Marine reserves (MRs) have been established in many parts of the globe for a variety of reasons and there is an increasing body of evidence that indicates they provide a wide range of benefits that can extend beyond their boundaries. In the present study, the biological effects of protection provided by MRs in New Zealand were evaluated, particularly focusing on the potential impacts of reserves on non-protected areas in terms of export of biomass. First, the biological response of two exploited species to MR protection in New Zealand was quantified by comparing meta-analysis results based on response ratio (RR) analysis and Hedges' g statistics. Then, effect of MR size and age on those biological responses was determined. Most MRs supported a greater density of larger individuals than unprotected areas. Results indicated that the benefits provided by MRs scale with reserve size. Also, MR age explained a significant amount of the variation in the density and length of both species. Comparison of the performance of RRs with Hedges' g revealed that RR analysis is an appropriate alternative to Hedges' g statistic for meta-analyses of MR effectiveness because of its ease of use and interpretation. Then, a 14-year time series of fish density data was analyzed to determine early changes in a multi-species fish assemblage inside the Taputeranga Marine Reserve (TMR) compared to adjacent fishing grounds using a Before and After Control-Impact Paired Series (BACIPS) design. This analysis was performed in order to detect changes in fish density due to protection. Commercial, recreational and traditional fisheries are important in this region and the biomasses of several exploited species have been substantially depleted as a result of fishing. The exclusion of fishing from the area should enable at least some species to recover inside the reserve, as has happened in other reserves in New Zealand. The faster growing, more productive species, and those that have been heavily exploited are expected to recover within a few years. Early changes in density were evident in the area protected by the TMR for most of the species surveyed in terms of the effect size analysis. However, most of the changes were too small to be detected with the statistical analyses that were performed. To determine the most appropriate methodology to be used in a later survey in the study area, two Baited Underwater Video (BUV) methodologies (Horizontal versus Vertical set-up) were compared in terms of their ability to record the density and size of reef fish. Results indicated that both the horizontal and vertical BUV techniques are able to detect both conspicuous and cryptic species and both techniques were effective in the detection of carnivorous species, especially large predatory species such as blue cod, but also effective in the detection of fish species that have been overestimated in terms of abundance by other methodologies. The horizontal BUV technique seems to be a better technique for evaluating reef fish size, especially when measuring large fish that exhibit highly aggressive behaviour. The horizontal BUV technique was later used in conjunction with the Underwater Visual Census (UVC) technique to assess the effects of the protection provided by the TMR. A multispecies analysis was carried out to detect any differences in density and length of fish between reserve and fished areas and to detect gradients of fish density across reserve boundaries that could be related to the occurrence of spillover from the reserve to adjacent fished areas. Density gradients provide indirect evidence of spillover, defined as the movement of adult individuals from reserve to adjacent non-protected areas. Little evidence consistent with a positive effect of reserve protection in the TMR was found. Also, little evidence of spillover was found, with theexception of two target species (blue cod and blue moki). In contrast with the findings of previous studies, density gradients were found for both sedentary and vagile species. These results are consistent with the occurrence of density independent spillover that is expected to occur as soon as the density inside reserve areas is higher compared to fished areas. To further understand the patterns of fish movement relative to the effect of protection provided by MRs, spatial differences in density, length and survival of blue cod inside the TMR and adjacent fishing grounds and the movement patterns of the species across the boundaries of the reserve through a capture-mark-recapture (CMR) analysis were examined. CMR studies can provide direct evidence of spillover. Evidence of a positive effect of reserve protection in the TMR for blue cod in terms of increased density, length and survival in reserve areas was found. Also, evidence of high site fidelity of blue cod in both reserve and fished areas, with the majority of individual moving only short distances was found. However, the potential for this species to also travel long distances (>100 km) was confirmed, suggesting the possibility for spillover of the species from reserved to fished areas. Overall, the results of my thesis indicate that New Zealand MRs, consistent with a large body of earlier evidence, are having positive effects on the abundance and size of the species that afford protection to. These results also highlight that both MR age and area are important factors determining the response to protection both in terms of the effects within reserves and on adjacent non-protected areas. Finally, my results highlight the fact that the greater benefits in terms of increased abundance and size, and also movement across reserve boundaries, are obtained for highly exploited species that can potentially move between areas.


In this paper, we investigate the maximization of the coverage time for a clustered wireless sensor network by optimal balancing of power consumption among cluster heads (CHs). Clustering significantly reduces the energy consumption of individual sensors, but it also increases the communication burden on CHs. To investigate this tradeoff, our analytical model incorporates both intra- and intercluster traffic. Depending on whether location information is available or not, we consider optimization formulations under both deterministic and stochastic setups, using a Rayleigh fading model for intercluster communications. For the deterministic setup, sensor nodes and CHs are arbitrarily placed, but their locations are known. Each CH routes its traffic directly to the sink or relays it through other CHs. We present a coverage-time-optimal joint clustering/routing algorithm, in which the optimal clustering and routing parameters are computed using a linear program. For the stochastic setup, we consider a cone-like sensing region with uniformly distributed sensors and provide optimal power allocation strategies that guarantee (in a probabilistic sense) an upper bound on the end-to-end (inter-CH) path reliability. Two mechanisms are proposed for achieving balanced power consumption in the stochastic case: a routing-aware optimal cluster planning and a clustering-aware optimal random relay. For the first mechanism, the problem is formulated as a signomial optimization, which is efficiently solved using generalized geometric programming. For the second mechanism, we show that the problem is solvable in linear time. Numerical examples and simulations are used to validate our analysis and study the performance of the proposed schemes.


Abstract : Theoretically, a Soviet anti-ballistic missile (ABM) deployment would be consistent with Soviet military doctrine, Russian-Soviet tradition, and the current military environment in which Soviet strategy must operate. Practically, however, any Soviet ABM decision will be encumbered by a number of constraints-particularly competing demands upon the limited Soviet economy. It is doubtful that the Soviets could move, on a crash basis, into a large-scale ABM development and deployment program without doing serious harm to important domestic, military, and foreign commitments. The 'proximity consciousness' which traditionally has influenced Russian-Soviet strategy may suggest a somewhat limited role for potential ABM deployment; namely, defense against the more modest threat posed by Nth countries of the future (e.g., Western Europe generally, West Germany particularly, and ultimately Communist China). Until now, the Soviets have played their ABM publicity in a markedly low key. Their statements thus far yield no indication of any intent to move into a crash program of extensive ABM deployment. (Author)


Today's world of digital and mobile media does not require actual physical contact, between the suitable target and the motivated offender, as with traditional crime. In fact, as Mesch (2009) contended that the internet is not merely an information channel but it creates a new space of activities for children, where they are exposed to motivated offenders and the actors of fourth party. Therefore, for the sake of children's safety, the practice of parental mediation control is increasingly becoming more pertinent everyday. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine how parental mediation control in Sri Lanka is influenced by their internet self-efficacy, their experience as online victims and their trust in online users.,This paper uses a unique data set of computer and internet users from Sir Lanka to examine parental intervention in their children's online activities. Specifically, the data set contains 347 responses from computer and internet users. To analyze the data, the authors use a binary dependent (probit) model.,The results show that such factors alter the baseline probability of parental intervention. However, some differences are found between younger and older parents, with the latter group responding more to trust in online users and victimization experience while the former is mainly driven from computer self-efficacy. In particular, the older group is less likely to trust online internet users in terms of never adding unknown persons in the social media. Finally, being self-employed and an older parent has a positive effect on the likelihood of adopting parental controls, possibly because of the non-pecuniary attributes of self-employment.,This study adds to the emerging parental mediation control literature by looking at the likelihood of younger and older parents who were victims of cybercrimes, who have greater internet self-efficacy and lower online third-party trust to adopt parental mediation control behaviors. Also another contribution to the literature is the role of occupation type on parental monitoring behaviors.


1Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 2Siriraj Center of Research Excellence in Diabetes and Obesity, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 3Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand Purpose: To evaluate metformin's benefit on the incidence and survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhosis with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study from 2006 to 2019. The patients were assigned to metformin exposure if they administered metformin at least 3 months after diagnosis of cirrhosis. The outcomes were incidence and survival of HCC in T2DM with cirrhosis treated with metformin compared with those who were not treated with metformin. For the incidence of HCC, the follow-up time was 5 years after cirrhosis was diagnosed. For the survival of HCC, we censored for vital status in June 2019. Results: Of 1061 patients, the patients were divided into 719 patients with metformin exposure and 342 in metformin non-exposure. In metformin exposure, 125 patients (17.4%) developed HCC. In metformin non-exposure, 128 patients (37.4%) developed HCC. Metformin exposure had a significantly lower risk of developing HCC in multivariate analysis HR 0.48 (0.36–0.61); P<0.001. For the survival of HCC, 327 patients were recruited. One-hundred and sixty-two patients were in metformin exposure and 165 patients were in metformin non-exposure. Sixty patients (37%) in metformin exposure died, while 84 patients (50.9%) in metformin non-exposure died. The median survival of metformin exposure and metformin non-exposure were 6.9 years and 3.88 years, respectively; P=0.003. In univariate analysis, the metformin exposure was significantly associated with better survival than in the non-exposure group, HR 0.63 (0.45–0.88); P=0.006. No significant difference was observed in multivariate analysis between two groups, HR 1.07 (0.74–1.54); P=0.72. Conclusion: Metformin exposure was associated with a lower incidence of HCC in cirrhosis with T2DM patients and seemed to extend survival. Continuing metformin in patients with cirrhosis with T2DM should be considered if there was no contraindication.


