The single most common feature of aphasia is impairment in ability to name, whether it involves naming seen objects, or producing nouns, verbs and other words conveying meaning in spontaneous language. The traditional treatment approach to this problem is to explicitly train aphasic patients in naming. Controlled studies have shown that this approach may be quite effective. However, typically generalization is very limited, that is, the knowledge gained by the patient tends to be limited to the words actually trained, and there is at best very modest improvement in performance with untrained words (limited mainly to those that are semantically related to the trained words). Because generalization is can be limited with this approach, there currently exists no viable means of training patients on the full corpus of words (perhaps several thousand) they are likely to need in daily life. Two approaches might be taken to solving this problem: 1) develop cost effective means for providing training on several thousand words; and 2) develop alternative training methods, e.g., phonological therapy, that potentially could intrinsically generalize widely. The focus of this proposal is the second of these two approaches. Thus, the primary purpose of this Phase II clinical rehabilitation study was to examine the effect of a phonologic based treatment on confrontation naming by individuals with anomic aphasia. We used a single-subject ABA design replicated across ten participants. The primary research question asked if phonologic treatment would improve confrontation naming. Secondary research questions addressed the impact of treatment on 1) generalization to untrained behaviors such as discourse production; 2) retention effects at 3-months; 3) phonologic production and 4) nonword repetition (potential evidence of phoneme sequence knowledge acquisition).


The standard Friedmann model of cosmology is based on the Copernican Principle, i.e. the assumption of a homogeneous background on which structure forms via perturbations. Homogeneity underpins both general relativistic and modified gravity models and is central to the way in which we interpret observations of the CMB and the galaxy distribution. It is therefore important to probe homogeneity via observations. We describe a test based on the fossil record of distant galaxies: if we can reconstruct key intrinsic properties of galaxies as functions of proper time along their worldlines, we can compare such properties at the same proper time for our galaxy and others. We achieve this by computing the lookback time using radial Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, and the time along galaxy world line using stellar physics, allowing us to probe homogeneity, in principle anywhere inside the past light cone. Agreement in the results would be an important consistency test — although it would not in itself prove homogeneity. Any significant deviation in the results however would signal a breakdown of homogeneity.


This study aimed to assess the impact of food assistance programs on nutritional and health status of nutritionally needy elderly persons. Two cross-sectional and one longitudinal data sets were used: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-94), Nutrition Survey of the Elderly in New York State (1994) and Longitudinal Study of Aging (1984-1990). Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were used to examine whether food assistance participants among food insecure elderly (i.e., those whose needs for food assistance programs are met) have better nutrient intake, skinfold thickness and self-reported health status and less nutritional risk, hospitalization and mortality than nonparticipants (i.e., those whose needs are unmet) and whether the benefit is larger than that among food secure elderly persons. Across three data sets, food insecure elderly persons had poorer nutritional and health status than food secure elderly persons. Contrary to the hypotheses, among food insecure elderly persons, food assistance participants had similar or poorer nutrient intakes, skinfold thickness, nutritional risk, self-reported health status, hospitalization and mortality than nonparticipants. Food secure participants had similar nutritional and health status as food secure nonparticipants. Lack of information on the dynamic nature and changes in needs with program participation in the three data sets likely did not allow accurate estimation of the impact of food assistance participation. Different study designs, as well as theory and knowledge of needs that clarifies need status and its change within each older individual across an appropriate time interval, are necessary to accurately assess impacts of food assistance programs.


Business use of Internet has exposed security as one of the key-factors for successful online competition. There are very few sound existing ISG frameworks that can effectively guide most organizations in their information security governance endeavors. This paper presents a collaborative framework for information security management system in order to elucidate how information security should be addressed at an executive level. The advanced intelligent multi-agent technology is applied in this proposed framework. In order to evaluate the proposed framework, this paper describes a prototype system based on this proposed collaborative framework. This prototype system suggests that the proposed collaborative framework is feasible, correct and valid.


Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) are characterized by the low node density, unpredictable node mobility and lack of global network information. Most of current research efforts in DTNs focus on data forwarding, but only limited work has been done on providing effective data access to mobile users. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to support cooperative caching in DTNs, which enables the sharing and coordination of cached data among multiple nodes and reduces data access delay. Our basic idea is to intentionally cache data at a set of Network Central Locations (NCLs), which can be easily accessed by other nodes in the network. We propose an effective scheme which ensures appropriate NCL selection based on a probabilistic selection metric, and coordinate multiple caching nodes to optimize trade off between data accessibility and caching overhead. Extensive trace-driven simulations show that our scheme significantly improves data access performance compared to existing schemes.


Insufficient process transparency is one of the main reasons for process waste, quality deviations and safety non-conformances in construction. Lean Production frequently resorts to a range of visual communication strategies called Visual Management (VM) to increase the level of process transparency and to support continuous improvement at the workplace. Although VM is a fundamental part of the Lean toolbox, theoretical or empirical studies on the role of VM in team activities are scarce. This study explores VM in construction through a block diagram used in control theory. Two VM tools for construction teams from construction companies in the UK and Japan are analysed in detail. The initial findings suggest that VM can and must cover various communication levels in construction organizations in order to break the barriers for information flows and to share valuable and newest knowledge.


Buildings represent a significant financial investment to owners, which is often carried for many years. Just as Toyota realised that the car assembly line accounted for only 15% of the total manufacturing process, the design and construction of a building amounts to only 20% of the total cost of a facility over its life-cycle. Importantly, research has shown that when just one percent of a project's upfront costs are spent, up to 70% of its life-cycle costs may already be committed. More research is needed to bridge the information divide between the development and operation of a facility. Progressive tools and strategies such as Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM), Design for Maintainability (DFM), and Concurrent Engineering have been developed to assist the design team in their focus on operations and maintenance (O and M) issues. Yet obstructions to the use of O and M knowledge in design still remain. It is argued that this is because the information flow of O and M knowledge into project design is poorly understood. This paper develops a model for exchanging information between design teams and O and M using the principles and tools of lean production to be implemented as a case study. To achieve an O and M compatible design, O and M information ideally ought to be received by the design team in a just-in-time fashion. This paper first explores the obstructions to O and M knowledge transfer, and then proposes a kanban system to facilitate the exchange of information. The paper discusses the triggers and media for the pull of O&M information into building design, as well as the types of projects that would be most receptive to this strategy.


The steady-state kinetics of reductant-independent ATP hydrolysis by Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase at 23 degrees C at pH 7.4 were determined as a function of component protein ratio (optimal at an oxidized Fe protein/MoFe protein ratio of 3:1) and MgATP concentration (Km 400 microM). Competitive inhibition was observed for MgADP (Ki 145 microM), [beta gamma-methylene]ATP (Mgp[CH2]ppA) (Ki 115 microM), [beta gamma-monofluoromethylene]ATP (Mgp[CHF]ppA) (Ki 53 microM) and [beta gamma-difluoromethylene]ATP (Mgp[CF2]ppA) (Ki 160 microM). The tighter binding of MgADP to free oxidized Fe protein (KD less than 10 microM) than to the oxidized Fe protein-MoFe protein complex (Ki 145 microM) is proposed as the driving force that induces rate-limiting protein dissociation in the catalytic cycle of nitrogenase. The reversible nature of the reductant-independent MgATP-cleavage reaction was demonstrated by an MgADP-induced enhancement of the rate of the phosphate/water oxygen exchange reaction with 18O-labelled phosphate ion. This enhancement, like the reductant-independent ATPase reaction, only occurred with the complex formed by oxidized Fe protein and MoFe protein and not with the individual proteins. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanism of ATP hydrolysis by nitrogenase and other systems involving protein-protein interactions.


In order to realize multimedia applications such as VOD (Video-on-Demand) over highspeed networks, suitable QoS (Quality of Service) of the continuous media such as audio and video have to be guaranteed in accordance with users' requirements, available computing and network resources during the service session. In this paper, we introduce the Media Coordinate System which provides end-to-end QoS guarantee and negotiation functions consistently from the application through network layers. Within these QoS control functions we introduce a packet rate control method to reduce the packet loss, and a frame rate control method to maintain the frame rate at a constant under the dynamic load conditions. We implemented the media coordinate system as a prototyped Video-on-Demand system and evaluated the performance of these control functions. Through these performance evaluations, we could justify the usefulness of our suggested media coordinate system.


We present the astrometric results from the optical observation of 16 stars from the list of of Wendker (1995), with detected or suspected radio emission. The results are given on the Hipparcos/Tycho reference frame. The stars are evenly distributed in right ascension and the declinations range from -15.6° to +28.6°. This distribution, also allowed to obtain positions relative to the Twin Astrographic Catalogue (TAC 1.0). The observations were carried out with the Valinhos CCD Meridian Circle, in Brazil, operating in drift scanning mode. The average positional precision is at 40 mas and generally below 2 mas/yr for proper motions, obtained with the new reductions of the Astrographic Catalogue - AC2000, as first epoch. In the strips taken from the observation of the 16 radio stars, 573 Tycho stars, 545 ACT stars and 566 TAC stars were found. The analysis of the independent reductions made relatively to those frames and the large number of common stars enables to focus on the equatorial zone, as represented by the three catalogues. As a result, the quality of Valinhos observations with regard to ACT and TAC internal accuracies is verified.


