Changes in human sensory perception can occur for a variety of reasons. In the case of distortions or transformations in the human auditory system, the aetiology may include factors such as medical conditions affecting cognition or physiology, interaction of the ears with mechanical waves, or stem from chemically induced sources, such the consumption of alcohol. These changes may be permanent, intermittent, or temporary. In order to communicate such effects to an audience in an accessible, and easily understood manner, a series of electroacoustic compositions were produced. This concept follows on from previous work on the theme of representing auditory hallucinations. Specifically, these compositions relate to auditory impairments that humans can experience due to tinnitus or through the consumption of alcohol. In the case of tinnitus, whilst much is known about the causes and symptoms, the experience of what it is like to live with tinnitus is less explored and those who have acquired the condition may often feel frustration when trying to convey the experience of 'what it is like' for them. In terms of impairment from alcohol consumption, whilst there is much hearsay, little research exists on the immediate and short-term effects of alcohol consumption on the human auditory system, despite over half of the UK population reported as consuming alcohol in 2017. The methodology employed to design these compositions draws upon scientific research findings, including experimental and explorative studies involving human participants, coupled with electroacoustic composition techniques. The pieces are typically constructed by mixing field recordings with synthesised materials and incorporating a range of temporal and frequency domain manipulations to the elements therein. In this way, the listener is able to experience the phenomenon in a recognisable context, where distortions of reality can be emulated to varying degrees. It is intended that these compositions can serve as easily accessible and understood examples of auditory impairments and that they might find utility in the communication of symptoms to those who have never experienced the underlying causes or conditions. This presents opportunities for pieces like these to be used in scenarios such as education and public health awareness campaigns.


We estimate the impact of one flood on economic outcomes of households located in the region (Chennai, India). We measure the impact of the flood on income and consumption of households, and explore heterogeneity in impact by prosperity and financial constraints. We exploit a novel panel dataset (the CMIE CPHS) which covers 170,000 households in India, three times a year. We find that immediately after the floods, there was a sharp increase in consumption, which is reversed over a year. Expenditures are financed by not saving, or postponing asset purchases. The expenditure increase for the more vulnerable, or the financially constrained households, is smaller. This may be consistent with greater hardship for them.


DNA metabarcoding is an efficient method for measuring biodiversity, but the process of initiating long‐term DNA‐based monitoring programmes, or integrating with conventional programs, is only starting. In marine ecosystems, plankton surveys using the continuous plankton recorder (CPR) have characterized biodiversity along transects covering millions of kilometres with time‐series spanning decades. We investigated the potential for use of metabarcoding in CPR surveys. Samples (n = 53) were collected in two Southern Ocean transects and metazoans identified using standard microscopic methods and by high‐throughput sequencing of a cytochrome c oxidase subunit I marker. DNA increased the number of metazoan species identified and provided high‐resolution taxonomy of groups problematic in conventional surveys (e.g., larval echinoderms and hydrozoans). Metabarcoding also generally produced more detections than microscopy, but this sensitivity may make cross‐contamination during sampling a problem. In some samples, the prevalence of DNA from large plankton such as krill masked the presence of smaller species. We investigated adding a fixed amount of exogenous DNA to samples as an internal control to allow determination of relative plankton biomass. Overall, the metabarcoding data represent a substantial shift in perspective, making direct integration into current long‐term time‐series challenging. We discuss a number of hurdles that exist for progressing DNA metabarcoding from the current snapshot studies to the requirements of a long‐term monitoring programme. Given the power and continually increasing efficiency of metabarcoding, it is almost certain this approach will play an important role in future plankton monitoring.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Mental health recovery can be defined in variety of different ways. First person accounts of people experiencing mental health issues and qualitative studies of recovery suggest engaging in personally meaningful and socially valued occupations is important during the process of recovering. This scoping review sought to explore how occupational engagement and recovery are interrelated.

METHODS
Using Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework to guide the scoping review, searches of four electronic databases, manual citation tracking, and key authors' publications were conducted. Seventeen studies, published in the last 30 years, relevant to the topic were identified. Each was reviewed and data extracted to categorise the similarities and differences into themes.

RESULTS
Most studies used qualitative, phenomenological and narrative research approaches. Findings across the studies indicate recovery is an ongoing occupational process that seems to involve experiences of gradual re-engagement, engaging within the stream of everyday occupational life, and full community participation. Engaging in meaningful and valued occupations appears to support recovering through fostering connectedness, hope, identity, meaning, and empowerment; establishing structured routines and assisting people in managing illness.

CONCLUSION
This scoping review indicates occupational engagement is an important dimension of the recovery process: recovering is experienced through engaging in occupations, which, in turn, fosters personal recovery. Employment and volunteering have received most attention in studies of occupation and recovery. A broader view of the experiences and factors involved in the processes of 'occupational recovery' warrants further exploration to advance theory and inform recovery-oriented occupational therapy practice.


In order to improve the yield of antimicrobial substances extracted from actinomycetes F10 strains fermentation, antimicrobial activity and cell dry weight were taken as the main indicators, we studied the effects on F10 strain's biological activity of the different fermentation media, different carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients factor, and the initial pH and other non-nutritional factors. The results showed that the optimum fermentation medium is: yeast extract 0.5%, glucose 1%, KH2PO4 0.1%, NaCl 0.1%, CaCO30.3%, pH natural. Strain F10 optimal fermentation conditions were: initial pH 7.0, fermentation time 168h.


tected controls, and the author concluded that tolerance towards sublethal irradiation and the susceptibility to leukemia acted as independent -factors. From the assumption that both the lethal and the leukemogenic effects of radiation are independent quantal responses, distributed in a population of hematopoietic stem cells in any -irradiated mouse, the author developed a statistical method of 'marking probit'. This suggests that successive doses are additive for the initiation of the leukiemogenic process, but not for the development of radiation leukxemia. At the end of the French text, summaries are given in English and there is an extensive bibliography. The monograph will be of value mainly to experimental radiobiologists but also to those concerned with statistical analysis of radiation effects in man.


SUMMARY Due to its well-defined genome, the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster has become a very important model organism in olfactory research. Despite all the research invested, few natural odour ligands have been identified. By using a combined gas chromatographic—single receptor neurone recording technique (GC—SC), we set out to identify active odour molecules in head space-collected volatiles from preferred food sources, i.e. different overripe or rotting fruit. In total, we performed 101 GC—SC experiments on 85 contacted sensilla. Using GC—mass spectrometry, we identified 24 active compounds. Synthetic samples of these compounds were used to establish dose—response curves for several of the receptor neurone types encountered. The response patterns of individual neurones were repeatable, and neurones were found to reside in stereotyped pairs. In total, we identified eight distinct sensillum types based on response profiles of 12 olfactory receptor neurone types. In most recordings, a single GC peak would produce a strong response, whereas a few other, often chemically related, compounds would produce weaker responses. The GC—SC recordings revealed that the olfactory receptor neurones investigated were often selective and could be divided into distinct functional types with discrete characteristics. Dose—response investigations revealed very low response thresholds to the tested compounds. Six of the novel ligands were also tested for their behavioural effect in a T-maze set up. Of these, five elicited attraction and one elicited repulsion.


Concern is felt in a number of countries at the environmental impacts of increasing visitor numbers to national parks and other similar areas, where travel to, from and within the area is dominated by the private car. It is commonly desired to reduce these impacts by bringing about a change in mode of transport to more environmentally friendly forms.

The consensus of opinion suggests that a balance of 'carrot and stick' initiatives is needed to bring about the desired change of mode. However in general these opinions remain to be tested in practice. For example, although attitudinal surveys of national park visitors suggest that a balance of "hard" and "soft" policies would induce behaviour change, these conclusions are not always reflected in subsequent behaviour.

Clearly, one of the major problems facing transport practitioners is how best to predict the results or estimate the impacts of various initiatives and measures, which emerge as part of the process of formulating an overall transport policy. One way of testing such initiatives, short of actual implementation is to develop models of the situation. Unfortunately, in contrast with the extensive research and modelling applied to traffic management in urban areas, very few studies have been undertaken into rural transport modelling.

This paper reports findings on work currently being undertaken, using system dynamics modelling as an alternative to existing approaches. System dynamics appears to offer a new and different way of examining the complex effects that the implementation of 'carrot' and 'stick' transport initiatives would have on visitor behaviour in national parks.


Water problems are becoming more and more complex to solve in a sustainable manner. The reason for this is a rather radical change of focus from engineering solutions to a more interdisciplinary hydro-ecological and socioeconomic perspective during the latest decades. At the same time many occurring water problems are changing character from the local to the larger international global scale. Examples of this are environmental problems connected to acid rainfall and global warming. An important component in this context is the water planning process in which the water specialist is a key element. In the present paper we look at some Swedish education programmes for a "typical" water specialist and outline connections to supporting research. The results appears to be that engineering water education to a large extent has been renewed in order to comprise natural sciences processes such as elements from chemistry, ecology, and biology. Several new interdisciplinary education programmes have been started at higher university institutions during the latest decade. The interdisciplinarity within these programmes appears to be well satisfied regarding the fusion of engineering problem solving and natural scientific process knowledge. Still, however, the socioeconomic part of these programmes appears weak and less regarded. Also, the international perspective seems to be almost lacking. In the near future there are increasing needs to solve water problems not only from a technical/natural sciences perspective but also from socioeconomic and international viewpoints. This will require a continuing renewal of the education that puts emphasize on the interdisciplinary approach.