The present work reports on new mineralogical and whole-rock geochemical data from the Breivikbotn silicocarbonatite (Seiland igneous province, North Norway), allowing conclusions to be drawn concerning its origin and the role of late fluid alteration. The rock shows a rare mineral association: calcite + pyroxene + amphibole + zeolite group minerals + garnet + titanite, with apatite, allanite, magnetite and zircon as minor and accessory minerals, and it is classified as silicocarbonatite. Calcite, titanite and pyroxene (Di36–46 Acm22–37 Hd14–21) are primarily magmatic minerals. Amphibole of mainly hastingsitic composition has formed after pyroxene at a late-magmatic stage. Zeolite group minerals (natrolite, gonnardite, Sr-rich thomsonite-(Ca)) were formed during hydrothermal alteration of primary nepheline by fluids/solutions with high Si-Al-Ca activities. Poikilitic garnet (Ti-bearing andradite) has inclusions of all primary minerals, amphibole and zeolites, and presumably crystallized metasomatically during a late metamorphic event (Caledonian orogeny). Whole-rock chemical compositions of the silicocarbonatite differs from the global average of calciocarbonatites by elevated silica, aluminium, sodium and iron, but show comparable contents of trace elements (REE, Sr, Ba). Trace element distributions and abundances indicate within-plate tectonic setting of the carbonatite. The spatial proximity of carbonatite and alkaline ultramafic rock (melteigite), the presence of "primary nepheline" in carbonatite together with the trace element distributions indicate that the carbonatite was derived by crystal fractionation of a parental carbonated foidite magma. The main prerequisites for the extensive formation of zeolite group minerals in silicocarbonatite are revealed.


The distortions of absorption line profiles caused by photospheric brightness variations on the surfaces of cool, main-sequence stars can mimic or overwhelm radial velocity (RV) shifts due to the presence of exoplanets. The latest generation of precision RV spectrographs aims to detect velocity amplitudes ≲ 10 cm s−1, but requires mitigation of stellar signals. Statistical techniques are being developed to differentiate between Keplerian and activity-related velocity perturbations. Two important challenges, however, are the interpretability of the stellar activity component as RV models become more sophisticated, and ensuring the lowest-amplitude Keplerian signatures are not inadvertently accounted for in flexible models of stellar activity. For the K2V exoplanet host ϵ Eridani, we separately used ground-based photometry to constrain Gaussian processes for modeling RVs and TESS photometry with a light-curve inversion algorithm to reconstruct the stellar surface. From the reconstructions of TESS photometry, we produced an activity model that reduced the rms scatter in RVs obtained with EXPRES from 4.72 to 1.98 m s−1. We present a pilot study using the CHARA Array and MIRC-X beam combiner to directly image the starspots seen in the TESS photometry. With the limited phase coverage, our spot detections are marginal with current data but a future dedicated observing campaign should allow for imaging, as well as allow the stellar inclination and orientation with respect to the debris disk to be definitively determined. This work shows that stellar surface maps obtained with high-cadence, time-series photometric and interferometric data can provide the constraints needed to accurately reduce RV scatter.


Managing patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in an outpatient setting is cost-effective and more efficacious, particularly when pharmacists manage the treatment program. According to the July 2004 report, "Streamlining Heparin Administration Processes," released by The Advisory Board, researchers concluded that pharmacy-driven heparin protocol is an efficient and focused method of ensuring proper dosing and administration. But in order for it to be successful, there must be increased pharmacy staffing.


BACKGROUND: Adequate nutrition and optimal treatment of bronchopulmonary infections are both of critical importance in maintaining the health of patients with cystic fibrosis. The cystic fibrosis centre in Copenhagen has followed a regimen of very early and aggressive antimicrobial treatment, especially against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. An unrestricted diet of low fat and high protein without hyperalimentation was recommended before 1985 which was then changed to a high fat, high calorie intake. METHODS: The overall impact of the treatment regimen was evaluated by a cross sectional analysis of all 223 patients who attended the centre in 1989. Growth and nutritional parameters were combined with lung function parameters and with a retrospective analysis of chronic P aeruginosa infection and its duration. Survival curves for all 313 patients treated at the centre since 1949 were calculated. RESULTS: All the patients with cystic fibrosis had normal height, although the final height was achieved a little later than in healthy controls. Body weight was lower than normal in males above 15 and in females above 10 years of age. The body mass index (BMI), which was approximately 98% of normal in the younger patients, declined to 90% in adult men and to 83% in adult women with cystic fibrosis, and was strongly correlated with lung function parameters. In 1989 the median age of survival of all patients treated in the centre since 1949 was 30 years (32 years in males and 29 years in females). CONCLUSIONS: The overall treatment regimen in the cystic fibrosis centre in Copenhagen is associated with growth and survival rates that are at least equal to those in other cystic fibrosis centres in other countries.


Parent-reported reactions to children's negative emotions and child negative emotionality were investigated as correlates of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Children (N = 107) and their parents participated in a short-term longitudinal study of social development. Mothers and fathers independently completed questionnaires assessing parental reactions to their child's negative emotions and child negative emotionality at Time 1 (33 months) and child behavior problems at Time 2 (39 months). Child negative emotionality was significantly related to greater internalizing and externalizing behavior. Maternal and paternal punitive reactions were related to greater internalizing behavior, but only for boys with high levels of negative emotionality. Results indicate that child temperament and child gender may be important moderators of the relation between parental emotion socialization and child internalizing problems during the toddler and early preschool years.


This paper presents the application of an innovative approach to 3D Inversion of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data which renders the routine Inversion of entire surveys realistic from the computational perspective. the method uses a moving footprint, and is based on the 3D integral equation method for computing data and sensitivities, and the re-weighted regularized conjugate gradient method for minimizing the objective functional. Specifically, we examine results from several well constrained AEM surveys that target the geometry, distribution and water quality associated with palaeochannel aquifers which are developed in contrasting, variably complex regolith settings. the TEMPEST and SkyTEM surveys targeted anastomozing coarse sands and gravels beds in a sandy clay background. the surveys also targeted the abruptly changing and varying basement (due to changes in lithology and structure) which defines the base of the alluvial aquifer and/or the weathered regolith. Results from the 3D Inversions are compared against drill hole geological and other geophysical data. the integrated Interpretations are able to define the location and groundwater salinity within the palaeochannels. As a result of the surveys and drilling, local farm water and irrigation systems are being developed.


A joint source-channel coding has attracted substantial attention with the aim of further exploiting the residual correlation residing in the encoded video signals for the sake of improving the reconstructed video quality. In our previous paper, a first-order Markov process model was utilized as an error concealment tool for exploiting the intra-frame correlation residing in the Wyner--Ziv (WZ) frame in the context of pixel-domain distributed video coding. In this contribution, we exploit the inter-view correlation with the aid of an inter-view motion search in distributed multi-view video coding (DMVC). Initially, we rely on the system architecture of WZ coding invoked for multi-view video. Then, we construct a novel mesh-structured pixel-correlation model from the inter-view motion vectors and derive its decoding rules for joint source-channel decoding. Finally, we benchmark the attainable system performance against the existing pixel-domain WZ coding based DMVC scheme, where the classic turbo codec is employed. Our simulation results show that substantial bitrate reductions are achieved by employing the proposed motion-aware mesh-structured correlation modelling technique in a DMVC scheme.


Political campaigns increasingly micro-target. Given detailed knowledge of voters' identities, campaigns try to persuade voters by pandering to these identities. Through multiple survey experiments, we examine the persuasiveness of group-directed pandering. We ask: Do group members respond more favorably to appeals geared to them, or do they prefer broad-based appeals? Do voters not in a group penalize candidates who appeal to a group? Answers to these questions help us grapple with the evolving relationship between voters and candidates in a rapidly changing information environment. Our results suggest that voters rarely prefer targeted pandering to general messages and that "mistargeted" voters penalize candidates enough to erase the positive returns to targeting. Theoretically, targeting may allow candidates to quietly promise particularistic benefits to narrow audiences, thereby altering the nature of political representation, but voters seem to prefer being solicited based on broad principles and col...


TALES opens a new phase of work in which Jewish songs and stories will become the basis for an embodied, iconoclastic, personal, spiritual, and political engagement with notions of heritage and tradition. This is (not) your grandfather's Judaism. Rather than staging any aspect of Jewish history or identity, the goal is to encounter these performative materials in the present moment, as deeply and honestly as possible.

Performance Mix Festival at The Flea Theater (2013)
Chez Bushwick Presents Movement Research at CPR (2012)
Western Mass Moving Arts Festival Faculty Performance, Earthdance (2012)
Motley Holler Works in Progress Evening, Triskelion Arts (2012)


The problem of scheduling customer orders in the management of a large multi-product warehouse is addressed under realistic assumptions including rapidly changing data, uncertainties and unforeseen events. Simple flexible solution strategies are sought, in the sense that the scheduling problem should not be solved again from the beginning every time new information becomes available. Among the solution strategies, one is based on a few statistical assumptions about the random variables involved in the process: it exploits a stochastic version of the well-known duality principle for nonlinear programming and yields a number of interesting features.