The application of technologies of virtual reality, network and sensors makes the construction of Distance Opening Experiment Teaching Platform (DOETP) become reality, which fully utilizes the experimental resources of institutions, institutes and enterprises. Based on the analysis on characteristics of virtual experiment and distance control experiment, the paper designed the basic infracture of DOETP. The logical structure of distance education platform was brought out, which integrates DOETP and Distance Opening Teaching Management Platform (DOTMP). The detail funcions design of distance education platform were also provided, which is of significance for the realization of the education platform.


In order to overcome the poor anti-noise performance of traditional fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithm in image segmentation, a novel improved FCM algorithm was proposed in this paper based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and Markov Random Field (MRF) model, which can make full use of the global searching ability of PSO and the spatial information integrating ability of MRF for image segmentation. In this algorithm, the image segmentation is converted to a PSO optimization problem, in which the fitness function is set up to containing the spatial information based on the spectral value and the neighboring pixels modeled by MRFs. And segmentation results can be iteratively obtained during the PSO iterations according to the newly designed membership function of FCM in which the spatial information is integrated. The experiments herein reported in this paper illustrate the better performance of this algorithm than the traditional FCM algorithm and the PSO algorithm for image segmentation.


Within the business market today competition is tough, not even the strongest are able to survive if their resources are not managed the right way and their knowledge is up todate. In order to stay competitive, all businesses are required to implement on going and transformational changes. One could just look at the banking industry and how it has changed significantly over the last couple of years. The external world changes and so must organisations. Due to the technological revolution it has been necessary for the banks to follow in order to please the customers' needs and their new requirements.Previous research shows that majority of organisational changes are not considered successfull and fail to meet their objectives. To sustain competitive advantage and adapt to the changing environment, competent management is a valuable source. The middle managers role during organisational changes has been highly observed and results show that they play a vital role during the process. The purpose with this thesis is therefore to expand the truth about the actual implementation process. Focus is put on the middle managers within retail banking and how they operate in comparison to previous research. The research has been conducted through a case study on one of the Swedish larger banks and its journey of implementing change. Qualitative interviews were held with five middle managers and two employees to each respectivley. To provide the management field with additional understanding, the research was performed through in-depth interviews which were analysed and compared with each other.In this thesis, a model has been developed which illustrates the most important aspects a middle manager has to consider when implementing change. The model has been created based on information within previous research and aims to provide middle managers with guidance that leads to a successful implementation. It addresses three different areas that affect the success, which further can be broken down into more specific activities. All three areas are found to be linked to each other and are therefore considered equally important. Concluding, throughout this research, we have found that middle managers within retail banking does operate according to previous research when implementing change and that few differences can be seen. What has been found however, is that more knowledge within managing employees emotions is needed in order to implement change successfully Their position should have less administration work and mainly be about acting as a team coach to the office.


Inventory models with imperfect quality items are studied by researchers in past two decades. Till now none of them have considered the effect of substitutions to cope up with shortage and avoid lost sales. This paper presents an EOQ approach for inventory system with shortages and two types of products with imperfect quality by one way substitution. Our model provides significant advantage for substitution case while maintaining its inherent simplicity. We have provided numerical example and sensitivity analysis to justify the effectiveness of our model. It is observed that, presence of imperfect items affect the lot size of minor and major products differently. Under certain conditions, our model generalizes the previous existing models in this direction.


We introduce macroanalysis, an approach used to infer the high-level properties of dynamic, distributed systems, and an indispensable tool when faced with tasks where local context and individual component details are insufficient. We present a new methodology, runtime path analysis, where paths are traced through software components and then aggregated to understand global system behavior via statistical inference. Our approach treats components as gray boxes and complements existing microanalysis tools, such as code-level debuggers. We use runtime paths to deduce application state, detect failures, and diagnose problems, all in an application-generic fashion. We have explored path-based macroanalysis both in a research setting and as part of a commercial infrastructure at Tellme Networks.


—Climate change, pollution, deforestation and water scarcity are important problems that human activities provoke. Business decisions and actions are the major causes of environmental degradation. Decisions based on broader aspects than financial ones are required to bring solutions to these environmental challenges. For that purpose, businesses need a transformation in their management and operations. The information is critical to ensure the decision-making process, in this study we present the corporate reporting ecosystem that businesses face today. The opportunities and pending challenges that this scenario of information signifies, and the role that the interoperability, understood as the ability to exchange and use information given a heterogeneous scenario of organisations and information, could play to achieve the business transformation, in the light of the European Framework for Interoperability (European Commission, 2015), are explored. CDP ( formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project ) is the relevant case studied, as it is one of the most important environmental reporting initiatives in the world. In particular, we explore the role of interoperability in CDP through interviews with 17 CDP members. These respondents being a set of companies and their stakeholders, including investors, governments, scholars and NGOs. As a conclusion, we con-firm that (1) interoperability has a role to play to empower more environmental actions in businesses; (2) specific characteristics of interoperability are demanded in legal, organisational, semantic and technical levels in order to consider environmental information in decisions; (3) the need for ICT solutions to tackle interoperability challenges is mainly required in the areas of data standardization, data connectivity and data integration with applications and processes.


The marine corrosion of metal materials is a complex chemical process which is affected by multiple factors that are nonlinear interconnected. This paper aims at integrating PLS and Grey theory in the model building of corrosion time, rate,maximum corrosion depth and average corrosion depth based on small sample data measured in a certain marine environment. The result shows that the time of data,temperature,salinity,dissolved oxygen,ph value and humidity are strongly correlated with the maximum corrosion depth in the full immersion zone. The fitting effects of PLS modeling based on grey relational analysis are better than the PLS model and the GM (1, 1) model in both precision and stability.


What is freedom? Can we measure it? Does it affect policy? This book develops an original measure of freedom called 'Autonomy Freedom', consistent with J. S. Mill's view of autonomy, and applies it to issues in policy and political design. The work pursues three aims. First, it extends classical liberalism beyond exclusive reliance on negative freedom so as to take autonomous behavior explicitly into account. Second, it grounds on firm conceptual foundations a new standard in the measurement of freedom that can be fruitfully coupled with existing gauges. Third, it shows empirically that individual preferences for redistribution and cross-country differences in welfare spending in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are driven by the degree of 'autonomy freedom' that individuals enjoy. By means of an interdisciplinary approach and a sophisticated econometric methodology, the book takes an explicit stand in defense of freedom and sets the basis for a liberalism based upon people's actions and institutions.


Differential protection, employing percentage-differential relays, has1 long been the accepted method of fault protection for large power transformers. This method, illustrated by the schematic diagram, figure 1, is quite satisfactory in most respects but is subject to false tripping on the transient magnetizing-inrush current which flows when the transformer is energized. This current, since it flows in only one winding of the transformer, causes a differential current to flow which, to an ordinary relay, "looks" the same as the current due to an internal fault. One method of preventing operation on magnetizing inrush in the past has been to use slow-speed induction-type relays with long time and high current settings. This is undesirable because of the slow-speed, insensitive protection it affords on internal faults. Other methods, applied to high-speed relays, involve desensitizing the relay during a time period covering the maximum inrush transient controlled by auxiliary relays operating on the transformer voltage.2 These methods have the disadvantage that they usually require the purchase of additional potential transformers, involve one or more auxiliary relays with the attendant circuit complication, and seriously reduce the sensitivity of the protection against faults present when the transformer is energized or which occur during the inrush period. In this paper a new type relay is described which, using the principle of harmonic-current restraint,3 is able to distinguish between the differential current due to an internal fault and that due to magnetizing inrush by their difference in wave form, operating with high speed on the fault current and being restrained from operating by the magnetizing-inrush current. Being entirely current-operated, this relay does not require the purchase of potential transformers. It is entirely self-contained and the only moving part is the single relay armature which operates the tripping contacts. Minimum desensitization during the inrush period is obtained, depending on the relative magnitudes of the inrush and the fault currents.


The introduction of new intermittent energy sources on the electrical grid increases the need of regulated power to ensure stability of grid frequency. Hydropower has the unique possibility to deliver both stability and flexibility in energy production. Due to this, turbines is operating tougher, with more starts and stops and operations outside BEP. In addition, there are more fluctuations on the grid and the turbines is experience more dynamical loading, which can increase damages on the turbine structure. Today, the industry is facing problems with both new and old high head Francis units and the main problem is the formation of cracks in the runner due to pressure fluctuations. It is therefore important to develop new methods for reducing dynamical effects and thereby reducing the fatigue load on the Francis runner. In the latest years, the focus on flexibility have increased and turbines with variable speed capabilities of more interest. Variable speed operations gives the opportunity to change the operation pattern and operate at different speeds. The main objective of this work is to find the operating range for the Francis turbine at the Waterpower Laboratory at NTNU, with variable speed, which gives the lowest material stresses. To approach this objective, measurements of both efficiency and pressure pulsations for the whole operating range of the Francis turbine has been conducted. Peak-peak values from pressure pulsations have been presented in pressure pulsation diagrams, which is inspired by the Hill Chart. One diagram was made for each pressure sensor. By analyzing these diagrams, it is possible to find out where the turbine can be operated in order to minimize the effect of pressure pulsations. Frequency analysis was conducted for a total of eighteen operation points, for synchronous speed and for reduced speed. The guide vane passing frequency was identified as the most significant in the runner for all operation points. Structure analysis of the turbine runner was conducted in ANSYS Mechanical, to calculate the stresses due to the pressure pulsations. A flow analysis was conducted in order to calculate the pressure distribution that was applied on the runner blades. Stresses was calculated for BEP, PL and ML for synchronous speed and reduced speed. The stresses at synchronous speed was compared to the once were the speed was reduced to investigate the relative change. Stresses was further used in a fatigue assessment, where accumulated damage was calculated. The results are showing that by reducing the speed the stresses are reduced for part load operations. Fatigue assessment showed that by reducing the speed for part load operation, the accumulated damage drastically dropped.


Hydrocarbons/oil is still the greatest source of energy in the world, although its importance is diminishing with the development of alternative/environment-friendly sources of energy such as wind-power and solar energy. For most oil-producing countries, hydrocarbons/oil revenue is a significant source of income. For instance, this is the case in Nigeria, whose economy depends heavily on oil revenue. Even so, natural resource wealth (hydrocarbons/oil, etc.) can also be a curse as it may cause poverty in the country, breed corruption, precipitate human rights abuses and other contradictions. This is the experience of some oil-producing countries such as Nigeria, Libya, Ecuador, and Algeria. The recent discovery of hydrocarbons in Cyprus is surely an important development for the country. However, given the negative experience of other resource-rich countries it is important to explore the possible lessons Cyprus may learn from such experience that could help her maintain a healthy economy when hydrocarbons revenue starts rolling in as projected, in 2022. This is the main objective of this paper and the Nigerian experience will be used as a case-study. Presently, the Cyprus economy without hydrocarbons revenue is strong and healthy; income is derived from diverse sources such as tourism, services and agriculture. This paper argues that Cyprus should learn from the experience of Nigeria and avoid abandoning other sources of revenue when it starts earning hydrocarbons revenue so that it would not suffer 'Dutch disease'. Moreover, from the experience of Nigeria, Cyprus should take precautionary steps to check hydrocarbons industry related corruption, internal conflicts and other paradox which hydrocarbons could bring about. In conclusion, the paper recommends that the Cyprus economy should remain diversified in order to avoid the negative experience of Nigeria.


Using a large sample of 1,120 twins, we estimated the heritability of trust using four distinct measures of trust – domain-specific political trust, general self-reported trust, and incentivized behavioral trust and trustworthiness. Our results highlight the importance of measuring trust in a context because its heritability differs substantially across the four measures, from 0% to 37%. Moreover, we provide the first evidence on the heritability of political trust which we estimate to be 37%. Furthermore, like the heritability, the environmental correlates of trust also vary across the different measures with political trust having the largest set of environmental covariates. The perceptions of COVID-19 health and income risks are among the unique correlates of political trust, with participants who are more worried about financial and health consequences of COVID-19, trusting politicians less, stressing the importance of trust in political leaders during a health crisis.


With an increasing incidence of the malignant melanoma we also have to expect an increasing number of metastases of the parotid lymph nodes. Up to now there are no definite guidelines concerning the surgical treatment of these metastases. What is important is the question whether the facial nerve should be resected or retained. Between 1987 and 1991 in the ENT-clinic of the University Hamburg-Eppendorf eight patients were treated for metastases of a malignant melanoma in the parotid gland. The clinical course demonstrates that there is no indication for a radical surgical treatment of these patients. It neither leads to a delayed appearance of distant metastases, nor does it improve the life expectancy.


Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers are widely used in soft lithography, microfluidics and biomedical applications as they combine a range of desirable chemical and physical properties. We studied the surface of PDMS modified using surface enrichment with long-chain alkenes. These alkenes were immobilized during crosslinking of the PDMS pre-polymer mixture cast against a template of matching surface energy. A range of different functional groups was introduced, including perfluorinated and oligoethylene glycol groups, alkyl chains and initiators for controlled radical polymerization. A detailed analysis of the composition of the modified PDMS surfaces was carried out using contact angle measurements, AFM, SIMS and XPS. The results demonstrate that the PDMS was enriched with small molecules near the surface and show that the functional molecules follow the template surface energy on patterned surfaces with edge resolutions equal to the template. By introducing hydrophilic alkenes receding contact angles on PDMS can be lowered below 5°, and we investigated how these surfaces rearrange in air due to the chain mobility of the PDMS backbone and PDMS short-chain fragments.


Purpose To examine associations if any between changes in voiding function, hematuria, and bladder ultrasonography metrics in murine cyclophosphamide-induced chemical cystitis. Materials and Methods Cystitis was induced in 6 female mice by an intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (300 mg/kg). Voiding frequency, void volume, hematuria assessment, and ultrasonographic measurements of the bladder were obtained at baseline, days 1 to 5, and days 9, 11, and 13. Voiding was induced with preferred sweet drinking solution and voiding data collected using an automated data collection system in 135 minute sessions. Bladder wall thickness, lumen volume, and vascular Doppler were acquired using a high definition ultrasound system. Spearman's correlation was used to analyze the association between the voiding changes, hematuria, and ultrasound findings. Results Hematuria was present 24 hours after cyclophosphamide injection. All animals displayed increased bladder vascularity, bladder wall thickness, and void frequency that was associated with concurrent decreased total and average void volumes. Increased bladder wall vascularity was correlated with the presence of hematuria (r=0.59, p<0.01) and bladder wall thickness (r=0.79, p<0.01). Hematuria correlated with increased void frequency (r=0.34, p<0.01). Average void volume was negatively correlated with hematuria (r=−0.50, p<0.01) and frequency (r=−0.38, p<0.01). Conclusions High-definition ultrasound imaging permits in vivo monitoring of changes in bladder morphology associated with voiding function in relation to cyclophosphamide-induced cystitis. Ultrasound imaging of the bladder may assist in differential diagnosis of bladder dysfunction.


Energy security looms as one of the most important challenges of this century for scientists and users in India. Resources alternative to fossil including fungi, grasses, algae, waste oils, food crops and non-food crops are being developed. Considering the current food insecurity in the country, food crops are to be excluded from the list of feed stocks. In future, biofuels should ideally create the environmental, economic and social benefits to the communities and reflect energy efficiency so as to plan a road map for the industry to produce third generation biofuels.

 Key words: Biofuels, feed stocks, India, energy security


In standard SPECT with static radio-tracers, the activity distribution in tissue is assumed constant during the acquisition. However, techniques capable of visualizing dynamic tracers may provide new insight into physiology and function of organisms. This is the aim of dynamic SPECT. We developed oSPECT, a new fully 4D reconstruction approach to obtain time activity curves from single or multiple slow rotations with dynamic SPECT data. It is based on KNITRO, a large-scale nonlinear constrained optimization method that takes curvature information into account to speed up convergence. The performance of oSPECT is tested using data from a dynamic anthropomorphic numerical phantom that simulates myocardial perfusion of 99mTc-Teboroxime. We also tested the method on a simulated brain study with 123I-FP-CIT, a dynamic presynaptic marker for SPECT of the dopaminergic neurotransmission system.


In order to investigate the effect of sun-drying on the health-related constituents as well as bioaccessibility of figs; total phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, antioxidant capacity, and major phenolic compounds were determined for two commercial figs (Sarilop and Bursa siyahi) with different color (yellow and purple). In addition, release of phytochemical was studied by simulating of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. In both varieties, rutin and cyanidin-3-rutinoside were confirmed as the major flavonol and anthocyanin, respectively. For both varieties, analyses of total phenolics, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity revealed lower levels after sun-drying. On the other hand, 75 and 71% higher total flavonoid and proanthocyanidin contents were observed for yellow figs.


A new real-time 3D sensor is presented that is capable of delivering 25 high-resolution depth maps per second with a representative measurement error of 0.2 mm. The sensor is well suited for real-world application as it imposes no major scene constraints, i.e. it copes well with colored objects, moving scenes and background illumination. The acquisition technique, which is a form of structured light with a single projection pattern, is introduced, where the focus is on two aspects: Firstly, a new type of projection pattern that employs local color edge patterns for encoding so that it is possible to decode them even under noisy real- world conditions. Secondly, an algorithm that exploits the pattern properties to recognize the projected color edge patterns reliably. It then describes a 3D sensor based on this technique and presents experimental results obtained with it. It furthermore discusses an exemplary commercial application of the 3D sensor to the task of wheel alignment.


Graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) of various sizes were mixed with polypropylene (PP) in an internal mixer to prepare composites. The effects of mixing conditions, GNP size and concentration in composites were investigated. The composites were characterized at different scales, using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and rheometry. It was shown that the PP/GNP composites had to be considered as non-intercalated and non-exfoliated microcomposites. However, the thermal, rheological and mechanical properties of the PP/GNP microcomposites were improved with respect to that of the matrix and similar to those of thermoplastic/organoclay or reduced graphene nanocomposites. In the best cases, storage modulus plateau in the glassy domain was increased by 30% and onset of degradation temperature by 40°C. Finally, in the investigated range of this study, the mixing conditions applied in the internal mixer did not affect the structural and rheological properties of the PP/GNP composites.


Structural parameter identification has been emerged as an interesting and important problem in structural health monitoring (SHM). Structural parameters directly reflect the dynamic characteristics of structures, so the identification of time-varying structural physical parameters is more meaningful to civil engineering structures. To overcome the limitations of requiring full measurements of structural responses in previous research, an algorithm based on the integration of wavelet multiresolution analysis and Kalman filter with partial measurements of structural acceleration responses is proposed. First, the time-varying structural physical parameters are expanded at multi-scale profile by wavelet multiresolution analysis and a time-varying parametric identification problem can be converted into a time-invariant one. Then, structural states at all dynamic degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) are estimated recursively by the Kalman filter with partial measurements of structural acceleration responses at previous step. The scale coefficients of the expansion can be obtained by minimizing the error between estimated and observed accelerations. Some numerical examples of identifying time-varying structural parameters of a linear three-story shear type frame are used to illustrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed algorithm.


A thorough analysis of slender columns under axial force and bending moment requires second order effects assessment. Concrete's creep is one of the factors that increase lateral displacements of the bar in the long run. This phenomenon propitiates the instability and reduces its bearing capacity. This paper shows a procedure for assessing rheological effects based on Eurocode 2 method. This procedure will be added to structural analysis software which takes into consideration geometrical and mechanical non-linearity. As an example interaction diagrams for concrete-encased composite columns with different slenderness values are obtained. These diagrams will demonstrate that rheological effects have a greater influence as axial force eccentricity and slenderness values increase.


Treatments that attenuate the effects of hypoestrogenism in menopausal women have been gaining visibility. This study investigated the skin response to a phytoestrogen-enriched cosmetic formulation created by incorporating a biotransformed soybean extract (BE) into a cream-like matrix. Collagen-I expression was analyzed both in vitro (fibroblast cells) and ex vivo (skin explants). The results revealed an increased amount of collagen-I both in fibroblasts and human skin when treated with BE and BE-incorporated cream. Also, this collagen-I overexpression was inhibited by PHTPP, indicating a dependence on estrogen hormone receptor beta (ERβ) signaling. Moreover, BE was not harmful to skin microbiota, showing a promising nutricosmetic potential. Thus, this work presented a fully functional cream-like formulation that was shown to be safe and effectively increase collagen-I levels both in vitro and ex vivo.


Mice deficient for ADP-ribosyltransferase diphteria toxin–like 1 (ARTD1) are protected against microbially induced inflammation. To address the contribution of ARTD1 to inflammation specifically in myeloid cells, we generated an Artd1ΔMyel mouse strain with conditional ARTD1 deficiency in myeloid lineages and examined the strain in three disease models. We found that ARTD1, but not its enzymatic activity, enhanced the transcriptional activation of distinct LPS-induced genes that included IL-12, TNF-α, and IL-6 in primary bone marrow–derived macrophages and LPS-induced IL-12/18–IFN-γ signaling in Artd1ΔMyel mice. The loss of Artd1 in myeloid cells also reduced the TH1 response to Helicobacter pylori and impaired immune control of the bacteria. Furthermore, Artd1ΔMyel mice failed to control tumor growth in a s.c. MC-38 model of colon cancer, which could be attributed to reduced TH1 and CD8 responses. Together, these data provide strong evidence for a cell-intrinsic role of ARTD1 in myeloid cells that is independent of its enzymatic activity and promotes type I immunity by promoting IL-12/18 expression.


This article evaluates and compares the actual behavior of 166 full-scale anaerobic and aerobic wastewater treatment plants in operation in Brazil, providing information on the performance of the processes in terms of the quality of the generated effluent and the removal efficiency achieved. The observed results of effluent concentrations and removal efficiencies of the constituents BOD, COD, TSS (total suspended solids), TN (total nitrogen), TP (total phosphorus) and FC (faecal or thermotolerant coliforms) have been compared with the typical expected performance reported in the literature. The treatment technologies selected for study were: (a) predominantly anaerobic: (i) septic tank + anaerobic filter (ST + AF), (ii) UASB reactor without post-treatment (UASB) and (iii) UASB reactor followed by several post-treatment processes (UASB + POST); (b) predominantly aerobic: (iv) facultative pond (FP), (v) anaerobic pond followed by facultative pond (AP + FP) and (vi) activated sludge (AS). The results, confirmed by statistical tests, showed that, in general, the best performance was achieved by AS, but closely followed by UASB reactor, when operating with any kind of post-treatment. The effluent quality of the anaerobic processes ST + AF and UASB reactor without post-treatment was very similar to the one presented by facultative pond, a simpler aerobic process, regarding organic matter.


This thesis examines and simulates a statistically multiplexed multiple access technique known as Advanced Time Division Multiple Access (ATDMA). The simulations were carried out in a multimedia traffic environment. Parameters that could optimise the network performance in terms of quality, reliability and capacity have been examined using a simulation model. This thesis also examines network architecture and signalling related issues. The simulation results were analysed to propose a suitable ATDMA frame structure in terms of the frame length and the organisation of traffic and reservation slots. The simulation results indicated that the performance of the ATDMA based system can be enhanced when delay insensitive data is transmitted as blocks of packets of a specific size. The simulation results also indicated that the performance of the ATDMA based system can be further enhanced when a video terminal is allocated a single traffic slot as opposed to multiple traffic slots. Further simulations have been carried out to determine the up-link traffic channel capacities and control channel capacities. This thesis also examined aspects that could further enhance the performance of an ATDMA based system.


We develop a robust coarse-grained model for single and double stranded DNA by representing each nucleotide by three interaction sites (TIS) located at the centers of mass of sugar, phosphate, and base. The resulting TIS model includes base-stacking, hydrogen bond, and electrostatic interactions as well as bond-stretching and bond angle potentials that account for the polymeric nature of DNA. The choices of force constants for stretching and the bending potentials were guided by a Boltzmann inversion procedure using a large representative set of DNA structures extracted from the Protein Data Bank. Some of the parameters in the stacking interactions were calculated using a learning procedure, which ensured that the experimentally measured melting temperatures of dimers are faithfully reproduced. Without any further adjustments, the calculations based on the TIS model reproduces the experimentally measured salt and sequence dependence of the size of single stranded DNA (ssDNA), as well as the persistence lengths of poly(dA) and poly(dT) chains. Interestingly, upon application of mechanical force the extension of poly(dA) exhibits a plateau, which we trace to the formation of stacked helical domains. In contrast, the force-extension curve (FEC) of poly(dT) is entropic in origin, and could be described by a standard polymer model. We also show that the persistence length of double stranded DNA, formed from two complementary ssDNAs with one hundred and thirty base pairs, is consistent with the prediction based on the worm-like chain. The persistence length, which decreases with increasing salt concentration, is in accord with the Odijk-Skolnick-Fixman theory intended for stiff polyelectrolyte chains near the rod limit. The range of applications, which did not require adjusting any parameter after the initial construction based solely on PDB structures and melting profiles of dimers, attests to the transferability and robustness of the TIS model for ssDNA and dsDNA.


Agriculture is a specific economic activity because its mode of production remained at a lower level in comparison to other industrial companies. Of course, this mainly relates to small agricultural enterprises but to some extent it is also the case with the highly developed agricultural economies, because the process of production may not be the same as in other economic activities. In essence, these differences between agriculture and other economic activities can be clearly seen in accounting records. Through various estimations and calculations as well as through other accounting methods we recognize a little more specific type of recording and use some accounts that are not present in other economic activities. The key difference is found in the strong agricultural subsidies as a powerful instrument for the further development and modernization of agriculture. It should be noted that since its foundation the European Union has directed its budget, as well as the majority of incomes, to agriculture. The main intention of this study is to explore biological process of transformation, which leads to qualitative and quantitative changes in the biological asset process of growth, quality changes, production and reproduction, each of which can be measured. We will also indicate their economic benefit – how changes in the value of biological assets affect the important income and expenses entries. For a detailed analysis of the problem, we examine the concept and the accounting records of biological transformation process. We also analyze the effects of applying the fair value as an asset evaluating method and the effects of fair evaluation on the balance statements of agricultural enterprises. In addition, the application of accounting methods by which the biological growth is recognized and measured by using the current fair value in relation to the historical cost accounting method is also discussed. The importance of this approach is reflected in the fact that when the biological growth is recognized and measured using the current fair value, the changes in fair value are recorded throughout the whole period, for instance, from planting a tree to its cutting. This method contributes to minimizing the risk of not reporting the income. By testing the research methods, we will use the combined research methods (relevant methodology). This relates primarily to the research through literature, accounting methods, historical methods and other relevant scientific methods (induction, synthesis).


Analytical and numerical methods are used to study the linear stability of spatially periodic solutions for various two-dimensional equations which model thermal convection in fluids. This analysis suggests new model equations that will be useful for investigating questions such as wave-number selection, pattern formation, and the onset of turbulence in large-aspect-ratio Rayleigh-B\'enard systems. In particular, we construct a nonrelaxational model that has stability boundaries similar to those calculated for intermediate Prandtl-number fluids.


Scatter and attenuation correction for brain SPECT of a phantom and a normal volunteer was performed using the Triple Energy Window method combined with a transmission scan. 99mTc-ECD and 99mTc solution were used as an emission tracer and a transmission source, respectively. We employed a triple-headed SPECT gammacamera system equipped with fan-beam collimators for acquisition with line transmission sources placed at the focal lines of the fanbeam collimators. Two mode, sequential mode and simultaneous mode, of data acquisition protocols were examined. In the sequential mode, a transmission scan was carried out using three external sources for the brain phantom without emission tracer. After removing all sources, an emission scan was performed on the brain phantom containing the tracer. In the simultaneous mode, the injection was followed by a simultaneous transmission-emission scan using one transmission source. The same study was conducted out for the normal volunteer, after confirming the effectiveness of these protocols with phantom studies. Corrected SPECT count values obtained with two protocols were almost identical. Simultaneous mode had advantages in avoiding misalignment between transmission and emission data and in shorter acquisition time than sequential mode.


The Einstein-Lovelock theory contains an infinite series of corrections to the Einstein term with an increasing power of the curvature. It is well-known that for large black holes the lowest (Gauss-Bonnet) term is the dominant one, while for smaller black holes higher curvature corrections become important. We will show that if one is limited by positive values of the coupling constants, then the dynamical instability of black holes serves as an effective cut-off of influence of higher curvature corrections in the 4D Einstein-Lovelock approach: the higher is the order of the Lovelock term, the smaller is the maximal value of the coupling constant allowing for stability, so that effectively only a first few orders can deform the observable values seemingly. For negative values of coupling constants this is not so, and, despite some suppression of higher order terms also occurs due to the decreasing threshold values of the coupling constant, this does not lead to an noticeable opportunity to neglect higher order corrections. In the case a lot of orders of Lovelock theory are taken into account, so that the black-hole solution depends on a great number of coupling constants, we propose a compact description of it in terms of only two or three parameters encoding all the observable values.


Behavior and behavior-associated issues are an important part of psittacine medicine. However, many veterinarians have an approach to parrots from the basics of handling and restraint to their assessment of behavioral issues (e.g., feather plucking), that fails to take into account the importance of understanding a bird's natural behavior in the wild, and how these actions can be adapted to optimize interactions between the bird and their human owners. Understanding how to influence parrot behavior by positive reinforcement rather than punishment is key to improving the welfare of these captive birds and their owners.


Abstratct – Indian textile industry is currently estimated to be around US$ 120 billion and is expected to be reaching US$230 billion by 2020. It contributes to 4% of total India"s GDP. The textile industry in India is catering to very dynamic and fast changing urban as well as global environment. The study examines the level of awareness among the women workers of their health and safety in garment industry. Women workers constitute 80% of the workforce in the garment industry. One has to know the working conditions and how the environment affects the women garment workers, as they are subject to multiple risks in the industry. Further, are they aware about the occupational safety and health rights issue is a pertinent question to be answered. On the other hand, this industry comprises of majority of unorganised workers. Hence this study makes an attempt to understand their health and safety issues, risks and problems faced by the women workers at their workplace, checking awareness about labour laws and their proper implementation within the industry and their level of satisfaction at workplace. For the purpose of research Gokaldas Exports is selected which is a leading exporter of garments catering global clients. The study evaluates different aspects like safety policy, literacy, working conditions, training programmes, hygiene, health insurance, grievance redressal, perceptions of the workers towards safety and health in a quantitative manner and also highlights the few gaps in the expectation levels of the women workers and the measure taken by the company. The study is based on the primary data which was collected via a structured questionnaire and direct interview method. The collected data was analysed with the help of SPSS and one sample test is employed. The study concludes that there is a high level of safety maintained by the company and the company is making efforts to provide best possible working environment.


In this paper, I report on the University of Huddersfield's Mindfulness and Performance Project (MAP)2, outlining the field of practice that the project was designed to profile, and exploring some of the implications of what we might call 'mindfulness-based performance'. Framing this work within the context of the growing literature on clinical and therapeutic 'mindfulness-based interventions' I explore definitions of mindfulness, and consider how contemplative science might influence and guide emergent work in the theatre. Noting the emergence of a new discipline of Contemplative Studies, I also suggest that mindfulness-based performance has a significant role to play in current research and practice regarding mindfulness applications in the broader culture.


Magnetic Resonance Imaging is one of the most important medical imaging techniques for the investigating diseases of the human brain. A novel method for automatic segmentation Magnetic resonance brain image framework is proposed in this paper. This method consists of three-step segmentation procedures step. The method first uses level set method for the non-brain structures removal. Second, the bias correction method is based on computing estimates or tissue intensity distributions variation. Finally, we consider a statistical model method based on bayesian estimation, with prior Markov random filed models, for Magnetic resonance brain image classification. The algorithm consists of an energy function, based on the Potts model, which models the segmentation of an image. The algonthm was evaluated using simulated Magnetic resonance images and real Magnetic resonance brain images.


stem, it is contrary to the principle of economy of explanation (Occam's Razor) to deny the probability that the hypertensive tachycardia seen in response to the trauma of surgery is mediated through the vasomotor centre in the medulla. It also seems perverse to avoid the use of anaesthesia which obtunds these responses [3] and anaesthesia is indeed included in the protocol for management of beatingheart organ donors in this and other hospitals [4]. The use of anaesthesia also removes any lingering doubts over awareness, engendered by the above evidence and the knowledge that arousal and awareness are not dependent upon brain stem function, as was previously believed [5]. References


In this work, we are concerned with how to find an explicit approximate solution (AS) for the telegraph equation of space-fractional order (TESFO) using Sumudu transform method (STM). In this method, the space-fractional order derivatives are defined in the Caputo idea. The Sumudu method (SM) is established to be reliable and accurate. Three examples are discussed to check the applicability and the simplicity of this method. Finally, the Numerical results are tabulated and displayed graphically whenever possible to make comparisons between the AS and exact solution (ES).


Granulomatous lesions of the skin and subcutaneous tissue are common in India. They are known as "Dermal Granulomas". In present study following types of Dermal Granulomas were included Leprosy, Cutaneous Tuberculosis, Syphilis, Fungal, Actinomycosis, Foreign body Granuloma, Granuloma annulare and Sarcoidosis. Histopathology remains a time tested tool for establishing a correct diagnosis. Clinical lesions often reveal surprising underlying pathology. Hence carrying out skin biopsies and microscopic study with routine haematoxylin and eosin (H & E) as well as special stains are must in these disorders so that the type and aetiological agent of the granuloma are properly identified. Besides, follow-up biopsies after the commencement of treatment help in evaluation of the response to therapy. Methods: 52 cases were studied over a period of 2 and a half years. Specimens were collected from the patients of skin, surgery and ENT department. A brief clinical history with age presenting symptoms and signs were recorded. Routine investigations like ESR were performed. Comparison of our study was done with others around the country. Results: Most common type of dermal granuloma was leprosy (59.6%) followed by cutaneous tuberculosis (21.1%), Foreign Body (5.7%), Granuloma Annulare (5.7%), Fungal (5.7%), Actinomycosis (1.9%) and Sarcoidosis (1.9%). Dermal granulomas were most common between the age group of 31 - 50 years. In leprosy and cutaneous tuberculosis, males were affected more as compared to females. Conclusion: Leprosywas most common than other dermal granuloma. Most common type of leprosy and tuberculosis were lepromatous leprosy and lupus vulgaris respectively.


Murray Barr died six weeks before his eighty–seventh birthday and 15 miles from his birthplace on a farm in south-western Ontario. He had lived and died in London, Canada, which, during his lifetime, grew from a commercial and educational centre of 40 000 inhabitants to a prosperous city of over 300 000. Following in the tradition of his pioneering forebears, Murray Barr was firmly rooted in his place of origin; in fact, he never strayed for long from London after arriving there to attend high–school as a boy of 12.


Compounds, especially in languages where compounds are formed by
 concatenation without intervening whitespace between elements, pose
 challenges to simple text retrieval algorithms. Search queries that
 include compounds may not retrieve texts where elements of those
 compounds occur in uncompounded form; search queries that lack compounds
 will not retrieve texts where the salient elements are buried inside
 compounds. This study explores the distributional characteristics of
 compounds and their constituent elements using Swedish, a
 compounding language, as a test case. The compounds studied are
 taken from experimental search topics given for CLEF, the
 Cross-Language Evaluation Forum and their distributions are related
 to relevance assessments made on the collection under study and
 evaluated in terms of divergence from expected random distribution
 over documents. The observations made have direct ramifications on
 e.g. query analysis and term weighting approaches in information
 retrieval system design.


Recent work has found that personality factors that confer vulnerability to addiction can also affect learning and economic decision making. One personality trait which has been implicated in vulnerability to addiction is intolerance to uncertainty (IU), i.e., a preference for familiar over unknown (possibly better) options. In animals, the motivation to obtain drugs is often assessed through conditioned place preference (CPP), which compares preference for contexts where drug reward was previously received. It is an open question whether participants with high IU also show heightened preference for previously rewarded contexts. To address this question, we developed a novel computer-based CPP task for humans in which participants guide an avatar through a paradigm in which one room contains frequent reward (i.e., rich) and one contains less frequent reward (i.e., poor). Following exposure to both contexts, subjects are assessed for preference to enter the previously rich and previously poor room. Individuals with low IU showed little bias to enter the previously rich room first, and instead entered both rooms at about the same rate which may indicate a foraging behavior. By contrast, those with high IU showed a strong bias to enter the previously rich room first. This suggests an increased tendency to chase reward in the intolerant group, consistent with previously observed behavior in opioid-addicted individuals. Thus, the personality factor of high IU may produce a pre-existing cognitive bias that provides a mechanism to promote decision-making processes that increase vulnerability to addiction.


Various positions regarding the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) – Language Pedagogy (LP) nexus have been advanced. Taking these as a starting point, this article will examine the nature of the SLA/LP relationship both more generally and more concretely. First, it will place the debates evident in the different positions regarding the relationship in a broader educational and professional context by examining the nature of the theory/practice nexus – because the issues at stake do not just concern SLA. Second, it will examine critically a number of options for bridging the divide (e.g. through presenting the pedagogical implications of research, engaging teachers in researching their own classroom or promoting research–teacher collaboration). Third, it will probe the relationship in terms of a framework that links (i) SLA researchers, (ii) classroom researchers, (iii) teacher educators and (iv) language teachers. This framework will serve as a basis for formulating a set of eleven principles that can guide attempts to use SLA theory and research in teacher education programmes.


The Arab Awakening (also known as the Arab Spring) caught the Western world, and even most experts, by surprise. A fuller understanding of how the peoples of the Middle East perceive their history and their relationship with the Western world—from their own perspective and not a Western analysis of that perspective—is a sine qua non to understanding what happened and how to begin to formulate policies and actions to deal with the new reality. The Islamic State has become the champion of disaffected Sunni Muslim youth building on those perceptions, and the West underestimates it at its peril.


Brewer's spent grain (BSG) is an important coproduct of the brewing industry and is generally used in animal feed. Recently, there has been considerable research into the use of enzymes to convert BSG into more value-added products. In this study, the efficiency of enzymatic fractionation of freshly produced BSG was studied in pilot scale. Carbohydrate-and protein-degrading enzymes were applied sequentially to produce three fractions: carbohydrate hydrolysate, protein hydrolysate, and a solid lignin-carbohydrate residue. To minimize microbial contamination, processing was performed at 60°C for 4 hr. In all, 14 and 36% of the original dry matter was liberated by carbohydrase and protease, respectively. The carbohydrate-degrading enzyme cocktail produced cellulose- and hemicellulose-derived mono- and oligosaccharides. The protease treatment released peptide-enriched hydrolysate. Approximately half of the original BSG solids were solubilized during the two-stage enzymatic process. Although the protease efficiently released the majority of BSG proteins, the carbohydrate matrix was much less accessible to enzyme attack. The impact of scale-up to pilot scale was compared with previous laboratory-scale studies, and the results were found to be in good agreement.


Abstract. The columnar approach of gravity wave (GW) parameterisations in weather and climate models
has been identified as a potential reason for dynamical biases in middle-atmospheric dynamics.
For example, GW momentum flux (GWMF) discrepancies between models and observations at 60∘ S arising
through the lack of horizontal orographic GW propagation are suspected to cause deficiencies
in representing the Antarctic polar vortex.
However, due to the decomposition of the model domains onto different computing tasks for
parallelisation, communication between horizontal grid boxes is computationally extremely
expensive, making horizontal propagation of GWs unfeasible for global chemistry–climate simulations. To overcome this issue, we present a simplified solution to approximate horizontal
GW propagation through redistribution of the GWMF at one single
altitude by means of tailor-made redistribution maps.
To generate the global redistribution maps averaged for each grid box, we use a
parameterisation describing orography as a set of mountain ridges with
specified location, orientation and height combined with a
ray-tracing model describing lateral propagation of so-generated mountain waves.
In the global chemistry–climate model (CCM) EMAC (ECHAM MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry),
these maps then allow us to redistribute the GW momentum
flux horizontally at one level, obtaining an affordable overhead of computing resources.
The results of our simulations show GWMF and drag patterns that are horizontally
more spread out than with the purely columnar approach;
GWs are now also present above the ocean and regions without mountains.
In this paper, we provide a detailed description of how the redistribution maps
are computed and how the GWMF redistribution is implemented in the CCM.
Moreover, an analysis shows why 15 km is the ideal altitude for the redistribution.
First results with the redistributed orographic GWMF provide clear evidence that
the redistributed GW drag in the Southern Hemisphere has the potential to modify and improve
Antarctic polar vortex dynamics, thereby paving
the way for enhanced credibility of CCM simulations and projections of polar stratospheric ozone.


This essay aims to find out what impact social media have on the daily lives of Swedish people in regard to their usage and sociability. In order to find that out we have performed four group interviews with a total of 16 people from two different age categories that were later compared. To analyze the empirical data we've used the theories on the Network Societies by Jan Van Dijk as a help of understanding. The results show that social media have become an integrated part in the lives of our informants and that a consdierable amount of time is spent on them everyday. In the younger group Facebook was considered the most useful medium as it makes the planning of events easier and can be used as a way of keeping oneself updated on news as well as on the lives of others. Also the older group were of all social media most frequently using Facebook, both for checking updates and producing posts themselves. Through the interviews we also got to the conclusion that social media could have a positive as well as a negative effect on the social lives of our informants. The easy way of connecting to people and communicating with bigger groups helps in the organizing of meet-ups and thereby in the forming of relations. However, the informants expressed an annoyance over others using social media while spending time with them. There was also an awareness of doing so themselves and therefore experiencing a divide of attention. People would then feel less connected to each other in the actual physical world and in the face-to-face talking which could affect their relationships negatively. Most of the interviewed did not view this as any major issue though.


The eighty percent of the matter in the Universe is in the form of dark matter that comprises the skeleton of the large-scale structure called the Cosmic Web. As the Cosmic Web dictates the motion of all matters in galaxies and intergalactic media through gravity, knowing the distribution of dark matter is essential for studying the large-scale structure. However, as dominated by dark matter and warm-hot inter-galactic media, both of which are hard to trace, the detailed structure of the Cosmic Web is unknown. Here we show that we can reconstruct the Cosmic Web from the galaxy distribution using the convolutional-neural-network based deep-learning algorithm. We find the mapping between the position and velocity of galaxies and the Cosmic Web using the results of the state-of-the-art cosmological galaxy simulations, Illustris-TNG. We confirm the mapping by applying it to the EAGLE simulation. Finally, using the local galaxy sample from Cosmicflows-3, we find the dark-matter map in the local Universe. We anticipate that the local dark-matter map will illuminate the studies of the nature of dark matter and the formation and evolution of the Local Group. High-resolution simulations and precise distance measurements to local galaxies will improve the accuracy of the dark-matter map.


To explore the relationship between insulin resistance and hypertension, we examined whether acute induction of hypertension can engender insulin resistance. For this purpose we measured rates of insulin-mediated glucose uptake in awake unstressed rats with the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic (12 microns.kg-1.min-1) clamp technique during infusions of saline alone or after induction of hypertension by bolus administration of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 30 and 15 mg/kg), a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase. Arterial pressure was approximately 20% greater with L-NMMA bolus than with saline alone. Isotopically determined steady-state rates of glucose uptake were 36 +/- 1 mg.kg-1.min-1 during saline alone and 26 +/- 2 and 19 +/- 1 mg.kg-1.min-1 with low- and high-dose L-NMMA (P < 0.001 vs. saline), respectively. To rule out that insulin resistance induced by L-NMMA was adrenergically mediated, clamp studies were repeated with alpha- and beta-blockade. Rates of glucose uptake remained approximately 20% below those observed with saline alone (P < 0.001). A significant inverse correlation was observed between the height of the blood pressure and the rate of glucose uptake (r = 0.32, P = 0.04). In conclusion, acute induction of hypertension with L-NMMA can cause marked insulin resistance. We postulate that reduced skeletal muscle perfusion and/or sympathetic nervous system activation may contribute to insulin resistance induced by L-NMMA.


Background: Thrombogenesis, angiogenesis, and endothelial damage/dysfunction are components in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Objective: To investigate the relation of these variables to atherosclerotic disease severity and the possible interrelations between the three. Methods: 111 patients attending for coronary angiography were studied (85 male, 26 female; mean (SD) age, 61.6 (10.0) years). Plasma concentrations of von Willebrand factor (vWf, a marker of endothelial damage/dysfunction), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, associated with angiogenesis), soluble VEGF receptor Flt-1 (sFlt-1), and tissue factor (TF, a key component of coagulation) were measured by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Following angiography, disease severity was assessed by the number of coronary vessels diseased (> 50% stenosis) and by a coronary atheroma score. Results: All indices were raised in the patients compared with 34 healthy controls except sFlt-1, which was lower in the patients. No significant correlations were found between the coronary atheroma score and values of vWf (Spearman correlations: r  =  0.21, p  =  0.83), VEGF (r  =  0.11, p = 0.27), or TF (r  =  −0.04, p  =  0.68). However, there was an inverse correlation between plasma sFlt-1 and coronary atheroma score (r  =  −0.19, p  =  0.049). The number of vessels diseased had no relation to any marker. Correlations were found between TF and VEGF (r  =  0.25, p  =  0.008) and between TF and sFlt-1 (r  =  0.42, p < 0.001) in the patients. Conclusions: Despite evidence of abnormal angiogenesis (VEGF and sFlt-1), thrombogenesis (TF), and endothelial damage/dysfunction (vWf) in the patients with coronary artery disease, there was no correlation between VEGF, sFlt-1, vWf, or TF and angiographically defined disease severity.


Calcium chloride hexahydrate (CaCl2·6H2O) is an important inorganic phase change material used for heat storage at lower storage temperature. Heat storage in a PCM heat exchanger is an effective means of energy conservation or recovery in many engineering applications. A study was made on heat storage performance of a PCM heat exchanger with staggered tube bank in which there are full of calcium chloride hexahydrate solution. The experimental measurements of its heat storage and discharging performances during the heating/cooling cycle were carried out at a given rate of air flow. The analyses and discussion of its experimental results were also made. Its prospect in the industrial applications as heat energy storage was forecasted.


Sediment cores collected from the southern basin of Lake Titicaca (Bolivia/Peru) on a transect from 4.6 m above overflow level to 15.1 m below overflow level are used to identify a new century-scale chronology of Holocene lake-level variations. The results indicate that lithologic and geochemical analyses on a transect of cores can be used to identify and date century-scale lake-level changes. Detailed sedimentary analyses of subfacies and radiocarbon dating were conducted on four representative cores. A chronology based on 60 accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon measurements constrains the timing of water-level fluctuations. Two methods were used to estimate the14C reservoir age. Both indicate that it has remained nearly constant at ∼25014C yr during the late Holocene. Core studies based on lithology and geochemistry establish the timing and magnitude of five periods of low lake level, implying negative moisture balance for the northern Andean altiplano over the last 3500 cal yr. Between 3500 and 3350 cal yr B.P., a transition from massive, inorganic-clay facies to laminated organic-matter-rich silts in each of the four cores signals a water-level rise after a prolonged mid-Holocene dry phase. Evidence of other significant low lake levels occurs 2900–2800, 2400–2200, 2000–1700, and 900–500 cal yr B.P. Several of the low lake levels coincided with cultural changes in the region, including the collapse of the Tiwanaku civilization.


This paper is a study of the role that spiritual leaders are to play in the lives of believers and the extent to which Christian religious leaders have abused authority invested into their hands over the years.  Authority which is a vital subject for churches today has also become controversial among Bible believers and churches have been torn apart. This old time deception has dogged the footsteps of the old time religion. The major findings were that: Religion or belief that should help man to deal with problems of human life that are significant, persistent, and intolerable has now become the sole problem man is having. Instead of finding fulfillment in the household of the faith, members become bound by fear, frustration, indoctrination, and manipulative mind control that have made their pursuit of God an endless drudgery punctuated by a driven and legalistic lifestyle. Churches should be sanctuaries not prisons. Faith should be the ultimate freedom not the ultimate trap. Throughout this paper, researcher discussed abuse of pastoral authority largely in the biblical context. Therefore, the abusive practices and principles we traced were limited to Christianity.
Keywords: authority, abuse, church, pastoral authority, effect of abuse.


Diameter growth of a tree in most gap-phase models is limited by light, nutrients, moisture, and temperature. Growing-season temperature is represented by growing degree days (gdd), which is the sum of the average daily temperatures above a baseline temperature. Gap-phase models determine the north-south range of a species by the gdd limits at the north and south boundaries of the realized niche. An assumption of these models is that a species will reach maximum diameter growth at the midpoint of its gdd range and that growth will taper parabolicallY to gdd limits. One might assume that diameter growth would increase toward the southern edge of a species realized niche, and that factors other than temperature would determine the southern boundary. The USDA Forest Service has remeasured the diameters of approximately 200 species of trees in the eastern United States, storing this information in a geo-referenced data base. Environmental data have been assembled from nationwide GIS coverages, including soils, digital elevation maps, climate data bases, and others. Using these data we developed and tested two methods in addition to the gap-phase model to model changes in annual diameter growth over the geographic range of species occurrence. Stepwise Regression (SR) and Regression Tree Analysis (RTA) were used to determine the environmental and geographic variables associated with different rates of diameter growth across the species range. SR provided a linear approach to model and predict diameter growth. RTA is an exploratory technique for uncovering structure in data and fitting models by recursive partitioning of the data. RTA is better at capturing interactions between variables than traditional linear models. These modeling techniques are demonstrated with shortleaf pine, Pinus echinata.


Purpose

Considerable effort is devoted to developing new models for organizing bibliographic metadata. However, such models have been repeatedly criticized for their lack of proper user testing. The purpose of this paper is to present a study on how non-experts in bibliographic systems map the bibliographic universe and, in particular, how they conceptualize relationships between independent but strongly related entities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on an open concept-mapping task performed to externalize the conceptualizations of 98 novice students. The conceptualizations of the resulting concept maps are identified and analyzed statistically.

Findings

The study shows that the participants' conceptualizations have great variety, differing in detail and granularity. These conceptualizations can be categorized into two main groups according to derivative relationships: those that apply a single-entity model directly relating document entities and those (the majority) that apply a multi-entity model relating documents through a high-level collocating node. These high-level nodes seem to be most adequately interpreted either as superwork devices collocating documents belonging to the same bibliographic family or as devices collocating documents belonging to a shared fictional world.

Originality/value

The findings can guide the work to develop bibliographic standards. Based on the diversity of the conceptualizations, the findings also emphasize the need for more user testing of both conceptual models and the bibliographic end-user systems implementing those models.


Maintenance procedures conducted on pipelines often require isolation of a section of the line. Valve replacement, tie ins, pipe replacement are a few examples of procedures which normally require the pipeline to be taken out of service and drained down, or solid material stops intrusively applied to the pipeline.Pipeline isolation tools have been available and applied for many years; these tools required pressure differential or tethered control to activate and deactivate the isolating mechanism. While these tools were applied with success, there was no way to accurately monitor this early generation of tool for performance and determine with reliability whether the tool was properly set. These tools had the capability of performing one task, once the tool had completed its task, it was removed from the pipeline and readied for its next application.A new isolation tool has been developed and proven for pipeline application and this paper will discuss the Multi-Set Isolation Tool (Iso-Tool), its unique features, development and application.Copyright © 1998 by ASME


This study examines the mechanisms underlying the association between care network types and psychological well-being. Care recipients in the 2015/16 wave of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (N = 607) reported on the structural (size and composition) and functional features
 of care network types (satisfaction, feeling in control of care and care attitudes). Those in a mixed care network reported the highest depressive symptoms, while those in a spousal care network and a privately paid care network reported the lowest. The importance of being in control of care
 interacts with care network type on well-being. The results corroborate that both informal and formal caregivers need to help older persons to remain in control of care.


Accurate calculation of dose distribution affected by inhomogeneity tissue is required in radiotherapy planning. This study was performed to determine the ratio between radiotherapy planning using 3D-CRT, IMRT, and SBRT based on a calibrated curve of CT-number in the lung for different target's shape in 3D-CRT, IMRT, and spinal cord for SBRT. Calibration curves of CT-number were generated under measurement basis and introduced into TPS, then planning was performed for 3D-CRT, IMRT, and SBRT with 7, and 15 radiation fields. Afterwards, planning evaluation was performed by comparing the DVH curve, HI, and CI. 3D-CRT and IMRT produced the lowest HI at calibration curve of CIRS 002LFC with the value 0.24 and 10. Whereas SBRT produced the lowest HI on a linear calibration curve with a value of 0.361. The highest CI in IMRT and SBRT technique achieved using a linear calibration curve was 0.97 and 1.77 respectively. For 3D-CRT, the highest CI was obtained by using calibration curve of CIRS 062M with the value of 0.45. From the results of CI and HI, it is concluded that the calibration curve of CT-number does not significantly differ with Schneider's calibrated curve, and inverse planning gives a better result than forward planning.


In this thesis we investigate unusual and non-trivial interplays between gravity and field theory. We concentrate on two examples, one related to holography and the other to the physics of false vacuum decay. In the first chapter we overview basic concepts and techniques from both these examples.
In chapter 2 we construct solutions describing flows between AdS and Lifshitz spacetimes in IIB supergravity. We find that flows from AdS5 can approach either AdS3 or Lifshitz3 in the IR depending on the values of the deformation from AdS5. Surprisingly, the choice between AdS and Lifshitz in the IR depends only on the value of the deformation, not on its character; the breaking of the Lorentz symmetry in the flows with a Lifshitz IR is spontaneous. We find that the values of the deformation which lead to flows to Lifshitz make the UV field theory dual to the AdS5 geometry unstable, so that these flows do not offer an approach to defining the field theory dual to the Lifshitz spacetime.
In chapter 3 we consider the possibility that small black holes can act as nu- cleation seeds for the decay of a metastable vacuum. Using a thin-wall bubble approximation for the nucleation process, we show that black holes can stimulate vacuum decay.
In chapter 4 we apply this technique to the particular example of the Higgs potential with generic quantum gravity corrections. We show how small black holes can act as seeds for vacuum decay, spontaneously nucleating a new Higgs phase centred on the black hole with a lifetime measured in millions of Planck times rather than billions of years. The constraints on the parameter space of corrections to the Higgs potential are outlined. We demonstrate that for suitable parameter ranges, the vacuum decay process dominates over the Hawking evaporation process. We also comment on the application of these results to vacuum decay seeded by black holes produced in particle collisions. By relaxing the conditions for the thin-wall approximation and proceeding to the numerical calculations an expansion of the range of the parameter space is proposed.


Onfaloflebitis is common in lambs born in poor hygienic conditions and occurs where inadequate treatment of umbilical healing is placed. Males are more affected lambs probably because of contact with urine that slows healing umbilical and removes some medications or topical antibiotics applied facilitating the bacteria entrance, mainly Fusobacterium necrophorum affecting joints, lungs, kidneys, liver, leading to animal death. Platelets are blood cells that interact with several receptors and modulate platelet function. It promotes hemostasis through four mechanisms: adhesion, release of platelet secretion, aggregation and pro-coagulation action. Complex network of growth factors are involved in tissue homeostasis such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-b, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-b and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). These factors and other bioactive molecules are contained in platelet alpha granules, and the use of intra-articular injections of platelet concentrate has been proposed as a minimally invasive solution to promote cartilage, osteo and muscular healing. Its use in regenerative medicine represents a simple, low-cost, and minimally invasive approach that might fasten healing processes. Regenerative treatment with autologous products, including the PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) have been widely used in the regenerative treatment of various diseases in horses like tendonitis and degenerative joint disease (DJD), osteoarthritis, in humans, dogs and horses, platelet activation in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, among others. This work aimed to use PRP to accelerating tissue healing in the navel lamb, reducing the exposure time and input to various types of bacteria and diseases. The preparations of anticoagulants were performed according to Modern Blood Banking and Transfusion Practices: (A) ACD - Acid Citrate Dextrose, (B) CPD - Citrate Phosphate Dextrose and (C) CP2D - Citrate Phosphate Double Dextrose. The PRP application protocol was done collecting about 9 mL jugular vein maternal blood in a tube containing anticoagulant (A, B or C), followed by centrifugation at 3200 rpm for 15 minutes. The removal of only the plasma mist particles (platelets, leukocytes) was performed, despising red blood cells. Around 0.5 mL of plasma obtained with platelets and leukocytes was used as PRP. Group of 40 animals, divided into four groups: 10 treated with ACD anticoagulant (A), 10 treated with an anticoagulant CPD (B), 10 treated with anticoagulant CP2D (C), 10 controls. The PRP was applied during first 24 hours of life of the lamb in 2 locations around the navel (east and west). Measures were analyzed daily from each group using comparison charts. Despite the work need to be finished and statistically analyzed, data can lead to a faster navel healing using PRP solution, as seen on Figure 1.


High temperature components with notches, defects and flaws can producecrack initiation and crack propagation under service conditions. Fracture mechanicsprocedures are needed to study crack problems and to support an advanced remnant lifeevaluation. Since a more flexible service mode of steam power plants causes a highernumber of start up and shut down events, creep-fatigue crack behaviour is decisive forlife assessment and integrity of components. Fracture mechanics experiments normallyare carried out under air conditions although in some cases internal defects are not incontact with air. Therefore, it is of interest to which degree environmental conditions, e.g.crack tip oxidation, can influence crack initiation and crack growth behaviour.In order to enlighten these problems for high temperature components, the crackinitiation time and crack growth rate were determined in air and inert gasenvironment on 1% CrMo(Ni)V- and 10% CrMoWVNbN-steels.Crack initiation and crack propagation under creep and creep-fatigue conditions havebeen described with the usual fracture mechanics parameters C*, KI and AKI and amodified "Two Criteria Approach" was applied. Small differences in crack initiationand crack growth were detected for the different environmental conditions.


Purpose: The field of social work is evolving toward community-engaged, stakeholder-driven research in the context of evidence-based practice (EBP) and practice-based evidence (PBE). Methods: We propose that practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are an approach to conducting stakeholder-driven research that can be uniquely valuable for the field of social work. Results: We define the concept of a PBRN and demonstrate how it can address the development of complementary agendas for service improvement, social work science, policy development and advocacy, as well as highlight the challenges and benefits of participating in a PBRN. We provide details of our experiences with a mental health–based PBRN in Los Angeles County, the Recovery-Oriented Care Collaborative, to illustrate the processes outlined and inform our recommendations. Conclusions: PBRNs are an important form of community-based participatory research, which can help the field of social work with reconciling EBPs and PBE to improve service delivery.


We present quantitative analysis of various (syntactic and behavioral) properties of random \lambda-terms. Our main results are that asymptotically all the terms are strongly normalizing and that any fixed closed term almost never appears in a random term. Surprisingly, in combinatory logic (the translation of the \lambda-calculus into combinators), the result is exactly opposite. We show that almost all terms are not strongly normalizing. This is due to the fact that any fixed combinator almost always appears in a random combinator.


A high-speed rail-to-rail low-power column driver for active matrix liquid crystal display application is proposed. An inversion controller is attached to a typical column driver for rail-to-rail operation. Two high-speed complementary differential buffer amplifiers are proposed to drive a pair of column lines and to realize a rail-to-rail and high-speed drive. The output buffer amplifier achieves a large driving capability by employing a simple comparator to sense the transients of the input to turn on an auxiliary driving transistor, which is statically off in the stable state. This increases the speed without increasing static power consumption. The experimental prototype 6-bit column driver implemented in a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology demonstrates that the driver exhibits the maximum settling times of 1.2 /spl mu/s and 1.4 /spl mu/s for rising and falling edges with a dot inversion under a 680-pF capacitance load. The static current consumptions are 4.7 and 4.2 /spl mu/A for pMOS input buffers and nMOS input buffers, respectively. The values of the differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity (INL) are less than 1/2 LSB.


AIM
The relationships among behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), cognitive impairment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and the caregiver burden of their caregivers were investigated in an outpatient memory clinic.

METHODS
Forty-six pairs of AD patients and their family caregivers were involved in this study. Neuropsychiatry Inventory (NPI) was used to estimate BPSD, to which memory symptoms were added as a subcategory of BPSD. MMSE, word fluency, clock drawing test and category-cued memory test were used for cognitive measurement. Zarit burden interview (ZBI) and CES-D were used to assess caregiver burden.

RESULTS
Among 11 BPSD subcategories, memory symptoms, apathy, depression, delusion, aggression and anxiety were prevalent BPSD was a strong determinant of caregiver burden. Among BPSD symptoms, anxiety, aggression and aberrant motor behavior were significantly related to ZBL In terms of the relationship between BPSD and cognitive impairment, the scores for delusion and apathy were significantly related to the cognitive decline. On the other hand, patients who showed symptoms related to memory and depression had higher cognitive function than those who did not.

CONCLUSION
These analyses will contribute to better assessment of AD patients and their caregivers, hopefully resulting in better support for them.


System models are constructed and analyzed for combined convective flow and for dispersion in distorting concentrations of a chemical signal as it passes through a packed column. We derive general analytical solutions for these models. The results have applications to analyses such as in biological experiments involving hormonal stimulation of perifused cells, elution chromatography, adsorption columns, and studies of groundwater flow. The models reveal that the column distorts an incoming signal (such as a change in solute concentration in the flowing liquid) at the inlet. This distortion is greatest at low values of the Peclet number of the flow and is small at larger values. We explore the effects of the approximations inherent in the mathematical models of the system. Specification of the boundary conditions of the problem are shown to be particularly important. With the use of incorrect models, it is possible to obtain accurate interpolations to data obtained from perfusion experiments. However, the parameters derived (in particular the dispersion constant and the peak concentration of a solute concentration pulse) may be considerably in error. This may lead to errors when these parameter estimates are used to predict results in other experimental situations.


One of the key issues that affects practitioners is the question of selection and the relationship this bears to records content and an evaluation of the long term value of collections of records. Appraisal has been the means developed by records management and archives to deal with this problem. In this respect, the aim of this paper has been to describe those theories of appraisal that are currently most influential in highlighting the choices and pathways that each present to those actively engaged in research, or in designing recordkeeping systems to manage research records. The conclusion is that the claims to singularity and independence that these perspectives represent will not be maintained during the course of dealing with the complex contingencies encountered when managing real recordkeeping systems. The alternative is to evaluate the strengths and difficulties that each represents and on this basis, develop appraisal strategies that most effectively meet the requirements of the wide range of interests likely to be involved.


The incidence of high acidity of tropical soils has been a major constraint to the availability, use and use efficiency of both native and added plant nutrients with negative impacts on sustainable soil fertility management. Ameliorating this condition has led to the use of liming materials packaged as a component of chemical fertilizers. But the incidental inclusion of liming materials in fertilizers has not been effective and sustainable due to the intensive land use activities, constant application of acid-forming chemical fertilizers, leaching losses of bases and crop removal. Liming materials themselves vary in their calcium and magnesium contents and ultimately vary in their efficacy in neutralising acid soils. Also, some soils may have less lime requirements than others, thus, influencing decisions on amount of lime materials required under different conditions. This paper therefore reviews the existing practices of lime application to acid tropical soils with the objectives of assessing their effect on soil pH, nutrients availability, soil properties and plant nutrition as well as evaluating the potentials of a particular liming material, taking into consideration variations in soils of different agro-ecologies. Keywords : Liming materials, tropical soils and soil acidity.


The relationship between 3H-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) uptake and the proliferative rate of a human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line (HTB77IP3) was examined in vitro. HTB77IP3 cells were plated and allowed to grow through lag, exponential and plateau phases. Proliferative rate assessed by DNA flow cytometry and 3H-thymidine incorporation was highest in the lag phase and fell significantly as the cells progressed from the exponential through plateau phases. By DNA flow cytometry, the proliferation index (% of S+G2/M phase cells) fell from 65% to 23%. Thymidine uptake per cell also declined, by 82%, from lag to plateau phase. By contrast, 3H-FDG uptake per cell was largely unchanged as the cells progressed through the cell growth cycle. Total 3H-FDG uptake was strongly correlated with the number of viable cancer cells present (r = 0.957). Total thymidine uptake, however, substantially underestimated the number of viable cancer cells present. These in vitro differences in tracer uptake suggest that in this adenocarcinoma cell line, FDG measures a substantially different parameter (viable cell number) than thymidine (proliferative rate) and that these differences may result in disparate findings on PET imaging of cancers using these two tracers. Our data for this in vitro system indicate that FDG uptake does not relate to the proliferative activity of cancer cells. However, FDG uptake is strongly related to the number of viable tumor cells.