gene expression is essential for cell fate determination and tissue development. The Bromodomain-containing Protein-4 (BRD4) was previously shown to control the transcription of defined subsets of genes in various cell systems. In this study we examined the role of BRD4 in promoting lineage-specific gene expression and show that BRD4 is essential for osteoblast differentiation. Genome-wide analyses demonstrate that BRD4 is recruited to the transcriptional start site of differentiation-induced genes. Unexpectedly, while promoter-proximal BRD4 occupancy correlated with gene expression, genes which displayed moderate expression and promoter-proximal BRD4 occupancy were most highly regulated and sensitive to BRD4 inhibition. Therefore, we examined distal BRD4 occupancy and uncovered a specific co-localization of BRD4 with the transcription factors C/EBPb, TEAD1, FOSL2 and JUND at putative osteoblast-specific enhancers. These findings reveal the intricacies of lineage specification and provide new insight into the context-dependent functions of BRD4.


In this thesis we investigate $2$-dimensional, continuous, odd, residual Galois representations and their images. This manuscript consists of two parts.In the first part of this thesis we analyse a local-global problem for elliptic curves over number fields. Let $E$ be an elliptic curve over a number field $K$, and let $\ell$ be a prime number. If $E$ admits an $\ell$-isogeny locally at a set of primes with density one then does $E$ admit an $\ell$-isogeny over $K$? The study of the Galois representation associated to the $\ell$-torsion subgroup of $E$ is the crucial ingredient used to solve the problem. We characterize completely the cases where the local-global principle fails, obtaining an upper bound for the possible values of $\ell$ for which this can happen.In the second part of this thesis, we outline an algorithm for computing the image of a residual modular $2$-dimensional semi-simple Galois representation. This algorithm determines the image as a finite subgroup of $\GL_2(\overline{\F}_\ell)$, up to conjugation, as well as certain local properties of the representation and tabulate the result in a database. In this part of the thesis we show that, in almost all cases, in order to compute the image of such a representation it is sufficient to know the images of the Hecke operators up to the Sturm bound at the given level $n$. In addition, almost all the computations are performed in positive characteristic.In order to obtain such an algorithm, we study the local description of the representation at primes dividing the level and the characteristic: this leads to a complete description of the eigenforms in the old-space. Moreover, we investigate the conductor of the twist of a representation by characters and the coefficients of the form of minimal level and weight associated to it in order to optimize the computation of the projective image.The algorithm is designed using results of Dickson, Khare-Wintenberger and Faber on the classification, up to conjugation, of the finite subgroups of $\PGL_2(\overline{\F}_\ell)$. We characterize each possible case giving a precise description and algorithms to deal with it. In particular, we give a new approach and a construction to deal with irreducible representations with projective image isomorphic to either the symmetric group on $4$ elements or the alternating group on $4$ or $5$ elements.


Energy spectrum determination of an epithermal neutron beam for BNCT is always a critical issue to its dose accuracy. The spectrum is generally determined by multiple activation foils with few-channel unfolding codes. This study aims to make improvement to the activation-detector-based unfolding technique via introducing specially designed detector complexes in addition to the commonly applied multiple activation foils. The extra detector complexes can obtain valuable information from planned, artificial perturbations posed on the incident epithermal neutron beam, without the need of modifying the unfolding algorithm. Two different types of BNCT beams, one is based on nuclear reactor and the other one is based on low energy accelerator, with two different conditions were tested: under- and over-moderated cases. The spectra adjusted by using the original foil package containing 11 foils and the improved system are compared based on the square root of the sum of deviation squares. The specially designed detector complexes have shown the great ability to significantly reduce the deviations between the unfolded spectra and standard solutions. For a seriously under-moderated case tested in this work, the improvement can even reach more than 400% in deviation reduction.