Using a publicly available input-output database that covers 44 countries and 56 industries, I show that most prices are, on average, two to three times higher than the natural costs of production, costs that include a normal rate of return to capital. The novelty in this research is the argument that the true markups are compounded—they incorporate the markups already existing in the intermediate goods and services (inputs) that a company purchases in a vertical chain of production. A complex market structure, one in which companies sell and purchase intermediate products from each other in both horizontal and vertical directions, is the perfect environment for inflating a price well above its natural level. This research may help understanding the true extent of market power. Market power has a substantial impact in such matters as income inequality, standard of living, and economic development. Keywords: complex market structure, compounded markup, monopoly pricing, world input-output tables


A behavioral approach to the design of gain-scheduled controllers is presented. Plant models are considered to be black-box models obtained at nitely many operating points, and it is assumed that no analytical or empirical relations are known between physical parameters and the plant models. In this situation, it is suggested to interpolate in intermediate operating points, simply by interpolating in signal space in the behavioral formalism. Three controller architectures are suggested that lead to global stability for systems that remain close to the interpolated values.


Finding biologically plausible alternatives to back-propagation of errors is a fundamentally important challenge in artificial neural network research. In this paper, we propose a learning algorithm called error-driven Local Representation Alignment (LRA-E), which has strong connections to predictive coding, a theory that offers a mechanistic way of describing neurocomputational machinery. In addition, we propose an improved variant of Difference Target Propagation, another procedure that comes from the same family of algorithms as LRA-E. We compare our procedures to several other biologicallymotivated algorithms, including two feedback alignment algorithms and Equilibrium Propagation. In two benchmarks, we find that both of our proposed algorithms yield stable performance and strong generalization compared to other competing back-propagation alternatives when training deeper, highly nonlinear networks, with LRA-E performing the best overall.


Expression of human involucrin (hINV) a protein of the cornified cell envelope, was studied in the skin of gasoline storage workers, in order to evaluate the effects of the exposure to petroleum derivatives. A total of 25 forearm skin punch biopsies were carried out. Twenty of which were performed on exposed subjects and five on controls. The specimens were processed for immunohistochemistry and hINV expression was evaluated using an anti-hINV monoclonal antibody and the ABC technique. Percentage of immunolabeled keratinocytes was significantly higher in subjects exposed to gasoline with respect to the control sample. A premature hINV expression was detected both in suprapapillary and interpapillary keratinocytes. Such overexpression of hINV seems to be related to an attempt of increasing skin defence mechanism. Therefore it was concluded that also in absence of clinical skin manifestation the exposure to gasoline determines an involvement of keratinocytes on molecular basis.


The widespread advocacy of support for small-scale farmers and cooperative organizations, most of which have sufficiently demonstrated economic efficiency, appear justified both on equity and economic grounds. The foregoing premise informed the socio-economic analysis of cooperative societies operating in Abia State. Various aspects of the organizational structure of the groups were investigated to ascertain their implications
for predictability of human relations, members' communication behaviour and groups performance. Major instruments used in data collection were the questionnaire and interview schedule. Data obtained showed evidence of positive disposition to joining cooperatives by Abia people. Sensitivity to family care responsibilities was found to be a motivating factor influencing participation in cooperatives. Gender was not a barrier to cooperative membership. The middle aged and middle income dominated membership of the
groups. Given the high relevance of cooperatives as instruments of economic self reliance and empowerment, policy initiatives that would strengthen these groups are recommended.. Keywords : Economic rationality, Socio-economic differential, Group formation. Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences Vol. 5 (1) 2007: pp. 65-80


The purpose of patent law is not only to protect inventions but also to foster industrial development (Art. 1 Patent Act). Industry forms part of any national economy whose foundation is a free market economy relying on the free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital. The development of a national free market economy is the main aim of competition and economy policies in the free world and thus also in the EU. Patent enforcement should therefore also be in line with these goals. The principle of exhaustion of patents as developed under German law limits the enforcement of a patent independent of the will of the patentee, weighing the interests in protecting the patent against those in guaranteeing the free movement of goods. If products are put on the market in one jurisdiction by the patentee, or with his consent, national patents can no longer be invoked. This is uncontested in the cases mentioned. However, if the products are first put in circulation abroad, the patentee can, according to German prevailing opinion, enforce his patent within the EU or the EEA. In Japan, this issue is disputed. There are attempts to justify the different treatment of products first put in circulation either within one jurisdiction or abroad on the basis of patent law. The author suggests that the arguments are based on considerations quite contrary to the role of patent law proper, i.e. on economic reasons, above all supporting the pricing policy of national enterprises, which should indeed be left to the individual market participants. The protection of the environment is another aspect that may justify the limitation of patent rights. Products which, for economic reasons, are intended only for a short period of usage should be recycled as far as possible. Business activity helps to enhance and advance the environmental protection. Also, there has to be a just differentiation between the areas where patent protection applies and those where environmental protection applies. On the one hand, case law has tried to differentiate between lawful repair and illegal reconstruction. On the other, the principle of patent exhaustion has been developed further. This paper analyzes the different positions taken in German and Japanese writings on international patent exhaustion, while also taking into account the limitations of German sovereignty by EU law. The focus of the paper is on a view consistent with competition. (Translation by the Editors)


This investigation was intended to a) establish a relationship between pressure and thickness (and hence insulation) of wetsuits during acute changes in pressure from 0.5 to 5 atmospheres absolute (ATA); b) determine the effect of repetitive compression-decompression (C-D) procedures on the insulation properties of wetsuits; and c) assess the possible recovery of insulation after cessation of repetitive C-D. Various wetsuits with different thicknesses and types of linings were selected. In all wetsuits, insulation and thickness were both reduced as similar, curvilinear functions of acutely increasing pressure in the range of 0.5-5.0 ATA. Effects of repetitive C-D (3 ATA) were studied in 5-mm-thick suit samples with various linings. The insulation of suits (0.100-0.120 degrees C.W-1.m-2) rapidly decreased after the first 5000 C-D. In suits without linings (skin suits), the insulation was reduced to 0.080 degrees C.W-1.m-2 at 5000 C-D and revealed no further reduction during the continuation of C-D cycles up to 30,000. Suits lined with single- or double-sided jersey showed a continuous decrease in the insulation and thickness as the number of cycles increased up to 12,000 and remained at a lowered value (0.060 degrees C.W-1.m-2) until the termination of C-D (30,000 times). A nearly complete recovery of thickness was seen 10 days after cessation of C-D treatment in the skin suit when C-D cycles were less than 3500; however, no recovery was observed in suits with linings (either single- or double-sided) in 25 days.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


A quantum simulation of silicon nanowire field-effect transistors has been performed in the frame work of the effective mass theory, where the three-dimensional Poisson equation was solved self-consistently with the mode-space nonequilibrium Green's function equations in the ballistic transport regime. The dependence of the device performance on the gate length and width for three types of gate configuration has been studied, focusing on the contribution of the tunneling current to the total current. The effects of gate underlap and the corner rounding of silicon body on the device performance have been also investigated quantitatively, leading to the conclusions that the gate underlap is an important factor in improving the subthreshold characteristics of the device, but the corner rounding of silicon body is not a significant factor, especially for devices with silicon body width of a few nanometers


Ten patients with medial gonarthrosis treated by unicompartmental arthroplasty were matched with ten patients who had high tibial osteotomy; their courses of rehabilitation were evaluated. All patients regained motion without problems, with no difference between the groups. Muscle torque was measured by a Cybex II dynamometer. The results six months postoperatively were better in the patients treated by unicompartmental arthroplasty than they were 12 months postoperatively in the patients treated by high tibial osteotomy. In the prosthesis group there was an increase in the maximal gait velocity and the duration of single support. In the osteotomy group there was no significant change. This difference in the results of rehabilitation constitutes an argument for arthroplasty in aged patients.


Recovery of gold and other valuable metals from electronic scrap involves a complex metallurgical flow sheet and requires state-of-the-art recovery technologies that are available in large-scale, integrated smelter and refinery operations. At the end of their use, electronic and other electrical product scrap offer an important recycling potential for the secondary supply of gold and silver into the market. With gold concentrations reaching 200-250 g/t for computer circuit boards, this scrap is an 'urban mine' that is significantly richer in gold than the sources of the primary ores today. This paper gives methods of gold and silver recovery from printed circular board.  The methods of purification are given and they separate gold from the impurities (tin, copper and nickel). The obtained gold and silver have 99.99% quality.


In this paper, we present two approximate filtering algorithms for estimating states of a distributed networked control system (DNCS). A DNCS consists of multiple agents communicating over a lossy communication channel, e.g., wireless channel. While the time complexity of the exact method can be exponential in the number of communication links, the time complexity of an approximate method is not dependent on the number of communication links. In addition, we discuss the general conditions for stable state estimation of DNCSs.


Background The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) is a flagship Trust for the NHSIQ 'Transforming End of Life Care (EoLC) in Acute Hospitals programme' . Previous EoLC initiatives had been led by the specialist palliative care team (SPCT) within existing resource supplemented by some non- recurrently funded projects. However, a step change in improved EoLC in this 2000-bedded acute trust required implementation at scale and a corporate approach to sustainability. Aims To develop a service improvement programme across the organisation to ensure that all patients at LTHT approaching the end of their life are identified and receive the best quality of care with their needs and the needs of their families met appropriately, within available resources. Method An approach was piloted within two specialties for six months, led by a triumvirate of senior manager, and SPCT lead nurses and clinician. The learning gained from the pilot informed a successful bid to the Care Pathways Programme Board for a corporate EoLC Service Improvement Project, with dedicated project manager support and Trust Board leadership (Medical Director) Results Stakeholders identified 4 workstreams (Education, Metrics, Interface with community, and Patients and Public Information Needs). EoLC Project Board formed with senior representatives from across the trust, and with clear communication and accountability back to the Board. Linkage made with other EoLC initiatives including the engagement of EOLC champions across the Trust. EOLC process mapping sessions informed the work. Conclusion In order to implement measurable changes across a large Trust, dedicated project management skills and time are required to ensure momentum and connectivity between inter-related workstreams; to coordinate clinicians across specialties and general practice, and to link into trustwide structures which have the necessary authority and recognition to effect change. A leadership triumvirate of manager, lead clinician and senior nurse works well.


