The present work has two main objectives, firstly, to establish acriterion that enables the successful, real - time imaging of the canine heart, and secondly, to carry out a Doppler ultrasound study of the bloodflow signatures that occurr across the various heart valves. The historical development of ultrasound, (Chapter 1) describes the early applications of the technique in relation to shipping as a navigational aid, and also to industry where it is employed to detect flaws in metals. The scientific review in the same chapter, establishes the uptake of ultrasound as a tool for echocardiography in the early 1950's, but only in the M-mode format. It is not until the 1980's that the real-time echocardiography of the dog heart is studied in any detail. To date, the only reports of Doppler echocardiography in the dog are those describing cardiac abnormalities. The normal ultrasonic anatomy of the heart combined with the Doppler bloodflow patterns through the heart valves has not been fully explained. The practical physics of ultrasound is described in Chapter 2, and provides information on the acoustic physics and principles of the ultrasonic images. The common artifacts encountered in an ultrasonic examination, such as reverberation and absorption, are discussed along with basic information about various types of transducers and ultrasound scanners employed in all aspects of ultrasonic investigations. In Chapter 3, a detailed description of Doppler ultrasound is explained. This includes the description of the principles of Doppler ultrasound, the Doppler spectrum, and the differing types of bloodflow encountered during a Doppler echocardiographic examination. The various modes of Doppler ultrasound (pulse-wave and continuous wave) are also described to allow a comprehensive understanding of the subject. The procedures and disciplines, along with the equipment employed in the study are outlined in Chapter 4. The importance of the scanner adjustment via the depth, gain and power controls are identified along with the selection of the proper transducer frequencies required for the different scanning planes. Images of the dog heart are recorded in four positional planes; the right and left parasternal, subcostal and suprasternal. The positioning of the transducer and the anatomical structures to be found in these imaging planes are identified. In Chapter 5, the images of the heart recorded are displayed in both colour and black and white prints, with the anatomical structures annotated. The echocardiographs are displayed in all the imaging planes using a combination of real-time and M-mode ultrasound, along with pulsed wave and continuous wave Doppler. The results of the present work are explained in Chapter 6. They include a detailed description of the anatomical structures that are found during the various scans. The bloodflow velocities of the various heart valves (mitral, tricuspid, aortic and pulmonary) are measured as well as the left ventricular function of the heart.


The cult of amulets in Southeast Asia is a controversial point that has, due to the recent renewed interest in these objects, become a popular topic of discussion by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. The use of amulets has to an extent always been contested in Southeast Asia and many other areas, with a divide consistently present between individuals, and, in the case of Southeast Asia, between the varying schools of Buddhist thought. Although there are examples of scriptures and texts such as the Parittas and Jinapanjara Gārthā supporting the use of amulets, or at least their apotropaic nature, these items are still not unanimously accepted across Southeast Asia, where certain movements and individuals reject the cult of the amulets, and often the cult of sacred objects as well.

Throughout this thesis I will explore the origins of amulets; the varying and often magical or supernatural functions that are so frequently attributed to them; and the transformation amulets have gone through, with particular reference to the current climate and material issues of contemporary Southeast Asia.

Amulets are reflective of the societies in which they are produced and they have the potential to be changed by societal events. This would appear to be true, given the spectrum of societies and designs amulets are found in; not to mention their vastly varied functions. Researching this topic I explored existing material on this subject, including journals, books, collector magazines, websites, and auction sites where appropriate. This information provided not only an understanding of the conflict and reasoning behind the cult of the amulets in Southeast Asia, but also of the online resources delivered an up-to-date experience of their popularity and the monetary value of amulets in contemporary Southeast Asian society. In concluding this thesis I hope to have provided an interesting insight into the issues and conflicts surrounding the cults of the amulets in Southeast Asia, with particular consideration given to the Buddhist Theravada tradition (the predominant religion of this area).


To increase the commitmen of organiztions, each organization would requirehuman resources potential. Therefore, the organization is done by various meansto find out thefactors that lead to influence on organizational commitment. In this case, there are two factors thathave been observed by researchers, i.e. : Person Organization Fit and The Characteristics of theindividual. This research aims to know the influence of the Person Organization Fit andCharacteristics of organizational commitment. Document obtained in this study are throughinterview with the Organization and dissemnination of the questionnaire on 60 employees, and usesthe approach of analysis Koefesien Multiple Linear Regression and Corelation. The results of thisreseach indicate Person Organization Fit and Characteristics of individuals collectively influenceon organizational commitmen. However, in this study the commitment compared to individualcharacteristics.Keyword : Person Organization Fit, Individual Characteristics, Organizational Commitment


This paper proposes a novel approach for bearing health evaluation using Lempel-Ziv complexity and time domain statistical parameters in conjunction with ANFIS. Compared to conventional techniques the presented approach works well for a non linear physical system and is thus suited for condition monitoring of machine system under varying operating and loading conditions. The performance of this technique is investigated through experimental study of realistic vibration signals. The results demonstrate that complexity analysis and time domain parameters in conjunction with ANFIS provide an effective measure forebearing health evaluation.


A plain, blank stationer's notebook from the 1780s in the Bodleian Library contains some of the most famous juvenilia in all of English literature. Copied out in Jane Austen's youthful hand, Volume the First, which takes its name from the inscription on the cover, preserves the stories, playlets, verses, and moral fragments she wrote during her teenage years. For the first time, the entire manuscript of Volume the First is available in a printed facsimile. In it, we see the young author's delight in language, in expressing ideas and sentiments sharply and economically. We also see Jane Austen learning the craft of genre by closely observing and parodying the popular stories of her day. Kathryn Sutherland's introduction places Jane's Austen's earliest works in context and explains how she mimicked even the style and manner in which these stories were presented and arranged on the page. Clearly the work of a teenager, Volume the First reveals the development of the unmistakable voice and style that would mark out Jane Austen as one of the most popular authors of all time. None of her six famous novels survives in manuscript form. This is a unique opportunity to own a likeness of Jane Austen's hand in the form of a complete manuscript facsimile.


Vivotoxin designates a secondary metabolite produced by the pathogen and/or its host during infection, produces disease symptoms, but is not oneself the initiating causal agent of the infection. Out of all, Fusaric-acid is the most studied pathogen produced wilt toxin classified as a non-specific vivotoxin. It does not produce all the symptoms of wilt. Many scientists all over the world including India were of the belief that, out of all other toxins involved in the infection process of wilting, fusaric acid was the most potent one. Infected tissue shows a marked increase in respiration process which is contrary to the host tissues doped with fusaric acid because it is a best-known respiratory depressant.


Layer 6 of Orgnac 3 corresponds to a cave occupation, dated to the end of MIS 9. It yielded numerous lithic and paleontological remains, and witnesses of diverse hominin activities. This paper aims to consider percussive activities from both lithic material and fauna, according to a technological and traceologicalological analysis. Knapping activities are dominant, based on the presence of hammerstones and retouchers (from bone and lithic materials). Recycling phenomena were also highlighted, with cores used as hammerstones. A flake-bulb presents also typical wear marks due to its use as retoucher ("éclat à bulbe piqueté"). These phenomena are usual during the Middle Palaeolithic and are here presented from the first stages of these lithic techno-complexes. Among the shaped pieces, a chopper bears macro-wear marks typical of use in launched percussion on a non-mineral hard material (bone?). Herbivorous remains present anthropic fractures for marrow extraction, diaphysis fragments being further punctually used as retouchers. Percussive activities have an important role in prehistoric lifeways (knapping activities, acquisition and transformation of raw materials linked to subsistence). The diversity of the percussive tool-kit testifies to a technological specialisation, while recycling shows the hominins adaptive skills to their environment.


The establishment of moral relativism does not exhaust anthropological comparisons of how people strive for a good life. In this article I suggest that comparative research into ethical systems and moralities can be productively complemented by an anthropology of virtue. Experiences from post-Cold War settings and ethnographic examples from Australia and Namibia illustrate my attempt to outline such an anthropological theory of virtue based on recent anthropological work on art and on skill. The anthropological approach to virtue envisaged here is both nonconsequentialist and realist in orientation. It is non-consequentialist in that it accounts for the moral dimension of practices such as 'sharing' and 'reciprocal exchange' without relying on problematic presumptions about net results or ultimate consequences. It is realist in so far as it is based not on rationalist categories but on situated social practices, which entail reference to basic human goods such as sustenance and mutual engagement.


Heat stress is a major challenge for dairy cows in summer. Sprinklers at feed bunks are commonly used to cool cows. These sprinklers use groundwater, which is becoming limited. There is a need to explore a more efficient use of this precious resource. Eighteen lactating Holstein cows were randomly subjected to three sprinkler flow rates in a crossover design. These rates were 0.5, 1.25, and 2.0 L/min. The average temperature humidity index of the shed was 86.7 during the study. The cows in the 1.25 and 2.0 L/min groups had 0.6 °C and 0.9 °C lower rectal temperatures, respectively, than the 0.5 L/min group. Similarly, the 1.25 and 2.0 L/min groups had lower respiration rates than the 0.5 L/min group. The daily milk yield was approximately 5 kg/d higher in the 1.25 and 2.0 L/min groups, which were not detectably different from each other, than the 0.5 L/min group. The cows in the 0.5 L/min group spent less time feeding than those in the 1.25 and 2.0 L/min groups. These results suggested that sprinkler flow rates greater than 0.5 L/min produced desirable responses by the cows. The flow rate 1.25 L/min appeared to be more efficient as it used 37.5% less groundwater compared with 2.0 L/min. ______________________________________________________________________________________


OBJECTIVE
To compare the quality of pre-operative analysis of sub-clinical lesions of the breast using a wire and stereotaxic tattooing.