This paper was prepared for the panel entitled "Deconstruct and Reconstruct: Re-examining Bias in the Legal System: Searching for New Approaches" at the 2012 annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). This Essay considers one aspect of what some observers might characterize as bias in the legal profession — the restriction of undocumented immigrants — from the practice of law. In contrast, others might consider the alleged "bias" as a permissible regulation of the admission of lawyers to practice law.Like laws affecting immigrants indirectly, such as street vendor regulations, or directly, as in efforts by state and local governments at immigration enforcement, restricting access to the legal profession based on immigration status under contemporary conditions will unquestionably have disparate impacts on communities of color. Specifically, the vast majority of today's immigrants are from Mexico and Central America, as well as Asia, and the reliance on undocumented immigrant status to screen access to the bar will directly impact those communities.Heated debates have raged in the United States in recent years over "illegal" immigrants, immigration, and immigration reform. Despite ongoing public dialogue for more than a decade, Congress has been unable to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Ostensibly seeking to fill a perceived void in immigration enforcement as well as to respond to the failure of reform at the national level, several states in the last several years have enacted controversial immigration enforcement laws. This Essay considers a small but important ancillary issue involving state treatment of undocumented immigrants — restrictions on undocumented immigrants to practice law.The question of licensing undocumented immigrants as attorneys is part of the larger question of the integration of undocumented immigrants into American social life. Like it or not, millions of undocumented immigrants live in this country. Many come to the United States as children and attend American public elementary and secondary schools. Undocumented college students, popularly known as DREAMers, have captured the national imagination; their political struggles also have resulted in meaningful changes in policy. The natural educational progression for some college graduates is to attend graduate and professional school. Professional licensing is ordinarily the next step for professional school graduates. Part I of this Essay sketches the history of the exclusion by the various states of immigrants from the legal profession. Part II considers the possibility of licensing undocumented immigrants as lawyers.


We develop NHPP models to characterize categorized event data, with application to modelling the discovery process for categorized software defects. Conditioning on the total number of defects, multivariate models are proposed for modelling the defects by type. A latent vector autoregressive structure is used to characterize dependencies among the different types. We show how Bayesian inference can be achieved via MCMC procedures, with a posterior prediction-based L-measure used for model selection. The results are illustrated for defects of different types found during the System Test phase of a large operating system software development project. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The effects of helium and aging treatment on radiation damage behavior in low activation Fe-Cr-Mn ( W, V) alloy were investigated by electron and helium ion dual-beam irradiation in a high voltage electron microscope. Specimens were aged at 673 K, 823 K and 923 K for 1000, 3000 and 10000 hours. Electron and He ion dual-beam irradiations were performed at 627 K to 10 dpa. M23C6 type carbides were precipitated in the aged specimens, and the amount of the precipitates was increased with increasing aging temperature and aging time. He bubbles were formed during dual-beam irradiation in all of the specimens. The cavity swelling under dual-beam irradiations was increased with increasing the aging temperature and aging time. It was suggested that cavity swelling is closely related to the concentration of solutes such as Cr and C in the matrix, namely cavity growth rate becomes higher with decreasing of the solutes in solution.


Abstract Changes in germination and potential seed longevity (Ki of the viability equation) were monitored during the development of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seeds grown in warm (minimum and maximum temperatures were 16.8 and 40.1°C) and cool (9.8 and 35.1°C) sites in 2002. Maximum seed weight (mass maturity, end of seed filling phase) was attained 25 days after anthesis (DAA) under both growing conditions. However, maximum germination was observed at 30 DAA in both sites. Potential seed longevity was achieved at 45 and 40 DAA, which were 20 and 15 days after mass maturity (the time of maximum seed dry weight) in warm and cool sites, respectively. When the maximum quality was achieved, fruit flesh was pale red, red, and 98–100% of the seeds were brown coloured. Seed dry mass and maximum potential longevity were consistently greater in cool than in warm growing sites. Dried seeds had higher germination percentages than those of fresh ones until mass maturity (25 DAA) at both sites.