All research should meet the highest ethical and scientific standards, and so persons who may be involved in conducting research should be fully conversant with the relevant ethical principles of biomedical research and its requirements. Further, scientists, academicians, physician-researchers, student-researchers, and members of research ethics committees should be able to distinguish between therapy and research, evaluate risk and benefit, be sensitive to various forms of conflicts of interest, and be fully aware of the special provisions necessary for vulnerable populations. This article recommends a number of subject areas that should be addressed as a part of this academic process.


The Catalogue of Endangered Languages, recently launched at endangeredlanguages.com, has already produced valuable new knowledge about the endangered languages of the world. The purpose of this paper is to make some of these findings known, in particular, ones with particular importance for how endangered languages are talked about generally.

We report examples of the following sorts:

Hard evidence from the Catalogue shows that 3054 languages are currently endangered (43% of all languages), based on precise criteria. This 43% is near to the oft-cited 50% (but far from the 90% worst-case) scenario of languages expected to become extinct or doomed by the century's end.

Of all known named languages, 634 have become extinct, 141 of these (22%) in recent times (in the last 40 years). This concrete evidence demonstrates that the rate of language extinction has become much more highly accelerated in recent times, as often claimed.

All the languages of exactly 100 families, including isolates, have become extinct, from among the world's 420 language families –24% of linguistic diversity has been lost forever. This confirms the common claim of significant loss of language diversity.

There are 335 languages with fewer than 10 speakers (11% of all endangered languages).

The very frequently repeated claim that one language goes extinct each 2 weeks is not supported by the findings; rather, the Catalogue of Endangered Languages finds that on average only 3.5 languages become extinct per year, i.e. about 1 each 4 months, true now and for any time span during the last 40 years. Though not as dramatic as the oft-cited claim, loss of 1 language every 4 months is tragic, with its irreparable damage and loss. There is no need to continue to repeat the inaccurate claim, which ultimately could have negative repercussions for our field -- the number is still shocking.

We side with Copernicus: "to know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, is true knowledge." As the Catalogue of Endangered Languages moves into the next phase, its goal is to achieve true knowledge by obtaining information on the endangered languages that we know that we do not currently have enough information for, and thereby produce new knowledge relevant to several audiences and relevant to how endangered languages are talked about generally.


Nutritional evaluation of some oilseed-cakes (groundnut-cake, cottonseed-cake, full fat soybean meals, defatted soybean-meals, raw soybean-meal. extruded com-soybean-meal, rapeseed-meal, sesame- meal and sunflower-meal) were assessed by chemical analyses. Crude protein content in the range of 44.25 to 50.54% were recorded with full fal soybean-meal (FT'S) I, groundnut-cake (GC) I. 2 defatled soybean (DS) 2, 3 and sesame-meal (SESM). Cottonseed-cakes (CSC) I and 2 gave hIghest cmde fibre of about 20%. while bighest ether extract content between 18.55 Lo 19.94% were obtained with FFS-products. Phosphorus was abundant while magnessium was the least occurring mineral among the oilseed concentrates. Calcium occurred abundantly in soybean concentrates and sesame-meal. Per cent pbytic, phytin-phosphorus and tannin (mg/100g) were higher (p<.005) in raw soybean (RS), CSC, GC, rapeseed-meal (RASM), sunflower-meal (SUFM) and SMSM. Trypsin inhihitor activity was highest cP<0.05) in RS, while esc 1 gave significantly higher free and total gossypol. SUFM, SESM, RASM and soybean-products gave the highest values for available methionine, wbile highest nitrogen solubility and available lysine occurred in FFS 1 and 2. Based on their nutrient profile, oilseed-cakes could serve as important plant protein sources in livestock production.


We report the laser performance of resonantly diode-pumped Er:YAG from liquid nitrogen temperature to above room temperature. Relative to incident pump power, the best performance was observed at approximately 160 K. Spectroscopy and modeling show that this is due primarily to the changing efficiency of diode pump absorption as the absorption lines broaden with temperature. However, the physics of the Er:YAG system indicates that even with arbitrarily narrow pump linewidth the most efficient laser performance should occur at a temperature somewhat above 77 K. The causes of the temperature dependence are at least qualitatively understood.


The research institute that evaluates some new drugs being considered for coverage by Germany's massive public health insurance system has announced a new evaluation system, which it implies is better than the system employed by the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

The new German system, which evaluates the relation between health benefit of a drug and its cost, was developed by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in Cologne. In cases where potential health benefit of a drug being considered for coverage by public health insurers is not clearly evident, the institute is commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee, Germany's public health insurance regulator, to undertake an evaluation and give a recommendation.

In an English language press release issued on 30 November, IQWiG director Peter Sawicki says of the news evaluation method: "While our procedure is quite different to that in the UK, there are a lot of similarities with Australia." The press release, referring to the UK and Germany, also notes: "Moreover, …


Most cameras today photograph their entire visual field. In contrast, decades of active vision research have proposed foveating camera designs, which allow for selective scene viewing. However, active vision's impact is limited by slow options for mechanical camera movement. We propose a new design, called FoveaCam, and which works by capturing reflections off a tiny, fast moving mirror. FoveaCams can obtain high resolution imagery on multiple regions of interest, even if these are at different depths and viewing directions. We first discuss our prototype and optical calibration strategies. We then outline a control algorithm for the mirror to track target pairs. Finally, we demonstrate a practical application of the full system to enable eye tracking at a distance for frontal faces.


Climate change has and will continue to increase the intensity and frequency of extreme climate events. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change owing to its low elevation, dominance of floodplains, its high population density and its low economic, infrastructural and technological capacity. Despite the vulnerability, Bangladesh has managed to reduce the adversity of the extreme events over the years. This study assesses the effectiveness of the country's governance structure, implications of national policies, legal framework, involvement of local government, and non-government organizations in developing an efficient disaster risk reduction and anticipatory action system in Bangladesh. Through an extensive and systematic literature review the study reveals that the country has become a role model through its disaster management journey by successfully developing an efficient disaster management system from a reactive approach focused on relief rehabilitation to a proactive approach that includes hazard identification, improvement of community preparedness, reducing vulnerabilities, integrated response and recovery efforts. Also, the recent data shows that the loss of human life due to climatic extreme events is significantly reduced due to improved early warning and forecasting systems, effective use of local governance structure, active involvement of community-based organizations, risk informed and evidence-based policy formulation and effective implementation of the policies and strategies. Despite the success, the country is yet to secure livelihood and properties of vulnerable communities from disaster-induced loss and damage. Besides, there are adaptation failures which also need to be addressed through the lessons from the past. The article also discusses the disaster risk reduction and anticipatory action system requiring further strengthening, focusing mainly on building a climate risk resilient system by incorporating locally-led approach.


OF THESIS LONGITUDINAL DESCRIPTIVE PROFILE OF COLLEGIATE PITCHERS PARTICIPATING IN A SUMMER BASEBALL LEAGUE The purpose of this study was to provide a longitudinal profile of pitching performance in a cohort of pitchers over two collegiate seasons and a summer league. Thus, this study utilized a longitudinal design to evaluate the impact of summer league participation on subsequent collegiate regular season pitching performance. Specifically, the performance of a cohort of Division 1 collegiate baseball pitchers during the 2018 Spring collegiate season, 2018 Summer League season, and the 2019 Spring collegiate season was evaluated and stratified by pitcher designation, arm dominance, and academic status. Analyses of variance were used to identify main and interaction effects on pitching outcomes. The level of statistical significance was set at p < .05 for all analyses. Data were publicly accessed from thirty-seven Division I collegiate baseball pitchers who participated in a summer baseball league. Collectively, all pitchers significantly improved earned run average (p = .024), number of strikeouts (p = .011), and strikeout efficiency (p = .034) from 2018 to 2019 collegiate seasons. Whereas, starting pitchers (n = 15) yielded fewer earned runs (p = .039) and enhanced hit efficiency (p = .012) from 2018 to 2019 collegiate seasons. Relief pitchers (n = 16) produced significantly more strikeouts from 2018 to 2019 collegiate seasons (p = .012). Finally, there were no differences in pitching outcomes for closers (n = 6) over time (p > .05). Regarding arm dominance, right-handed pitchers (n = 23) improved win average (p = .001), strikeouts (p = .008) and strikeout efficiency (p = .031) from 2018 to 2019 collegiate seasons. Left-handed pitchers (n = 14) significantly improved earned run average (p = .015), earned runs (p = .048), and hit efficiency (p = .014). Regarding academic stratification, the freshman to sophomore cohort (n = 15) significantly improved number of pitches (p = .018), innings pitched (p = .019), hits (p = .029), and strikeouts (p = .003). Whereas, the sophomore to junior cohort (n = 21) significantly improved losses (p = .042) and hit efficiency (p =.028). The findings from this study indicate that participation in a summer baseball league may have improved several critical pitching metrics with implications to enhance team performance.