METHODS
Between 1983 en 1990, 670 cases were analysed. At first needle or wire localisation techniques were used and then from 1988 onwards stereotaxic tattooing, first with the wire technique combined with it and later by itself from 1989 onwards. PLACE STUDY CARRIED OUT: Oscar-lambret Centre in the Department of Surgery and Radiodiagnosis I, BP 307, Lille Cedex.

RESULTS
190 carcinomas were diagnosed (30.7%) of which 20 were micro-invasive and 46 carcinoma in situ. The efficiency of the analysis was evaluated according to the number of explorations that were necessary to remove healthy tissue around the lesion. The wire technique results were significantly different (15.43% = 339 cases), tattooing with wire (9.13% = 144 cases), and tattooing by itself (6.30% = 135 cases).

CONCLUSION
It seems that pre-operative assessment using stereotaxic tattooing is the most reliable of methods because it allows limited excision of the lesion and a more aesthetic approach.


SUMMARY: Despite the proved safety and efficacy of Woven EndoBridge (WEB) flow disruption in conventional intracranial saccular aneurysms, the literature on its use in partially thrombosed intracranial aneurysms is scarce. We report a series of 4 patients in whom partially thrombosed intracranial aneurysms were treated with the WEB. The 2 patients who received additional intraluminal treatment with conventional stents made a good clinical recovery. Meanwhile, those patients who were treated with the WEB alone had fatal rupture of the aneurysm at short- to medium-term follow-up. This small, select case series demonstrates that WEB placement with adjunctive stent placement may be an effective treatment in the management of partially thrombosed intracranial aneurysms, which merits further validation. However, exclusive intrasaccular flow disruption may have an adverse influence on the natural history of this disease.


We conduct a detailed simulation study to examine how localizing P2P traffic within network boundaries impacts the profitability of an ISP. A distinguishing aspect of our work is the focus on Internet-wide implications, i.e., how adoption of localization within an ISP affects both itself and other ISPs. Our simulations are based on detailed models that estimate inter-autonomous-system (AS) P2P traffic and inter-AS routing, localization models that predict the extent to which P2P traffic is reduced, and pricing models that predict the impact of changes in traffic on the profit of an ISP. We evaluate our models by using a large-scale crawl of BitTorrent containing over 138 million users sharing 2.75 million files. Our results show that the benefits of localization must not be taken for granted. Some of our key findings include: 1) residential ISPs can actually lose money when localization is employed, and some of them will not see increased profitability until other ISPs employ localization; 2) the reduction in costs due to localization will be limited for small ISPs and tends to grow only logarithmically with client population; and 3) some ISPs can better increase profitability through alternate strategies to localization by taking advantage of the business relationships they have with other ISPs.


In Kirklareli, which has high importance for cheese production since ancient times, there are two different types of cheeses have important commercial potential are Kirklareli White Cheese (KWC) and Kirklareli Old Kashar Cheese (KOKC). These cheeses belong to Kirklareli and they are produced using the milk obtained in Kirklareli. A certain proportion of sheep milk, goat milk and cow milk is used in a mixture for KWC and KOKC production. There are some basic and distinctive features for Kirklareli cheeses. These features can be summarized as the effect of some differences belongs to Kirklareli, can be mentioned as natural vegetation due to geographical structure and climatic conditions, milk characteristics, historical difference and production method and maturation process. KBP and KEKP are reflected to the differences between animal feeding, milk and milk. The proportions of the plant species composed the botanical composition of the province constitute the animal feed. According to the botanical characteristics, the common plants in Kirklareli pastures are wheat (Poaceae), legumes (Fabaceae), broad-leaved herbs (Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae etc) and bushes. These 3 different groups of plants have different effects on the most basic quality criterias of milk and cheese, such as protein content, fat ratio etc. Apart from these, there are so many differences, which contain the low microbial load and process conditions. The fact that the milks produced in the province have quality properties within EU limits bring with it a very important advantage such as low pasteurization temperature. For the production of KWC and KOKC, cow milk only or the mixture of cow milk, goat milk and sheep milk, with rates between 15-30%, 25-40% and 30-45% respectively, can be used. Mixture rates are between 30% -45% sheep milk, 25% -40% goat milk and 15- 30% cow milk.


Abstract Two spatially close rockshelters at Mesa J in the Pilbara had relatively deep deposits and large numbers of stone artefacts distributed from top to bottom. The basal archaeological materials have been directly dated as (in the case of J24) or are inferred to be (in the case of J23) late Pleistocene in age. In J24 artefacts continued downwards throughout basal Spit 10, indicating that occupation of the rockshelter began before 27,657 cal BP, possibly thousands of years before. The distribution of stone artefacts and radiocarbon dates in J24 indicates that occupation of the rockshelter continued during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), providing further evidence that the Hamersley Plateau provided refuge for Aboriginal people during the cold and arid conditions of the LGM.


An economic model of ground water salinization is developed. Starting from a full, high-quality aquifer, there is an initial extraction period, an intermediate waste disposal period, and a final drainage period. Drainage management is initially source control and reuse, but eventually culminates in evaporation basins and a system steady-state. This process occurs over long time scales but is consistent with historical observation. Efficiency is qualitatively similar to common property though quantitative magnitudes differ substantially. Regulatory pricing instruments are developed to support the efficient allocation. The system is not sustainable in that net returns generally decline through time until the steady-state.


Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone, which plays an important role in stressful situations when stressors activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system. Cortisol has been routinely analyzed in the laboratory from saliva, serum/plasma, and/or urine. However, the HPA axis represents a highly dynamic system influenced by several factors and expose circadian rhythmicity. When analyzed in hair, it can allow the unique possibility to assess the long-term systemic levels and obtain a retrospective index of long-term hormone secretion. Based on an average hair growth rate of 1 cm per month, it is possible to distribute the hair along the length of individual segments and determine the concentration of cortisol reflecting secretion in the monitored period. Online SPE LC-MS with 13C3-cortisol as a surrogate analyte was developed, validated and applied for obtaining hair cortisol levels of 114 healthy volunteers. The first 3 cm from a posterior vertex position were analyzed as three individual segments resulting in 310 hair cortisol levels, which were used, after log transformation, to predict a range of values observed in future. The median value of hair cortisol was 4.76 pg/mg. The employed method allowed simple processing, high throughput and may be readily expanded to analyze additional steroid compounds in hair.


Photoelectrochemical water splitting has attracted much attention in recent years as an alternative energy source. However, there have been several significant issues such as low efficiency, high cost and less scalability for its practical application. Here, we show that (CuGa1−yIny)1−xZn2xS2 (CGIZS)-based photocathodes fabricated with a particle transfer method exhibited a photocurrent of 4.5 mA cm−2 at 0.6 V vs. RHE along with a largely positive onset potential of 1.0 V vs. RHE under simulated sunlight (AM 1.5G) and an initial solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency of 1.1% was obtained with photoelectrochemical water splitting using a two-electrode cell composed of the CGIZS-based photocathode and a BiVO4-based photoanode. CGIZS used for the particle transfer method was obtained in a powder state with high crystallinity by a flux method using a molten-salt of LiCl–KCl, and also formed solid solutions with a chalcopyrite single phase structure in a wide range of Ga/In ratios and Zn contents, in which the absorption edges of photocatalysts were tunable up to 880 nm.


Two bimodal meta-igneous complexes from the southern Massif Central provide important tectonic constraints on the initial stage of the Palaeozoic orogen. The metabasites may be subdivided into two groups according to the distribution of the Large Ion Lithophile (LIL) and High Field Strength (HFS) elements: N-type MORBs with low LIL/HFS ratios and subduction-type basalts with high LIL/HFS ratios. These associations suggest a complex tectonic setting such as an extensional zone or a back-arc basin above a subduction zone. The great volume of felsic rocks with low incompatible trace element contents indicates partial melting of an underlying continental crust. The association of terrigeneous sediments with N-type MORBs, subduction-type basalts and high-silica peraluminous rhyolites argue against an intra-oceanic setting, and suggest that the area was one of ensialic crustal tension during middle Ordovician. The two complexes are identified as remnants of ensialic back-arc basins rather than relicts of major oceanic sutures. Such marginal basins could have been located in a mainly continental domain, such as the Armorican microplate.


The article contains an analysis of the duration and the dates of the start of thermal seasons of the year, distinguishedon the basis of the average daily air temperature at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Research Station at Szymbark over a period of 46 years (1968-2013). To determine the initial dates of thermal seasons a method proposed by Makowiec (1983) was used. According to this method, the year was divided into eight thermal seasons, with temperature threshold values: 0, 5, 10 and 15 ° C. The classification by Makowiec is based on the growth or fall of cumulative ranks of air temperature diminished by the temperature threshold value for a particular season. The determination of the initial dates enabled the calculation of the length of the seasons. The long-term analysis involved also the tendencies of length and changes of the initial date of a given season. The location of the meteorological station enables to expand the area of the interpretation of results into the borderland of the Beskid Niski Mts and the Carpathian Foothills.
A high variability ofthe dates of the start and the duration of seasons was observed. The trends of durationand starting dates are multidirectional. The longest season is summer (89 days), which starts increasingly earlier and lasts increasingly longer. An increase in duration also refers to pre-spring and autumn. Increasingly shorter winters and springs were also observed within the multi-year period


The post-glacial Baltic Sea has experienced extreme changes that are archived today in the deep sediments. IODP Expedition 347 retrieved cores down to 100 m depth and studied the climate history and the deep biosphere. We here review the biogeochemical and microbiological highlights and integrate these with other studies from the Baltic seabed. Cell numbers, endospore abundance and organic matter mineralization rates are extremely high. A 100-fold drop in cell numbers with depth results from a small difference between growth and mortality in the ageing sediment. Evidence for growth derives from a D:L amino acid racemization model, while evidence for mortality derives from the abundance and potential activity of lytic viruses. The deep communities assemble at the bottom of the bioturbated zone from the founding surface community by selection of organisms suited for life under deep sediment conditions. The mean catabolic per-cell rate of microorganisms drops steeply with depth to a life in slow-motion, typical for the deep biosphere. The subsurface life under extreme energy limitation is facilitated by exploitation of recalcitrant substrates, by biochemical protection of nucleic acids and proteins, and by repair mechanisms for random mismatches in DNA or damaged amino acids in proteins. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The distribution of protein and blood-group-antigen activity obtained after butanol extraction of erythrocyte ;ghosts' under various conditions is described. Butanol extraction under low-ionic strength conditions results in the recovery of membrane protein in high yield in the aqueous phase. Blood-group-A activity is found in both the aqueous and butanol phases, whereas blood-group-P activity is confined to the butanol phase and blood-group-I and blood-group-MN activity are restricted to the aqueous phase. Much lower yields of protein are obtained in the aqueous phase when high-ionic-strength conditions are used. An appreciable amount of material is precipitated at the interface. Under these conditions blood-group-P activity is found only in the butanol phase, blood group-A activity in the butanol phase and interface material and only blood-group-MN activity in the aqueous phase. In contrast with previous reports no correlation could be demonstrated between the secretor status of the donors and the presence of blood-group-A activity in the aqueous phase after butanol extraction under any of the extraction conditions used. By using butanol extraction under high-ionic-strength conditions it is possible to isolate the blood-group-MN-active sialoglycoprotein in high yield from erythrocyte ;ghosts' by a simple procedure.


For a good part of its history, American higher education and its stakeholders have accepted two basic propositions about the measurement and assurance of quality: One is that price and prestige are highly correlated with quality; that is, the more expensive and selective the institution, the better its product must be. The other is a "trust the academy" approach to student learning: Grades and institutional reputation are sufficient warranties of graduates' preparation for the demands of citizenship and the workplace. These notions may not be acknowledged explicitly, but they are evidenced in the emphasis placed on U.S. News and World Report and similar rankings, and in the lack of comprehensive postsecondary learning assessment revealed by report cards such as the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education's Measuring Up. Several factors suggest that these propositions simply are not sustainable if the United States is serious about maintaining its competitiveness in the tightening worldwide race for human capital. In a knowledge-driven economy, accountability systems that emphasize higher education's means of production (e.g., admissions standards, sat/act scores, spending per student) rather than its product (e.g., educational outcomes) will boost neither the quality nor the quantity of the nation's human capital. In other words, gauging quality by measuring how many students cannot get into an institution rather than by how many fulfill educational goals (that is, by what they know and can do) is a formula for mediocrity in the global landscape. In addition, a raft of recent data indicate that American higher education's product may not warrant the "best in the world" label that academics and policymakers have been so eager to claim: Consider the following: * The most recent edition of the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) found that the quantitative literacy of college graduates fell from 1992 to 2003 and that document and prose literacy remained unchanged. * A study by the American Institutes for Research found that one in five four-year college graduates lacked the analytical and computational skills to complete an office supply order or estimate the auto mileage remaining on a partial tank of gasoline. This proficiency gap is in evidence across institutional type and control. * Recent employer surveys have found that a significant proportion of college graduates have insufficient skills in key areas - especially written and oral communication and reasoning/analysis - for workplace success. The bottom line is that our higher education system values what it measures but is not measuring what it should value. …


The liver has a unique connection with the immune system; harbouring vast numbers of lymphocytes, able to instigate secondary lymphoid organ-independent naive T cell activation, and promoting potent immune tolerance. We set out to determine the effect of this unique microenvironment on the biology of CD4+ T cells at three key interaction points: following migration into the parenchyma, after short-term hepatocyte contact, and at long-term tissue-residency. Modelling transmigration through hepatocytes revealed intrinsic, disease-specific cytokine responses in blood-derived CD4+ T cells, not discernible through static co-culture. However, short-term co-culture did induce activation-independent CD69 upregulation, reliant upon cell-cell contact. This phenotype mimicked the similar hepatic CD4+ CD69INT cells that we discovered in liver tissue. Unlike CD69HI cells which represented the tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) of the liver, CD69INT cells were the most activated population, likely able to migrate to many liver and gut niches, and singularly able to produce IL-4 and IL-10. By contrast, CD69HI TRM displayed a resting phenotype, marked for more restricted movement, and produced the best multifunctional TH1 responses following stimulation. These data demonstrate the importance of studying migration, and provide detailed characterisation of CD69HI TRM and novel CD69INT cells, along with their proposed roles and generation pathways.


The powder and decoction of Lycium shawii Roem and Schult (Solonaceae) aerial part are used as a folklore remedy in the treatment of diabetes by the local community in various parts of Saudi Arabia. In the present study, attempts were made to scientifically justify the alleged anti-diabetic efficacy of this plant and to evaluate its toxic potential. The 80% ethanol extract of L. shawii aerial parts was prepared. After evaporation of ethanol, it was freeze dried. A statistically significant blood glucose lowering effect was noticed in Long-Evans rats treated orally with 250 mg/kg (P<0.05) and 500 mg/kg body weight (P<0.001) of L. shawii extract. In addition, there was a significant decrease in blood glucose levels of animals treated with the extract with a simultaneous load of glucose (2.5 mg/kg). A significant (P<0.001) anti-diabetic effect was also observed in streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats. The data obtained clearly justified the claimed hypoglycemic activity of L. shawii . To demonstrate any toxic potential of L. shawii treatment, acute (24 h) and chronic (90 days) toxicity studies were conducted using mice as experimental model. Acute dosages were 0.5, 1.0 and 3 g/kg body weight (gavage) while chronic dosage was 100 mg/kg per day of the extract in drinking water. All morphological, biochemical, haematological and spermatogenic changes, in addition to mortality, body weight changes and any change in vital organs were recorded and compared with the respective control groups. Histopathological investigations were done on vital organs and compared with the control mice without treatment. L. shawii chronic treatment induced changes in body weight, biochemical and hematological parameters and was found to possess significant spermatatoxic potential.


This article investigates the modalities of integration of social, political and moral issues in urban consumption markets. Drawing on the concept of "concerning process," it examines the specific shaping of urban market agencements at play in this context. The analysis follows the history of the reforms of the French retail implementation provisions over the past 40 years. By examining three significant episodes of this history, it highlights the importance of interweaving concerned actors in market agencements, and shaping market boundaries.


The energy density of lithium-ion batteries can be increased by improving the battery voltage and/or specific capacity. However, conventional electrolyte solutions decompose oxidatively at high voltages. The stability against oxidation of electrolyte solutions could be enhanced by increasing the concentration of lithium salts. The nearly saturated 8.67 mol kg−1 LiBF4/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) electrolyte solution enabled high-voltage operation of LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 positive-electrodes at 4.6 V, and extended the discharge capacity to ca. 200 mA h g−1. BF4− anions, as well as DMC solvents, were stabilized at the high concentration. To reduce the viscosity and Li concentration without losing the high stability against oxidation toward practical use, the highly concentrated electrolyte solution was diluted with fluorinated co-solvents having a low donor ability. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the solvation structure of LiBF4/DMC was maintained after dilution with a specific fluoroalkyl ether. The resultant low-viscosity and -concentration electrolyte solution was highly stable against oxidation at the LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 electrodes as long as the DMC/LiBF4 molar ratio was kept low. The charge/discharge performance was much better than that for a conventional 1 M LiPF6/ethylene carbonate-based electrolyte solution and the energy density far exceeded that of 5 V class LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 electrodes.


Measurement techniques based on optics, with the characteristics of noninvasive or non-destructive detection and high accuracy, offer excellent properties for application in various scenarios. Skin-like optical devices capable of deforming with human skin play major roles in future biomedical applications such as clinical diagnostics or biological healthcare. Unlike traditional rigid devices, the skin-like optical device is conformal to the skin because of the flexibility and stretchability. However, the detected signals based on light intensity are very sensitive to the light path. As a result, the accuracy and efficiency of the skin-like device will be influenced owing to deformation. In this work, for optimizing the design of the skin-like optical device, we use the Monte Carlo method to investigate the light distribution after scattered and absorbed by a human tissue. Different parameters of light source and blood vessels are used to simulate the device and human tissue deformation respectively. The characteristics of the exited light are then summarized and analyzed to study the influence of the deformation. The simulation shows that the deformation of the device and human tissue will produce non-linear effects on the characteristics of the exited lights. Finally, we design and fabricate a skin-like device using the simulation results and use it to monitor photoplethysmogram signals. This work will aid in the design of skin-like optical devices in the future.


It is generally accepted that plasma bicarbonate is the major source of carbon dioxide excreted in the gills of teleost fish (Perry, 1986). Although anion exchange across the membrane of rainbow trout erythrocytes is rapid, with a half-time of 0.8 s for chloride equilibration at 15 °C (Romano and Passow, 1984), the rate of bicarbonate influx into the erythrocytes limits the rate of conversion of plasma bicarbonate to carbon dioxide and, thereby, carbon dioxide excretion per unit volume of blood in gills, because the residence time of blood in the secondary lamellae of the gills is only 1–6 s (Hughes et al. 1981; Bhargava et al. 1992). Thus, factors that reduce the net rate of bicarbonate influx through the anion exchanger may reduce the efficiency of carbon dioxide excretion in gills. The effect is, however, temporary. If carbon dioxide production remains constant, the reduction of carbon dioxide excretion will increase the venous carbon dioxide tension and content, thus increasing the diffusion gradient across the gills and speeding up CO2 removal until the CO2 excretion again matches production.


Objective: The stressful college environment may cause Burnout Syndrome in nursing students, but few of them present stress resistance and do not show Burnout signs. Investigations that simultaneously assess these groups are limited. So, we assessed the impact of nursing students' profile (biosocial and academic features) on the occurrence of Burnout Syndrome and Hardiness Personality. Methods: Cross-sectional, analytic and quantitative study. We applied a biosocial and academic form, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Hardiness Scale in 570 Brazilian nursing students. Logistic and linear regression analysis were used to assess the impact of biosocial and academic features on Burnout and Hardiness. The Ethics Research Committee at the University approved this project under protocol No. 0380.0.243.000-10. Results: Interest of keeping enrolled in course, sedentary lifestyle, semester and number of disciplines taken by students significantly contributed to increase the Burnout scores. Age, absence of children, living with family, dissatisfaction with nursing course and the unemployment significantly increased Hardiness scores. The variable "academic load" contributed to both phenomena. Conclusions: While biosocial features strength the hardy components in nursing students, protecting them from negative stress outcomes, nursing training characteristics seem negatively impact on student's health. Thus, identifying the factors that contribute to stress resistance and those that may increase the risk of Burnout, will support interventions that to promote Hardy personality and prevent Burnout in academic environment.


The problem of estimating depth from two or more images is a fundamental problem in computer vision, which is commonly referred as to stereo matching. The applications of stereo matching range from 3D reconstruction to autonomous robot navigation. Stereo matching is particularly attractive for applications in real life because of its simplicity and low cost, especially compared to costly laser range finders/scanners, such as for the case of 3D reconstruction. However, stereo matching has its very unique problems like convergence issues in the optimisation methods, and challenges to find matches accurately due to changes in lighting conditions, occluded areas, noisy images, etc. It is precisely because of these challenges that stereo matching continues to be a very active field of research. In this thesis we develop a binocular stereo matching algorithm that works with rectified images (i.e. scan lines in two images are aligned) to find a real valued displacement (i.e. disparity) that best matches two pixels. To accomplish this our research has developed techniques to efficiently explore a 3D space, compare potential matches, and an inference algorithm to assign the optimal disparity to each pixel in the image. The proposed approach is also extended to the trinocular case. In particular, the trinocular extension deals with a binocular set of images captured at the same time and a third image displaced in time. This approach is referred as to t +1 trinocular stereo matching, and poses the challenge of recovering camera motion, which is addressed by a novel technique we call baseline recovery. We have extensively validated our binocular and trinocular algorithms using the well known KITTI and Middlebury data sets. The performance of our algorithms is consistent across different data sets, and its performance is among the top performers in the KITTI and Middlebury datasets. The time-stamped results of our algorithms as reported in this thesis can be found at: • LCU on Middlebury V2 (https://web.archive.org/web/20150106200339/http://vision.middlebury. edu/stereo/eval/). • LCU on Middlebury V3 (https://web.archive.org/web/20150510133811/http://vision.middlebury. edu/stereo/eval3/). • LPU on Middlebury V3 (https://web.archive.org/web/20161210064827/http://vision.middlebury. edu/stereo/eval3/). • LPU on KITTI 2012 (https://web.archive.org/web/20161106202908/http://cvlibs.net/datasets/ kitti/eval_stereo_flow.php?benchmark=stereo).


were operated on had small aneurysms initially that grew by over 1 cm in six months, a far quicker rate ofgrowth than that described by others in nonhypertensive patients. On the basis of our initial findings we believe that screening should be offered to male hypertensive patients from the age of 60 and should be done regularly-for example, every three to five years-in this group. In the 388 women we have screened eight aneurysms have been detected (only two over 3 5 cm), confirming the low incidence ofaneurysms in women described by others.3 One woman, aged 72, has required an elective repair of an aneurysm of 6 1 cm. Many more hypertensive women will require screening to determine more precisely the lower incidence of aneurysms in this group. Offering screening in some form to this group may well, however, prove to be just as economical as breast cancer screening, in terms of quality adjusted life years at least. Numerous studies have suggested an association between hypertension and abdominal aortic aneurysms. We believe that hypertensive people also "require special provision for screening irrespective of any plans to screen apparently healthy people."


【Irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) is one of the common health problem that has been considered as stress-induced. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between life style and the level of stress and IBS by structured questionnaire which included questions on life style, the self-esteemed gastrointestinal symptoms, and Psychosocial Well-being Index(PWI). Subjects were 1,498 male white collars who get the regular health check and participated in survey at Inje University Health Promotion Center from January to ,December, 1996. The overall prevalence of IBS was 37.5%(561 cases), and the level of stress by PWI score was higher in IBS group $(41.8{\pm}14.2)$ than symptom-free group $(34.6{\pm}12.6)$ . As the result of comparison between the two groups, heavier smoking (adjusted O.R=2.48, 95% C.I 1.81-3.41), longer daily working time (adjusted O.R=5.19, 95% C.I 3.59-7.56), stimulatory food materials-mainly hot or salty (adjusted O.R=1.87, 95% C.I 1.44-2.45), higher body mass index (adjusted O.R=1.80, 95% C.I 1.27-2.57), and higher level of stress (adjusted O.R=2.81, 95% C.I 1.80-4.43) were estimated as risk factors of IBS. On the contrary, 6-8 hours sleeping per day (adjusted O.R=0.38 95% C.I 0.21-0.70), 3-4 times exercise per week (adjusted O.R=0.57 95% C.I 0.39-0.83), and tenure more than 20 years (adjusted O.R=0.25 95% C.I 0.16-0.35) were considered as protective factors to IBS. In summary, the assessment of the stress level might be placed in the first priority to control IBS, at least by some degree, which suggested that IBS could be controlled by avoiding such risk factors and by encouraging such protective factors.】


The design of this article is to analyses the prevailing structure of Zakat's System (alms due) claimed to be regularized in Pakistan and Egypt۔ It has been noticed that systems of both countries have a number of parallels and look similar to each other along with some other matchless aspects in structure and function with respect to their local circumstances and ground realities. These analytical and comparative approaches indicate that both systems of Zakat may share different techniques from each for their better performance. This study also contains the implemented structural sketch, mode of receiving and disbursement in both countries comparatively. As the true message and awareness regarding Zakat is the part of law in Egypt and role of media to educate the nation concerning its religious importance and understanding are also the valuable steps. Similarly, modern economic concept of money flow and some tactics may also be enhanced like to broadcast the importance of Zakat, give and take of alms due etc which may be incorporated officially in system of Zakat working in the Pakistan observing framework of each.


A major focus of research in alcohol-related disorders is to identify the genes and pathways that modulate alcohol-seeking behavior. In light of this, animal models have been established to study various aspects of alcohol dependence. The selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and -nonpreferring (NP) lines were developed from Wistar rats to model high and low voluntary alcohol consumption, respectively. Using inbred P and NP strains, a strong QTL (LOD-9.2) for alcohol consumption was identified on rat chromosome 4. To search for candidate genes that underlie this chromosomal region, complementary molecular-based strategies were implemented to identify genetic targets that likely contribute to the linkage signal. In an attempt to validate these genetic targets, corroborative studies have been utilized including pharmacological studies, knock-out/transgenic models as well as human association studies. Thus far, three candidate genes, neuropeptide Y (Npy), alpha-synuclein (Snca), and corticotrophin-releasing factor receptor 2 (Crhr2), have been identified that may account for the linkage signal. With the recent advancements in bioinformatics and molecular biology, QTL analysis combined with molecular-based strategies provides a systematic approach to identify candidate genes that contribute to various aspects of addictive behavior.


This paper presents an extension to group mutual exclusion (GME) where processes join a group with a role (shared, exclusive) in each stage. The properties that must guarantee a solution to GME are: mutual exclusion, bounded delay, progress and concurrency. For this new situation, a new property role mutual exclusion is introduced. A solution is proposed in a network with no share memory whose members commu- nicate by messages. The proposed algorithm is composed of two players: groups and processes, where groups are passive players and processes are active players. For the coordination access to the resource, each group has been assigned a quorum.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of cases of sporadic diarrhoea associated with enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens. Cases were identified by detection of C. perfringens enterotoxin with the Oxoid RPLA kit, with confirmation by ELISA, in faecal specimens from isolated incidents of diarrhoea and from which no other enteropathogen had been isolated. In a 2-month study, 65 (18%) of 370 specimens were enterotoxin positive. There was no predominant age group or sex in the enterotoxin-positive group, but higher proportion (79%) was resident in the community than were enterotoxin-negative cases (34%). Only four of the 65 enterotoxin-positive patients had received antibiotic therapy. Spore counts in most enterotoxin-positive patients were < 10(5)/g, indicating that detection of high numbers of C. perfringens is not useful in determining the aetiology of sporadic diarrhoea. Diagnosis should be confirmed by the detection of enterotoxin, but further work is required to assess whether an acceptable accuracy is obtained with the RPLA kit or whether ELISA is needed in all cases.


Direct measurements of the factors determining blood oxygen transport in 10 patients with chronic hypoxic respiratory failure led to the conclusion that wide differences in the position of their oxygen binding curves, due to spontaneous differences in red-cell 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate, had little effect on oxygen delivery to the tissues, as assessed by the mixed venous oxygen tension when they were breathing air. This result arises from the shape of the oxygen binding curve. A drug which could shift the curve to the right would help tissue oxygenation in cardiogenic and other forms of shock, when a low cardiac output can not be improved though arterial blood can be well oxygenated.


Palynomorphs undergo progressive darkening and loss of translucency as temperature increases over geological time periods. The use of oxidising agents that lighten highly mature palynomorphs enables their observation and documentation using transmitted light microscopes, but in certain cases, oxidation destroys part of or the entire organic residue. A new method was tested using palynological residues derived from Devonian and Carboniferous metasediments that allows the microscopic observation and documentation of highly mature palynomorphs without loss of specimens. In its simplest form, it uses non-oxidized, air-dried 20-µm-sieved palynological residues mounted on acrylic slides without the use of cover slips. Observation and documentation were performed routinely using reflected light petrographic microscopes. The resulting photomicrographs are scanning electron micrograph (SEM)-like in the sense that the observed objects are opaque. Depth-of-field issues can be easily overcome by editing the partially focussed images with z-stack image software. The method was found to be useful up to estimated peak rock temperatures of 290°C and over a wide range of tectonic deformation degrees. The application of this method may allow the biostratigraphic and paleaeoenvironmental study of metasediments in areas where this kind of information was assumed to be unattainable.


The action research methodology and several of its methods have previously been highlighted and described by the authors as a fitting and rigorous framework approach for complex waste management systems. This was in response to criticism of the ex ante selection of traditional empiric systems analysis tools to provide decision support and 'sustainable improvement' in such complex systems which often involve strong human and political factors. Several of the action research methods described have recently been utilized in a case study around mineral (aggregate) construction and demolition waste in the Stockholm region. These methods were integrated through a series of workshops and work areas undergone together with project members from several private and public sectors. Leaving the problem fuzzy (loosely defined) in the beginning; utilizing convergent interviewing, rich pictures and focus groups allowed the researchers and partner stakeholders to identify not one but several problem areas within the system of focus. Indicator creation and a dialectic processes were then used to identify qualitative and quantitative aspects of salience around these problem areas. These resulting indicators were strengthened through a process of verification. Each indicator was then analyzed by what was deemed to be appropriate and transparent means. It is argued that this approach may create better communication, transparency, and understanding by the stakeholders. These factors in turn allowing stronger stakeholder ownership of the process and assisting in more informed decisions and help to provide stability for desired change. However the process was not without its drawbacks such as intense communication and time requirements.


There is an increasing need to determine accurately the strength properties of tendons for an effective ground control on mines and underground structures as well as on modelling simulations. The strength properties of cables, used as cable bolts, have been evaluated mainly by their ultimate tensile strength, as this kind of test can be carried out in the field as well as in the laboratory. Only recently, there has been a growing interest in cable bolt failures in shear because of the documented field failure evidence. Accordingly, this paper reports various methods of shear testing of rock bolts and cables using different shear testing rigs, some have been developed by the rock bolting research team at the University of Wollongong. A programme of shear testing of a variety of cable bolts marketed in Australia was undertaken, the results of which were reported and conclusions were drawn. It was concluded that plain cable bolts were de-bonded during shearing when compared to spiral cables under the same testing conditions. In addition, both the single shear and double shear testing methodologies will result in the same outcome if there is no de-bonding, and a proper confinement is applied.


No American envoy has ever burst on the diplomatic scene and grabbed center stage in the theater of foreign relations like Madeleine Albright. Navigating difficult terrain as few can, Thomas Blood provides exclusive interviews with, and revealing anecdotes from, politicians, friends, adversaries, and colleagues, including former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Senators Leahy, Mikulski, Kerrey, Helms, Reid, and Rockefeller, and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt. This unique biography reveals the dramatic story of the first woman U.S. Secretary of State. Rather than providing a simple chronology, Blood focuses on the defining moments in Madeleine Albright's life, identifying the periods that best open a window on the Secretary of State's uncanny ability to triumph over adversity, her unparalleled success in politics and her meteoric rise to dominance in the world of foreign policy. From her family's thrilling escape from Czechoslovakia to her astounding rise to power to her victories and setbacks as the head of American foreign policy, Madeleine Albright's life unfolds like a major motion picture. An immensely readable biogrpahy that illuminates key experiences in Albright's career and personal life, "Madam Secretary" introduces us to Madeleine Albright the person, the politician, the policymaker-- a woman for our times.


A prescriptive and analytical approach is taken to business process reengineering (BPR). The objectives are to provide precise guidelines for process redesign to take full advantage of the efficiencies created by information technologies, and to develop techniques to evaluate alternative structures. A decision-making paradigm of organizations is adopted, and organizational processes are viewed as collections of decision models. Such a simplified analytical model provides an effective methodology to describe and quantify the impact of information technology on organizational structures and processes. The model explains and quantifies a variety of organizational issues such as: the significance of hierarchical structures in organizations, the need for business process reengineering after the introduction of information technology, and the exact conditions under which information technology may (and should) lead to more or less centralized structures. Reoptimization of business processes after the introduction of information technology is formulated as a dynamic programming problem.


Increased delay in visiting a hospital for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is often associated with poor outcomes. The factors associated with the decision time were analyzed by comparing the characteristics of patients with delays longer or shorter than the median of 60 min. Pre-hospital delay tended to be longer for patients living in suburban areas compared to those in urban areas (P=0.015). Shorter decision time was more likely among older patients. Being married, medical insurance coverage, and the level of educational qualification did not affect decision time. More efforts should be paid to educate the patients with high risk in suburban areas in order to effectively reduce pre-hospital delays.


We present a methodology to investigate the structure of dynamic networks in terms of concentration of changes in the network. We handle dynamic networks as series of graphs on a fixed set of nodes and consider the changes occurring between two consecutive graphs in the series. We apply our methodology to various dynamic contact networks coming from different contexts and we show that changes in these networks exhibit a non-trivial structure: they are not spread all over the network but are instead concentrated around a small fraction of nodes. We compare our observations on real-world networks to three classical dynamic network models and show that they do not capture this key property.


What do ordinary men and women really think about issues of gender equality and gender roles? Combining data from both telephone surveys and in-depth focus groups, Ambition and Accommodation paints a fascinating portrait of the strategies used by men and women to cope with the discrepancies between their espoused principles and the realities of everyday life. By juxtaposing the voices of women and men from all walks of life, Sigel finds that women's perceptions of gender relations are complex and often contradictory. Although most women see gender discrimination pervading nearly all social interactions - private as well as public - they do not invariably feel that they personally have been its victims. The vast majority share much of the feminist agenda: they favor pay equity, equal access to jobs, and social anti economic policies designed to improve women's lives. Coupled with these attitudes, however, is a decided lack of concern with gaining access to power or seeking fundamental changes in social institutions, least of all in the family. Most women feel they have more in common with the men to whom they are closest than with women as a group. This perspective, according to Sigel, helps explain not only their desire to avoid open conflict with men, but also their willingness to accommodate a less-than-egalitarian situation by taking on a second shift at home or by working harder than a man on the job. Ultimately, the women in Sigel's study can be best characterized as neither rebellious nor passive but, instead, essentially pragmatic and considerably ambivalent as they strive for more equitable treatment.


Abstract:The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is the premier center of African American and Afro-diasporic studies. Yet, as the literary scholar Vanessa Valdés argues, we know little of the center's namesake and his drive to collect and establish a renowned archive that emphasized the history, experience, and culture of African descended peoples and communities. Employing Valdés's Diasporic Blackness: The Life and Times of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, this essay explores the politics of Afro-diasporic collection, archive, visibility, and futurity.


The objective of this study are (1) to identify the consumers preference to the atributtes of canned-fish products, and (2) to identify the consumers preference to the type of canned-fish products which ideal. The methodology used in the study is case study, and the purposive sampling technique for sampling method as well. Some statistical models that used in this research are Concordance/Kendall Cooeficient Technique, and Multi atributtes models. This study results that consumers preference to the atributte of canned-fish products is ordered by the following considerations: (1) Brand, (2) Taste, (3) Weight, (4) Price, and (5) The type of can. The statistical result indicate that the correlation between Sardines, Mackerels, Tunas, Salmons, and Crabs are significant at 99,5% level of significance, 97,5% for Skipper and 99% for tiram.


Abstract The 21st century has carried the international trade governance system into a period of accelerated reshaping. The reform has been fueled by many factors including the requirement of the in-depth development of global value chains for cross-border institutional coordination, the requirement of the form of digital economy for new digital rules, and the requirement of the dominant countries under the traditional international trade governance system for the maintenance of their own interests. The reform of international trade governance system has driven China to adjust itself to external pressures while creating opportunities for the country to deepen the reform and join international trade governance. China as a beneficiary and firm supporter of economic globalization has rapidly grown from a marginal participator in economic globalization into a builder and contributor of the governance of the international trading system. It plays an active part in the reform of international trading system and the construction of a community of shared future for mankind by means of the making of rules, the reshaping of rules, the adjustment of rules, and the adaptation to rules. In addition, the critical measures for China to cope with the changes of globalization also consist in its deepened domestic reform, proactive opening-up, facilitated alignment with domestic and international rules, and an institutional environment suitable for the new situation of a "dual circulation" development pattern.


The influence of severe warm deformation on the microstructural evolution and flow behavior of a plain carbon steel has been investigated through torsion testing. The specimens were severe deformed within the ferritic region up to strain of 70 with constant strain rate of 0.1 s 1 − . Microstructural evolutions have been investigated using high resolution electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). True stress-true strain curves exhibit a single and smooth maximum, followed by a slow but significant softening stage. A steady state is observed at very large strains. This finding suggests that the relative balance between comparable work hardening and dynamic work softening results in the occurrence of warm ductility during large deformation. The initial grain structure was equiaxed, but at low strains the grains become elongated in the torsion direction. However, at large strains the grain aspect ratio decreases and finally, further straining leads to the formation of new fine grains with high-angle boundaries, which become more equiaxed than the previous fragmented structure. The flow stress, as well as all the average microstructural parameters, then remains independent of strain. The mechanisms operating during such warm flow behavior and structure changes are discussed in detail.


Ovaries of immature female rats primed with PMSG-hCG were digested with collagenase-DNAase solution to obtain the corpus luteal cell suspensions. After pre-incubation for 1 h, luteal cell suspensions were then incubated with different factors for 2 h. The progesterone contents in the incubates were measured by RIA. It was demonstrated that high Ca2+/high K+/A23187 significantly enhanced both the basal or hCG-induced progesterone production by rat luteal cells. To the contrast, decreased Ca2+ concentration in medium/EGTA/verapamil had inhibitory effect on progesterone production in the presence of hCG. Tyr had suppressive effect on hCG-induced progesterone production. but not in the presence of high Ca2+/high K+/A23187. The present study suggested that progesterone production by luteal cells of rat is influenced by concentration. Yet, variation in extra/intra-cellular Ca2+ does not affect Tyr suppressive effect on hCG-induced progesterone production. It seems that progesterone production by calcium and hCG occurs through two different mechanisms.


The polycarboxylate water reducers(PCs) with different molecular structure were synthesized. The effects of molecular structure on their performance in cement paste were investigated. The results show that the PCs with a medium density of PEO side chain and/or a moderate molecular weight and its distribution have a higher dispersibility and a stronger dispersion retention stability at the same time, and that those PCs with a shorter PEO side chain exhibit a stronger dispersion retention stability. The PCs with a higher molecular weight, a lower density and/or a shorter length of PEO side chain are more easy to adsorb on the surface of cement particles. The earlier induction period is shortened while the dormant period is prolonged during the process of cement hydration in the presence of PCs. The PCs with a shorter PEO side chain show a stronger retarding effct. This effect is not very obvious with the decreasing molecular weight.


Balancing the workload on servers requires a model of the distribution of work generated by email users. The simple model is that all users are equal, but we know from experience that this is not the case. Some users are much more demanding than others and can create server performance problems. This paper describes how to use Lotus Domino transaction counts to characterize email users by the workload they generate. The analysis maps load on the server with the heavy users of email. It also documents an interview study of heavy users to verify that their requirements are legitimate.


Visual search is an essential part of almost any everyday human goal-directed interaction with the environment. Nowadays, several algorithms are able to predict gaze positions during simple observation, but few models attempt to simulate human behavior during visual search in natural scenes. Furthermore, these models vary widely in their design and exhibit differences in the datasets and metrics with which they were evaluated. Thus, there is a need for a reference point, on which each model can be tested and from where potential improvements can be derived. In the present work, we select publicly available state-of-the-art visual search models in natural scenes and evaluate them on different datasets, employing the same metrics to estimate their efficiency and similarity with human subjects. In particular, we propose an improvement to the Ideal Bayesian Searcher through a combination with a neural network-based visual search model, enabling it to generalize to other datasets. The present work sheds light on the limitations of current models and how potential improvements can be accomplished by combining approaches. Moreover, it moves forward on providing a solution for the urgent need for benchmarking data and metrics to support the development of more general human visual search computational models.


Objective To assess the association between childbearing age and risk of offspring mortality in three birth cohort studies. Setting Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Methods All hospital births which occurred in 1982 (n=6011), 1993 (n=5304) and 2004 (n=4287) were identified and these infants were followed-up. Deaths were monitored through vital registration, visits to hospitals and cemeteries. The analyses were restricted to women younger than 30 years who delivered singletons (72%, 70% and 67% of the original cohorts, respectively). Maternal age was categorised into three groups (<16, 16–19, and 20–29 years). Additional analyses compared mothers aged 12–19 and 20–29 years. The outcome variables included fetal, perinatal, neonatal, post-neonatal and infant mortality. Potential confounders were family income, maternal education, maternal colour/race, marital status, parity, and pre-pregnancy body mass index. Crude and adjusted ORs were estimated with logistic regression models. Results There were no interactions between maternal age and cohort year. After adjustment for confounding, the pooled ORs for infant death were 1.08 (95% CI 0.42 to 2.78) for mothers younger than 16 years, 1.48 (1.03 to 2.12) for 16–19-year-olds, and 1.45 (1.01 to 2.07) for those aged 12–19, compared to a 20–29-year-old mothers. The excess risk was due to post-neonatal deaths. Conclusion The slightly increased risk of post-neonatal mortality among the offspring of adolescent mothers suggests that social and environmental factors may be more important than maternal biologic immaturity. The possibility of residual confounding cannot be ruled out.


Cosmological simulations have shown that dark matter haloes are connected to each other by large-scale filamentary structures. Cold gas flowing within this 'cosmic web' is believed to be an important source of fuel for star formation at high redshift. However, the presence of such filamentary gas has never been observationally confirmed despite the fact that its covering fraction within massive haloes at high redshift is predicted to be significant (∼25 per cent). In this Letter, we investigate in detail whether such cold gas is detectable using low-ionization metal absorption lines, such as C iiλ1334, as this technique has a proven observational record for detecting gaseous structures. Using a large statistical sample of galaxies from the MareNostrum N-body+ adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) cosmological simulation, we find that the typical covering fraction of the dense, cold gas in 1012 M⊙ haloes at z∼ 2.5 is lower than expected (∼5 per cent). In addition, the absorption signal by the interstellar medium of the galaxy itself turns out to be so deep and so broad in velocity space that it completely drowns that of the filamentary gas. A detectable signal might be obtained from a cold filament exactly aligned with the line of sight, but this configuration is so unlikely that it would require surveying an overwhelmingly large number of candidate galaxies to tease it out. Finally, the predicted metallicity of the cold gas in filaments is extremely low (≤10−3 Z⊙). If this result persists when higher resolution runs are performed, it would significantly increase the difficulty of detecting filamentary gas inflows using metal lines. However, even if we assume that filaments are enriched to Z⊙, the absorption signal that we compute is still weak. We are therefore led to conclude that it is extremely difficult to observationally prove or disprove the presence of cold filaments as the favourite accretion mode of galaxies using low-ionization metal absorption lines. The Lyα emission route looks more promising but due to the resonant nature of the line, radiative transfer simulations are required to fully characterize the observed signal.


There has been a lot of research in the development of a hybrid hydraulic actuator driven by various smart materials. The basic operation of these actuators involves high frequency bidirectional operation of the active material which is converted to unidirectional motion by a set of valves. The response of the actuator also shows resonant peaks similar to that of SDOF mechanical systems and indicates a region of maximum output. At these high driving frequencies, the inertial effects of the fluid mass dominate over the viscous effects and the problem becomes unsteady in nature. Geometrical parameters of the flow path are also important. Due to the high pressures existing inside the actuator and the presence of entrained air, compressibility of the hydraulic oil also has to be taken into account. Hybrid actuators using the magnetostrictive material Terfenol-D and the electrostrictive material PMN have been developed in our laboratory, with hydraulic oil as the working fluid. Several key design parameters, which include output cylinder size, diaphragm thickness, reed valve thickness and tubing diameter, along with operational conditions, like input current and bias pressure within the fluid, have been varied to identify a set of optimum driving conditions. Tests at no-load and with load have been carried out for unidirectional motion of the output piston. To characterize the input driving circuitry and magnetic flux path, we have also carried out dynamic tests with the Terfenol-D rod and analyzed its magnetic circuit (flux density vs. frequency) response. In this paper, we develop a mathematical model of the hydraulic hybrid actuator to show the basic operational principle under no-load and loaded conditions and to describe the resonance phenomenon affecting the system performance. The dynamics of the input driving circuit have been included in the model. The fluid passages have been represented using the transmission line model, giving rise to strongly coupled ordinary differential equations which are solved using a lumped parameter approach. This model is then used to calculate the no-load velocity of the actuator and also its blocked force. Finally, we use the model to find optimal pumping frequency to get highest performance with different active materials and also to predict the pump sizing for desired output velocity and load lifting capability.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


The just war tradition is one of the key constituencies of international political theory, and its vocabulary plays a prominent role in how political and military leaders frame contemporary conflicts. Yet, it stands in danger of turning in on itself and becoming irrelevant. This article argues that scholars who wish to preserve the vitality of this tradition must think in a more open-textured fashion about its historiography. One way to achieve this is to problematize the boundaries of the tradition. This article pursues this objective by treating one figure that stands in a liminal relation to the just war tradition. Despite having a lot to say about the ethics of war, Xenophon is seldom acknowledged as a bona fide just war thinker. The analysis presented here suggests, however, that his writings have much to tell us, not only about how he and his contemporaries thought about the ethics of war, but about how just war thinking is understood (and delimited) today and how it might be revived as a pluralistic critical enterprise.


This innovative look at antebellum Southwest Virginia disputes traditional Appalachian scholarship, which has maintained that industrialization in the area occurred after 1880. Kenneth Noe shows how mountain modernization began decades earlier, with a regional railroad that contributed to support for secession and the Confederacy. Combining an adept use of anecdote and detail with analysis of the written record, Noe shows that many supporters of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad viewed it as a political tool, believing it would spread slavery and unite the state. He focuses on the railroad's economic fruits - integration of the region into the tobacco kingdom, urbanization, a growth in industry, and the spread of slavery - and shows how these brought about political results. By 1860, the author argues, the railroad had indeed increased the region's dependence on slavery, deepened its immersion in the capitalist marketplace, and strengthened its ties to the state capital.


Frans Preumayr's nineteenth century virtuosic bassoon repertoire - An approach with a fine Grenser & Wiesner bassoon from Dresden: Issues of material and technique
What techniques and tools must be developed by period bassoonists in order to successfully approach the performance of Frans Preumayr's virtuosic repertoire?
"A Very Fine Eleven-Keyed Stained Maple Bassoon by H. Grenser & Wiesner, Dresden, circa 1825" - as titled in an entry in a London auction catalogue - is one of the few surviving examples of a complete period bassoon with all its parts, offering valuable information for both period instrument builders and players today.
This research project is based specifically on the unique opportunity that the Grenser & Wiesner instrument presents us with: an investigation of early nineteenth century bassoon works written for the Swedish virtuoso Frans Preumayr by composers such as Franz Berwald and Bernhard Henrik Crusell.
Solutions for technical problems found in this repertoire are sought and described, and include a discussion of reed styles and fingering systems for the period bassoonist.


Reef growth patterns and the development of associated environments have been extensively studied from reef deposits from Holocene and previous interglacial highstands. However, reefs that grew during glacial lowstands are comparatively poorly understood. Here we show the formation of reef-flat and back-reef environments following rapid sea-level fall (15–20 mm yr−1 and 20–40 m in magnitude) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) on the present shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Sedimentological and foraminiferal analyses of unconsolidated reef sediments recovered in cores 111–140 m below sea level at Hydrographers Passage during Integrated Ocean Drilling Project (IODP) Expedition 325 reveal the occurrence of a benthic foraminiferal assemblage dominated by the genera Calcarina and Baculogypsina, which is common in modern reef-flat and back-reef environments in the Great Barrier Reef and elsewhere. This assemblage is associated with higher foraminiferal proportions in reef sediments and higher proportions of well-preserved Baculogypsina tests in the same intervals, which also characterize reef-flat environments. Radiocarbon (14C–accelerator mass spectrometry) ages of reef-flat dwelling foraminifers (n = 22), which indicate the time when these foraminifers were alive, are consistent with the timing of the two-step sea-level fall into the LGM as defined by the previously published well-dated coralgal record. This foraminiferal evidence suggests the development of geomorphically mature fringing reefs with shallow back-reef lagoons during the LGM. Our results also imply that back-reef sediment accumulation rates during the LGM lowstand were comparable to those during the Holocene highstand.


An Acceptable Knowledge (AK)-based radiological characterization methodology is being developed for RH TRU waste generated from ANL-E hot cell operations performed on fuel elements irradiated in the EBR-II reactor. The methodology relies on AK for composition of the fresh fuel elements, their irradiation history, and the waste generation and collection processes. Radiological characterization of the waste involves the estimates of the quantities of significant fission products and transuranic isotopes in the waste. Methods based on reactor and physics principles are used to achieve these estimates. Because of the availability of AK and the robustness of the calculation methods, the AK-based characterization methodology offers a superior alternative to traditional waste assay techniques. Using this methodology, it is shown that the radiological parameters of a test batch of ANL-E waste is well within the proposed WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria limits.


Let $q$ be an anisotropic quadratic form defined over a general field $F$. In this article, we formulate a new upper bound for the isotropy index of $q$ after scalar extension to the function field of an arbitrary quadric. On the one hand, this bound offers a refinement of an important bound established in earlier work of Karpenko–Merkurjev and Totaro; on the other hand, it is a direct generalization of Karpenko's theorem on the possible values of the first higher isotropy index. We prove its validity in two key cases: (i) the case where $\text{char}(F)\neq 2$, and (ii) the case where $\text{char}(F)=2$ and $q$ is quasilinear (i.e., diagonalizable). The two cases are treated separately using completely different approaches, the first being algebraic–geometric, and the second being purely algebraic.


While immunotoxicology evaluations are often conducted in either rodents or non-human primates, findings in standard toxicology studies may trigger additional investigations in dogs. A survey sponsored by the HESI Immunotoxicology Technical Committee, and described herein, was conducted to gather information regarding the extent and nature of immunology and immunotoxicity assessments available in the dog, and the need thereof. The survey was issued via e-mail to scientists affiliated with 39 organizations in industry and academia, including contract research organizations, academic research organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and veterinary practices. Fifteen institutions responded, including 10 biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry organizations, 4 contract research organizations, and 1 academic institution. Responses indicated that indeed, immunological assessments in dogs are necessary for research and/or toxicology purposes. The survey demonstrated that multiple types of assays are used in the dog model, including assessment of T-cell-dependent antibody responses, immunoglobulins, complement CH50, cytokines and cytokine mRNAs, lymphocyte proliferation in response to T-cell mitogens, neutrophil activation, phagocytosis, and immunophenotyping of several cell types. The survey also revealed that certain assays/endpoints are not available in the dog (complement components, NK immunophenotyping, T-cell activation and memory immunophenotyping) or require further optimization (ex vivo cytolysis assays such as CTL and NK function, B-cell proliferation in response to LPS). In addition, the survey indicated that a greater understanding of the specificity of the available immunophenotyping reagents is needed.


This study addresses the need in discourse psychology for computational techniques that analyze text on multiple levels of cohesion and text difficulty. Discourse psychologists often investigate phenomena related to discourse processing using lengthy texts containing multiple paragraphs, as opposed to single word and sentence stimuli. Characterizing such texts in terms of cohesion and coherence is challenging. Some computational tools are available, but they are either fragmented over different databases or they assess single, specific features of text. Coh-Metrix is a computational linguistic tool that measures text cohesion and text difficulty on a range of word, sentence, paragraph, and discourse dimensions. This study investigated the validity of Coh-Metrix as a measure of cohesion in text using stimuli from published discourse psychology studies as a benchmark. Results showed that Coh-Metrix indexes of cohesion (individually and combined) significantly distinguished the high- versus low-cohesion versions of these texts. The results also showed that commonly used readability indexes (e.g., Flesch–Kincaid) inappropriately distinguished between low- and high-cohesion texts. These results provide a validation of Coh-Metrix, thereby paving the way for its use by researchers in cognitive science, discourse processes, and education, as well as for textbook writers, professionals in instructional design, and instructors.


Planning smooth trajectories is important for the safe, efficient and comfortable operation of mobile robots, such as wheeled robots moving in crowded environments or cars moving at high speed. Asymptotically optimal sampling-based motion planners can be used to generate such trajectories. However, to achieve the necessary efficiency for the realtime operation of robots, one often uses their initial feasible trajectories or the trajectories of non-optimal motion planners instead, typically after a post-smoothing step. We propose a gradient-informed post-smoothing algorithm, called GRIPS, that deforms given trajectories by locally optimizing the placement of vertices while satisfying the system's kinodynamic constraints. We show experimentally that GRIPS typically produces trajectories of significantly smaller length and higher smoothness than several existing post-smoothing algorithms.


Silvicultural Systems J.D. Matthews Oxford University Press 1991 £16.50 ISBN 854670X Energy from biomass and the over rapid rate of clearance oftropical forests are topical subjects. Silvicultural Systems is a most readable book, written by a long standing expert, which deals with the fundamentals of forest management and hence the efficient supply of biomass. (See also Wood, Fuel For Thought, Energy Exploration and Exploitation, No.5, 1991, P288-307.)


In order to research the static properties of FRP composite laminates with central hole, the numerical simulation and experimental method are used. The simulation is achieved by the finite element analysis tool with the progressive damage method. During the simulation, the Hashion failure criteria and the selective completed material degradation models are adopted. Proper specimens of FRP composite laminates with central hole are prepared and the static tests are carried out. The results indicate that progressive damage method can simulate the failure process of FRP laminates with central hole and the simulative results agree well with the experimental data.


There is a growing concern as to whether the cost of financial intermediation is having commensurate beneficial implication on economic growth in Nigeria. The main objective of this study is to determine the implications of cost of financial intermediation on economic growth in Nigeria. The study made use of ordinary least square regression analysis. Results for ADF unit root tests show that all variables under consideration are I(1). The co-integration test also indicates long run relationship between cost of financial intermediation and economic growth in Nigeria. The study shows that total loan (TL) has significantly impacted on economic growth in Nigeria, that interest rate has significantly impacted positive on the growth of Nigerian economy and that the level of total deposit over the years has impacted negatively on economic growth in Nigeria. The policy implication is that improper management of financial intermediation cost may have caused several macroeconomic consequences in Nigerian economy and the framework for demonstrating its consequence in the real sector of economy. Hence, the issue of how total loan, interest rate and total deposit linked to the level of economic growth is of a great concern in Nigerian economic performance. We therefore recommend that Nigerian government should ensure that proper control and regulation should be guided the activities of the financial intermediations cost in order to achieve a sound financial system.


Discussion. The theoretical interest in this case centres in the problem of the nature of the active antigenic constituent in commercial insulin. TufFo claims that crystalline insulin can be used to ascertain whether sensitiveness is due to insulin itself or to someother antigenicsubstance present in the liquid preparation. According to Allen and Bcherer.w however, the associatedallergen is present in small amount even in crystalline insulin. The latter was not available for testing the above patient, but, although the commercial preparations probably contain more extraneoussubstancecapableof acting antigenically than does the crystalline product, they differ from it so slightly in potency that the amount of contaminating substance must be extremely small. Reactions were obtained, however, in this patient with such minute amountsof insulin, and, with four different brands (which almost certainly would contain varying amounts of extraneoussubstance),were always strictly proportional in intensity to the amountof insulin given. It is, therefore, highly probable that in this case the insulin itself, and not the contaminatingsubstance,was the active agent. Allen and Scherer(2) also suggest that insulin varies in composition in different species,but these results do not support that hypothesis. On the other hand, it is difficult to conceive of sensitivenessto insulin being acquired if the humanhormonedoes not differ in chemicalcomposition from that derived from other species. It still, however, remains possible that fresh antigenic properties are conferred upon insulin itself during the courseof preparation in vitro. Summary. 1. A patient with extremeallergic sensitivity to insulin hasbeeninvestigated. Quantitativeestimationswere made of the amountof insulin which provokedallergic response to intradermaltests before and after desensitization. 2. Desensitization sufficient to allow of injection of insulin in therapeuticdoseswas effected.


Biological therapies in inflammatory bowel disease reflect the exponential advancement in understanding the human intestinal immune system and particularly the biology of intestinal inflammation during the past decade. The better understanding of the mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease has evolved from desriptive clinical data and genetically engineered animal models. It led to great interest in the evaluation of a variety of new therapeutic agents with novel actions. This review will discuss the mechanisms of biologicals (antibodies against pro-inflammatory cytokines, T cell antibodies, anti-inflammtory cytokines, adhesion molecule blockers, growth factors, hormones, colony stimulating factors, fusion proteins, anti-sense oligonucleotides, trefoil peptides, immunostimulatory [ISS] DNA) used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and summarizes the available data on established biologic therapies as well as investigational agents and briefly touch on probiotics. Based on the data discussed, it seems that biologicals will play an important role in managing inflammatory bowel disease in the near future.


The interaction of mesangial cells and monocyte-macrophages plays an important role in renal glomerular immune injury. We have, therefore, examined the regulation of two monocyte-specific cytokines, i.e., macrophage CSF-1 and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1), the product of the mouse JE gene, in mouse mesangial cells. TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and aggregates of IgG increased the synthesis of CSF-1 (determined by RIA) and of MCP-1 (determined by biolabeling and immunoprecipitation). Stimulation of cAMP generation by forskolin or PGE2 decreased basal CSF-1 synthesis and attenuated the responses to TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IgG. Forskolin and PGE2 also decreased biolabeled MCP-1 generation after stimulation with IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, or IgG. By Northern blot analysis steady state levels of mRNA for CSF-1 and JE/MCP-1 were increased after incubation with IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, or IgG, and these effects were attenuated by forskolin. By using nuclear run-on assays the decrease in CSF-1 and JE/MCP-1 mRNA levels induced by stimulation of cAMP generation with forskolin was attributed to decreased transcription of these genes. Thus, agents stimulating cAMP generation, including PGE2, counterbalance the generation of CSF-1 and JE/MCP-1 in response to IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IgG complexes. The locally produced CSF-1 and MCP-1 may in turn influence the interaction between mesangial cells and monocyte-macrophages in glomerular injury.


Focus of this work is the presentation of an interface for an image retrieval system that makes users aware of the overall organization of the image database. The main features of this system are the multi-images query approach and the use of a dynamic knowledge base in order to improve the system performances. The multi-images query is utilized because often a single image does not fully cover the semantic query idea of the user, so, this work presents a system that allows the user to submit multi query images. Another relevant feature of the proposed system is the use of a dynamic knowledge based approach. This knowledge base is composed of two sets of clusters: the first one is obtained with an automatic clustering algorithm and the second one is built dynamically by the user when using the system. The results presented in this paper demonstrate that this approach provides accurate retrieval results showing acceptable interaction speed that can be compared with existing methods


Interference between two "sex-ratio" agents—that is, treponemalike spirochetes—of different origin, one from Drosophila willistoni and the other from D. nebulosa, was demonstrated by experiments in vivo and in vitro. When the two sex-ratio agents were combined in females of the Oregon-R strain of D. melanogaster, expression of the sex-ratio condition was temporarily interrupted. Several lines of evidence indicate that a substance produced by the sex-ratio agent of D. nebulosa may kill or incapacitate the sex-ratio agent of D. willistoni.


Background Autologous fat grafting evolved over the twentieth century to become a quick, safe, and reliable method for restoring volume. However, autologous fat grafts have some problems including uncertain viability of the grafted fat and a low rate of graft survival. To overcome the problems associated with autologous fat grafts, we used uncultured adipose tissue-derived stromal cell (stromal vascular fraction, SVF) assisted autologous fat grafting. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of SVF in a clinical trial. Methods SVF cells were freshly isolated from half of the aspirated fat and were used in combination with the other half of the aspirated fat during the procedure. Between March 2007 and February 2008, a total of 9 SVF-assisted fat grafts were performed in 9 patients. The patients were followed for 12 weeks after treatment. Data collected at each follow-up visit included clinical examination of the graft site(s), photographs for historical comparison, and information from a patient questionnaire that measured the outcomes from the patient perspective. The photographs were evaluated by medical professionals. Results Scores of the left facial area grafted with adipose tissue mixed with SVF cells were significantly higher compared with those of the right facial area grafted with adipose tissue without SVF cells. There was no significant adverse effect. Conclusions The subjective patient satisfaction survey and surgeon survey showed that SVF-assisted fat grafting was a surgical procedure with superior results.


Nanofluids- a new class of heat transfer fluids have recently been a very attractive area of research due to their fascinating thermophysical properties and numerous potential benefits and applications in many important fields. However, there are many controversies and inconsistencies in reported arguments and experimental results on various thermal characteristics such as effective thermal conductivity, convective heat transfer coefficient and boiling heat transfer rate of nanofluids. As of today, researchers have mostly focused on anomalous thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Although investigations on boiling and droplet spreading are very important for practical application of nanofluids as advanced coolants, considerably fewer efforts have been made on these thermal features of nanofluids. In this paper, recent research and development in boiling heat transfer and droplet spreading of nanofluids are reviewed together with summarizing most related patents on nanofluids published in literature. Review reveals that despite some inconsistent results nanofluids exhibit significantly higher boiling heat transfer performance compared to their base fluids and show great promises to be used as advanced heat transfer fluids in numerous applications. However, there is a clear lack of in-depth understanding of heat transport mechanisms during phase change of nanofluids. It is also found that the nanofluids related patents are limited and among them most of the patents are based on thermal conductivity enhancement and synthesising processes of specific type of nanofluids.


The efficacies of five FDA-approved soft contact lens disinfecting solutions and heat disinfection were evaluated against the mold, Beauveria bassiana. Beauveria bassiana is a ubiquitous soil fungus with a demonstrated ability to grow into a soft contact lens matrix. A stock solution of the fungus was prepared and aliquots were added to each of the following disinfection solutions: ReNu Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution, Opti-Free, AOSEPT Disinfection/Neutralization Solution, Lens Plus Oxysept 1, UltraCare, and a Softmate Thermal Disinfecting Unit. Hydrogen peroxide systems were neutralized immediately using the manufacturer's recommended method. After 1 min, 5 mins, 15 mins, 30 mins, 1 hour, 4 hours, and 8 hours; samples were removed, added to neutralizing broth, and streaked onto Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar plates. Our results showed that hydrogen peroxide and heat disinfection were much more effective against Beauveria bassiana than Opti-Free or ReNu.


We study the foundations of human driven, data-aware business processes, by leveraging on the recently proposed framework of Data-Centric Dynamic Systems (DCDSs). The processes we consider simultaneously capture the control-flow of activities, the manipulation of data maintained in a full-fledged relational database, and the interaction with human users. In particular, users can input new data into the system by relying on different interaction modalities: deterministic input, nondeterministic input, and value selection, considering both finite or countably infinite domains for the input data. With this extended framework, we reassessed the decidability results obtained for the formal verification of DCDSs against rich temporal properties, specified using first-order variants of the mu-calculus.


Pellet injection was investigated for its fuelling capability to high densities in ELMy H mode discharges at JET. Applying the high field side launch system, optimized refuelling scenarios were developed on the basis of conventional discharge configurations with Ip = 2.5 MA, Bt = 2.4 T, averaged triangularity ⟨δ⟩≈0.34 and mainly neutral beam heating at a level of approximately 17 MW. The accessible operational range was extended with respect to gas puff refuelling by the use of pellet injection. For example, H mode conditions could be maintained at densities beyond the Greenwald level. Plasma energy confinement was observed to become density independent at high densities. Deep pellet particle deposition made possible the uncoupling of edge and core density, allowing more peaked density profiles. When confinement deterioration due to pellet triggered MHD activity or parasitic pellet borne gas was avoided in appropriate pulse schedules, an enhanced particle inventory was achieved while maintaining the plasma pressure profile. In a technical assessment it was found that there is still room for further enhancement of the injection scenario by improved adaptation to high density plasma operation.