Observing the CKM matrix elements written in different parametrization schemes, one can notice obvious relations among the sine-values of the CP phases in those schemes. Using the relations, we establish a few parametrization-independent equations, by which the matrix elements of the CKM matrix can be completely fixed up to a universal parameter. If it is true, we expect that there should exist a hidden symmetry in the nature, which determines the relations. Moreover, it requires a universal parameter, naturally it would be the famous Jarlskog invariant, which is also parametrization independent. Thus the four parameters (three mixing angles and one CP phase) of the CKM matrix are not free, but determined by the symmetry and the universal parameter. As we generalize the rules to the PMNS matrix for neutrino mixing, the CP phase of the lepton sector is predicted to be within a range of 0 ∼ 59° centered at 39° (in the Pa parametrization) which will be tested in the future experiments.


We present the complete automation of the universal subtraction formalism proposed by Frixione, Kunszt, and Signer for the computation of any cross section at the next-to-leading order in QCD. Given a process, the only ingredient to be provided externally is the infrared- and ultraviolet-finite contribution of virtual origin. Our implementation, currently restricted to the case of e+e− collisions, is built upon and works in the same way as MadGraph. It is particularly suited to parallel computation, and it can deal with any physical process resulting from a theory implemented in MadGraph, thus including the Standard Model as well as Beyond the Standard Model theories. We give results for some sample processes that document the performances of the implementation, and show in particular how the number of subtraction terms has an extremely mild growth with final-state multiplicity.


In this work, interval time-delay switched systems having completely unstable and mixed stable matrices of the state vector are considered. An observer-based controller is designed for finite-time boundedness and H∞-control of these systems. New sufficient conditions on the existence of a desired observer are developed and new average dwell-time bounds are introduced separately in case of unstable and mixed stable subsystems. An algorithm is presented for the calculation of unknown constants in the average dwell-time bounds which depend on nonlinear matrices in terms of the cone complementarity linearization method. Finally, numerical examples are given for the effectiveness and validity of the proposed solutions.


PRESIDENT Bryan P. Simmons, MD/Memphis, Tennessee PRESIDENT-ELECT William J. Martone, MD/Atlanta, Georgia VICE PRESIDENT Robert A. Weinstein, MD/Chicago, Illinois PAST PRESIDENT Peter A. Gross, MD/Hackensack, New Jersey SECRETARY Dale N. Gerding, MD/Chicago, Illinois TREASURER Elias Abrutyn, MD/Philadelphia, Pennsylvania COUNCILOR Edward S. Wong, MD/Richmond, Virginia COUNCILOR Leigh G. Donowitz, MD/Charlottesville, Virginia COUNCILOR Timothy W. Lane, MD/Greensboro, North Carolina COUNCILOR John W. Froggatt, III, MD/Asheville, North Carolina THE SOCIETY FOR HEALTHCARE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF AMERICA EDITED BY GLEN MAYHALL, MD MURRAY D. BATT, MD EDWARD S. WONG, MD


Context: Cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity has been accepted as an important obstacle for efficient cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Silymarin from seeds of milk thistle [Silybum marianum L. (Asteraceae)] has been shown to possess various potential pharmacological properties; however, whether or not this agent selectively protects renal cells from cisplatin-induced cell death with no interfering effect on cancer cells is not clear. Objective: Potential of silymarin in protection of cisplatin-induced renal cell death without compromising effect on anticancer activity of cisplatin was demonstrated in this study. Materials and methods: Cisplatin-induced cell death was evaluated in human proximal tubular HK-2, lung carcinoma H460, and melanoma G361 cells using MTT, Hoechst 33342, and propidium iodide assays. Results: Cisplatin induced both apoptosis and necrosis in HK-2 cells and caused a decrease in cell viability by ~40% and 60% at the doses of 25 and 100 µM, respectively. Pretreatment with 25–200 µM of silymarin significantly protected against cisplatin-induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, pretreatment of silymarin (25–100 µM) caused no significant change on cisplatin-induced cell death in H460 cells but significantly potentiated cisplatin-induced apoptosis in G361 cells. Discussion and conclusion: These findings reveal the selectivity of silymarin in protection of renal cells from cisplatin-induced cell death and could be beneficial for the development of this considerately safe compound as a renoprotective agent.


We present a mobile collector card game called LoCoL, which uses a GPS-enabled mobile phone with a built-in camera to collect, trade, and create digital artifacts from landmarks and places that players have visited. When a player carrying the phone with LoCoL enabled passes within a half-mile radius of a landmark, he or she collects a "card" for that location. Players may then trade with other co-located players to try and build a large collection of unique cards from places they have been or places their acquaintances have been. Additionally, if they discover new, interesting landmarks, they may share it with others by taking a picture with their phone's built-in camera and submit the location to the game as a new card which others may collect. There is an element of competition in that players compete world-wide to collect the highest number of unique cards or the most number of approved cards submitted. We hope to encourage players to learn about and explore new, interesting locations and promote social interaction by allowing users to trade cards and initiate conversations as a result of the game.


Information retrieval is the most common objective of internet users. For a given query, existing search engines will return a long list of search results ranked by their relevance to the given query. In most of the existing search engines, Page Rank algorithm is used to find the relevance of the documents to the given query. The problem with this method is that it considers only the incoming and outgoing links and the popularity of the document. The proposed method eliminates this problem by considering occurrence of the given term in domain name, URL, TITLE tag, META tag and inside the document in addition to the popularity of the document. It makes the relevant documents to have higher ranking.


In this paper, we propose a differential evolution (DE) algorithm for optimizing the placement and power of the pilot tones that are utilized by a least square (LS) algorithm for channel estimation in multipleinput and multiple-output orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems. Computer simulations demonstrated that the performance of the LS algorithm was increased by optimizing the pilot tones with the DE algorithm instead of locating them orthogonally. We used the upper bound of the mean square error (MSE) as a fitness function of the DE algorithm for optimization tasks. With the use of an upper bound, it is not necessary to compute the matrix inversion that is needed in computing the MSE.


Background and Purpose—Previously, we have estimated US national rates of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) use to be 1.8% to 3.0% of all ischemic stroke patients. However, we hypothesized that the rate of rt-PA use may vary widely depending on regional variation, and that a large percentage of the US population likely does not have access to hospitals using rt-PA regularly. We describe the US geographic distribution of hospitals using rt-PA for acute ischemic stroke. Method—This analysis used the MEDPAR database, which is a claims-based dataset that contains every fee-for-service Medicare-eligible hospital discharge in the US. Cases potentially eligible for rt-PA treatment based on diagnosis were defined as those with a hospital DRG code of 14, 15, or 559, and that also had an ICD-9 code of 433, 434, or 436. Thrombolysis use was defined as an ICD-9 code of 99.1. Study interval was July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007. Hospital locations were mapped using ArcView software; population densities and regions of the US are based on US Census 2000. Results—There were 4750 hospitals in the MEDPAR database, which included 495 186 ischemic stroke admissions during the study period. Of these hospitals, 64% had no reported treatments with rt-PA for ischemic stroke, and 0.9% reported 10% treatment rates within the MEDPAR dataset. Bed size, rural or underserved designation, and population density were significantly associated with reported rt-PA treatment rates, and remained significant in the multivariable regression. Approximately 162 million US citizens reside in counties containing a hospital reporting a 2.4% treatment rate within the MEDPAR dataset. Conclusion—We report the first description of US hospital rt-PA treatment rates by hospital. Unfortunately, we found that 64% of US hospitals did not report giving rt-PA at all within the MEDPAR database within a 2-year period. These tended to be hospitals that were smaller (average bed size of 95), located in less densely populated areas, or located in the South or Midwest. In addition, 40% of the US population resides in counties without a hospital that administered rt-PA to at least 2.4% of ischemic stroke patients, although distinguishing transferred patients is problematic within administrative datasets. Such national-based resource-utilization data is important for planning at the local and national level, especially for such initiatives as telemedicine, to reach underserved areas. (Stroke. 2009;40:3580-3584.)


Cell-free extracts of Acetobacter suboxydans were prepared which were capable of condensing α-ketoisovalerate with 14C-labeled acetyl-coenzyme A to yield 14C-labeled α-isopropylmalate. The product of the reaction was isolated by paper and column chromatography and was characterized by recrystallization with synthetic α-isopropylmalic acid to constant specific radioactivity. The formation of α-isopropylmalate by extracts of A. suboxydans plus the ability of the organism to grow in a simple glucose-glycerol medium containing glutamic acid as the only amino acid indicate that the pathway for leucine biosynthesis shown to exist in yeast and Salmonella typhimurium also occurs in A. suboxydans. As a comparison, the condensation of oxalacetate and (14C) acetyl-coenzyme A to yield (14C) citric acid was shown, by similar means, to occur in A. suboxydans. This is of interest since the existence of this classical condensing enzyme has hitherto not been demonstrated in this organism. This reaction was further demonstrated in cell-free extracts of A. suboxydans by means of a spectrophotometric assay at 232 mμ which measured the cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bond of acetyl-coenzyme A in the presence of oxalacetate. Comparison of the specific activities of crude cell-free extracts indicated a much more extensive occurrence of this reaction in yeast than in A. suboxydans.


Microspheres of mebeverine hydrochloride, which treats irritable bowel syndrome. Mebeverine hydrochloride ishighly water soluble drug, having poor oral bioavailability of drug. Mebeverine hydrochloride is known to suffer from first pass effect. It is an attempt to improve oral bioavailability, reduce the frequency of drug administration, and possibility to restrict its absorption only to the colon. In this study, microspheres of mebeverine hydrochloride was prepared by solvent evaporation techniques using Eudragit FS 30D, and Ethylcellulose as polymers and yield, particle size, encapsulation efficiencies and in vitro release of the prepared microspheres were evaluated. The results showed that percentage yield, encapsulation efficiencies and particle size were influenced mainly by polymer concentration, type of polymer and stirring speed. From the results of the in vitro study shows that the desired release rate is achieved byFEC 4 and FER 11 formulations are releasing the drug up to 12 hrs. DSC results showing there is no interaction between drug and polymers. SEM results of optimized microspheres showing discrete, spherical microspheres.


I investigated the ability of Burkholderia cenocepacia, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen, to adapt to a host. Studies have identified trade-offs associated with environmental adaptation, but few have investigated host adaptation. Consequently, I studied effects of adaptation by B. cenocepacia to onions (Allium cepa) on the ability to kill Caenorhabditis elegans. I hypothesized that adaptation to onions would reduce virulence in C. elegans. I evolved twelve populations of bacteria in onion tissue medium for 500 generations. Then, I quantified fitness differences between evolved and ancestral populations by direct competition, having developed molecular marking techniques to discriminate among competitors. Competitions revealed fitness increases in nine populations. Next, I measured virulence against C. elegans of each population and observed a reduced worm killing ability. I also quantified pleiotropic effects of adaptation related to virulence. In conclusion, I supported that adaptation of B. cenocepacia to one host resulted in decreased virulence in another host.


In a qualitative study of adolescents' perspectives on health care, we conducted 55 open-ended group interviews with 747 adolescent participants, of whom 476 were females. Analysis of comments on confidentiality showed females made more comments than males about physicians violating confidentiality and both males and females cited more violations for reproductive than for general health care. Teens mistrust physicians because of their previous experiences of being accompanied to the doctor by parents. Family physicians wishing to cultivate the trust of their adolescent patients should begin while patients are still children, talk directly to the child, rather than exclusively to the parent, and see the child in privacy for portions of each visit.


We present new measurements of the time variability of intensity, Doppler, and nonthermal velocities in moss in an active region core observed by the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode in 2007 June. The measurements are derived from spectral profiles of the Fe xii 195 Å line. Using the 2″ slit, we repeatedly scanned 150″ by 150″ in a few minutes. This is the first time it has been possible to make such velocity measurements in the moss, and the data presented are the highest cadence spatially resolved maps of moss Doppler and nonthermal velocities ever obtained in the corona. The observed region produced numerous C- and M-class flares with several occurring in the core close to the moss. The magnetic field was therefore clearly changing in the active region core, so we ought to be able to detect dynamic signatures in the moss if they exist. Our measurements of moss intensities agree with previous studies in that a less than 15% variability is seen over a period of 16 hr. Our new measurements of Doppler and nonthermal velocities reveal no strong flows or motions in the moss, nor any significant variability in these quantities. The results confirm that moss at the bases of high temperature coronal loops is heated quasi-steadily. They also show that quasi-steady heating can contribute significantly even in the core of a flare productive active region. Such heating may be impulsive at high frequency, but if so it does not give rise to large flows or motions.


The NewTies project is implementing a simulation in which societies of agents are expected to de-velop autonomously as a result of individual, population and social learning. These societies are expected to be able to solve environmental challenges by acting collectively. The challenges are in-tended to be analogous to those faced by early, simple, small-scale human societies. This report on work in progress outlines the major features of the system as it is currently conceived within the project, including the design of the agents, the environment, the mechanism for the evolution of language and the peer-to-peer infrastructure on which the simulation runs.


To facilitate effective learning in a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment, it is essential for the system to aid learners to not only pinpoint correct answers, but also identify the right process of learning so as to efficiently overcome various levels of difficulty with optimized practicing items. This study investigates how and to what extent different types of feedback from the CALL system may promote the grammatical knowledge learning for L2 learners of Chinese. Students in the Elementary Chinese program at the Carnegie Mellon University participated in the experiment of the computer assisted language tutoring for learning Chinese classifiers. Three kinds of feedback, namely corrective feedback, reflective feedback, and rule-based feedback, were designed and the relative effectiveness of each on the learning of the planned grammatical knowledge was assessed with pre and posttests. The results show that participants in the rule-based feedback group surpassed those in reflective and corrective feedback groups in an immediate posttest, but participants in the reflective feedback group outperformed the other two groups in a two-week delayed posttest. It is concluded that reflective feedback can more effectively promote self-explanation and memory retention in Chinese classifier acquisition in a CALL environment. The findings provide important insights for the construction of a dynamic, interactive Chinese learning courseware with adequate task design and optimal feedbacks.


Altered microRNA (miRNA) expression is frequently observed in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and has been implicated in leukemic transformation. Whether somatic copy number alterations (CNAs) are a frequent cause of altered miRNA gene expression is largely unknown. Herein, we used comparative genomic hybridization with a custom high-resolution miRNA-centric array and/or whole-genome sequence data to identify somatic CNAs involving miRNA genes in 113 cases of AML, including 50 cases of de novo AML, 18 cases of relapsed AML, 15 cases of secondary AML following myelodysplastic syndrome, and 30 cases of therapy-related AML. We identified a total of 48 somatic miRNA gene-containing CNAs that were not identified by routine cytogenetics in 20 patients (18%). All these CNAs also included one or more protein coding genes. We identified a single case with a hemizygous deletion of MIR223, resulting in the complete loss of miR-223 expression. Three other cases of AML were identified with very low to absent miR-223 expression, an miRNA gene known to play a key role in myelopoiesis. However, in these cases, no somatic genetic alteration of MIR223 was identified, suggesting epigenetic silencing. These data show that somatic CNAs specifically targeting miRNA genes are uncommon in AML.