Organoids are in vitro-cultured three-dimensional structures that recapitulate key aspects of in vivo organs. They can be established from pluripotent stem cells and from adult stem cells, the latter being the subject of this review. Organoids derived from adult stem cells exploit the tissue regeneration process that is driven by these cells, and they can be established directly from the healthy or diseased epithelium of many organs. Organoids are amenable to any experimental approach that has been developed for cell lines. Applications in experimental biology involve the modeling of tissue physiology and disease, including malignant, hereditary, and infectious diseases. Biobanks of patient-derived tumor organoids are used in drug development research, and they hold promise for developing personalized and regenerative medicine. In this review, we discuss the applications of adult stem cell-derived organoids in the laboratory and the clinic. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease, Volume 15 is January 24, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) lacking estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER2 amplification have a relatively high risk of metastatic dissemination, but the mechanistic basis for this risk is not understood. Here we report that serum levels of CD95L are higher in TNBC patients compared to other breast cancer patients. Metalloprotease-mediated cleavage of CD95L expressed by endothelial cells surrounding tumors generates a gradient that promotes cell motility, due to formation of an unconventional CD95-containing receptosome termed the motility-inducing signaling complex. Formation of this complex was instrumental for Nox3-driven ROS generation. Mechanistic investigations revealed a Yes-Orai1-EGFR-PI3K pathway that triggered migration of TNBC cells exposed to CD95L. Our findings establish a pro-metastatic function for metalloprotease-cleaved CD95L in triple-negative breast cancers, revisiting its role in carcinogenesis.


Robots do not have any capability of taking moral responsibility. At the same time industrial robotics is entering a new era with ¿intelligent¿ robots sharing workbench with humans. Teams consisting of humans and industrial robots are no longer science fiction. The biggest worry in this scenario is the fear of humans losing control and robots running amok. We believe that the current way of implementing safety measures have shortcomings, and cannot address challenges related to close collaboration between humans and robots. We propose that ¿intelligent¿ industrial robots of the future should have moral responsibilities towards their human colleagues. We also propose that implementation of moral responsibility is radically different from standard safety measures.


The Ramsgate Harbour Approach Road Tunnel (RHART) was the first to use the prevaulting tunnelling method in the UK. As with other forms of open-face tunnelling, this method relies on the establishment of a reliable pre-construction geological model and continual verification of this model during construction by use of the observational method. The route was thought to pass through difficult ground conditions containing a number of natural and artificial hazards which, if not managed properly, would have serious implications for health and safety during construction. This paper illustrates how geological modelling was used for early identification and prediction of such hazards, enabling the planning of contingency procedures. By incorporating the observational method in the construction process the site team was able to assess the accuracy of predictions made from the ground model. Procedures adopted during construction of theRamsgate Harbour Approach Road Tunnel illustrate how results from continuous in-tunnel and surface observation and monitoring lead to increased confidence in the geological model and the prediction of ground behaviour. Adoption of these procedures reduced the risks posed from unforeseen ground hazards and significantly improved health and safety issues for personnel during construction.


A technique is presented in which small concentrations of a polymer additive are used to suspend air bubbles in a ''gel'' to form stable bubble clouds. Bubble clouds with volume fractions as low as 0.04 size distributions determined by using a CCD camera and image processing software, show clouds with most of the bubbles less than 100 mm in radius and means near 60 mm. A theoretical framework for the sound speed and attenuation as a function of the bubble number density distribution, which includes the shear‐thinning properties of the gel, is presented. This theory indicates that the acoustics of bubble clouds in this gel are, over a large range in frequencies, almost identical to that of bubble clouds in pure water. Image processing along with low‐frequency acoustic measurements performed in a long steel tube clearly show that only small changes in volume fraction and bubble size distribution occur over a matter of days. Results are presented comparing the theory and measurements for sound speed and atte...


Photographs of the inside of Turin's prison 'Le Nuove', which served as the city of Turin's main prison from 1870 to 1986. From 1986 to 2004 it was still used as a women's prison and as a place where prisoners in partial custody went to sleep at night. The photographs document the path of a spontaneous tour through the building that is run by ex partisans and their family members, who want visitors to remember the years in which the prison was under Nazi control (1943-1945) in certain parts of the building the volunteer tour guides set up a shrine with photographs of those partisans who were executed by the Nazis. The basement cells where the main shrine is were also used as punishment cells for unruly inmates well into the 1970s. There are also photographs of the unique panoptical chapel designed by the 19th century architect Pollani so as to solve the problem of taking prisoners to attend mass while maintaining the system of total isolation practiced in the prison until the end of the Second World War : prisoners were escorted to tiny cells from which they could attend the mass through barred windows and they were locked in for the duration of the service. Then, one by one, they would be taken back to their cells.Dr Eleanor Chiari's photographs of Turin's prison 'Le Nuove'.


The fate map of 2- and 4-cell-stage Sicyonia ingentis embryos was determined by microinjection of lysyl-rhodamine-dextran into single blastomeres. Microinjected embryos were cultured to the limb bud stage, when the body plan of the nauplius larva was evident. The animal blastomere, AB, gave rise to anterior ectoderm, while the vegetal blastomere, CD, gave rise to posterior structures, including the invagination site during gastrulation. The A blastomere gave rise to mirror-image patterns of dorsal-lateral ectoderm, while the B blastomere gave rise to anterior, ventral ectoderm. The C blastomere gave rise to posterior, dorsal-lateral ectoderm, complementary to the A pattern, as well as some naupliar mesoderm. The D blastomere gave rise to mesendoderm, naupliar mesoderm, and some posterior ectoderm. To study the specification of the early blastomeres, they were microsurgically separated and cultured in isolation. Two mesendoderm cells formed in 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 blastomeres in embryos dissociated at the 2-, 4-, 8-, and 16-cell stages, respectively. CD and D blastomeres could be distinguished by their larger size and gave rise to the mesendoderm cells. Archenteron formation and elongation of the embryo occurred in CD but not in AB isolates. Isolated blastomeres were recombined in various ways to determine whether their state of commitment could be altered in different cellular environments. Duplicated mesendoderm cells and archenterons formed in CD + CD recombinations, while AB + AB recombinations formed blastulae but did not produce mesendoderm cells and did not invaginate. The normal number of mesendoderm cells and a single archenteron formed in D + AB recombinations, while C + AB recombinations remained as blastulae and did not form mesendoderm cells. The results suggest that the mesendoderm cells are autonomously specified, possibly by cytoplasmic localization at the vegetal pole. The mesendoderm may also function as a signaling region to organize other developmental events.


A modified distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) method is used to calculate the triple differential cross sections (TDCSs) in a coplanar asymmetric geometry for the electron impact single ionization of a He (1s2) atom at intermediate and lower energies. The post-collision interaction and the polarization effect in (e, 2e) collisions of helium are considered in the calculations. The polarization potentials from the damping method and density functional theory (DFT) are compared. Theoretical results are compared with the recent experimental data.


We simulate transmission of a spectrum-sliced WDM channel operating at high bit rates (e.g., 622 to 2488 Mb/s). We calculate the bit error rate using the non-Gaussian statistics of thermal light sources that are commonly used in spectrum slicing and account for the effects of fiber dispersion. We evaluate the tradeoff in optical slice linewidth between signal-to-excess optical noise ratio and dispersion penalty in spectrum-sliced WDM systems, and determine the channel slicewidth that minimizes transmission penalty for a given link length and bit rate. We compare our simulations against the measured performance of a 1244 Mb/s channel over 20 km of fiber. The results in this paper provide useful information for the design of spectrum-sliced WDM networks.


Bangladesh is an agrarian country trying to feed an increasing population with gradually diminishing cultivable land. Majority of the population in Bangladesh depends directly or indirectly on agriculture. The agriculture of Bangladesh is capable of producing different types of crops all around the year. However, crop-wise nutritional value is different from crop to crop. As the amount of cultivable land is a major issue for crop cultivation, required domestic production is very much dependent on the optimum use of these lands. Every year, Bangladesh is to import and export various agricultural products to respond to additional demand and surplus production. The presence of strategies to maintain optimum use of land for each crop based on the domestic demand and export-import policies would stabilize the production system in Bangladesh. Cost of production and fair farm gate price of agricultural produce are two most important aspects related to the smooth marketing of the agricultural products, which also have significant impact on the production of a certain crop in successive years. As there is no alternative technique other than placing pressure on the scarce arable land of Bangladesh to ensure food security for its 168.96 million people, only a better planning for agricultural lands by expected crops may help solve the problem. The main objective of this research is to optimize the amount of land for each type of crop, especially for the rabi season, in order to maximize the farm-gate price and minimize the cost of production to help policy makers for devising better policy to ensure food security of the country. With the help of sophisticated statistical techniques this research suggests some alternative scenarios of optimum use of arable land by crops in rabi season that will enable the government to device appropriate strategies and incentive plans.