Anhydrobiotic survival of Pratylenchus penetrans was compared in several soil moisture regimes. Bodies of anhydrobiotic nematodes were coiled. In slow-dried soils, Vineland silt loam (VSL) and Fox loamy sand (FLS), 70 and 58% of the total P. penetrans populations were anhydrobiotic when soil moistures reached ca. 3% and water potential 15 kPa or greater. Coiling began at a much lower water potential in FLS than in VSL. In fast-dried soils, only 31 and 22% of the P. penetrans populations in the same two soil types had entered the anhydrobiotic state at comparable moistures. In the above soils, 76-96% of the P. penetrans were alive immediately after entering the anhydrobiotic state. In slow-dried VSL, some nematodes (1%) survived 770 days. In the other soils, all anhydrobiotic nematodes were dead after 438 days. Anhydrobiosis increased the ability of nematodes to survive subzero temperatures, but it did not increase their ability to survive temperatures above 40 C. Infectivity and reproductivity of rehydrated P. penetrans were not affected by anhydrobiosis.


In order to improve the prediction precision of the short-term traffic flow, a prediction method of short-term traffic flow based on cloud model was proposed. The traffic flow was fit by cloud model. The history cloud and the present cloud were built by historical traffic flow and present traffic flow. The forecast cloud is produced by both clouds. Then, combining with the volume of the short-term traffic flow of an intersection in Guangzhou City, the model was calculated and simulated through programming. Max Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Absolute percent Error (MAPE) were used to estimate the effect of prediction. The simulation results indicate that this prediction method is effective and advanced. The change of the historical and real time traffic flow is taken into account in this method. Because the short-term traffic flow is dealt with as a whole, the error of prediction is avoided. The prediction precision and real-time prediction are satisfied.


Communication in neural circuits depends on neurotransmitter release at specialized domains of presynaptic terminals called active zones. Evidence in multiple systems indicates that neurotransmitter release properties vary significantly, even between neighboring active zones of the same neuron. To investigate the role of voltage-gated calcium channels in determining diverse release properties, we combined endogenous tagging of the CaV2 channel Cacophony with functional imaging at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions. We find that calcium channels are differentially localized to active zones and robustly predict release probability at single synapses. Synaptic calcium channel levels, in turn, are highly correlated with ELKS/Bruchpilot levels at the active zone cytomatrix. During acute homeostatic potentiation, active zone cytomatrix remodeling is accompanied by a rapid increase in calcium channel levels. We propose that dynamic reorganization of the active zone cytomatrix during short-term plasticity generates new sites for the incorporation of calcium channels to modulate release properties and circuit function.


We study the geometry and topology of Bott towers in the context of toric geometry. We show that any kth stage of a Bott tower is a smooth projective toric variety associated to a fan arising from a crosspolytope; conversely, we prove that any toric variety associated to a fan obtained from a crosspolytope actually gives rise to a Bott tower. The former leads us to a description of the tangent bundle of the kth stage of the tower, considered as a complex manifold, which splits into a sum of complex line bundles. Applying Danilov-Jurkiewicz theorem, we compute the cohomology ring of any kth stage, and by way of construction, we provide all the monomial identities defining the related affine toric varieties.


This article attempts to locate the 'moral panic' concerning child abuse within the context of broader changes in the material conditions and ideological forces in Britain in the early 1970s. It argues that the development of a sense of social anxiety amongst certain sections of the population and the appeal of the New Right were crucial in the process of establishing the problem as the major issue for social workers. As a consequence social workers have been constrained into a more punitive and interventive relationship with children and families, particularly the poor. The analysis illustrates that the way social workers experience role conflict and tension in this area of their work reflects much wider historical and cultural confusions and contradictions.


Even in statically typed languages it is useful to have certain invariants checked dynamically. Findler and Felleisen gave an algorithm for dynamically checking expressive higherorder types called contracts. They did not, however, give a semantics of contracts. The lack of a semantics makes it impossible to define and prove soundness and completeness of the checking algorithm. (Given a semantics, a sound checker never reports violations that do not exist under that semantics; a complete checker is—in principle—able to find violations when violations exist.) Ideally, a semantics should capture what programmers intuitively feel is the meaning of a contract or otherwise clearly point out where intuition does not match reality. In this paper we give an interpretation of contracts for which we prove the FindlerFelleisen algorithm sound and (under reasonable assumptions) complete. While our semantics mostly matches intuition, it also exposes a problem with predicate contracts where an arguably more intuitive interpretation than ours would render the checking algorithm unsound. In our semantics we have to make use of a notion of safety (which we define in the paper) to avoid unsoundness. We are able to eliminate the "leakage" of safety into the semantics by changing the language, replacing the original version of unrestricted predicate contracts with a restricted form. The corresponding loss in expressive power can be recovered by making safety explicit as a contract. This can be done either in ad-hoc fashion or by including general recursive contracts. The addition of recursive contracts has far-reaching implications, deeply affecting the formulation of our model and requiring different techniques for proving soundness.


The intracardiac hemodynamics was studied in 33 patients with exertional angina pectoris undergoing an acute drug test with verapamil (n-15) and nifedipine (n-18) by using radionuclide ventriculography both at rest and during exercise. All the patients were divided into 2 groups by the increase in exercise duration with the two drugs: 1) those who exhibited a marked antianginal effect and 2) those without it. At rest, the calcium antagonists enhanced ejection fraction in the two groups. Exercise ejection fraction also increased, but in a subgroup of patients who displayed no higher exercise tolerance with verapamil. Verapamil and nifedipine in Group 1 patients resulted in lower left ventricular end diastolic volume. It is suggested that the antianginal effect of calcium antagonists is to a certain degree associated with decreased afterload, as manifested by diminished left ventricular end systolic volume.


Bivalve aggregations constitute a microhabitat for a wide variety of organisms in intertidal, subtidal and deep-water marine benthic habitats. Increase in density of bivalve beds could offer more crevices and substratum for the associated fauna, affecting community composition. Beds of the Atlantic Pearl Oyster (Pinctada imbricata) and the Turkey Wing (Arca zebra) of contrasting population densities were evaluated to determine the composition and structure of the associated macrofauna of three taxa (Crustacea Decapoda, Mollusca and Echinodermata). We evaluated plots of three levels of bed density in both species, the associated fauna were identified and counted. Other species were collected by qualitative samples. Univariate and multivariate descriptors were tested comparing the associated fauna between the beds of two species at three levels of density. In these beds a total of 104 species belonging to 58 families were recorded. Mithraculus forceps (Majidae), Crucibulum auricula (Calyptraeidae) and Ophiotrix angulata (Ophiothrichidae) were the most common species found in these assemblages. The medium and high-density bivalve beds exhibited greater species number, abundance, Shannon diversity, evenness, taxonomic diversity, and taxonomic distinctness of associated fauna, than low-density bivalve beds. Moreover, multivariate analysis detected different assemblages of associated fauna between beds with different densities. Additionally, similarities were found in the communities of macrofauna in both beds of P imbricata and Area zebra. Our results suggest that bivalve aggregations at Cubagua Island provide additional habitat for macrofauna living in other shallow habitats such as Thalassia beds, corals and rocky environments. Bed density, associated with topographic complexity, represents an important factor for the composition and complexity of the associated fauna.


In this article, the author presents a model with jumps and stochastic volatility, based on two correlated variance-gamma processes combined with an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process with gamma innovations. The objective is to analyze pricing methods for a European-style equity option to exchange one stock for another, as well as two important classes of its variants, which raise the stock prices and the standard option payoff, respectively, to certain powers. These option variants are particularly useful in adjusting the risk level of exchange options and can also be viewed as generalizations of traditional power-type options. The pricing formulas are obtained under risk neutrality in terms of characteristic functions and are thus independent from the model distribution. Numerical results are given for illustrating the efficiency of the presented formulas along with various advantages of the proposed stochastic-volatility model. TOPICS: Options, statistical methods, performance measurement


Most research into applying AI techniques to real-time control problems has limited the power of AI methods or embedded reactivity in an AI system. An alternative, cooperative architecture is presented. It uses separate AI and real-time subsystems to address the problems for which each is designed. A structured interface allows the subsystems to communicate without compromising their respective performance goals. By reasoning about its own bounded reactivity, cooperative intelligent real-time control architecture (CIRCA) can guarantee that it will meet hard deadlines while still using unpredictable AI methods. With its abilities to guarantee or trade off the timeliness, precision, confidence, and completeness of its output, CIRCA provides more flexible performance than previous systems. >


There is a need to evidence the cost of genetic testing and know their profitability in order to establish criteria for priorizing access to genetic testing for these diseases. We determinated the cost per positive genotyping in 234 index cases with diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), long-QT syndrome (LQTS), or Brugada syndrome (BS). The genetic tests of the most prevalent genes and the estimation of the costs of periodical screening in wildtype relatives (WT) were calculated. A total of 738 individuals (517 HCM, 76 ARVC, 71 LQTS and 74 BS) from 234 probands were genotyped. The savings made by not having to perform the clinical testing of WT relatives exceeded the cost of genotyping for HCM families € +220,710, ARVC families € +9405 and LQTS families € +8362. The balance in BS was negative (€ –25,112). Our data suggests that individuals with conclusive clinical diagnostic of HCM should have a priority to access genetic testing. A positive overall benefit was also demonstrated in ARVC and LQTS.


Simple Summary Oncological follow-up after liver transplantation for cholangiocellular carcinoma must consider the risk of recurrence. Immunosuppressive medication with so-called mTOR inhibitors seems to have a tumor-suppressive effect, as improved survival has been shown under this medication for patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation. The aim of our study was to investigate recurrence and survival in relation to tumor type and type of immunosuppression for cholangiocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation. The time from liver transplantation to recurrence and survival after cancer recurrence were endpoints of the study. Significant improvement in survival for recurrent cholangiocellular carcinoma was seen after surgical resection and reduction in immunosuppression, while N1 status at transplantation and histological Grading >1 were associated with worse outcomes. Abstract Liver transplantation (LT) for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), or biliary tract cancer (BTC), remains controversial regarding high recurrence rates and poor prognosis. Oncological follow-up may benefit from tumor-inhibiting properties of mTOR inhibitors (mTORI), shown with improved survival for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after LT. The aim of this study was to investigate the recurrence and survival in relation to tumor type and type of immunosuppression (IS). LT patients with CCA or mixed HCC/CCA (mHCC/CCA) (n = 67) were retrospectively analyzed. Endpoints were the time from LT to recurrence (n = 44) and survival after recurrence. Statistically significant impairment in survival for recurrent CCA (rCCA) was shown in patients not eligible for surgical resection (HR 2.46 (CI: 1.2–5.1; p = 0.02). Histological proven grading >1 and N1 status at initial transplantation were associated with impaired survival (HR 0.13 (CI: 0.03–0.58); p < 0.01 and HR 3.4 (CI: 1.0–11.65); p = 0.05). Reduced IS after tumor recurrence improved survival (HR 4.2/CI: 1.3–13.6; p = 0.02). MTORI initiation before recurrence or after had no significant impact on survival. Our data thereby indicate, similar to findings in recurrent HCC after LT, that patients with rCCA after LT benefit from a reduction in IS upon recurrence.


Abstract Dathe, S. & Dietrich, H.: Comparative molecular and morphological studies in selected Maxillariinae orchids. — Willdenowia 36 (Special Issue): 89–102. — ISSN 0511-9618; ©2006 BGBM Berlin-Dahlem. doi:10.3372/wi.36.36106 (available via http://dx.doi.org/) The phylogenetic relationships within Orchidaceae subtribe Maxillariinae s.str. were investigated by Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian analyses of nuclear ribosomal ITS1 and ITS2 DNA sequences in 27 species. While the monophyly of Maxillariinae is supported, Maxillaria in its current, narrower circumscription is clearly paraphyletic, since all presently accepted genera examined (Chrysocycnis, Cryptocentrum, Mormolyca, Trigonidium) and the former segregates Camaridium, Heterotaxis, Marsupiaria, Neourbania, Ornithidium and Pseudomaxillaria are nested within it. Camaridium, Heterotaxis and Ornithidium are, moreover, polyphyletic. The resulting molecular trees show six more or less well supported clades but are not very well resolved in their basal parts. To study character evolution, the molecular data were compared with pollinarium morphology, using scanning electron microscopy in 22 taxa, and further morphological data. The comparison indicates that most features have evolved several times independently. In growth habit a trend from caespitose to rhizomatous is found. Palynologically three morphological lines are indicated: (1) from four greater pollinia in two pairs to four smaller, equal, separate pollinia; (2) from spherical to clavate pollinia; (3) from pollinia with rugulate (sometimes gemmate, granulate, fossulate, microfoveolate) to psilate surface. A more extensive taxon sampling is needed to decide if and how Maxillaria s.l. has to be divided in smaller monophyletic genera.


Background High rates of teacher turnover likely mean greater school instability, disruption of curricular cohesiveness, and a continual need to hire inexperienced teachers, who typically are less effective, as replacements for teachers who leave. Unfortunately, research consistently finds that teachers who work in schools with large numbers of poor students and students of color feel less satisfied and are more likely to turn over, meaning that turnover is concentrated in the very schools that would benefit most from a stable staff of experienced teachers. Despite the potential challenge that this turnover disparity poses for equity of educational opportunity and student performance gaps across schools, little research has examined the reasons for elevated teacher turnover in schools with large numbers of traditionally disadvantaged students. Purpose This study hypothesizes that school working conditions help explain both teacher satisfaction and turnover. In particular, it focuses on the role of effective principals in retaining teachers, particularly in disadvantaged schools with the greatest staffing challenges. Research Design The study conducts quantitative analyses of national data from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey and the 2004-05 Teacher Follow-up Survey. Regression analyses combat the potential for bias from omitted variables by utilizing an extensive set of control variables and employing a school district fixed effects approach that implicitly makes comparisons among principals and teachers within the same local context. Conclusions Descriptive analyses confirm that observable measures of teachers' work environments, including ratings of the effectiveness of the principal, are generally less positive in schools with large numbers of disadvantaged students. Regression results show that principal effectiveness is associated with greater teacher satisfaction and a lower probability that the teacher leaves the school within a year. Moreover, the positive impacts of principal effectiveness on these teacher outcomes are even greater in disadvantaged schools. These findings suggest that policies focused on getting the best principals into the most challenging school environments may be effective strategies for lowering perpetually high teacher turnover rates in those schools.


BACKGROUND=OBJECTIVES: Home-based primary care (HBPC) is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary program to meet the medical needs of community-dwelling populations needing long-term care (LTC). The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expanded its HBPC program to underserved rural communities, including American Indian reservations, providing a "natural laboratory" to study change in access to VA LTC benefits and utilization outcomes for rural populations that typically face challenges in accessing LTC medical support. DESIGN: Pretest-Posttest quasi-experimental approach with interrupted time-series design using linked VA, Medicare, and Indian Health Service (IHS) records. SETTING: American Indian reservations and non-Indian communities in rural HBPC catchment areas. PARTICIPANTS: 376 veterans (88 IHS beneficiaries, 288 non-IHS beneficiaries) with a HBPC length of stay of 12 months or longer. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline demographic and health characteristics, activities of daily living (ADL), previous VA enrollment, and hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) visits as a function of time, accounting for IHS beneficiary and functional statuses. RESULTS: For HBPC users, VA enrollment increased by 22%. At baseline, 30% of IHS and non-IHS beneficiaries had 2 or more ADLs impairments; IHS populations were younger (P < .001) and had more diagnosed chronic diseases (P 5 .007). Overall, hospital admissions decreased by 0.10 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5 20.14 to 20.05) and ED visits decreased by 0.13 (95% CI 5 20.19 to 20.07) in the 90 days after HBPC admission (Ps < .001) and these decreases were maintained over 1 year followup. Before HBPC, probability of hospital admission was 12% lower for IHS than non-IHS beneficiaries (P 5 .02). CONCLUSION: Introducing HBPC to rural areas increased access to LTC and enrollment for healthcare benefits, with equitable outcomes in IHS and non-IHS populations. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:818–824, 2018.


Community participation plays a large role in the success or failure of our public schools. This book focuses attention on the problem of inequality in public engagement, considering how race, class, ethnicity, language, and immigration status shape opportunities for engagement. Without the active participation of the public, chances for improving school systems are limited. Without equal opportunity for public engagement, those in the lower reaches of stratified society are left largely on the outside looking in-and that all too easily becomes a self-perpetuating cycle. Public Engagement for Public Education speaks to the potential for students, parents, community members, and civic leaders to join forces and create more equitable schooling. Such engagement can expand access to quality educational pathways which in turn paves the way to a stronger voice in society and the promise of the American dream. If segments of society are blocked access to those pathways, the book argues, nothing less than the health of American democracy is at stake.


Knowledge of sediment sources and their dispersal across the landscape is essential for understanding the dynamics of flood plain ecosystems. This is important for flood plain management because rates of upstream catchment erosion are predicted to increase considerably throughout much of inland Australia. In this study, the provenance and dispersal of sediment across a large lowland flood plain complex are investigated. A range of non-soluble geochemical elements were used in a Bayesian mixing model to determine the source and dispersal of very fine sand and clay sized particles across the lower Balonne flood plain in SE Australia. These two sediment fractions were chosen because they are the dominant material present within this flood plain complex. The relative contribution of the two main sediment sources differed for each of the sediment fractions. Clay sized particles were predominantly derived from the Maranoa catchment, whereas the very fine sand was derived from the Condamine catchment. In terms of the dispersal of these sediment fractions from the two main sources, very fine sands were dispersed relatively uniformly across the Lower Balonne flood plain, whereas the clay sized sediment was restricted to the main flow channels that dissect this flood plain. These spatial patterns are contrary to that expected in terms of the dispersal ability of sediment across flood plain surfaces and result from the complex hydrology of the flood plain surface along with the timing of flow events originating from the two tributaries.


Objective: To evaluate the effects of feedback reports combined with outreach visits from trained non-physicians on the clinical decision making of general practitioners (GPs) in cardiovascular care. Design: Pragmatic cluster controlled trial with randomisation of practices to support (intervention group) or no special attention (control group); analysis after 2 years. Setting: 124 general practices in The Netherlands. Participants: 185 GPs. Main outcome measures: Compliance rates for 12 evidence-based indicators for the management of patients with hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, angina pectoris, or heart failure. The evaluation relied on the prospective recording of patient encounters by the participating GPs. Results: The GPs reported 30 101 clinical decisions at baseline and 22 454 decisions after the intervention. A significant improvement was seen for five of the 12 indicators: assessment of risk factors in patients with hypercholesterolaemia (odds ratio 2.04; 95% CI 1.44 to 2.88) or angina pectoris (3.07; 1.08 to 8.79), provision of information and advice to patients with hypercholesterolaemia (1.58, 1.17 to 2.13) or hypertension (1.55, 1.35 to 1.77), and checking for clinical signs of deterioration in patients with heart failure (4.11, 2.17 to 7.77). Single handed practices, non-training practices, and practices with older GPs gained particular benefit from the intervention. Conclusions: Intensive support from trained non-physicians can alter certain aspects of the clinical decision making of GPs in cardiovascular care. The effect is small and the strategy needs further development.


Optimization algorithms are popular approaches to solving problems in many field. By considering the performance criteria of the optimization algorithms, optimization algorithms suitable for the topic are selected. In this study, the performance criteria of the five optimization algorithms, which have the same mathematical test functions and the parameter values of these functions and the decision variables, the number of populations and the number of execution cycles of the algorithm, are compared. Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm, Fire Beetle Algorithm, Symbiotic Organism Algorithm and Biogeography Based Optimization Algorithm are used as optimization algorithms. Performance measures of these five optimization algorithms are calculated on three different benchmarking algorithms. The calculation results are presented as numerical values.


The authors discuss the inherent bandwidth limitations of shared buses, which are assumed to set a ceiling on the performance and scalability of this architecture. They report on three years of experience with production multiprocessor systems. Advances in bus and cache technologies have greatly raised the ceiling which limits the throughput of bus-based multiprocessors. Sophisticated hierarchies of buses and caches increase the range over which such systems may scale. Most importantly, the symmetrical shared-memory model continues to allow these systems to be programmed in a very general and straightforward way, a claim which is not common to any other multiprocessor architecture. It is shown that the shared-memory model makes development of parallel programs easier than with distributed memory machines.<<ETX>>


One-year-old seedlings of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) were grown in pots filled with a soil substrate that originated from an area polluted by a phosphate fertiliser factory and characterised by a high soil Al level and low Ca/Al ratio or with a substrate from an area regarded as free from toxic pollution. In addition the effect of fertilisation with a mixture of nutrients was evaluated. Birch seedlings grew slowest in the unfertilised polluted substrate. In the unfertilised polluted substrate seedlings were characterised by high biomass allocation to roots (60% vs. 30 to 40% in control or fertilised substrate), lower diversity of ectomycorrhizae and the lowest rate of root and substrate microbial respiration. Roots of seedlings grown in the polluted soil were characterised by a significantly higher level of phenolic compounds. Fertilisation of plants grown in the polluted soil accelerated their growth, and lowered RWR (g root g -1 plant) and increased biomass allocated to foliage. Our results indicate that elimination of air pollution does not decrease the toxic effect of a polluted soil. Fertilisation may improve the condition of seedlings growing in polluted soil, however it was not able to eliminate entirely the adverse effect of soil pollution.


Comprehensive assessment of ecological change after fires have burned forests and rangelands is important if we are to understand, predict and measure fire effects. We highlight the challenges in effective assessment of fire and burn severity in the field and using both remote sensing and simulation models. We draw on diverse recent research for guidance on assessing fire effects on vegetation and soil using field methods, remote sensing and models. We suggest that instead of collapsing many diverse, complex and interacting fire effects into a single severity index, the effects of fire should be directly measured and then integrated into severity index keys specifically designed for objective severity assessment. Using soil burn severity measures as examples, we highlight best practices for selecting imagery, designing an index, determining timing and deciding what to measure, emphasising continuous variables measureable in the field and from remote sensing. We also urge the development of a severity field assessment database and research to further our understanding of causal mechanisms linking fire and burn severity to conditions before and during fires to support improved models linking fire behaviour and severity and for forecasting effects of future fires.


Unlike relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, there are very few therapeutic options for patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. While immune mechanisms are key participants in the pathogenesis of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, the mechanisms underlying the development of progressive multiple sclerosis are less well understood. Putative mechanisms behind progressive multiple sclerosis have been put forth: insufficient energy production via mitochondrial dysfunction, activated microglia, iron accumulation, oxidative stress, activated astrocytes, Wallerian degeneration, apoptosis, etc. Furthermore, repair processes such as remyelination are incomplete. Experimental therapies that strive to improve metabolism within neurons and glia, e.g., oligodendrocytes, could act to counter inadequate energy supplies and/or support remyelination. Most experimental approaches have been examined as standalone interventions; however, it is apparent that the biochemical steps being targeted are part of larger pathways, which are further intertwined with other metabolic pathways. Thus, the potential benefits of a tested intervention, or of an established therapy, e.g., ocrelizumab, could be undermined by constraints on upstream and/or downstream steps. If correct, then this argues for a more comprehensive, multifaceted approach to therapy. Here we review experimental approaches to support neuronal and glial metabolism, and/or promote remyelination, which may have potential to lessen or delay progressive multiple sclerosis.


An analysis is presented on the rate of inter-speaker consistency in the way multiple speakers realize prosodic events when they read the same scripts. The analysis is made on the Boston University Radio Speech Corpus (BURSC). The BURSC consists of data from five speakers (3 female and 2 male), each reading the same scripts that comprise more than 110 different sentences. The design of the corpus, thus, proves to be a useful basis on which we can measure the degree of speaker variation or speaker consistency in prosodic realization. A pair-wise comparison of inter-speaker consistency is made regarding the rendition of prosodic prominence. The results indicate that the average rate of consistency on the presence or absence of pitch accent is 89.81%. An average consistency of 72.17% is achieved for the rate of consistency for the types of the pitch accent. The finding implies that there is a constraint that is imposed on an utterance by speakers regarding prosodic prominence placement, as well as certain degree of variation between speakers in rendering prosodic prominence.


Empathy performs a central role in regulating social relations. This applies equally to journalistic work routines. To explore the concept of empathy in the understanding of journalists, 46 interviews were conducted using a cross-cultural approach between the United Kingdom and India. It became clear that empathy occupies a central place in news production, fulfilling multiple roles. It serves to achieve a comprehensive access to information and to news protagonists at the interpersonal level. Without this "invisible" mode of communication, qualitative and ethical news journalism cannot be achieved; and the authenticity and emotionality of news packages would be diminished. Empathy varies on the individual level, but especially in sensitive journalistic work fields it represents a "naturally present" core skill for journalists. A final empathic dimension is found in the imaginary empathy towards the audience which provides essential guidance for journalistic news products. Cultural differences between India and the United Kingdom are apparent in this study, but results also indicate considerable similarities in the role of empathy in different journalism cultures.


SrRuO3 (SRO) thin films were prepared by laser ablation. The optimum preparation condition of highly electrically conductive SRO thin films was investigated. The substrate temperature (Tsub) was changed from room temperature to 973 K, and the deposition atmosphere was at a high vacuum (P = 10-6 Pa) and in O2 at oxygen pressures (PO2) of 0.13 and 13 Pa. The films deposited at P = 10-6 Pa and PO2 = 0.13 Pa were amorphous structure. At Tsub > 573 K and PO2 = 13 Pa, well-crystallized pseudo-cubic SRO thin films with (110) orientation were obtained. With increasing Tsub, the conductivity of SRO films increased from 7.7×103 to 9.1×104 S·m-1. The epitaxially grown SRO films on (100) SrTiO3 substrates exhibited the highest conductivity of 1.8×105 S·m-1.


In the bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic niche, the oxygen tension is usually very low. Such condition affects stem and progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation and, at cellular level regulates hematopoietic growth factors, chemokines and adhesion molecules expression. In turn, these molecules affect the proliferation and maturation of other cellular components of the niche. Due to the complexity of the system we started the in vitro investigations of the IL-6, IL-8, TNFα cytokines expression and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), considered key mediators of the hematopoietic niche, in human macrophages and macrophage cell line. Since in the niche the oxygen availability is mediated by red blood cells (RBCs), we have influenced the anoxic cell cultures by the administration of oxygenated or deoxygenated RBCs (deoxy RBCs). The results reported in this brief paper show that the presence of RBCs up-regulates IL-8 mRNA while IL-6 and VEGF mRNA expression appears down-regulated. This does not occur when deoxy RBCs are used. Moreover, it appears that the administration of RBCs leads to an increase of TNFα expression levels in MonoMac 6 (MM6). Interestingly, the modulation of these factors likely occurs in a hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) independent manner. Considering the role of oxygen in the hematopoietic niche further studies should explore these preliminary observations in more details.


Using data from the direct sequencing of fragments of three mitochondrial genes (12S and 16S ribosomal RNA, and cytochrome-b; total length 1469 b.p.) we have reconstructed a gene phylogeny for all 19 living species of the gastropod genus Littorina. Members of the closely related genera Nodilittorina, Littoraria and Mainwaringia have been used as outgroups, and it appears that Littorina is monophyletic. An earlier morphological phylogeny has been revised, and its topology found to be almost entirely consistent with that from the molecular data. The fossil record is sparse, but likewise consistent. A consensus tree is presented, showing clear resolution of basal and terminal branches, and a central unresolved polychotomy. We have used fossil evidence and geological events to estimate the ages of some clades, and thus to calculate average rates of molecular evolution, which in turn provide approximate dates for all branches of the molecular phylogeny. The central polychotomy may be explained by a burst of rapid speciation in the northwestern Pacific during the Middle Miocene, perhaps driven by climatic fluctuation. Our results support the hypothesis that the two clades of Littorina in the northern Atlantic originated from Pacific ancestors which took part in the Pliocene trans-Arctic migration of marine organisms.


Abstract Tannic acid-stabilized silver nanoparticles were synthesized in situ on halloysite clay nanotubes. The synthesis strategy included simple steps of tannic acid adsorption on clay nanotubes and further particle formation from silver salt solution. Pristine halloysite nanotubes as well as amino-modified clays were used for silver stabilization in water or ethanol. The materials were tested for antibacterial performance using three different methods. All of the materials produced showed antimicrobial activity. The pristine halloysite-based material with ~5 nm particles produced using ethanol as the solvent and tannic acid as the reducing agent showed the greatest antibacterial activity against Serratia marcescens. The materials were tested in vivo on Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes to ensure their safety, and they showed no negative effects on nematode growth and life expectancy.


Iron deficiency frequently complicates both acute and chronic phases of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO; EPOGEN [epoetin alfa], AMGEN Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA) therapy for dialysis-associated anemia. During acute correction of anemia, iron needed for new hemoglobin production may outstrip available body iron stores. During maintenance r-HuEPO therapy, blood lost both through the dialysis process and the uremic predisposition to gastrointestinal bleeding promotes ongoing negative iron balance. Failure to recognize and treat iron deficiency may lead to impaired efficacy of r-HuEPO in the anemic patient by converting the anemia associated with chronic renal failure to the anemia associated with iron deficiency. The risk of iron deficiency is assessed by weighing available iron stores, as reflected by the level of serum ferritin, against anticipated iron needs for new hemoglobin synthesis, as measured by the difference between the current and target hemoglobin. Using this approach, body iron reserves can be determined, iron deficits predicted, and appropriate iron replacement therapy planned. Once patients are identified as being at risk for iron deficiency, they are treated prophylactically with oral iron supplements. Parenteral iron therapy is reserved for those at greatest risk for iron deficiency during acute r-HuEPO treatment and those intolerant or unresponsive to oral iron supplements during chronic r-HuEPO treatment. Although no dose-response relationship has been observed in the restoration of iron balance with oral iron supplements, those taking supplements show distinctly higher projected iron stores and daily iron balance than those not given supplements.


Vulnerabilities within Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) represent a significant safety, ecological and economical risk to owners, operators and nation states. Numerous examples from recent years are available to demonstrate that these vulnerabilities are being exploited by threat actors. One of the first steps required when securing legacy infrastructures is to obtain a complete asset (device) inventory, as is it impossible to protect a system without first understanding its content and connectivity. ICS environments offer significant challenges to the automated and safe discovery of network connected devices. Legacy ICS-based network services are often very fragile and networks are often sensitive to increased traffic, latency or interference, precluding the use of active scanning technologies. The decentralised nature of ICS traffic flows alongside the lack of capability of legacy network equipment make the use of standard passive scanning technologies difficult. This paper presents an overview and understanding of passive ICS discovery and provides the results of an experiment to show how existing passive scanning tools fare in an ICS environment in which port mirroring technologies are not ubiquitously supported.


Ontology mapping is a crucial task to enable interoperation and interoperability between related ontologies. Combining multiple mapping strategies can improve the mapping accuracy in ontology mapping. However, how to give weight values in multiple strategy ontology mapping is very difficult. Aiming at the problem, characteristics based adaptive weighting method is proposed in the paper. Six similarities is selected to reflect different kinds of ontological information. Ontologies characteristics related to the six similarities, which include self-characteristics and mutual-characteristics of both ontologies, are used to describe both ontologies to be mapped. Weight of each similarity is specified according to the characteristics of both ontologies. Experiment results showed that the method in the paper can get a better effect than traditional weights combining methods.


This paper focuses on three issues. First, it analyses the increasing inequality of wealth in Sweden in terms of percentile age and birth cohort differences. Second, it discusses mobility of wealth as a function of age, length of the transition period, the magnitude of quantile differences, and a time trend. The third theme is the relative importance of bequests. Estimates are given of their share of total net worth, and of their contribution to the inequality and mobility of wealth.


Grammatical metaphor is considered to be the key linguistic resource in the creation of academic discourse. In a pedagogical context, identification of grammatical metaphor in students' writing can be used as a measurement of students' academic literacy level to determine actions to improve the existing situation. In Indonesian EFL context, students' grammatical metaphor deployment and development has not been much studied, despite its strategic role in improving students' academic literacy. This paper presents a first step towards understanding Indonesian tertiary students' linguistic strengths and weaknesses in academic literacy through the identification of ideational grammatical metaphor deployment and development. Using cross-sectional data from first year and third year students in a State Islamic College in a rural area of Indonesia, the students' academic writing were analyzed for the deployment of experiential grammatical metaphor. The findings show that the two groups of different levels of participants deployed similar types of reconstrual of experiential grammatical metaphor. Process to Thing transcategorisation was the most frequent type of experiential grammatical metaphor reconstrual across the two groups, while Relator to Process was the most frequent logical grammatical metaphor reconstrual in both groups.  Third-year students surpassed the first-year group in the frequency and proportion of instances of grammatical metaphor deployment. This study has shown that the development of learners' academic writing was limited. Thus, it was suggested that a more explicit pedagogy to expose students to grammatical metaphor and more basic lexicogrammar teaching to enable the students to write academic texts is warranted.


Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21‐hydroxylase deficiency is a common autosomal recessive disorder (MIM# 201910) due to mutations in the 21‐hydroxylase (CYP21) gene (GDB Accession # M12792). Using our protocol for single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, we have identified two mutations not known to exist in the 21‐hydroxylase pseudogene (CYP21P). One mutation involving codon 169, TGC to AC appears to be novel. The 46,XX patient carried the codon 169 mutation on her paternal allele and a large gene deletion/conversion event on her maternal allele. This patient had been referred in the immediate neonatal period for the evaluation of genital ambiguity and had developed hyponatremia and hyperkalemia. The second patient presented with premature pubic hair. She carried R356Q on her maternal allele and V281L on her paternal allele. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The paper analyzes characteristics of Ethernet and embedded microprocessor, discusses the hardware structure design (modularization design) of a test platform for networked control systems, which is named NetCon. A networked brushless DC motor control experiment is made using the platform. From the experiment, it is shown that NetCon has a trustworthy reliability and validity. Furthermore, NetCon makes the research of NCS deeper from the theoretical research to the practical application research and enriches the research of NCS.


We consider the dynamic snapping instability of elastic beams and shells. Using the Kirchhoff rod and Föppl-von Kármán plate equations, we study the stability, deformation modes, and snap-through dynamics of an elastic arch with clamped boundaries and subject to a concentrated load. For parameters typical of everyday and technological applications of snapping, we show that the stretchability of the arch plays a critical role in determining not only the post-buckling mode of deformation but also the timescale of snapping and the frequency of the arch's vibrations about its final equilibrium state. We show that the growth rate of the snap-through instability and its subsequent ringing frequency can both be interpreted physically as the result of a sound wave in the material propagating over a distance comparable to the length of the arch. Finally, we extend our analysis of the ringing frequency of indented arches to understand the "pop" heard when everted shell structures snap-through to their stable state. Remarkably, we find that not only are the scaling laws for the ringing frequencies in these two scenarios identical but also the respective prefactors are numerically close; this allows us to develop a master curve for the frequency of ringing in snapping beams and shells.


For the (2+1)-dimensional Broer–Kaup–Kupershmidt (BKK) system, the nonlocal symmetries related to the Schwarzian variable and the corresponding transformation group are found. Moreover, the integrability of the BKK system in the sense of having a consistent Riccati expansion (CRE) is investigated. The interaction solutions between soliton and cnoidal periodic wave are explicitly studied.


Turning machinability test were performed on the SiCp/A383 aluminum alloy composite by measuring tool wear, cutting resistance and surface roughness. Shapes of flank wear were changed from band type to triangle type with increase of flank wear. The flank wear were increased with increasing of both cutting speed and cutting distance. The flank wear of the first stage of cutting was very large regardless cutting conditions. It was more than 0.2 mm on cutting distance of 50 mm. Regardless side rake angle, cutting resistance were increased with increasing of both cutting speed and cutting distance. In case of cutting speed on 1.67 m/s, finished surface roughness in the first stage of cutting was large, but finished surface roughness was changed for better with increasing of cutting distance. In case of start of cutting on cutting speed of more than 3.33 m/s, the finished surface roughness become better increased with increase of cutting distance. However finished surface roughness suddenly increased with increase of tool wear.


This paper develops a design methodology aimed to shape passive the admittance of the LCL grid-connected voltage source converters (VSCs). A novel aspect of this work is the assessment of the range of frequencies for control design: due to discrete and PWM operation, the effectiveness of the control action is more and more reduced as frequency increases; in practice, system delays and non-linear effects tend to impair the passivity properties and also its experimental validation. However, as shown in this paper, those effects can be minimized by including the LCL filter as a part of an outer VSC admittance: this assumption is supported by the fact that high frequency disturbances (generated in the point of connection) are absorbed by the LCL capacitor branch, and hence, are not able to create a positive feedback in the VSC (i.e., the active component). By taking advantage of this remark, the inner VSC admittance can be shaped by a reduced order filter in the Z-domain, which mainly depends on the proportional and active damping (controller) gains. The design hypotheses and the control design methodology are verified by PLECS switching-mode simulations.


This book of examples suggests a variety of options for easy and accessible climate-resilient retrofitting of residential areas. The case studies for a set of common streets in the Netherlands will match urban settings in other countries. The examples show that effective climate-resilient retrofitting is usually quite simple and does not necessarily incur higher costs than traditional approaches, particularly in flat areas. An examination of typical Dutch urban street designs shows how climate resilience can be incorporated under different conditions while keeping costs down with retrofitting. We have investigated the effects of four retrofitting variants and specified their cost and benefits, applying a typology of common residential street characteristics. We sincerely hope these case studies inspire you to get started in your own town, city and country, because the climate is right up your street.


Large-scale commercial cropping of soybeans expanded in the tropical Amazon and Cerrado biomes of Brazil after 1990. More recently, cropping intensified from single-cropping of soybeans to double-cropping of soybeans with corn or cotton. Cropland expansion and intensification, and the accompanying use of mineral fertilizers, raise concerns about whether nutrient runoff and impacts to surface waters will be similar to those experienced in commercial cropland regions at temperate latitudes. We quantified water infiltration through soils, water yield, and streamwater chemistry in watersheds draining native tropical forest and single- and double-cropped areas on the level, deep, highly weathered soils where cropland expansion and intensification typically occurs. Although water yield increased four-fold from croplands, streamwater chemistry remained largely unchanged. Soil characteristics exerted important control over the movement of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into streams. High soil infiltration rates prevented surface erosion and movement of particulate P, while P fixation in surface soils restricted P movement to deeper soil layers. Nitrogen retention in deep soils, likely by anion exchange, also appeared to limit N leaching and export in streamwater from both single- and double-cropped watersheds that received nitrogen fertilizer. These mechanisms led to lower streamwater P and N concentrations and lower watershed N and P export than would be expected, based on studies from temperate croplands with similar cropping and fertilizer application practices.


This paper describes the development of a neural network control for shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators as well as the control tests. Precise control of SMA actuators that are integrated in the composite structure is difficult because of the hysteretic behaviour of SMA and time delays in the control system. The weakness of the static model of SMA is that it does not take into account the actuator dynamics. The NARMA-L2 neural network model enables us to solve the inverse dynamic model of the nonlinear discrete-time dynamical system. In this study the NARMA-L2 model of the airfoil (a cross section of wind turbine blade) was created using Matlab Simulink software and neural networks. Data for network training was measured from the specimen. The performance of the constituted NARMA-L2 controller was tested in control tests. According to the control tests the NARMA-L2 controller is well suited for controlling embedded SMA actuators. The constituted controller enabled fast and stable actuation in step responses and it was also able to compensate for changes in cooling conditions.


The striatal, primary sensorimotor cortical, and thalamic neurons are highly vulnerable to hypoxia-ischemia (HI) in term newborns. In a piglet model of HI that exhibits similar selective regional vulnerability, we tested the hypothesis that early treatment with sulforaphane, an activator of the Nrf2 transcription factor, protects vulnerable neurons from HI injury. Anesthetized piglets (aged 3-7 days) were subjected to 45 min of hypoxia and 7 min of airway occlusion. At 15 min after resuscitation, the piglets received intravenous vehicle or sulforaphane. At 4 days of recovery, the density of viable neurons in the putamen of vehicle-treated piglets was 31 ± 34% (±SD) that of sham-operated controls. Treatment with sulforaphane significantly increased viability to 77 ± 31%. In the sensorimotor cortex, neuronal viability was also increased; it was 59 ± 35% in the vehicle-treated and 89 ± 15% in the sulforaphane-treated animals. Treatment with sulforaphane increased the nuclear Nrf2 and γ-glu-tamylcysteine synthetase expression at 6 h of recovery in these regions. We conclude that systemic administration of sulforaphane 15 min after HI can induce the translocation of Nrf2 to the nucleus, increase expression of an enzyme involved in glutathione synthesis, and salvage neurons in the highly vulnerable putamen and sensorimotor cortex in a large-animal model of HI. Therefore, targeting Nrf2 activation soon after recovery from HI is a feasible approach for neuroprotection in the newborn brain.


Spatial information has been very influential to environment manager. Especially to disaster response, spatial information are more influential cause the pressure of space, time, and resources. In the past the research on spatial information system mostly focused on the technical field or limited on one specific function of the entire disaster management activity. More attention is needed to pay to the whole system of disaster management since it involves with more organizations, more accountabilities and more shared resources. This study put forward an analysis method to disaster response oriented spatial information requirement basing on project management principle.


With development of e-government systems, there are many big changes in Chinese government's efficiency. However, the SARS revealed low efficiency is still serious. After the analysis of the factors affected on the efficiency, we find that traditional DSS is hard to support decision maker and that online support systems may improve the officials' work effectiveness better. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to the research. In this paper, we will discuss the cultural characteristics of Chinese government. And then, based on the theory of Time-based Competition in governmental workflow, we summarize the four characteristics of online support systems. Furthermore, we propose the design framework for online support systems (OSS) in context of e-government in China, which consists of three major parts: the single OSS, the collaborative OSS and the mobile OSS. Also the detailed function and procedure of the three parts are presented. Analysis shows that the OSS contributes to developing efficiency in the official decision making.


Recent punishment and society scholarship has addressed the limits of policy reforms aimed at reducing mass incarceration in the U.S. This work has focused in particular on the political dimensions of penal legal reform and policy-making, and the compromises and shortcomings in those processes. Nearly absent in this scholarship, however, has been empirical and theoretical engagement with the role of front-line prosecutors as facilitators and/or resistors to downsizing efforts. Using the case of the U.S. federal criminal legal system's modest efforts to decrease the system's racially disparate and punitive outcomes, this paper elucidates the fragile nature of such reforms by delineating the critical role that front-line prosecutors play in maintaining punitive approaches. Focusing specifically on federal prosecutorial policy and practices in the Trump era, I draw on a subset of data from an interdisciplinary, multi-methodological project set in distinct federal court jurisdictions in the U.S. to examine how front-line prosecutors were able to quickly reverse course on reform through the use of their uniquely powerful charging and plea-bargaining tools. My findings illustrate how federal prosecutors pursued more low-level defendants, and utilized statutory "hammers," including mandatory minimums and mandatory enhancements to ensure harsh punishments in a swift return to a war-on-crime.


Aiming at the characteristics of turbine compressor's impellers, such as complexity in surface, assembled structure and variety in parameter, the step-by-step design thought is put forward, which realizes the high efficiency and visualization of parameterized design through distributing design parameters evenly to several phases or interfaces. According to the demand of the enterprise, SolidWorks CAD Software was chosen as the three-dimensional CAD platform, SQL Server 7.0 was chosen as the database management system, and Visual C++ was chosen for the programming language of secondary developing. Then the parameterized design system for series turbine compressor impellers is developed, which realizes automatic creation of 3D models and 2D engineering drawings using template technique.


Environmental scientists today enjoy an ever‐increasing array of geostatistical methods to analyze spatial data. Our objective was to evaluate several of these recent developments in terms of their applicability to real‐world data sets of the soil field‐saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks). The intended synthesis comprises exploratory data analyses to check for Gaussian data distribution and stationarity; evaluation of robust variogram estimation requirements; estimation of the covariance parameters by least‐squares procedures and (restricted) maximum likelihood; use of the Matérn correlation function. We furthermore discuss the spatial prediction uncertainty resulting from the different methods. The log‐transformed data showed Gaussian uni‐ and bivariate distributions, and pronounced trends. Robust estimation techniques were not required, and anisotropic variation was not evident. Restricted maximum likelihood estimation versus the method‐of‐moments variogram of the residuals accounted for considerable differences in covariance parameters, whereas the Matérn and standard models gave very similar results. In the framework of spatial prediction, the parameter differences were mainly reflected in the spatial connectivity of the Ks field. Ignoring the trend component and an arbitrary use of robust estimators would have the most severe consequences in this respect. Our results highlight the superior importance of a thorough exploratory data analysis and proper variogram modeling, and prompt us to encourage restricted maximum likelihood estimation, which is accurate in estimating fixed and random effects.


The increasing environmental awareness in modern society pushes various fields to become more
energy efficient, not least the automotive industry. The emerging electrification and the increased
complexity of vehicles brings high demands on temperature regulation and the cooling system.
Studies have shown that entrapped air in the cooling system does have negative effects on its
performance and also causes deterioration of its components. In order to relieve the system from
this unfavorable air, different kinds of separators are commonly used.
This thesis investigated the use of cyclone separators in a vehicle cooling system. The aim of the
project was to increase the knowledge regarding separators and provide Volvo Cars Corporation
with a design suggestion. Simplified lab experiments on a transparent separator were used to validate
a steady state, Eulerian-Eulerian CFD model in the computational software STAR-CCM+.
The phases were evaluated using the Reynolds Stress Turbulence and turbulence response models.
The computational model was utilized in combination with a parametric CAD-model to evaluate
various design aspects which were found relevant based on a literature survey. A design of
experiments was conducted and using the optimization toolbox of the commercial software mode-
FRONTIER, a final design suggestion was presented. A 3D-printed model was used for verification
of the final design in the lab test rig.
The thesis has provided relevant information regarding different design parameters' effect on separation
efficiency, pressure drop and volume of the separator. The work has also shown the significance
of the flow structures and bubble size entering the separator. Finally, the optimized design
of the separator shows clear performance improvements in comparison to the reference model.


A novel functional molecule lysine-dopamine (LDA) was successfully synthesized and explored as a universal modifier for different types of surfaces, inspired by mussel adhesive moiety dopamine and bio-functional moiety L-lysine. The universal, robust, and efficient surface modification based on LDA was achieved through a facile and cost-effective dip-coating process, confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) measurements. Meanwhile, LDA modification improved cell adhesion, promoted cell growth, and accelerated endothelialization on the substrate surface and provided plasma clot lysis activity. The results indicated that the surface biocompatibility was obviously improved by the one-step modification method for the immobilized L-lysine.


"University studies undertaken by any student will not only be informed and influenced by the current body of knowledge that exists in the particular area of study that the student intends embarking upon, but in many instances, also by the requirements that potential employers and the industry may have that the graduate will eventually be working in. In other words, the relevance of the education that is provided by Universities is not only to be tested by the quality of the research output of its academic staff but also by the view taken by industry of the ability of the said Universitiesi graduates to become valuable employees and indeed, in future, potential employers of the future, as well as being competent and well respected practitioners in their respective fields. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of a study undertaken of senior management of large companies operating in the property industry in South Africa. The focus of the study was to investigate what knowledge and competence is required by the property industry in South Africa of students who have completed their post graduate studies. The hypothesis of such a study would then be to determine whether or not the curriculum of the post graduate programmes like that offered in Property Development and Management by the School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, was considered to be relevant by those surveyed and therefore how the results of such a study should inform curriculum development on such post graduate programmes in future. Apart from providing an indication of the body of knowledge that property companies require of South African graduates, the research will also suggest the academic requirements of property programmes in emerging countries.""


In general, only one Kirkendall plane can be seen in a diffusion couple. However, bifurcate or trifurcate Kirkendall planes have been reported in Ti/TiAl3 or Co/CoSi2 multi-phase diffusion couples (M-couple) [1,2]. The authors [3] have previously shown a numerical technique to analyze the movement of multiple markers (M-M) embedded in a M-couple taking the molar volume change effect to the diffusion direction into account. Using this technique, one can visualize the places where vacancies (lattice planes) are annihilated or generated in the couple. Here, we try to demonstrate the bifurcate or trifurcate Kirkendall planes in the M-couple and clarify the limited conditions of bifurcate or trifurcate Kirkendall planes by using this numerical technique.


The allreduce operation is one of the most commonly used communication routines in distributed applications. To improve its bandwidth and to reduce network traffic, this operation can be accelerated by offloading it to network switches, that aggregate the data received from the hosts, and send them back the aggregated result. However, existing solutions provide limited customization opportunities and might provide suboptimal performance when dealing with custom operators and data types, with sparse data, or when reproducibility of the aggregation is a concern. To deal with these problems, in this work we design a flexible programmable switch by using as a building block PsPIN, a RISC-V architecture implementing the sPIN programming model. We then design, model, and analyze different algorithms for executing the aggregation on this architecture, showing performance improvements compared to state-of-the-art approaches.


Climate variability affects rainfall and increases evaporation, exerting increasing pressure on ecosystem services. Developments by the growing population are also affecting the ecosystem as demands for services, including need for clean and reliable water increases. Rainwater harvesting continues to be an adaptation strategy for people living with high rainfall variability, both for domestic supply and to enhance crop, livestock and other forms of agriculture. Vulnerability of the water harvesting strategies to impacts of climate .variability is a less researched but potentially important facet of the larger global climate change question. This study will examine how the performance of on-farm water harvesting systems in Matungulu Division, Machakos County, has been affected by impacts of climate variability. The objectives of the study will be; to determine the on-farm water harvesting systems used by households in Matungulu Division, to establish the main climatic parameters that exacerbates water stress in Matungulu Division, to determine to what extent increase in frequency and intensity of the climatic parameters has increased drenching and stabilization frequency of on-farm water harvesting systems in Matungulu Division and to establish to what extend intensified erratic rainfalls affects the performance of on-farm water harvesting systems in checking surface run-off in Matungulu Division. Two hundred and ten households will be selected from 2086 households in the division, 42 from each of the five sub-locations. Two sub-divisions based on livelihood of the target population, i.e. cash crop farms (coffee) and grain crop farms (maize and beans) will be used. Twenty-one households for each livelihood strategy from each of the five sub-locations taking the odd-numbered items will be sampled. Questionnaires will be administered on impacts of climatic variability to water harvesting and storage systems. Interviews will be held with key water informers from the area. Other relevant information will be obtained from secondary sources. Descriptive research method (design) will be used and data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis to show the relationship between the independent variable (performance) and the dependent variables of rainfall variability (flash rainfall, droughts and erratic rainfall). The data will be statistically analyzed by use of SPSS and results discussed and presented in terms of frequency distribution tables, bar and pie charts and graphs. From the study, ways to increase performance of appropriate water harvesting and conservation systems in the area in light of increased rainfall variability will be suggested together with areas of further research.


Large, benign intramandibular lesions are frequently removed by resection followed by extensive free tissue transfer or delayed bone grafting. We outline a protocol to remove benign mandibular lesions using sagittal split osteotomy (SSO) with virtual surgical planning (VSP) to mitigate risks involved with this effective, tissue-saving approach. Patients with benign mandibular lesions accessed by SSO with VSP during 2014 were included in this study. Computed tomographic data were imported into VSP software. Using VSP, the exact locations of mandibular lesions and the inferior alveolar nerve canal were delineated. SSO was designed virtually and provided surgeons exact measurements to gain access to lesions and to avoid vital structures intraoperatively. SSO with VSP preserved the cortical mandibular bone and the inferior alveolar neurovascular bundle in 3 patients with benign mandibular lesions. Twelve months after surgery, no patient had pathologic fracture, prolonged paresthesia (except for the patient who required inferior alveolar nerve resection), or malocclusion. No patient required bone grafting. There were no functional or aesthetic jaw deficits. SSO is an effective approach to access intramandibular lesions. The technique does not result in loss of mandibular bone, and patients return to full masticatory function compared with those who require resection and reconstruction. VSP may mitigate technical challenges associated with SSO.


A 72-year-old black woman presented with huge enlargement of the right breast beginning approximately 30 years earlier and progressively enlarging over the years. The breast was stony hard, painless, and inconvenient only because of size and weight. Simple mastectomy was done and pathologic examination showed a benign mixed tumor with large areas of pseudocartilage, osteoid, and bone formation. Preoperatively the serum calcium was 11.0 mg/100 ml and alkaline phosphatase, 550 mU/ml (SMA-12). Postoperative course was uneventful and within several weeks the alkaline phosphatase fell to a normal range (35-115 mU/ml). The case presented requires little comment other than its unusual nature and duration. Extensive bone formation was undoubtedly responsible for the elevated alkaline phosphatase and, as expected, it returned to normal limits following excision of the tumor. Simple mastectomy is considered the treatment of choice.


Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a lipid mediator that acts by ligating 4 distinct G protein–coupled receptors, E prostanoid (EP) 1 to 4. Previous studies identified the importance of PGE2 in regulating macrophage functions, but little is known about its effect on macrophage maturation. Macrophage maturation was studied in vitro in bone marrow cell cultures, and in vivo in a model of peritonitis. EP2 was the most abundant PGE2 receptor expressed by bone marrow cells, and its expression further increased during macrophage maturation. EP2-deficient (EP2 / ) macrophages exhibited enhanced in vitro maturation compared with wild-type cells, as evidenced by higher F4/80 expression. An EP2 antagonist also increased maturation. In the peritonitis model, EP2 / mice exhibited a higher percentage of F4/80high/ CD11bhigh cells and greater expression of macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (M-CSFR) in both the blood and the peritoneal cavity. Subcutaneous injection of the PGE2 analog misoprostol decreased M-CSFR expression in bone marrow cells and reduced the number of peritoneal macrophages in wild-type mice but not EP2 / mice. The suppressive effect of EP2 ligation on in vitro macrophage maturation was mimicked by a selective protein kinase A agonist. Our findings reveal a novel role for PGE2/EP2/ protein kinase A signaling in the suppression of macrophage maturation. (Blood. 2012;119(10):2358-2367)


The integration of multi-view data in the acquisition of complex surface is researched by using the CMM (coordinate measuring machine) and the laser tracking scanning system. A multi-view data integration method based on the auxiliary reference plane is presented. With the precise auxiliary reference plane, the data measured by the different measuring devices and measuring views are aligned and the accuracy is analyzed. If the error is controlled in a certain range, this method can satisfy the demands of the model and assembly. The problems of low-efficient and low-accuracy in the data fusion of complex surface during the reverse engineering are solved. Meanwhile, the advantages of the different measuring devices and measuring methods are developed. This method has been applied to the reverse engineering development for a motorcycle cover model. The practical result shows that this new method is feasible and efficient.


The total number of post-mortem examinations performed in Ninewells Hospital, Tayside's principal teaching hospital has fallen progressively over the last nine years despite publication in 1991 of the Joint Working Party report, 'The Autopsy and Audit'. There were 57% fewer autopsies carried out in 1994 than in 1986. Review of recent post-mortem rates in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee Royal Infirmary, Royal Victoria Hospital and Ashludie Hospital shows a wide variation and no ward, unit or hospital studied achieved rates adequate to satisfy the recommendations of the Joint Working Party report. A questionnaire sent to all Junior House Officers in Tayside in July 1994 showed that the Working Party report's clinical recommendations relating to junior medical staff concerning training to seek permission for autopsies, responsibility for obtaining permission for autopsies and attendance at the post-mortem room have not been implemented. Urgent implementation of the Joint Working Party reports clinical recommendations is called for to prevent clinical post-mortem examinations becoming obsolete.


This paper explores factors that affect the distance between sovereign credit ratings and the ratings assigned to new foreign-currency bonds issued by sub-sovereign entities (such as private non-financial corporations, financial firms, and public sector enterprises) in 47 emerging markets and developing economies. Censored and double-hurdle regression models are used to estimate the relative contributions of bond-level, issuer-level, and macroeconomic factors that determine this distance, separately for those rated at or below the sovereign rating and those rated above. For the three-quarters or more of sub-sovereign bond ratings that are constrained by the sovereign rating ceiling, a Tobit regression model shows a smaller distance—suggesting stronger sovereign-corporate linkages—for public sector enterprises and financial firms relative to other firms. Riskier global financial conditions are also associated with sub-sovereign bonds being rated closer to the sovereign rating. For the small number of sub-sovereign bonds rated higher than the sovereign rating, a double-hurdle model shows that certain debt features—such as bonds backed by future-flow receivables or other collateral, or structured as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV)—significantly raise the likelihood of piercing the sovereign rating ceiling and also increase the distance above the sovereign ceiling.


icle as: Gilleen, J omised controlled Abstract Improving cognition in people with neuropsychiatric disorders remains a major clinical target. By themselves pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches have shown only modest effects in improving cognition. In the present study we tested a recently-proposed methodology to combine CTwith a 'cognitive-enhancing' drug to improve cognitive test scores and expanded on previous approaches by delivering combination drug and CT, over a long intervention of repeated sessions, and used multiple tasks to reveal the cognitive processes being enhanced. We also aimed to determine whether gains from this combination approach generalised to untrained tests. In this proof of principle randomised-controlled trial thirty-three healthy volunteers were randomised to receive either modafinil or placebo combined with daily cognitive training over two weeks. Volunteers were trained on tasks of new-language learning, working memory and verbal learning following 200 mg modafinil or placebo for ten days. Improvements in trained and untrained tasks were measured. Rate of new-language learning was significantly enhanced with modafinil, and effects were greatest over the first five sessions. Modafinil improved within-day learning rather than between-day retention. No enhancement of gains with modafinil was observed in working memory nor rate of verbal learning. Gains in all tasks were retained post drug-administration, but transfer effects to broad cognitive abilities were not seen. This study shows that combining CTwith modafinil specifically elevates learning over early training sessions compared to CT with placebo and provides a proof of principle experimental paradigm for pharmacological enhancement of cognitive remediation. & 2014 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.


In this paper we present the details of methodology pursued in implementation of an HMI and Demo Temperature Monitoring application for wireless sensor-based distributed control systems. The application of WSN for a temperature monitoring and control is composed of a number of sensor nodes (motes) with a networking capability that can be deployed for monitoring and control purposes. The temperature is measured in the real time by the sensor boards that sample and send the data to the monitoring computer through a base station or gateway. This paper proposes how such monitoring system can be setup emphasizing on the aspects of low cost, energy-efficient, easy ad-hoc installation and easy handling and maintenance. This paper focuses on the overall potential of wireless sensor nodes and networking in industrial applications. A specific case study is given for the measurement of temperature (with thermistor or thermocouple), humidity, light and the health of the WSN. The focus was not on these four types of measurements and analysis but rather on the design of a communication protocol and building of an HMI software for monitoring. So, a set of system design requirements are developed that covered the use of the wireless platforms, the design of sensor network, the capabilities for remote data access and management, the connection between the WSN and an HMI software designed with MATLAB.


Background and Objective: The use of ionizing irradiation as radiation therapy (RT) for tumor treatment represents a well-established method. The use of photodynamic therapy (PDT), especially with Photofrin II, for tumor treatment is also known. Chemical modifiers enhancing the action of radiation therapy are well known and widely used in medicine. None of these compounds, however, is a selective radiosensitizer. Materials and Methods: Several series of animal experiments were performed. The highly differentiated human bladder cancer cell line RT4 was implanted subcutaneously in nude mice. The mice were injected 10 mg/kg Photofrin II and irradiated with 5 Gy. Results: Photofrin II has proved to be a chemical modifier of ionizing irradiation, enhancing the tumor doubling time (tumor growth) from 6.2 to 10.9 days in the control group with the use of irradiation and injection of porphyrin. Conclusion: Photofrin II shows a high activity as radiosensitizer and, in the future, can be used as a selective radiosensitizer for tumor treatment with ionizing radiation.


George Beadle An Uncommon Farmer The Emergence of Genetics in the 20th Century. by Paul Berg and Maxine Singer. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 2003. 393 pp. $35, £25. ISBN 0-87969-688-5. Drawing on the family records, university archives at CalTech and Chicago, and interviews with a large number of their subject's colleagues and associates, Berg & Singer explore Beadle's roles in the early development of molecular genetics as well as in public policy and university administration.


This thesis presents some contributions in additive combinatorics and arithmetic Ramsey theory. More specifically, it deals with the interaction between combinatorics, number theory and additive combinatorics. This area saw a great improvement with the Szemerédi Regularity Lemma and some of the results that followed. The Regularity Lemma and its consequences have become a widely used tool in graph theory, combinatorics and number theory. Furthermore, its language and point of view has deeply changed the face of additive number theory, a fact universally acknowledged by the Abel award given to Szemerédi in 2012. One of the main reasons for the prize has been Szemerédi's theorem, a result regarding the existence of arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions in dense sets of the integers, the proof of which uses the Regularity Lemma in a key step.
One of the earlier consequences of the Regularity Lemma was the Removal Lemma for graphs that was used by Ruzsa and Szemerédi to show Roth theorem, regarding the existence of 3-term arithmetic progressions in dense sets of the integers, in a combinatorial way. The Removal Lemma states that in any graph K with few copies of a subgraph, say a triangle, we can remove few edges from K so that the result contains no copy of the subgraph. This has become a key tool in the applications of the so-called Regularity Method, which has extensive literature in combinatorics, graph theory, number theory and computer science. In 2005 Green introduced a regularity lemma for Abelian groups as well as an algebraic removal lemma. The removal lemma for groups states that, for a given finite Abelian group G, if there are o(|G|^3) solution to x+y+z+t=0 with the variables taking values in S, a subset of G, then we can remove o(|G|) elements from S to make the set S solution-free.
The main contributions of this work corresponds to extensions of the removal lemma for groups to either more general contexts, like non-necessary Abelian finite groups, or to linear systems of equations for finite Abelian groups. The main goal is to give a comprehensive and more general framework for many results in additive number theory like Szemerédi Theorem.
In particular, we show that the removal lemma for groups by Green can be extended to non-necessary Abelian finite groups. Moreover, we prove a removal lemma for linear systems on finite fields: for every e>0 there exists a d>0 such that if A is a (k x m) linear system of equations with coefficients in a finite field F and the number of solutions to Ax=b, where each variable takes values from a subset Si in F is less than d times |F| raised to m-k, then by removing less than e|F| elements in each Si we can make the resulting sets solution-free, thus solving a conjecture by Green to that respect. Even more, if A is an integer linear system, G is a finite Abelian group, and the determinantal of A and |G| are coprime, then a similar statement holds. Let us mention that the last result allows us to characterize those linear systems where any set S with size proportional to G has a nontrivial solution in S, provided |G| is large enough. This extends the validity of Szmerédi's theorem to finite Abelian groups.
These extensions of the removal lemma have been used in arithmetic Ramsey theory to obtain counting results for the number of monochromatic solutions of linear systems. The main result from a work by Frankl, Graham and Rödl in '88 states that the number of monochromatic solutions of regular systems in integer intervals is in fact a positive proportion of the total number of solutions. We give analogous results for solutions in Abelian groups with bounded exponent, for which the main tool in the torsion-free case cannot be applied. Density versions of these counting results are also obtained, in this case with a full characterization.


This study examines the role of big data contractual and relational governance in big data decision-making performance of firms based in China. It investigates the mediation of big data analytics (BDA) capability in the association of contractual and relational governance with decision-making performance. Furthermore, moderating role of data-driven culture in the relationship of BDA capability and decision-making performance is examined. Data are collected from 108 Chinese firms engaged in big data-related activities. Structural equation modelling is employed to test the hypotheses. This study contributes towards the literature on big data management and governance mechanisms, by establishing the relationship of decision-making performance with big data contractual and relational governance directly and through the mediation of BDA capabilities. It also contributes towards knowledge based dynamic capabilities (KBDCs) view of firms, arguing that dynamic capabilities such as BDA capabilities can be influenced through knowledge sources and activities. We add to the discussions on whether contractual and relational governance are alternatives or they complement each other, by establishing the moderating role of big data relational governance in the relationship of contractual governance and decision-making performance. Finally, we argue that social capital can enhance KBDCs through contractual and relational governance in big data context.