'This is a book guaranteed to make waves. It skilfully weaves the story of one key musical figure into the story of one key institution, which it then weaves into the general story of music in eighteenth-century England. Anyone reading it will come away with fresh knowledge and perceptions - plus a great urge to hear Cooke's music.' Michael Talbot, Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Liverpool and Fellow of the British Academy. Amidst the cosmopolitan, fashion obsessed concert life of later eighteenth century London there existed a discrete musical counterculture centred round a club known as the Academy of Ancient Music. Now largely forgotten, this enlightened school of musical thinkers sought to further music by proffering an alternative vision based on a high minded intellectual curiosity. Perceiving only ear-tickling ostentation in the showy styles that delighted London audiences, they aspired to raise the status of music as an art of profound expression, informed by its past and founded on universal harmonic principles. Central to this group of musical thinkers was the modest yet highly accomplished musician-scholar Benjamin Cooke, who both embodied and reflected this counterculture. As organist of Westminster Abbey and conductor of the Academy of Ancient Music for much of the second half of the eighteenth century, Cooke enjoyed prominence in his day as a composer, organist, teacher, and theorist. This book shows how, through his creativity, historicism and theorising, Cooke was instrumental in proffering an Enlightenment-inspired reassessment of musical composition and thinking at the Academy. The picture portrayed counters the current tendency to dismiss eighteenth-century English musicians as conservative and provincial. Casting new and valuable light on English musical history and on Enlightenment culture more generally, this book reveals how the agenda for musical advancement shared by Cooke and his Academy associates foreshadowed key developments that would mould European music of the nineteenth century and after. It includes an extensive bibliography, a detailed overview of the Cooke Collection at the Royal College of Music and a complete list of Cooke's works. TIM EGGINGTON is College Librarian at Queens' College, Cambridge.


The reactions between diphosphino-alkynyl gold complexes (PhC2Au)PPh2(C6H4)(n)PPh2(AuC2Ph) (n = 1, 2, 3) with Cu(+) lead to formation of the heterometallic aggregates, the composition of which may be described by a general formula [{Au(x)Cu(y)(C2Ph)2x}Au3{PPh2(C6H4)(n)PPh2}3](3+(y-x)) (n = 1, 2, 3; x = (n + 1)(n + 2)/2; y = n(n + 1)). These compounds display very similar structural patterns and consist of the [Au(x)Cu(y)(C2Ph)2x](y-x) alkynyl clusters "wrapped" in the [Au3(diphosphine)3](3+) triangles. The complex for n = 1 was characterized crystallographically and spectrally, the larger ones (n = 2, 3) were investigated in detail by NMR spectroscopy. Their luminescence behavior has been studied, and a remarkably efficient emission with a maximum quantum yield of 0.92 (n = 1) has been detected. Photophysical experiments demonstrate that an increase of the size of the aggregates leads to a decrease in photostability and photoefficiency. Computational studies have been performed to provide additional insight into the structural and electronic properties of these supramolecular complexes. The theoretical results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental data, supporting the proposed structural motif. These studies also suggest that the observed efficient long-wavelength luminescence originates from metal-centered transitions within the heterometallic Au-Cu core.


Non-linear voter models assume that the opinion of an agent depends on the opinions of its neighbors in a non-linear manner. This allows for voting rules different from majority voting. While the linear voter model is known to reach consensus, non-linear voter models can result in the coexistence of opposite opinions. Our aim is to derive approximations to correctly predict the time dependent dynamics, or at least the asymptotic outcome, of such local interactions. Emphasis is on a probabilistic approach to decompose the opinion distribution in a second-order neighborhood into lower-order probability distributions. This is compared with an analytic pair approximation for the expected value of the global fraction of opinions and a mean-field approximation. Our reference case is averaged stochastic simulations of a one-dimensional cellular automaton. We find that the probabilistic second-order approach captures the dynamics of the reference case very well for different non-linearities, i.e., for both majority and minority voting rules, which only partly holds for the first-order pair approximation and not at all for the mean-field approximation. We further discuss the interesting phenomenon of a correlated coexistence, characterized by the formation of large domains of opinions that dominate for some time, but slowly change.


According to development of various devices for high performance, the circuit technologies have been also studied. One of main streams concerns a soft switching technology to mitigate switching stress, leading to the reduction in switching losses or electro-magnetic noise. On the other hand, as a characterized orthodox technology, the existing chopper circuit is used for the electric vehicles, etc. Such technologies have a tendency to go out of vogue as power supplies for such vehicles. However, as a boost chopper for the battery charger for an electric vehicle, those technologies become a main stream, where a bilateral function is required. With the foregoing in mind, the authors have devised and analyzed the bilateral chopper using the soft-switch technology, which could be applied to a battery charger for an electric vehicle or similar.