The optimal probability and distance of dispersal largely depend on the risk to end up in unsuitable habitat. This risk is highest close to the habitat's edge and consequently, optimal dispersal probability and distance should decline towards the habitat's border. This selection should lead to the emergence of spatial gradients in dispersal strategies. However, gene flow caused by dispersal itself is counteracting local adaptation. Using an individual based model we investigate the evolution of local adaptations of dispersal probability and distance within a single, circular, habitat patch. We compare evolved dispersal probabilities and distances for six different dispersal kernels (two negative exponential kernels, two skewed kernels, nearest neighbour dispersal and global dispersal) in patches of different size. For all kernels a positive correlation between patch size and dispersal probability emerges. However, a minimum patch size is necessary to allow for local adaptation of dispersal strategies within patches. Beyond this minimum patch area the difference in mean dispersal distance between center and edge increases linearly with patch radius, but the intensity of local adaptation depends on the dispersal kernel. Except for global and nearest neighbour dispersal, the evolved spatial pattern are qualitatively similar for both, mean dispersal probability and distance. We conclude, that inspite of the gene-flow originating from dispersal local adaptation of dispersal strategies is possible if a habitat is of sufficient size. This presumably holds for any realistic type of dispersal kernel.


Background Adaptive design clinical trials use preplanned interim analyses to determine whether studies should be stopped or modified before recruitment is complete. Emergency medicine trials are well suited to these designs as many have a short time to primary outcome relative to the length of recruitment. We hypothesised that the majority of published emergency medicine trials have the potential to use a simple adaptive trial design. Methods We reviewed clinical trials published in three emergency medicine journals between January 2003 and December 2013. We determined the proportion that used an adaptive design as well as the proportion that could have used a simple adaptive design based on the time to primary outcome and length of recruitment. Results Only 19 of 188 trials included in the review were considered to have used an adaptive trial design. A total of 154/165 trials that were fixed in design had the potential to use an adaptive design. Conclusions Currently, there seems to be limited uptake in the use of adaptive trial designs in emergency medicine despite their potential benefits to save time and resources. Failing to take advantage of adaptive designs could be costly to patients and research. It is recommended that where practical and logistical considerations allow, adaptive designs should be used for all emergency medicine clinical trials.


Enterprises and cloud providers are moving away from deployment of large-scale data centers and towards small- to mid-sized data centers because of their lower implementation and maintenance costs. An optical metro network is used to provide connectivity among these data centers. The optical network requires flexibility on bandwidth allocation and various levels of Quality of Service to support the new emerging applications and services including the ones enabled by 5G. As a result, next generation optical metro networks face complex control and management issues that needs to be resolved with automation. We present a converged inter/intra data center network architecture with an autonomous control plane for flexible bandwidth allocation. The architecture supports both single-rate and multi-rate data planes with two types of physical layer connections (Background and Dynamic) that provide connections with strict bandwidth and latency requirements. We demonstrate autonomous bandwidth steering between two data centers on our prototype. Leveraging a simulation platform, we show up to 5 $\times$ lower transmission times and 25% less spectrum usage compared with the single-rate conventional non-converged networks. This is a significant improvement in the data center network performance and energy efficiency.


Atomoxetine is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It is used to treat ADHD syndrome through increasing norepinephrine concentration in the synapses and consequently overstimulation of adrenergic receptors. Though, in recent years several reports have been published on the adverse effects and complications of atomoxetine overuse. As a result, this study is conducted to assess the effects of atomoxetine on different human organs. This is a review article in which 54 relevant papers have been evaluated- these studies were found through searching in valid electronic and library databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Medline, and Embase to assess treatment protocols, effectiveness, and adverse effects of atomoxetine. Clinical and experimental studies have proved the side effects and complications of high-dose atomoxetine on weight loss, urinary system complications, cardiovascular issues, liver disorders, behavioural and nervous system problems. Results of the evaluated studies suggest that many patients arbitrarily use high-dose atomoxetine for long-term which may lead to irreversible problems and complications. Consequently, avoiding high-dose atomoxetine is suggested especially in pregnant women and patients with liver disorders.


The effect of well interference through fracture hits in shale reservoirs needs to be investigated because hydraulic fracturing is abundantly used in the development of unconventional oil and gas resources. Although numerous pressure tests have proved the existence of well interference, relatively few physical models exist to quantitatively simulate the pressure response of well interference. The objective of the present study is to develop a numerical compositional model in combination with a fast embedded-discrete-fracture-model (EDFM) method to simulate well interference. Through nonneighboring connections (NNCs), the fast EDFM method can easily and properly handle complex-fracture geometries, such as nonplanar hydraulic fractures and a large amount of natural fractures. Using public data for Eagle Ford tight oil, we build a reservoir model including up to three horizontal wells and five fluid pseudocomponents. The simulation results show that the connecting hydraulic fractures play a more-important role than natural fractures in declining bottomhole pressure (BHP) of the shut-in well. Matrix permeability has a relatively minor effect on pressure drawdown, and well productivity remains only slightly affected by the overall low permeability used. The BHP pressure-decline profiles change from convex to concave when the conductivity of the connecting fractures increases. At early times, the BHP of the shut-in well decreases when the number of natural fractures increases. At later times, the natural-fracture density has a lesser effect on the pressure response and no clear trend. The opening order of neighboring wells affects the well-interference intensity between the target shut-in well and the surrounding wells. After a systematic investigation of pressure drawdown in the reservoir, we formulate practical conclusions for improved production performance.


Besides supplying Fe, high dust deposition also brings fine inorganic particles thatparticipate in particle aggregation and Fe scavenging. This study is aimed at a betterunderstanding how dust particles influence Fe speciation and residence time.A 1D-model of Fe biogeochemistry is coupled with the General Ocean TurbulenceModel and a NPZD-type ecosystem model. This model is applied for the TENATSOsite which is strongly influenced by Saharan dust events. Besides being affected byvarying dust deposition, the vertical distribution of different particle classes in themodel shows high sensitivity to changing aggregation rates, with dust particlesdominating near the surface and aggregates deeper down. The particle distributionplays a key role determining DFe loss through colloid formation and aggregation.Considering the redissolution of colloidal and particulate iron, modeled DFeconcentration vary in the same range as observations. Modeled Fe residence timesrange from months in surface waters to years in deeper waters.


Associations between behavioral inhibition and activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system, a stress-sensitive neuroendocrine system indexed by salivary cortisol, have varied widely across studies. In the current study, we examined the role of peer social experiences in moderating patterns of association between inhibition/risk-aversion and cortisol reactivity. As expected based on previous research, preschool children (N = 165, 78 boys, 87 girls, 3.0-5.0 years) had significantly different social experiences in their preschool classrooms depending on temperament. Highly inhibited/risk-averse children were less socially integrated, less dominant, and less involved in aggressive encounters than both average and highly exuberant/risk-seeking children, but they were no more likely to be peer rejected. Highly exuberant children were more dominant, exhibited anger more often, and had friendships characterized by higher conflict. Cortisol levels fell from fall to spring for average and highly exuberant children but not for highly inhibited children. Unexpectedly, for highly inhibited children, having friends and being more dominant and popular than other highly inhibited children was associated with increasing cortisol levels over the school year. In contrast, highly exuberant children who were less socially integrated than other highly exuberant children maintained higher cortisol levels. Results indicate that the types of social experiences that affect stress-responsive biological systems may differ markedly for highly inhibited and highly exuberant children.


Measurements of particulate matter (PM) from spark ignition (SI) engine exhaust using dilution tunnels will become more prevalent as emission standards are tightened. Hence, a study of the dilution process was undertaken in order to understand how various dilution related parameters affect the accuracy with which PM sizes and concentrations can be determined. A SI and a compression ignition (CI) engine were separately used to examine parameters of the dilution process; the present work discusses the results in the context of SI exhaust dilution. A Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) was used to measure the size distribution, number density, and volume fraction of PM. Temperature measurements in the exhaust pipe and dilution tunnel reveal the degree of mixing between exhaust and dilution air, the effect of flowrate on heat transfer from undiluted and diluted exhaust to the environment, and the minimum permissible dilution ratio for a maximum sample temperature of 52°C. Measurements of PM concentrations as a function of dilution ratio show the competing effects of temperature and particle/vapor concentrations on particle growth dynamics, which result in a range of dilution ratios-from 13 to 18-where the effect of dilution ratio, independent of flowrate, is kept to a minimum. This range of dilution ratios is therefore optimal in order to achieve repeatable PM concentration measurements. Particle dynamics during transit through the tunnel operating at the optimal dilution ratio was found statistically insignificant compared to data scatter. Such small differences in number concentration may be qualitatively representative of particle losses for SI exhaust, but small increases in PM volume fraction during transit through the tunnel may significantly underestimate accretion of mass due to unburned hydrocarbons (HCs) emitted by SI engines. The fraction of SI-derived PM mass due to adsorbed/absorbed vapor, estimated from these data, is consistent with previous chemical analyses of PM. © 1998 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.


Purpose - The purpose of this research is to assess the validity and reliability of the measurement scores related to the learning organization culture, the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ), in an Iranian context. This research can contribute to the growing literature of learning in organizations. Design/ methodology/approach - The data were collected through distributing questionnaires to 54 service firms and manufacturing companies in ten major cities of Iran during the third quarter of 2010. Rigorous translation procedures, including both forward and backward processes, have been used to guarantee the relevance of this instrumentation in different cultural contexts. Confirmatory factor analysis, simple item-internal consistency estimates, and item inter-correlation analysis were performed to test the validity of DLOQ. Research limitations/implications - There are five positional limitations. First, this study relies on self-report and different perceptions of questions can bring about percept-percept bias. Second, the nature of this research is cross-sectional which may cause causality among variables. Third, the various organizational levels in the questionnaire can render some misinterpretations while answering the questions. Furthermore, the length of the original questionnaire (43 questions) could cause lack of concentration and boredom, which in turn, can impact the results. Last, two constructs related to performance (knowledge and financial performance) in the questionnaire were omitted. Originality/value - This study confirms, according to some statistical results, that the Iranian version of DLOQ has produced reliable measurement scores with the construct validity sufficient to measure the learning organization culture in the Iranian context.


Compared to their White counterparts, Black and Hispanic Vietnam-era, male, combat veterans in the United States have experienced discrimination and increased trauma exposure during deployment and exhibited higher rates of postdeployment mental health disorders. The present study examined differences in deployment experiences and postdeployment mental health among male and female Black, Hispanic, and White veterans deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. Data were drawn from a national survey of veterans (N = 924) who had returned from deployment within the last 2 years. Ethnoracial minority veterans were compared to White veterans of the same gender on deployment experiences and postdeployment mental health. The majority of comparisons did not show significant differences; however, several small group differences did emerge (.02 < η(2) < .04). Ethnoracial minority veterans reported greater perceived threat in the warzone and more family-related concerns and stressors during deployment than White veterans of the same gender. Minority female veterans reported higher levels of postdeployment symptoms of anxiety than their White counterparts, which were accounted for by differences in deployment experience. These differences call for ongoing monitoring.


A novel protocol for the synthesis of functionalized phenanthrenes through photocyclization of diarylethenes (DAE) under UV irradiation is proposed. The reaction proceeds through 6π-electrocyclization with the formation of a cyclic (closed) intermediate that undergoes a rearrangement affording unsymmetrical phenanthrenes in good yields. However, in contrast to benzene derivatives, the photocyclization of naphthalene diarylethenes proceeds more slowly, which is confirmed by DFT calculations. The transformation was performed on a 1 mmol scale. The scalability showed that the diarylethenes bearing oxazole, thiazole, pyrazole and imidazole as aryl moieties are more prone to photorearrangement and can be used in preparative organic synthesis.


A 700-mm bore superconducting magnet was built and operated in our laboratory to demonstrate the feasibility of newly developed superconductor wire for fabricating MRI magnets. The magnet, an assembly of 10 coils each wound with a reacted and s-glass insulated wire 1-km long, was immersed in solid nitrogen rather than in a bath of liquid cryogen. This magnet was designed to operate in the temperature range 10-15 K, maintained by a cryocooler. A combination of this ldquowiderdquo temperature range and immersion of the winding in solid nitrogen enables this magnet to operate under conditions not possible with a low temperature superconductor (LTS) counterpart. Tested individually at 13 K, each coil could carry current up to 100 A. When assembled into the magnet, some coils, however, became resistive, causing the magnet to prematurely quench at currents ranging from 79 A to 88 A, at which point the magnet generated a center field of 0.54 T. Despite the presence of a large volume (50 liters) of solid nitrogen in the cold body, cooldown from 77 K to 10 K went smoothly.


and the influence of the timely and judicious application of information obtained from this investigative procedure. Timely and judicious action depends, inter alia, on formulation of strict criteria for surgical intervention. Failure to acknowledge the importance of this aspect of patient management can only diminish the value of endoscopy. The relative importance of these various factors emerges most clearly from the analysis of the results of the prospective study of mortality in patients with haematemesis and melaena.1 These workers reported a significant reduction in mortality during the treatment period when strict criteria for surgical intervention were in force, even though the operative rate had not altered. Clearly, what had changed was the timing of surgical intervention. Hunt et al did not make an issue of the fact that during the same period the rate of endoscopic diagnosis had improved significantly (p<00005), presumably because they appreciated the fact that endoscopy per se did not save lives whereas the timely and judicious use of information obtained from endoscopy did. 0 M P JOLOBE


The operational ability and mobility of astronaut in spacesuit is an important data for evaluation of the spacesuit, and to know it before use is also a basic data for the design of space station and spaceship. For this reason, mechanical arms were developed to measure the mobility and operational ability of astronaut in spacesuit. However, the mass and motion inertia are always influence the measuring system. This paper studied the dynamics characteristics of the mechanical arms. Dynamics model of the mechanical arms were setup and solved by MATLAB. Angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration of each joint were analyzed. The simulation supply a good basis for the development of the measuring manipulator, and it is helpful for the high accurate measurement.


This dissertation addresses the structural and functional characterization of human Aprataxin, a DNA damage repair protein with a unique activity not found for any other protein involved in DNA repair. Single strand breaks (SSBs) threaten genomic stability, as more than 10.000 of such SSBs arise per cell and day. During the repair of SSBs, so-called "dirty" DNA breaks may arise, which cannot be ligated resulting in the formation of an abortive ligation intermediate: 5'-adenylated DNA. The 5'-adenylate cannot be processed by Ligase 3 itself but requires Aprataxin to be removed from the DNA. Aprataxin belongs to the superfamily of histidine triad (HIT) proteins, but its domain organization including a catalytically active HIT motif and a zinc finger (ZnF) is unique. This work is focused on the HIT-ZnF due to its functional significance. A structural characterization of HIT-ZnF was hampered by its high precipitation propensity, precluding structure determination in solution via standard NMR methodology. By utilizing the specific individual unlabeling of all 20 amino acids, 78% of the observable backbone resonances could be assigned. Based on the assigned chemical shifts a structural CS-ROSETTA-based model of the HIT-ZnF domain of human Aprataxin is presented. The resonance assignment also provides a basis for a detailed characterization of the interaction between HIT-ZnF, its substrate(s) and small chemical compounds by NMR spectroscopy in the future. Surprisingly, functional analysis revealed that HIT-ZnF har- bors additional nucleolytic activities on ribonucleotide-containing substrates different from the canonical adenylated DNA. Although the functional significance of these in vitro observations has yet to be evaluated in vivo, this work provides a solid basis for a comprehensive future assessment of Aprataxin's activities and a role beyond resolving an abortive ligation intermediate during single-strand break repair.


Background and Hypothesis: In western Kenya, estimates for prevalence of hypertension are 6-24% and diabetes are 3-5%. Complications of hypertension and diabetes are some of the fastest growing causes of morbidity and mortality in Kenya. There is limited knowledge and poor training pertaining to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) making treatment difficult. With shortages of physicians and mid-level providers, protocol driven nursing care of hypertension and diabetes has shown to be effective. Through partnerships with counties, the NCD care program has screened 134,923 and treated 12,566 individuals for diabetes and screened 238,078 and treated 29,377 individuals for hypertension. My summer project was to utilize Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare's (AMPATH) partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Health (MOH) to improve access and quality of hypertension and diabetes care delivery at county MOH facilities. These improvements can be achieved through increasing our joint mentorship program led by AMPATH and county MOH staff; introducing the AMPATH Medical Record System (AMRS) into county clinics to improve care; and quality improvement with the Home Glucose Monitoring team.
Personal Role: I created Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Integrative Screening, Clinical Mentorship, and Home Glucose Monitoring (HGM); designed a user manual for AMRS; helped develop a M&E plan for the HGM program; and assisted in the authorship of a grant to scale mentorship for diabetes and hypertension to 60 more clinical sites.
Conclusion and Potential Impact:
This project is a product of the partnership of AMPATH and the MOH to make accessible, high-quality care for hypertension and diabetes available across levels of care. By partnering with the Kenyan government and implementing care in the public sector, improvements in care are sustainable. My involvement will facilitate scaling the project to treat more patients through improving organizational capacity and helping apply for funds to implement in new areas.


The objective of this research is to explore the motif election financing scheme Rural Agribusiness Development (PUAP), knowing what factors affect the performance PUAP, and test whether performance sharia PUAP different from conventional PUAP in Central Java in 2008-2011. The study was conducted in the District of Banjarnegara, Banyumas, Jepara, Kendal and Kendal during the period from July to December 2012 Using qualitative and quantitative methods with a dummy variable multiple regression approach, the manager LKMA PUAP 185 respondents of this study with purposive sampling approach. From about 2267 LKMA PUAP in Central Java, the majority (87.25%) chose to operate with conventional financing scheme and only 289 (12.75%) which apply sharia scheme or the principle of profit sharing (profit sharing). Research shows PUAP sharia been selected for the motive of religious considerations (40.6%), while the conventional PUAP been LKMA practical reasons (35.3%) and the economy (30.2%). In the perception of respondents, LKMA PUAP sharia is considered more appropriate to the creed, manifestations of worship, fields expectation of reward, blessing and benefit. PUAP LKMA conventionally considered more practical, safe, and familiar with the daily habits of members. Statistical analysis showed motif election financing scheme LKMA significantly affected by the financing scheme (Sharia), education level (Educate), and regional differences (Kab). Motif scheme selection is also different between the respondent and the respondent voters LKMA sharia conventional LKMA voters.


This research is aimes to know the effect of turmeric extract on broiler abdominal fat. Fourty eight broiler chickens strain CP 707 placed on 48 batteray cages and was randomized, then were acclimated during 1 week. Those chicken was alloted into 4 groups, each group was treated as follows : T0 (control) : were not given turmerin extract; T1 : were given turmerin extract 200 mg/kg BW/day; T2 : were given turmerin extract 400 mg/kg BW/day; T3 : were given turmerin extract 600 mg/kg BW/day. Turmerin extract was given on capsul shape. Replication of the treatment was 6 times. Long of the treatment was 2 steps, step I (L1) turmerin extract was given during 2-3 weeks (8 – 21 days age), step II (L2) the treatment was continued during 3 weeks (22 – 42 days age), turmerin extract dose was ajusted to the chicken body weight. The chicken were feed with BR I and BR II. Food and drinking water were given in an ad libitum manner. Main parameter observed was abdominal fat weight, supporting parameter was body weight and food consumption. Data was analyzed by varians analysis with Split Plot Design and continued with Duncan Multiple Range Test. The result was turmerin extract influences broiler's abdominal fat. Increase and decrease of abdominal fat are comparable with chicken body weight. On chicken 1 – 4 weeks of age, 200 mg/kg BW/day turmerin extract and 400 mg/kg BW/day turmerin extract increase chicken's abdominal fat. On chicken 4 – 7 weeks of age, 200 mg/kg BW/day turmerin extract increases chicken's abdominal fat.


This paper describes an algorithm for document representation in a reduced vectorial space by a process of feature extraction. The algorithm is applied and evaluated in the context of the supervised classification of news articles from the collection of Le Monde newspaper issued in the years 2003 and 2004. We are generating a document representation (or profile), in a space of 800 dimensions, represented by semantic tags from a machine-readable dictionary. We are dealing with two issues : the synonymy handled by thematic conflation and polysemy for which we have developed a statistical method for word-sense disambiguation. We propose four variants for the profile generation (of a document) depending on whether a recursive system is used or not, and whether a corrective factor for polysemous words is taken into account or not. To determine the best classifier provided by our algorithm we have evaluated 32 variants, depending on the algorithm type (as previously) and on three other parameters that influence the document representation : grammatical category selection, 15% reduction of the profile, and a stop-list of semantic tags. The evaluation is done on a set of documents from six categories by calculating the precision, the recall and the F-measure to determine the best algorithm related to the threshold detection. Some parameters (like profile reduction) have low influence on the classifier performance and others (corrective factor for the ambiguous words, stop-list) improve it noticeably. Resume


Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) disease is a growing healthcare burden. Besides theassociated cardiovascular comorbidities, the AAA itself poses a risk for the patient in two fashions. First, it could rupture, which is associated with high mortality and morbidity. This thesis focused on the second, more indirect, hazard the patient with an AAA is exposed to: the operative risk. Our aim was to improve patient outcome by seeking discrepancies in AAA expressions and repair. Variance and variants in AAA Screening for patients at risk for adverse events due to aneurysmal disease is currently based on traditional risk factors, which does not allow individual risk stratification. The instability of the vessel wall was previously shown to be a part a systemic process, and we show that local proteins predict postoperative cardiovascular adverse events. Currently no differences among AAAs have been established. In this thesis we demonstrate that half of the AAA had only very low amounts of wall inflammation, more pronounced intimal atherosclerosis, more atherosclerotic risk factors and more postoperative events, when compared to the AAA with moderate to severe inflammation. The low-inflammatory AAAs appeared more closely related to atherosclerosis, and might need a different therapeutic approach. Furthermore, we report that there is a regional variance in wall composition inside the AAA. Inflammation and proteases were more pronounced at the lateral sides of the AAA, suggesting decreased local wall strength. This location coincides with the most frequent site of rupture, and merits a prominent focus of (medication-related) research on the lateral wall. Improving outcome after repair Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) comprises the majority of AAA repairs, and various access types exist, which influence outcome. We compared percutaneous access (pEVAR) and femoral cutdown access (cEVAR) both in a tertiary university center and in a more national database, both in the USA. We found that in our hospital pEVAR is associated with an improved (local) outcome and lower operative time and lower hospital stay. However, these results could not be generalized to a national level as this mixture of centers demonstrated only minimal or absent advantages of pEVAR versus cEVAR. When zooming in on physician specialty and experience in a national database in the USA, we noted that vascular surgeons repaired an increasing proportion of AAA overall from 2001 to 2009. Mortality was higher with lower surgeon volumes, especially for open repair. Medium and high volumes decreased over time, suggesting that it will be increasingly hard to deliver good quality treatment. For EVAR, more physicians had medium or large volumes, thereby significantly improving outcome. Current and future advances in knowledge should lead to an individual approach with a tailored cut off for intervention and management of co-existing diseases. Ultimately, if AAAs are better understood, patients who need treatment because of a higher rupture risk can be identified better. Also, the AAA repair of patients who are at high-risk for postoperative mortality and morbidity should be postponed as long as possible to delay the burden of repair, ideally to be repaired just before AAA rupture.


Abstract. This work presents a new iterative method for optimally selecting a vertical retrieval grid based on the location of the information while accounting for inter-level correlations. Sample atmospheres initially created to parametrise the Radiative Transfer Model for the Television Infrared Observation Satellite Operational Vertical Sounder (RTTOV) forward model are used to compare the presented iterative selection method with two other common approaches, which are using levels of equal vertical spacing and selecting levels based on the cumulative trace of the averaging kernel matrix (AKM). This new method is shown to outperform compared methods for simulated profile retrievals of temperature, H2O, O3, CH4, and CO with the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). However, the benefits of using the more complicated iterative approach compared to the simpler cumulative trace method are slight and may not justify the added effort for the cases studied, but may be useful in other scenarios where temperature and trace gases have strong vertical gradients with significant estimate sensitivity. Furthermore, comparing retrievals using a globally optimised static grid vs. a locally adapted one shows that a static grid performs nearly as well for retrievals of O3, CH4, and CO. However, developers of temperature and H2O retrieval schemes may at least consider using adaptive or location specific vertical retrieval grids.


BACKGROUND
Among other factors, control of jejunal microflora depends on intestinal emptiness, and it can be impaired by Chagas disease. This study was developed to identify the microecology of the proximal jejunum in chagasic megacolon. Our objective was to characterize both the jejunal microbial stasis before surgery and the microflora after surgical treatment in patients with chagasic megacolon.

METHODS
The intestinal fluids were collected, and the proximal jejunum microflora was analyzed.

RESULTS
Preoperative microflora had shown an increase in bacteria compatible with bacterial overgrowth syndrome, mainly facultative and strict anaerobes microorganisms and fungi. The microflora had changed in the postoperative period in 83% of these patients, with significant decrease in the number of transient microorganisms.

CONCLUSIONS
Chagasic megacolon was related to an increase in jejunal microflora. By removing the impairment of the colon there was a transient decrease in the proximal jejunum microflora.


Seed storage proteins have been used for studying biochemical genetics and end-use quality aspects. We conducted enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and one-dimensional SDS-PAGE (1D SDS-PAGE) to evaluate different cereal crop species and Korean wheat lines for rye secalin proteins. The antisecalin antibody showed consistent specificity for rye secalin with little cross-reactivity to gliadins. Immunological cross-reactivities measured by the ELISA technique using competition assay showed significant differences of absorbance among rye, triticale, wheat-rye translocated wheat and non-translocated wheat. The absorbance values were lowest in rye followed by triticale, translocated wheat and non-translocated wheat. The ELISA for discrimination of wheat-rye translocation on the basis of antigen-antibody reactivity showed that none of the Korean wheat lines possessed 1RS and secalin proteins. The competitive ELISA experiment demonstrated specific determination for secalin that was originated from rye chromosomal parts. The result of 1D SDS-PAGE for identifying rye secalin subunits showed all three rye specific secalin protein subunits (75 KDa, 45 KDa, and 40 KDa) for rye and triticale, and 1RS specific secalins (45 KDa and 40 KDa) for 1AL/1RS and 1BL/1RS translocated wheats. All Korean wheats were lacking 1RS of rye chromosome and secalin.


Environmental light has an important impact on the growth, development and oxidative stress of chicks. Thus, we investigated the effects of colored lights on microbes and explored the molecular mechanism by which external color light information alters the gut microbiota and induces the cell response in vivo. We raised 96 chicks under 400–700 nm white (WL), 660 nm red (RL), 560 nm green (GL) or 480 nm blue light (BL) for 42 days. We used 16S rRNA high-throughput pyrosequencing and gas chromatography to explore the effect of different monochromatic lights on the jejunal microbiota. We used qRT-PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry and Elisa to determine the effect of different monochromatic lights on small intestine development and oxidative stress levels. With consistency in the upregulation of antioxidant enzyme ability and anti-inflammatory cytokine level, the 16S rRNA and gas chromatography results showed that BL significantly increased the diversity and richness of the jejunal microbiota and improved the relative abundances of Faecalibacterium, Ruminiclostridium_9 and metabolite butyrate content compared with WL, RL and GL (p < 0.05). In addition, we observed that BL increased the goblet cell numbers, PCNA cell numbers, villus-length-to-crypt-depth (V/C) ratios, ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-1 protein expression; decreased permeability; and enhanced the digestion and absorption capacity in the jejunum (p < 0.05). In the in vitro experiment, we found that butyrate promoted chick small intestinal epithelial cell (CIEC) proliferation and inhibited apoptosis (p < 0.05). These responses were abrogated by the Gi inhibitor, PI3K inhibitor or AKT inhibitor, but were mimicked by GPR43 agonists or the GSK-3β inhibitor (p < 0.05). Overall, these findings suggested that BL increased the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium, Ruminiclostridium_9 and butyrate production. Butyrate may act as one of the signals to mediate blue-light-induced small intestinal development and mucosal barrier integrity enhancement and promote cell proliferation via the GPR43/Gi/PI3K/AKT/p-GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway.