Arabidopsis thaliana lines expressing only one cruciferin subunit type (double-knockout; CRUAbc, CRUaBc, or CRUabC) or devoid of cruciferin (triple-knockout; CRU-) or napin (napin-RNAi) were generated using combined T-DNA insertions or RNA interference approaches. Seeds of double-knockout lines accumulated homohexameric cruciferin and contained similar protein levels as the wild type (WT). Chemical imaging of WT and double-knockout seeds using synchrotron FT-IR spectromicroscopy (amide I band, 1650 cm(-1), νC═O) showed that proteins were concentrated in the cell center and protein storage vacuoles. Protein secondary structure features of the homohexameric cruciferin lines showed predominant β-sheet content. The napin-RNAi line had lower α-helix content than the WT. Lines entirely devoid of cruciferin had high α-helix and low β-sheet levels, indicating that structurally different proteins compensate for the loss of cruciferin. Lines producing homohexameric CRUC showed minimal changes in protein secondary structure after pepsin treatment, indicating low enzyme accessibility. The Synchrotron FT-IR technique provides information on protein secondary structure and changes to the structure within the cell.


In-situ aerosol data collected in the Arctic troposphere during a three-week period in 2004 were analysed. The measurements took place during late spring, i.e., at the time of the year when the characteristics of the aerosol distribution change from being accumulation-mode dominated to being primarily of the Aitken-mode type, a process that previously has been observed in the boundary layer. To address the question whether this transition is also detectable in the free troposphere of an aircraft-measured data from the ASTAR 2004 campaign were analysed. In this study, we present vertically as well as temporally results from both ground-based and airborne measurements of the total number concentrations of particles larger than 10 and 260 nm. Aircraft-measured size distributions of the aerosol ranging from 20 to 2200 nm have been evaluated with regard to conditions in the boundary layer as well as in the free troposphere. Furthermore an analysis of the volatile fraction of the aerosol population has been performed both for the integrated and size-distributed results. From these investigations we find that the transition takes place in the entire troposphere.


Many operating parameters, individually or together, may influence the performance of anaerobic digestion towards biogas or digestate yield and quality maximization. The most preferred method of optimizing an anaerobic digestion plant often relies on how carefully the crucial parameters, such as pH, temperature, organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time, and pressure, are chosen. There is a large amount of literature available on optimization of anaerobic digestion; however, given the continued development and implementation of innovative technologies, together with the introduction of increasingly complex systems, it is necessary to update present knowledge on process parameters and their role on operational ranges and flexibilities in real-life anaerobic digestion system. Accordingly, the present review discusses the importance of the selection of operational parameters in existing technologies and their impact on biogas yield. Notably, the four broad areas of feedstock utilization (substrate, inoculum, codigestion and pretreatment), process condition (pH, temperature, pressure, and reactor design), reactor control (HRT and OLR) and inhibition (Ammonia and VFAs) are covered in this review. In addition, particular emphasis is placed on the most recent innovations that have been or may be implemented in current or future biogas plants.


The research reported in this thesis is focused on the creation of a CAE system to
support Reverse Engineering. It is centred around the computational representation of
products (Product Model) and manufacturing capabilities (Manufacturing Model).
These models are essential for modem and future software systems aimed to assist the
design process, enabling data sharing among the participants who use various
computational tools. Reverse Engineering is employed as a particular context and
motivation for exploring the application of the models.
The research builds on the achievements of the recently finished Model Oriented
Simultaneous Engineering System (MOSES) project, undertaken jointly by Leeds
University and the Department of Manufacturing Engineering of Loughborough
University. MOSES' work on information modelling was analysed and combined
together with the original proposals of the author to elaborate a suitable support to
Reverse Engineering, applicable to redesign in general.
A process for Reverse Engineering is proposed and documented and a data model
driven CAE system to support it is specified. The CAE system includes a Product
Model, a Manufacturing Model and two software application environments. The
Product Model of the system is based on the information requirements of the Reverse
Engineering process and is suitable for representing multi-component products, from
different perspectives through its life cycle. The applications assist the characteristic
activities of Reverse Engineering. In particular, the system is used for exploring the
application of Product and Manufacturing Models in supporting Design for
Manufacture.
The theoretical research is tested by the use of a case study which explores the Reverse
Engineering of a component. This work is supported by a prototype software instance of
the CAE system. The case study component is an axle which forms part of a product
designed and manufactured by a collaborating company.


We discuss the multiple pass interferometer setup proposed by Unruh, and clarify some of the fundamental issues linked with complementarity. We explicitly state all mathematical instructions for manipulating the quantum amplitudes and assessing the probability distribution functions. In this respect we show that certain purely math logical limitations (requirement for consistency) prevent one to argue that there is one-to-one corespondence between paths 1 and 2 and the exit gates 10 and 9 ("which way" interpretation), and at the same time insist on pure state density matrix, i. e. existent nonmeasured interference in the second building block of Unruh's interferometer. Furthermore one cannot even argue that Unruh's setup is described by mixed density matrix that keeps the one-to-one correspondence between the paths 1 and 2 and the exit gates. This last claim is mathematically consistent, however is experimentally disprovable - because one may potentially distinguish mixed quantum state from pure quantum state. One just lets the two beams captured at the exit gates cross each other. If interference can be observed the two exit gates were coherent and provide beams in pure state (superposition), while if interference cannot be observed, the state of the exit gates was mixed one. Since the captured beams at the exit gates in Unruh's experiment could interfere this implies that the whole setup is characterized with pure state density matrix and does not preserve the one-to-one correspondence between the entry points and exit gates, even in case where the destructive interference in arm 5 of the interferometer is not measured. Therefore the correct (experimentally plausible and mathematically consistent) exposition of complementarity introduced by Georgiev in 2004 is that Unruh's setup is characterized by pure state density matrix and does not keep the suggested by Unruh one-to-one correspondence. As an appendix is shown the equivalence between Unruh's setup and Afshar's setup and correct analysis of Afshar's experiment is also provided.


In an intertemporal economy where both risk (stock beta) and expected return are time varying, the authors derive a linear relation between the unconditional beta and the unconditional return under certain stationarity assumptions about the stochastic process of size-portfolio betas. The model suggests the use of long time periods to estimate the unconditional portfolio betas. The authors find that, after controlling for the betas thus estimated, a firm-size proxy, such as the logarithm of the firm size, does not have explanatory power for the averaged returns across the size-ranked portfolios.


The combined influence of (1) calving period (early or late) and (2) overwintering contamination by residual infective larvae (high or low) on subsequent exposure of suckler calves to gastrointestinal nematodes was investigated. We found that the effect of calving date was greater than the level of residual contamination. This was because the adult cows produced large quantities of manure containing small amounts of nematode eggs from turnout, which significantly contaminated the pasture, and thereby, reduced the effect of prior high-low contamination. Early born calves were found to be more heavily exposed to parasites, most likely due to ingesting more herbage than those born later. Late-born calves also had relatively high antibody levels at turnout, which first decreased and then increased again. We suggest that the high antibody levels at turnout reflect passive transfer of maternal antibodies through the milk. There was also a significant difference in animal performance, with the more heavily exposed early born calves having significantly lower daily weight gain than the late-born calves. However, this might not be entirely due to increased parasitism.


The focus of this article is on the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme and its successor, the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway: two initiatives in England and Wales with the aim of protecting the public from dangerous offenders through a combination of preventive detention and therapeutic intervention in prisons and psychiatric hospitals. In this article, I first explore how the dangerous yet potentially redeemable dangerous and severe personality disordered subject was constructed by policymakers before turning to examine how the risks this group posed were translated into therapeutic needs under the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme. In so doing, I contend that prisoners' mental health needs are not only targeted for humane reasons but also as a means of facilitating the cost-effective management of difficult and disruptive individuals. Furthermore, meeting these needs can serve as an intermediate step towards drawing difficult prisoners into mainstream offending behaviour programmes explicitly targeting criminogenic risk factors. Ultimately, I conclude that, given that meeting prisoners' mental health needs is contingent on the compatibility of therapeutic regimes with the priorities of the prison, treatment programmes will ultimately yield to the overriding concerns of security and control in the event of conflict.


Abstract Relational cost analysis aims at formally establishing bounds on the difference in the evaluation costs of two programs. As a particular case, one can also use relational cost analysis to establish bounds on the difference in the evaluation cost of the same program on two different inputs. One way to perform relational cost analysis is to use a relational type-and-effect system that supports reasoning about relations between two executions of two programs. Building on this basic idea, we present a type-and-effect system, called ARel, for reasoning about the relative cost (the difference in the evaluation cost) of array-manipulating, higher order functional-imperative programs. The key ingredient of our approach is a new lightweight type refinement discipline that we use to track relations (differences) between two mutable arrays. This discipline combined with Hoare-style triples built into the types allows us to express and establish precise relative costs of several interesting programs that imperatively update their data. We have implemented ARel using ideas from bidirectional type checking.


Background Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a protein found associated with high density lipoprotein (HDL), thought to prevent oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). This enzyme has been implicated in lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. Anoxia-reoxygenation and oxidative stress are important elements in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. However, the role of PON1 in anoxia-reoxygenation or anoxic injury is unclear. We hypothesize that PON1 prevents anoxia-reoxygenation injury. We set out to determine whether PON1 expression in Drosophila melanogaster protects against anoxia-reoxygenation (A-R) induced injury. Methods Wild type (WT) and transgenic PON1 flies were exposed to anoxia (100% Nitrogen) for different time intervals (from 1 to 24 hours). After the anoxic period, flies were placed in room air for reoxygenation. Activity and survival of flies was then recorded. Results Within 5 minutes of anoxia, all flies fell into a stupor state. After reoxygenation, survivor flies resumed activity with some delay. Interestingly, transgenic flies recovered from stupor later than WT. PON1 transgenic flies had a significant survival advantage after A-R stress compared with WT. The protection conferred by PON1 expression was present regardless of the age or dietary restriction. Furthermore, PON1 expression exclusively in CNS conferred protection. Conclusion Our results support the hypothesis that PON1 has a protective role in anoxia-reoxygenation injury, and its expression in the CNS is sufficient and necessary to provide a 100% survival protection.


It is often said that quantum technologies are poised to change the world as we know it, but cutting through the hype, what will quantum technologies actually mean for countries and their citizens? In Law and Policy for the Quantum Age, Chris Jay Hoofnagle and Simson L. Garfinkel explain the genesis of quantum information science (QIS) and the resulting quantum technologies that are most exciting: quantum sensing, computing, and communication. This groundbreaking, timely text explains how quantum technologies work, how countries will likely employ QIS for future national defense and what the legal landscapes will be for these nations, and how companies might (or might not) profit from the technology. Hoofnagle and Garfinkel argue that the consequences of QIS are so profound that we must begin planning for them today.


Background: The authors prospectively evaluated the efficacy of lymphovenous bypass in patients with lymphedema secondary to cancer treatment. Methods: The authors prospectively enrolled 100 consecutive patients with extremity lymphedema secondary to cancer treatment. Sixty-five patients underwent lymphovenous bypass with indocyanine green fluorescent lymphangiography. Evaluation included qualitative assessment and quantitative volumetric analysis before and 3, 6, and 12 months after bypass. Results: Lymphovenous bypass was performed in 89 upper extremities and 11 lower extremities. For upper extremity lymphedemas, the mean preoperative volume differential was 32 percent. Symptom improvement was reported by 96 percent of patients and quantitative improvement was noted by 74 percent. The overall mean volume differential reduction was 33 percent at 3 months, 36 percent at 6 months, and 42 percent at 12 months after surgery. The mean volume differential reductions at 3, 6, and 12 months after lymphovenous bypass in patients with stage 1 or 2 lymphedema (58, 52, and 61 percent, respectively) were significantly larger than those in the patients with stage 3 or 4 lymphedema (12, 16, and 17 percent, respectively). Eleven bypasses were performed in seven patients with lower extremity lymphedema, with a mean preoperative volume differential of 38 percent. Only four (57 percent) of these patients reported symptom improvement; postoperative volume measurements were available for only two of these four. Conclusions: Lymphovenous bypass can be effective in reducing lymphedema severity, particularly in patients with early-stage upper extremity lymphedema. Indocyanine green lymphangiography accurately identified functional lymphatic vessels and may have a role in objectively assessing lymphedema severity and patient selection. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.


SCIENCE-BASED LAWMAKING: INTEGRATING SCIENCE IN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou The Thesis takes the approach of a critique of the current international environmental lawmaking processes and the systemic shortcomings and aims to redesign parts of the international environmental lawmaking system on new terms. Through case studies and doctrinal analyses, an array of initial questions guides the research through a variety of factors influencing the International Environmental Law. The Thesis mainly tests and finds the following hypotheses positive; some of the decisive factors that would create an optimized lawmaking framework and advance the purposes of I.E.L. include, but are not limited to, the adoption of: (a) progressive voting processes, including the majority rule and opting-out procedures as means of adopting primary and, most importantly, secondary legislation resulting in legally binding rules upon the States without requiring prior ratification by the states within the framework of International Organizations or Multilateral Environmental Agreements; (b) science-based secondary legislation, defined by specific criteria and boundaries that primary laws pose on them, that is more detailed than primary laws and of a more technical nature, promulgated by expert bodies alone, without the intervention of political bodies, and is binding upon States, unless the latter object with reason; and (c) new procedural rules, related to the preand post-lawmaking stages that enhance participation in the lawmaking process by both experts and the public and review the implementation, compliance and validity of science and technology of the laws, while at the same time guarantee all forms of legitimacy. The Thesis does not aim to produce a countervailing lawmaking model. It rather attempts to optimize some of the lawmaking processes based on an enhanced science-base in order to better protect our global natural environment and public health.


The entanglement spectrum of a pure state of a bipartite system is the full set of eigenvalues of the reduced density matrix obtained from tracing out one part. Such spectra are known in several cases to contain important information beyond that in the entanglement entropy. This paper studies the entanglement spectrum for a variety of critical and near-critical quantum lattice models in one dimension, chiefly by the infinite time evolving block decimation (iTEBD) numerical method, which enables both integrable and non-integrable models to be studied. We find that the distribution of eigenvalues in the entanglement spectra agrees with an approximate result derived by Calabrese and Lefevre to an accuracy of a few per cent for all models studied. This result applies whether the correlation length is intrinsic or generated by the finite matrix size accessible in iTEBD. For the transverse Ising model, the known exact results from Peschel and Eisler for the entanglement spectrum are used to confirm the validity of the iTEBD approach. For more general models, no exact result is available but the iTEBD results directly test the hypothesis that all moments of the reduced density matrix are determined by a single parameter.


We present a framework which uses POET, an interpreted code transformation language, to effectively combine programmable control from developers, advanced optimizations by compilers, and flexible empirical tuning of optimizations to achieve portable high performance for scientific computing. We have extended ROSE, a C/C++/Fortran source-to-source compiler, to automatically analyze scientific computing benchmarks for memory performance optimizations. Instead of directly generating optimized code, our ROSE optimizer produces parameterized POET scripts as output. The auto-generated POET optimization script is then ported to different machines for portable performance tuning. Our results show that this approach is highly effective, and the code optimized by the auto-generated POET scripts can significantly outperform those optimized using the ROSE compiler alone.


We present a rare and interesting case of a mixed epithelial and stromal tumour (MEST) of the kidney. The case is unique as it involves a male patient with no history of hormonal therapy presenting with a filling defect in the renal collecting system and positive urine cytology. The patient was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis and subjected to nephroureterectomy, which revealed a solid tumour arising from the lower calyces and extending into the renal pelvis and upper ureter. Pathology revealed a MEST. The patient was disease-free at the 6-month follow-up.


ABSTRACT: Actualistic studies are important for evaluating the fidelity of fossil assemblages in representing the living community. Poor live-dead (LD) fidelity in molluscan assemblages may result from transport-induced mixing. Large-scale mixing is more common in siliciclastic settings with a narrow shelf, high sedimentation rate, and those that are frequented by episodically high-energy events. Chandipur-on-sea, on the east coast of India has an optimal setting to promote such conditions. By studying the LD fidelity and modeling size-frequency distribution (SFD) of the fauna, we attempted to evaluate the contribution of "out-of-habitat" versus "within-habitat" mixing in developing the molluscan death assemblage. The correlation between the composition of live (LA) and death assemblages (DA) was insufficient; unlike LAs, the DAs do not show environmental partitioning in ordination space. A numerical simulation of the shell size frequency distribution (SFD) for DAs from LAs was compared with the observed SFD of the DAs. The results of this simulation indicate that DAs are not likely to be a product of within-habitat mixing. DAs probably received considerable input via regional transport, facilitated by frequent tropical cyclones affecting the coast of Odisha. Chandipur receives a large proportion of cyclones originating above 15°N, which causes a high degree of lateral transport and shell mixing between 15° to 21°N, explained by the high compositional similarity of species within this latitudinal extent. Our study highlights the significance of out-of-habitat transport in shaping the regional distribution of marine fossil assemblages, especially in storm dominated siliciclastic shallow-marine settings.


This paper examines how the concern of liberation theology with making theology relevant to the poor and oppressed in their socio-political struggle for justice influences their interpretation and application of the Bible. Three theological themes, namely, Christology (the doctrine of Christ), harmatiology, (the doctrine of sin), and soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), are chosen to demonstrate its hermeneutical perspectives. The paper sympathizes with the humanistic and humanitarian motivations of liberation theologians and their concern with the plight of the poor and the oppressed. However, it points out many of its inconsistencies with traditional Christian stand on these themes. It concludes, therefore, that liberation theology's hermeneutics has much more in common with Marxist than Christian hermeneutics.


Obesity can lead to anovulation and subfertility. Around the world fertility treatment is withheld from women above a certain BMI, ranging from 25 to 40 kg/m2. The proponents of this policy use three different arguments to justify their restrictions: risks to the woman, health and wellbeing of the future child, and importance for society. In this article we critically appraise these arguments. In conclusion, we think obese women should be informed about the consequences of their weight on fertility and pregnancy complications and encouraged to lose weight. If, however, a woman is unable to lose weight despite effort, we feel there is no argument to withhold treatment from her. This would be unjustified with respect to the treatment of other women with a high risk of complications


Purpose: The purpose of this article is to aid conceptualization of social well-being at work by identifying its components in a contemporary office context, so adequate measures can be developed to monitor social well-being and to assess the impact of interventions in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: This study used existing interview data from recent post-occupancy evaluations of two large activity-based flexible offices in the Dutch public sector. Data-driven concept mapping of 182 different employees' statements on social aspects of well-being was used to find communalities in their perceptions. Findings: From the data 14 key concepts emerged referring to employees' social needs, reactions to (anti-)social behaviour of others and perceived social affordances of the work environment. Contrary to established theory, social well-being appeared to be a context-bound phenomenon, including components of both short-term hedonic and long-term eudaimonic well-being. Research limitations/implications: The findings serve as an inductive source for the further development of adequate measures of social well-being at work. Limitations concern the specific (cultural) setting of the cases and the use of existing data. Practical implications: Preliminary suggestions for fostering social well-being include change management, participatory design, being alert of the identified risks of activity-based offices and supporting privacy regulation, identity marking and a sense of community, as well as a diversity of informal face-to-face interactions balanced with quiet spaces. Originality/value: This article contributes to the conceptualization of social well-being in contemporary offices by discussing established social well-being theory and analysing real-world data, using a method novel to management research.


5 Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Evo State Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Station, Evo, Finland, SF-16970 Abstract. To evaluate the roles of extinction and isolation in predicting richness and composition of fish assemblages in small forest lakes of Finland and Wisconsin, we analyzed data from 114 Finnish and 55 Wisconsin lakes 0.2-86.9 ha in area. Six isolation variables characterized properties of stream corridors, land barriers, and source pools of invading species; four extinction variables were related to habitat severity, lake area, and productivity. Two types of multivariate analyses were used: the nonparametric classification and re- gression trees (CART) and the parametric linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Both types of analyses showed that extinction variables were collectively more important than isolation variables in predicting richness and composition both in Finland and Wis- consin. We interpret that the greater importance of extinction vs. isolation results, not because isolation is unimportant, but because the probability of an arrival of a new species is much less than that of an extinction. Thus, the time after an extinction event before a subsequent invasion is long relative to the time after an invasion event before a subsequent extinction; consequently, fish assemblages sampled at a given point in time more likely represent the stamp of the extinctions than of the invasions. This conclusion was robust to the differences in the geomorphic settings and fish faunas of Finland and Wisconsin. However, the importance of individual isolation and extinction variables in determining richness and composition differed between the two regions, apparently more from differ- ences in geomorphic settings than from differences in fish faunas. Influences of horizontal rather than vertical barriers over land and water were more apparent in Wisconsin, with its lower relief and higher incidence of lakes without stream connections; influences of the area of the nearest lake (representing the size of the available species pool) and stream gradient were more important in Finland, with its higher relief and higher incidence of lakes with stream connections. The importance of individual extinction variables also dif- fered between the two regions, again reflecting differences in the geomorphic settings of the two lake districts and the strong influence that lake position in the landscape has in determining limnological features of the lake.


The relationship between the seasonality of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality and temperature is explored for the purpose of evaluating the climate-based predictability of the magni- tude and timing of the annual IHD mortality peak for 5 English counties. Seasonality is described by the amplitude (magnitude) and phase (timing) of the first harmonic of the annual cycle of IHD mortality and mean and minimum temperature. Study results reveal a positive association between the amplitude of the annual IHD mortality cycle and temperature seasonality such that years with an exaggerated mortality peak are associated with years characterised by strong temperature seasonal- ity. Overall, the timing of the annual mortality peak is positively associated with the timing of the low- est temperatures. Such findings provide some optimism for exploring the development of experi- mental climate-based health-forecasting models. This is because the simple climate-seasonality diagnostics presented here provide a fundamental source of predictability of the magnitude and timing of the annual IHD mortality peak.


Trout angling is one of the most popular water-based recreational activities in the Rotorua Lakes. Despite the high demand for trout angling and other recreational purposes, water quality in some of these lakes has been declining over the past decades and initiatives to try to restore the lakes are underway. To compliment these efforts, this study uses the travel cost random utility models to explore how changes in water quality would impact upon angler's choice of fishing destinations. The welfare impacts due to water quality changes and possible lake closures are also explored. These findings highlight the importance of discrete choice random utility models as a policy decision making tool for recreational-based natural resource managers in New Zealand. Additionally, this study represents one of the unique cases in travel cost random utility applications that accounts fully for unobserved site effects.


Flexural-torsional buckling of the beam in steel frame with reduced beam section (RBS) connections is analyzed. Base on the analysis of flexural-torsional buckling of the RBS beam under different loads using energy method, the critical moment calculation formula of ordinary beam is modified, and the critical moment calculation formula of RBS beam is presented. Moreover law of the RBS beam critical moment varying with cut sizes and location is discussed when compared to the critical moment of the uniform beam. The results show that: reduction has great effect on flexural-torsional buckling of RBS beam, critical moment of the RBS beam obviously decreases as compared with ordinary uniform beam, but single cut parameter has small effect on changes in critical moment; the effect of reduction on beam stiffness decreases as beam span increases.


Very often businesses do not fully take forecast accuracy into account when determining inventory levels ... describes the best way to calculate inventory that accounts not only for the forecast accuracy but also for variations in demand and degree of certainty needed ... very often when forecast error improves, no measurable reduction in inventory is made. Do you spend hours mulling over data and/or software determining tiie clearest picture of what sales are going to be? For most companies, demand is only half of the story. While one department estimates demand, another plans supply to meet what it believes demand would be. You can come up with the best forecast that money can buy, unless that forecast truly drives your supply chain it would be like being all dressed up without a date to the prom Three questions are often overlooked: 1. Based on a forecast, does a company really know how much to produce? 2. By how much will your company's inventory decrease with a decrease in forecast error? 3. How certain are you that your inventory will be enough to meet true customer demand? THE SUPPLY VIEW In a perfect world, if a forecaster predicts that we will sell 100 units, then the company would produce 100 units. In that scenario, our stock on hand would be zero and customer sendee will be 100%. The first problem is that everyone knows that forecasts are always wrong. To ensure that customers have what they want when they want, companies keep additional stock over and above the forecasted demand. For some companies, this may be a set number of best-guess days of supply; for others, it may be inventory levels based on some valuations in orders or min-max replenishment plan. Regardless of the method used, they all have some mechanism for having a buffer or safety stock to compensate for the error resulting from what the forecast indicates will happen and what actually happens. One issue I have observed with most of these methods is that they may compensate for variations in the historic demand, but they are not directly impacted by forecast error or probability. Many times when forecast error improves, no measurable reduction in inventory takes place. Let us assume the current forecast model predicts sales of 100 units over the next month. The standard deviation for this item is 20 units. Based on the historic demand the company will produce 140 units [(20 ? 2) +100] after compensating for standard deviation. It is assumed here: Supply (Number of units produced) = Safety Stock + Forecasted Demand Where: Safety Stock = 2 Standard Deviations for the 95% Confidence Level. Let us say that we end up with actual sales of 1 16 units. The customer is satisfied because we have one 100% customer service, but we are left with 24 units of excess inventory. Let's further assume that forecasting has improved drastically. The forecast analyst has compensated for seasonality and produced forecasts with a new model that has a RMSE (Root Mean Squared Error) of zero. The historic standard deviation has not changed much for this item; it may still be 20 units. While the forecast analyst says now that we will sell 116 units, the company still produces 156 units [(20 ? 2) + (116)]. Forecasting has achieved 100% accuracy. The customer is still satisfied because they received what they needed. However, management is wondering why we now have 40 units of excess inventory in stock if the forecast is so much better. We know that the purpose of any buffer stock is to compensate for a forecast, yet the above situation occurs quite frequently. Over and over, people, systems, and processes fail to make the direct connection of safety stock to the forecast. It is clear that companies need a method to balance customer service with the cost of carrying inventory. It is also clear that safety stock should be based on forecasts as well as on variations in the demand data. …


Complement is necessary for defense against lung infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in mice. We studied in vitro interactions between complement and P. aeruginosa and in vivo effects of complement depletion to better understand this relationship. In vitro, P. aeruginosa strain UI-18 was resistant to killing by mouse serum. However, C3 opsonized the organism (via the alternative and mannose binding lectin [MBL] pathways), and C5 convertase activity on the bacterial surface was demonstrated. In vivo, compared with normal mice, complement-deficient mice experienced higher mortality and failed to sterilize their bronchoalveolar space within 24 h of inoculation. These changes did not seem to be a result of decreased inflammation because complement-deficient mice had normal neutrophil recruitment, greater lung myeloperoxidase content, and, by 24 h, a 35-fold higher level of the CXC chemokine KC. Lung static pressure-volume curves were abnormal in infected animals but were significantly more so in complement deficient mice. These data indicate that although P. aeruginosa is resistant to serum killing, C3 opsonization and C5 convertase assembly occur on its surface. This interaction in vivo plays a central role in host survival beyond just recruitment and activation of phagocytes and may serve to limit the inflammatory response to and tissue injury resulting from bacterial infection.


. Today's IT applications involving the processing of personal data of customers are becoming increasingly complex. This complexity drives the probability of privacy breaches. Considerable damage to a company's reputation and financial standing may ensue. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) aim to systematically approach and reduce privacy risks caused by IT applications. Data protection authorities and the European Commission promote using PIAs in application design to help attaining 'privacy by design' right from the inception of a new IT application. To help companies developing IT applications with conducting PIAs, many open-source tools are available online (GS1 tool, iPIA tool, SPIA tool etc.). Although these tools are modular and well structured, they fail to provide a metric to comparing progress in the imple-mentation of privacy controls. In general, most of the tools use qualitative scoring for privacy risk, through which the measurement of progress is difficult. To address these shortcomings of existing tools, this paper presents a structured scoring methodology for privacy risk. A three-step semi-quantitative approach is used to calculate a relative score, which enables the comparison of privacy risks between incremental versions of an IT application. This comparison enables the monitoring of progress and thus, makes PIAs more relevant for the companies.


Maui, Hawaii - Next-generation botulinum toxin treatments promise to improve problems ranging from smokers' lines to sweaty palms. However, such treatments aren't for novices - be they dermatologists or patients. "As Botox is now becoming more widely accepted and we're becoming more used to its application, we're finding new uses for it," said Kevin S. Pinski, M.D.


We propose an extensive DFT benchmark investigation dealing with the assessment of the ground spin state of various iron(I) organometallic complexes. Factors determining the spin multiplicity are discussed. A focus is put on the analysis of the electronic structure of bis-ligated X–[FeI]–X species.


We present a unified description of elastic and transition form factors involving the nucleon and its resonances; in particular, the $N(1440)$, $\Delta(1232)$ and $\Delta(1600)$. We compare predictions made using a framework built upon a Faddeev equation kernel and interaction vertices that possess QCD-kindred momentum dependence with results obtained using a confining, symmetry-preserving treatment of a vector$\,\otimes\,$vector contact-interaction in a widely-used leading-order (rainbow-ladder) truncation of QCD's Dyson-Schwinger equations. This comparison explains that the contact-interaction framework produces hard form factors, curtails some quark orbital angular momentum correlations within a baryon, and suppresses two-loop diagrams in the elastic and transition electromagnetic currents. Such defects are rectified in our QCD-kindred framework and, by contrasting the results obtained for the same observables in both theoretical schemes, shows those objects which are most sensitive to the momentum dependence of elementary quantities in QCD.


Molecular Communication (MC) is an emerging and promising communication paradigm for several multi-disciplinary domains like bio-medical, industry and military. Differently to the traditional communication paradigm, the information is encoded on the molecules, that are then used as carriers of information. Novel approaches related to this new communication paradigm have been proposed, mainly focusing on architectural aspects and categorization of potential applications. So far, security and privacy aspects related to the molecular communication systems have not been investigated at all and represent an open question that need to be addressed. The main motivation of this paper lies on providing some first insights about security and privacy aspects of MC systems, by highlighting the open issues and challenges and above all by outlining some specific directions of potential solutions. Existing cryptographic methods and security approaches are not suitable for MC systems since do not consider the pecific issues and challenges, that need ad-hoc solutions. We will discuss directions in terms of potential solutions by trying to highlight the main advantages and potential drawbacks for each direction considered. We will try to answer to the main questions: 1) why this solution can be exploited in the MC field to safeguard the system and its reliability? 2) which are the main issues related to the specific approach? .


Social media is a wide platform that enables individuals to present their thoughts, views, interests in an interactive medium. Today social media tools are used for education and training purposes. Moving on from this point of view, this study tries to present how social media tools are used by the academicians and the academicians' thoughts on how the use of social media for educational purposes is beneficial. In this respect, Turkey, which becomes a newly industrialized country in 2011, and Latvia, which is an example of a developing country in Baltic countries, and Estonia, which is considered as a developed country, constitute the universe of research. A survey carried out on the academic staff of the higher educational institutions of the relevant countries which have departments relating to public relations. At the same time, an analysis was held intended to check if there are any courses on the social media in the curriculum of the public relations departments of the higher education institutions that have communication faculties in the subject countries. The results of the survey demonstrate that academicians prefer social media tools as a means of "correspondence and information exchange" and for "socialization" purposes. According to the academicians the primary benefit of social media tools for educational purposes is that "it enables information exchange independent of space and time". A majority of academicians from Turkey thinks that the use of social media tools for educational purposes is easy t o learn; on the other hand this ratio is below 50 % for academicians from Latvia. When curriculum is taken into consideration, higher education institutions in Turkey gives more courses on social media compared to the higher educational institutions in Latvia.


This master thesis is about the mechanical behaviour of composite sandwich panels in bending after impact. The goals were to identify the influence of an impact loading on the residual bending stiffness, to determine the failure modes after impact and during bending, to illustrate the influence of core material type on the mechanical behaviour in bending after impact and to demonstrate the effect of impact energy on the mechanical response in bending after impact.
In literature, several articles describe the mechanical behavior in compression after impact, but bending after impact is not yet investigated before. In sandwich composites, four different failure types are described; Core Shearing, Microbuckling, Indentation and Face Wrinkling.
In order to answer the research questions, use is made of an experimental analysis and a Finite Element Method analysis. For the sandwich panels use is made of an epoxy/glass facesheet with three different core materials; SAN foam, PET foam and Balsa. A three-point bending test is performed according standard ASTM C393/C393M in order to determine the reference stiffness of the different panels. Then a reference impact test is performed according standard ASTM D7136/D7136M. Finally, an impact test is performed on specimens with the dimensions of the bending test and thereafter a three-point bending test is performed with the same specimens in order to determine the stiffness in bending after impact. The same tests are also performed in the ABAQUS FEM simulation software.
It is shown that the impact tests cause a skin-core delamination at the bottom of the Balsa cored panels, while the SAN foam and the PET foam cores do not show signs of this delamination. Furthermore, it is shown that an impact has a significant influence on the bending stiffness of composite sandwich panels, dependent on the core material. The SAN foam cored specimens lose 46.1% stiffness, the PET foam cored specimens lose 25.7% stiffness and the Balsa cored specimens lose 19.1% stiffness after impact compared to bending-only tests. The SAN foam and PET foam cored specimens also show miniature cracks in the bending-after-impact tests, which do not occur in the bending-only tests.
The FEM simulations show that the impact energy has an influence on the mechanical behaviour of the composite sandwich panels. The simulations show that the higher the impact energy, the lower the bending stiffness for the PET foam core and the Balsa core, but for the SAN foam there is no significant influence. The impact energy also a significant influence on the shear stress distribution of the Balsa core and on the PEEQ distribution of the PET foam core.


This thesis is a framework for risk influence modelling of supply vessel-platform collisions, with the inclusion of central concepts from the Risk OMT model. The framework is a improvement from existing QRA frameworks in the sense that it has taken recent collisions into consideration, and enabled the opportunity to do risk influence modelling for the calculation of site specific risk. It can also be used as a tool for risk management, when the risk influences have been quantified. This model provides no quantifications, but it makes a good foundation for future work. The thesis incorporates knowledge from recent, representative collisions on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), and considered the guidelines and official safety procedures. This has been used to make three generic collision scenarios are general enough to take all probable collisions into account and at the same time be specific enough to account for the chains of events in previous accidents. These generic collision scenarios has been analysed with event tree analysis (ETA) and fault tree analysis (FTA) to identify and break down the operational barrier functions available to prevent collisions. A large set of risk influencing factors (RIFs) have been identified to be used to express the failure rate probabilities of the basic events found the FTA. These have been included from many different sources, to ensure that all significant RIFs are presented.


We show that a set of outcomes outside the convex hull of Nash equilibria can be asymptotically stable with respect to convex monotonic evolutionary dynamics. Boundedly rational agents receive signals and condition the choice of strategies on the signals. A set of conditional strategies is asymptotically stable only if it represents a strict (correlated-)equilibrium set. There are correlated equilibria that cannot be represented by an asymptotically stable signal contingent strategy. For generic games it is shown that if signals are endogenous but no player has an incentive to manipulate the signal generating process and if the signal contingent strategy is asymptotically stable, then and only then, the outcome must be a strict Nash equilibrium.


Human viral pathogens are a major public health threat. Reliable information that accurately describes and characterizes the global occurrence and transmission of human viruses is essential to support national and global priority setting, public health actions, and treatment decisions. However, large areas of the globe are currently without surveillance due to limited health care infrastructure and lack of international cooperation. We propose a novel surveillance strategy, using metagenomic analysis of toilet material from international air flights as a method for worldwide viral disease surveillance. The aim of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a method for viral analysis of airplane toilet waste enabling simultaneous detection and quantification of a wide range of human viral pathogens. Toilet waste from 19 international airplanes was analyzed for viral content, using viral capture probes followed by high-throughput sequencing. Numerous human pathogens were detected including enteric and respiratory viruses. Several geographic trends were observed with samples originating from South Asia having significantly higher viral species richness as well as higher abundances of salivirus A, aichivirus A and enterovirus B, compared to samples originating from North Asia and North America. In addition, certain city specific trends were observed, including high numbers of rotaviruses in airplanes departing from Islamabad. Based on this study we believe that central sampling and analysis at international airports could be a useful supplement for global viral surveillance, valuable for outbreak detection and for guiding public health resources.


In the U.S., factory-built housing greater than 400 square feet is built either to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) code for mobile homes or site-built codes for modular housing. During the last few years, as the production of HUD code housing has dwindled, many leadingedge factory builders have started building modular homes to compete with site-built housing and stay in business. As part of the Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership (BAIHP) we have assisted in the design and construction of several "green" and highperformance modular homes that Palm Harbor Homes, Florida Division (PHH) has built for the International Builders' Show (IBS) in 2006, 2007, and 2008. This paper will summarize the design features and the "green" and energy-efficient certification processes conducted for the 2008 show homes, one of which received the very first E-Scale produced by BAIHP for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Builders Challenge program.


Attempts have been made to determine the reason for the depletion of glycogen reserves in tumour-bearing rats. The possible roles of anorexia, competition for glucose by the tumour, and lack of hormonal control of glycogen biosynthesis have been investigated. The glycogen content of the liver, skeletal muscle, and brain, and the levels of glucose and the hormones corticosterone, insulin, and glucagon were determined in healthy rats which had been starved for various periods and in tumour-bearing rats carrying the fast-growing Zajdela ascites hepatoma or the slow-growing solid hepatoma 27. It was found that towards the terminal stages of tumour development there was an increase in the content of corticosterone and glucagon in the blood serum and also an increase in the glycogen reserves in skeletal muscle and brain despite the presence of hypoglycaemia and hypo-insulinaemia. There was at this time a sharp fall in the level of liver glycogen. It is shown that neither anorexia nor excessive competition for glucose by the tumour were the main reasons for liver glycogen depletion and hypoglycaemia. A strong correlation was observed, however, between the occurrence of anaemia and the loss of liver glycogen, which suggests that the former may be an important factor in the changes in host tissue observed in response to tumour growth.


Iron-supplements are widely consumed; however, most of the iron is not absorbed and enters the colon where potentially pathogenic bacteria can utilise it for growth. Assessing iron bioavailability and the effects on bacterial groups is an evolving subject area and forms the basis of the research presented in this thesis.
The growth of Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium was significantly impaired when cultured independently in iron-deficient media (p<0.0001). These observations positively correlated with a decrease in water-soluble iron concentrations present in the culture. However, depletion of iron did not affect the growth of the beneficial species, Lactobacillus rhamnosus.
Culturing human faecal microbiotas in an in vitro colon model identified changes in the growth of different bacterial taxa. 16S rDNA-based metataxonomics indicated that under conditions of iron depletion through BPDS, a chemical iron chelator, the relative abundance of several taxa decreased, including a 10% and 15% decrease in Escherichia and Bifidobacterium, respectively. This was supported by observations of lower viable counts of Enterobacteriaceae and bifidobacteria. Analysis using 1H NMR indicated that the production of acetate, butyrate and propionate in vitro was reduced under iron-restricted conditions. Iron chelation through phytin, a dietary compound, illustrated similar results with the exception of a 33% increase in the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and 225% increase in Collinsella. Furthermore, increases in propionate and formate concentrations were also observed when cultured with phytin.
A 6-week, crossover double-blinded randomised human dietary intervention trial was performed (n=14), where participants were asked to consume encapsulated phytin or placebo. Capsules were coated with a specialised formulation, Phloral®, designed to release phytin directly in the colon. No conclusions could be made regarding the iron chelating properties of phytin as analysis of stool samples collected revealed clumps of phytin and therefore, unsuccessful dispersal of phytin within the colonic lumen. This pilot human intervention study indicates that the form of phytin is an important factor and this should be considered for follow-up studies.


A p100-GAP isoform, generated by an alternative splicing mechanism that eliminates the 180 hydrophobic amino acids at the amino terminus of p120-GAP, has been described in human placenta, in addition to the known p120GAP and neurofibromin. This p100-GAP possesses full Ras-GTPase stimulating activity. p120-GAP is ubiquitously localized in the cytosol while the localization of p100-GAP is unknown. Here we have explored the precise localization of p100-GAP and show that p100-GAP is present only in extracts of primate placenta. It is abundant in both human and Maccaca Rhesus placentae, where it is present in far larger amounts than p120-GAP. The p100-GAP is species-specific since it was not detected in the placenta of pig, sheep, mouse or rat. p100-GAP was also found to be organ-specific, since it was not detectable in organs other than the placenta. In this connection, we substantiated our previous finding that p100-GAP is mainly localized in the trophoblasts. Both subcellular trophoblast fractionation and immunofluorescence analyses showed that this protein was distributed between the cytosol, plasma membrane and a fraction bound to the nucleus, but not inside it. This highly restrictive specificity of p100-GAP localization in relation to species, organ and cell type, confirms the extreme singularity of this protein, and strongly suggests a particular specific function in the trophoblast.


The persistence of small foreign molecules in lysosomes described by Dr Dingle stands quite in contrast with the fast turnover of foreign macromolecules captured by these organelles. Since Dr de Duve chose to talk today about peroxysomes rather than lysosomes, it might perhaps add to the Discussion to present some data related to this important function, i. e. the ability of lysosomes to digest foreign macromolecular material. As part of our study of the penetration of macromolecules into mammalian cells (Ryser 1968), we have been studying for some time the fate of 131I albumin ingested by Sarcoma S180 cells in culture (Ryser 1968; Gabathuler & Ryser 1967). Cells are first labelled with albumin under conditions enhancing albumin penetration (Ryser & Hancock 1965). They are then washed and re-incubated in label-free medium. The fate of the ingested albumin can be followed in two ways; first, by measuring as a function of time the decrease in specific activity of the cellular proteins; secondly, by measuring the radioactivity appearing with time in the re-incubation medium. Figure 60 shows a result of the first type. The value given on the logarithmic ordinate at time zero corresponds to the level of albumin uptake obtained during the labelling period. The loss of acid-insoluble label from the cells is represented by the descending straight lines. This loss is biphasic. Although the second phase has a rather flat slope, it cannot be accounted for by an isotope dilution due to cell growth in vitro. Half-lives of ingested albumin can easily be read from such diagrams, and turn out to be of the order of 50 to 90 min. The rate of breakdown can be influenced to some extent by changing conditions of re-incubation as shown by the difference between the two curves of figure 60, due to a different serum concentration in the medium. Simultaneously with the loss of acid-insoluble activity from the cells, there is a progressive appearance of radioactivity in the re-incubation medium. It was of interest to determine the molecular size of the label appearing in the medium by means of gel filtration on Sephadex G 75. Figure 61 shows the elution diagrams of samples taken from the re-incubation medium at three different times. In all three diagrams there is a strong initial peak of activity excluded by the gel and corresponding, therefore, either to unchanged or only slightly modified albumin. It is not yet clear whether this peak results from a desorption of surface-bound albumin or to a regurgitation of ingested material or both. In the upper diagram (sample taken at time zero), radioactivity is found in this initial peak only. As time goes on, however, activity of a different form appears in the medium, as indicated by the occurrence of a second peak, which coincides with the elution of the small-sized marker phenol red (PhR). This peak corresponds to free tyrosin or a dipeptide containing tyrosin. It is evident, therefore, that ingested albumin is broken down not only rapidly, but also thoroughly to the level of free amino acids or dipeptides. Similar evidence has been obtained with phagocytic cells (Mego, Bertini & McQueen 1967; Ehrenreich & Cohn 1968; Unanue & Askonas 1968). Electron microscopy of normal and tumour cells indicates that ingested foreign protein such as ferritin, haemoglobin, peroxydase and 125I-albumin are essentially localized in secondary lysosomes (multivesicular bodies, phagosomes) (Maunsbach 1966; Neustein & Maunsbach 1966; Friend & Farquhar 1967; J. P. Revel & H. J. -P. Ryser 1967, unpublished data; Ryser, Caulfield & Aub 1962). It can be assumed, therefore, that the intracellular degradation of these proteins takes place in these structures.


The Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) scheme  is a student-owned, student-led mentoring scheme involving trained undergraduate student volunteers from levels five and six (second and third year) facilitating weekly study sessions for level four (first year) students. PASS has been running for two years in the School of Education at the University of Brighton. Other enquiries we have made have highlighted positive impacts of PASS on the first year experience. This investigation has concentrated on the experiences of the leaders. Through the voices of two staff supervisors and seven student leaders, this case study explores the key benefits and challenges experienced by the PASS leaders. The findings illustrate the leaders' awareness of their growing confidence, communication and employability skills development, particularly pertinent for leaders in the School of Education in relation to their future career paths.


The pathogenesis of Heymann nephritis (HN), a morphologic and immunohistologic model for the human membranous glomerulonephropathy, is controversial. To determine the presence of the offending antigen in glomeruli, the specific disease-producing brush border antibody (BBAb) of homologous origin was infused into isolated perfused rat kidney. The antibody was obtained from the acid eluates of kidneys from rats with severe HN and purified using ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. Its molecular size and IgG nature were ascertained by gel filtration, sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, and immunoelectrophoresis, and its specificity by indirect immunofluorescence. Isolated perfused kidneys were perfused with 0.5 to 10 mg. of BBAb; three control groups of kidneys were perfused with buffer only, normal rat IgG, and BBAb absorbed with a renal cortical fraction FX1A, respectively. The ischemia time ranged from 24 to 34 minutes. Localization of BBAb was noted in glomerular capillaries and mesangium and in the walls of blood vessels of many sizes. Normal rat IgG and absorbed BBAb did not show any localization. These results show that the putative antibody of HN when injected into a perfused, bloodless, ischemic kidney combines specifically with an antigen which under the above conditions can be demonstrated in the glomerular capillaries and other blood vessels. Although this represents in situ immune complex formation, which may be suspected of occurring in active HN, the conditions of the isolated perfused kidney under which this occurs are clearly unphysiologic. Whether it indeed takes place in the physiologic in vivo state will require further studies.


This paper investigates the existence of an equilibrium point in multiterminal HVdc grids, assesses its uniqueness, and defines conditions to ensure its stability. An offshore multiterminal HVdc system including two wind farms is selected as an application test case. At first, a generalized dynamic model of the network is proposed, using multigraph theory. Such model captures the frequency dependence of transmission lines and cables; it is nonlinear due to the constant power behavior of the converter terminals using droop regulation, and presents a suitable degree of simplifications of the modular multilevel converters, under given conditions, to allow system level studies over potentially large networks. Based on this model, the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium point are demonstrated by returning the analysis to a load-flow problem and using the Banach fixed point theorem. Additionally, the stability of the equilibrium is analyzed by obtaining a Lyapunov function by the Krasovskii's theorem. Computational results obtained for the selected four-terminal HVdc grid corroborate the requirement for the existence and stability of the equilibrium point.


A pelletized solution composed of COx argillite and MX80 bentonite is examined as backfill for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste (Cigéo project). The implementation is studied in terms of installation and hydration conditions as well as their influence on the hydromechanical behavior of the mixture. In the beginning, the optimum grain size distribution (GSD) of pellets assembly is determined to minimize initial voids. A series of discrete element method (DEM) simulations on ternary samples made of spheres is carried out, investigating the optimal conditions in terms of sizes and proportions. Density maximization occurs when the maximum diameter is the dominant size, while minimum and medium diameters are following. As optimum GSD, sizes of 16 mm, 10 mm, and 4 mm in 60%, 10%, and 30% respectively are chosen. The pelletization of the selected sizes is optimized using an adapted tablet machine to carry out the pellet fabrication. A detailed analysis of influential parameters related to the machine accessories and the inserted raw materials is presented. After modifications, quasi-spherical pellets presenting a density of at least 1.95 Mg/m3 are produced. COx/MX80 pellets hydromechanical response is indirectly assessed by studying the swelling potential of COx/MX80 powdered mixtures at equivalent emplaced densities. The influence of density, stress, and MX80 content on swelling is obtained.


Microwave plasma treatments were applied to lightweight cotton fabric with oxygen, nitrogen, and argon at various microwave power levels and exposure times. The results showed significant effects from the type of plasma, microwave power, and treatment time on the fabric weight loss. Oxygen plasma treatment generates higher weight loss than argon plasma and nitrogen plasma. The breaking strength of the treated fabric was affected mainly by longer exposure time to the plasma. The active centers created within the cellulose macromolecules were used to initiate copolymerization reactions with the vinyl laurate monomer [CH3(CH2)10COOCHCH2]. The grafted cotton fabric showed excellent water repellency properties. Repeated home laundering of the treated cotton fabrics revealed no significant effect on the water contact angle or on the quantity of grafted vinyl laurate monomer as determined by universal attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform IR, demonstrating the good durability of the treatment that was applied. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 896–902, 2005


We give a complete characterization of the (non)classicality of all stabilizer subtheories. First, we prove that there is a unique nonnegative and diagram-preserving quasiprobability representation of the stabilizer subtheory in all odd dimensions, namely Gross's discrete Wigner function. This representation is equivalent to Spekkens' epistemically restricted toy theory, which is consequently singled out as the unique noncontextual ontological model for the stabilizer subtheory. Strikingly, the principle of noncontextuality is powerful enough (at least in this setting) to single out one particular classical realist interpretation. Our result explains the practical utility of Gross's representation by showing that (in the setting of the stabilizer subtheory) negativity in this particular representation implies generalized contextuality. Since negativity of this particular representation is a necessary resource for universal quantum computation in the state injection model, it follows that generalized contextuality is also a necessary resource for universal quantum computation in this model. In all even dimensions, we prove that there does not exist any nonnegative and diagram-preserving quasiprobability representation of the stabilizer subtheory, and, hence, that the stabilizer subtheory is contextual in all even dimensions.


Ample evidence suggests a role of TGF-β in preventing autoimmunity. Multiorgan inflammatory disease, spontaneous activation of self-reactive T cells, and autoantibody production are hallmarks of autoimmune diseases, such as lupus. These features are reminiscent of the immunopathology manifest in TGF-β1-deficient mice. In this study, we show that lupus-prone (New Zealand Black and White)F1 mice have reduced expression of TGF-β1 in lymphoid tissues, and TGF-β1 or TGF-β1-producing T cells suppress autoantibody production. In contrast, the expression of TGF-β1 protein and mRNA and TGF-β signaling proteins (TGF-β receptor type II and phosphorylated SMAD3) increases in the target organs, i.e., kidneys, of these mice as they age and develop progressive organ damage. In fact, the levels of TGF-β1 in kidney tissue and urine correlate with the extent of chronic lesions that represent local tissue fibrosis. In vivo TGF-β blockade by treatment of these mice with an anti-TGF-β Ab selectively inhibits chronic fibrotic lesions without affecting autoantibody production and the inflammatory component of tissue injury. Thus, TGF-β plays a dual, seemingly paradoxical, role in the development of organ damage in multiorgan autoimmune diseases. According to our working model, reduced TGF-β in immune cells predisposes to immune dysregulation and autoantibody production, which causes tissue inflammation that triggers the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as TGF-β in target organs to counter inflammation. Enhanced TGF-β in target organs, in turn, can lead to dysregulated tissue repair, progressive fibrogenesis, and eventual end-organ damage.


Generation expansion planning involves decisions on location and capacity of new generation, which may lead to adding or relieving congestion in transmission lines and to increasing or reducing competition in deregulated markets. Generation expansion may encounter congestion in the transmission network by constrained single-line flows as well as flowgate transfer capabilities. In this paper, a model to study the interaction between competition and transmission congestion on power generation expansion is proposed. The generation expansion problem is modeled as a Cournot competition game. Network transmission constraints are included in the optimal generation expansion problem to comply with power flow limits. Results from a five-bus power network and the IEEE 24-bus system are presented and discussed


Collaborative learning can effectively improve the learning efficiency of learners rather individual learning. Activity theory is a theoretical framework for analyzing human practices as developmental processes with both individual and social levels interlinked at the same time. Learn is a activity, in this paper, we analyze the composition of collaborative network learning activity including goals, subjects, objects , tools and rules. finally ,We design a multi-agent system for collaborative network learning , structure and function of every type agent are discussed.


One important objective of introductory courses in public administration is to sensitize students to the difference between two concepts: substantive rationality and political rationality. Both types of rationality play an important role in policy processes. Yet, although the difference is straightforward in theory, and is addressed and well-illustrated in most standard textbooks on public administration, students seem to have difficulty internalizing it. This article reports on our findings from a role-playing game designed to make students experience the difference between policy making as a process of rational design and policy making as a process of political negotiation. We conducted an experiment involving a large group of students enrolled in a first year, one-semester course, and a control group of students who enrolled in the same course 1 year later. The former were tested four times (start of the course, immediately before and after playing the game, and 3 months later) and the latter two times (at the start of the course and at the exam) for their understanding of how policy making—as-rational-design and policy making—as-political-negotiation differ on seven characteristics. Comparison of test results obtained before and after the role-play indicates a positive learning effect for some characteristics, and a negative learning effect for others.


Abstract Stock characteristics have two sources of predictive power. First, a characteristic might be valuable in identifying high or low expected returns across industries. Second, a characteristic might be useful in identifying individual stock expected returns within an industry. Past studies generally find that the firm-specific component is the strongest predictor, leading many to sector neutralize their factor exposures. We show both analytically and empirically that the average long–short investor is more likely to benefit from hedging out sector bets, whereas the long-only investor should, on average, avoid sector neutralization.


OBJECTIVES
To review the data that support the role of genetic factors in the predisposition to suicidal behavior and to examine whether or not these factors are part of the genetic liability to mood disorders. To review molecular genetic studies carried out in suicidal behavior.

METHODS
A review of the literature was carried out by means of systematic bibliographic database searches and complemented by searches in the references of relevant publications.

RESULTS
There is consistent evidence suggesting that genetic factors play an important role in the predisposition to suicide and suicidal behaviors. Although there is important overlap between suicide and mood disorders, a common genetic liability seems unlikely. It is possible that part of the predisposition to suicide may be transmitted via the presence of impulsive and impulsive-aggressive behaviors. An increasing number of molecular genetic studies have been carried out in subjects with suicidal behavior. There is some support for a role of some genes that code for components of the serotonergic pathway in the etiology of suicidal behavior, but these studies are still preliminary.

CONCLUSIONS
Further studies are needed at the epidemiological, clinical and molecular level to better characterize the genetics of suicide. These should control for the presence of behaviors that are considered as part of the phenotypic spectrum of suicide.


Abstract The influence of potassium amyl xanthate (KAX) and hexylmercaptan (HM) adsorption on smithsonite surface at various concentrations were investigated through using zeta potential, contact angle, microflotation and diffuse reflectance FTIR studies at different pH. The zeta potential measurements of KAX showed that the adsorption of ionic charge (more negative charge after KAX treatment) takes place on the surface of pure crystalline smithsonite. The charges vary between −38 and −45 mV at pH 10·5. Flotation results using potassium amyl xanthate reveal that the maximum recovery of 81·3% and the maximum contact angle of 98·7° occurs at pH 10·5 at KAX concentration of 2·96 × 10−3M in sodium sulphide (2·6 × 10−2M) and copper sulphate (9·4 × 10−3M) solutions. The highest recovery and contact angle for flotation by means of HM occurs at pH 9 at values of 78·6% and 92·3° respectively with HM concentration 1·1 × 10−2M. The FTIR spectra studies of smithsonite conditioned by KAX confirmed the adsorption of KAX and the presence of CS2 on smithsonite surface. The FTIR spectra in HM studies showed the adsorption of RS− on the oxidised zinc surface and the S–H bond in the mercaptan is destroyed on adsorption. The comparison between the results using anionic collectors showed that the presence of different amounts of reagents on smithsonite surface in two cases confer different degree of hydrophobicity on the smithsonite surface.


ABSTRACT Background: A better knowledge about the Interdental space is important since it provides insights on the prevalence of malocclusion. To date, there is conflicting evidence on the impact of body mass index (BMI) and Socioeconomic status (SES) on interdental space. A recent review concluded that a greater understanding is required of the interdental space. Therefore, there is a need for a more comprehensive and rigorous assessments of the interdental space and impacts of BMI and SES. Aim: BMI and SES can be associated with the interdental spacing in deciduous dentition. Design: The present cross-sectional study was carried out on 448 children of age group of 3 to 5 years out of which 392 were meeting our criteria. Research assessment questionnaire on demographic data was completed by the parents. Study model cast of 392 children free from malocclusion were analyzed. Results: A statistically significant association between interdental spacing and BMI category was observed. Comparison of BMI with above threshold interdental space revealed that after an optimum weight there is no effect on interdental space. A significant association between SES and interdental spacing was observed for all the four locations (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Evolved normative value can be taken as a standard and the occlusion and interdental spaces are not two completely separate entities and they are interdependent. How to cite this article: Singh T, Singh R, Singh JP. Classification of Interdental Space for Different Quadrants on the Basis of Standardization through Threshold Data and Its Comparison with BMI and Socioeconomic Status. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2013;6(1):16-21.


Expression studies conducted in vitro and in Escherichia coli led to the identification of a protease from rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV). The gene coding for this protease was found to be located in the central part of the genome preceding the putative RNA polymerase gene. It was demonstrated that the protease specifically cuts RHDV polyprotein substrates both in cis and in trans. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments revealed that the RHDV protease closely resembles the 3C proteases of picornaviruses with respect to the amino acids directly involved in the catalytic activity as well as to the role played by histidine as part of the substrate binding pocket.


Any attempt to correlate adult fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) captures with infestation is complicated because plant maturity at the time migrating moths arrive in Maryland determines the extent to which larvae infest and damage corn, Zea mays L. Plants in mid-whorl and older escape injury whereas younger plants become infested. This work attempts to explain the difference maturity makes in susceptibility to fall armyworm and to correlate moth trap catches in pheromone traps with percent plants becoming infested. Observations in 4 separate plantings indicated the number of neonate larvae is reduced when Pioneer 3184 grain corn attained a maturity level of ca. 40% tassle-height ratio. The time from emergence from the soil to 40% T-H was hypothesized as a susceptible period. A regression analysis of % plants infested and moths captured in pheromone traps during this susceptible period resulted in a significant regression and an r^2 of 0.87.


An adult male crossbreed canine cadaver of unknown age was presented for postmortem examination. The dog was found by animal welfare workers in a backyard, laterally recumbent with weak agonal breathing, which ceased during retrieval. No previous medical history was known. Postmortem urinalysis revealed hypersthenuria, severe bilirubinuria, severe glucosuria, significant haematuria and severe ketonuria (β-hydroxybutyrate). Serum biochemistry was not possible due to severe haemolysis; however analysis of aqueous humour revealed high concentrations of β-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, total bilirubin, urea and creatine. Severe diffuse hepatic lipidosis with severe intrahepatic cholestasis and jaundice, poor body condition and bilateral cataracts were identified on gross and histological examination. These findings are supportive of chronic diabetes mellitus with acute ketoacidosis resulting in death. As such, the authors propose that biochemical analysis of aqueous humour/ocular fluids can be considered for postmortem diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and diabetic ketoacidosis in dogs.


The reaction scheme of the radical and ion-radical mechanism of the oxi dative polymerization of 2,6-xylenol conditioned by the type of the actually used catalyst (Ag20; CuCl2 • 2 eyelohexylamině) is described. An equilibrium state between complexes of copper(II) coordinated in various degrees with cyclohexylamine as a function of the molar ratio of Cu(II) : amine was ascer tained. The catalytic activity passes through a maximum, indicating that only the copper(II) complex uncompletely coordinated with amine is effective for polymerization. In inert atmosphere during the polymerization the concentration of the Cu(II) ions decreases, the reaction approaches the equilibrium state, while in the presence of oxygen the catalyst is regenerated. If the momentary surplus of monomer in the beginning of the polymeriza tion is very high, the concentration of Cu(II) ions will decrease in such a degree that the consecutive reaction of phenoxy radicals with the Cu(II) complexes cannot effectively take place. Due to this circumstance the recom bination of the primary radicals takes place with precedence forming bisphenol and finally undesirable diphenoquinone. After reaching a steady state concentration of the Cu(II) ions diphenoquinone is not formed any more because the reaction of phenoxy radicals with Cu(II) ions is preferred. This state observed only later in the stationary region of polymerization can be established already in the beginning of the polymerization sup pressing the local monomer surplus with respect to the catalyst to the lowest degree.


A virtual reality (VR) system tracks one or more objects to generate the depiction of a virtual environment from the user's vantage point. No system achieves this instantaneously: changes in the depicted virtual environment are delayed from changes in the position of the objects being tracked. In this paper, a method is proposed to quantify this time difference, the end-to-end delay of the VR system. Two light-sensing devices and two luminance gradients are used to simultaneously encode the position of one tracked object and its virtual counterpart. One light-sensing device is attached to the tracked object and it captures light from the gradient in the physical environment. The other device captures light from the gradient in the virtual environment. A measurement is obtained by moving the tracked object repetitively (by hand) across the gradient. The end-to-end delay is the asynchrony between the signals generated by the two light-sensing devices. The results collected with oscillatory movements performed at different frequencies indicate that for some VR systems, the end-to-end delay might not be constant but could vary as a function of the oscillation frequency.


Utilisation of family planning by women will promote sustainable development and general wellbeing of women at the rural community. The study assessed utilization of family planning techniques among women in the rural area of Lagos state. Sixty respondents were randomly selected for the study. Structured interview schedule was used to obtain information on respondents' personal characteristics, sources of information on family planning, constraints to the use of family planning and family planning techniques used by women. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The respondents were within the age bracket of 31-50 (61.7%), 83.7% of respondents were educated and 70.0% had between 5-8 household size. Only 28.3% of respondents used radio as the main source of information on family planning technique usage. The most critical constraint (81.7%) was ignorance of the importance of family planning. Also 78.3%, 65.0% of respondents did not use birth pill control and contraceptive injection respectively. Constraint was significantly related to utilization of family planning techniques (Cal.χ2=26.475, Tab. χ2=15.507, p=0.05). Utilization of family planning techniques were low among women, therefore training about the benefits of family planning will improve its utilization for the wellbeing of rural women. Key words : Utilisation, Family planning technique, Rural community, Women


Plant-associated fungi are considered a vast source for biotechnological processes whose potential has been poorly explored. The interactions and diversity of sugarcane, one of the most important crops in Brazil, have been rarely studied, mainly concerning fungal communities and their interactions with transgenic plants. Taking this into consideration, the purpose of this study was, based on culture dependent strategy, to determine the structure and diversity of the fungal community (root endophytes and rhizosphere) associated with two varieties of sugarcane, a non-genetically modified (SP80-1842) variety and its genetically modified counterpart (IMI-1, expressing imazapyr herbicide resistance). For this, the sugarcane varieties were evaluated in three sampling times (3, 10 and 17 months after planting) under two crop management (weeding and herbicide treatments). In addition, a strain of Trichoderma virens, an endophyte isolated from sugarcane with great potential as a biological control, growth promotion and enzyme production agent, was selected for the fungal-plant interaction assays. The results of the isolation, characterization and evaluation of fungal community changes showed that the sugarcane fungal community is composed of at least 35 different genera, mostly in the phylum Ascomycota. Many genera are observed at very low frequencies among a few most abundant genera, some of which were isolated from specific plant sites (e.g., the roots or the rhizosphere). An assessment of the possible effects upon the fungal community showed that the plant growth stage was the only factor that significantly affected the community's structure. Moreover, if transgenic effects are present, they may be minor compared to other natural sources of variation. The results of interaction studies using the Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing T. virens strain T.v.223 revealed that this fungus did not promote any phenotypic changes in the host plant and was found mostly in the roots where it formed a dense mycelial cover and was able to penetrate the intercellular spaces of the root epidermis upper layers. The ability of T. virens to colonize plant roots suggests a potential for protecting plant health, inhibiting pathogens or inducing systemic resistance.


Objectives In China, the incidence of breast cancer is relatively high, and the peak incidence later in life. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has become well known worldwide for its significant role in preventing and treating cancer. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of TCM Xiaozhengshugan recipe as an adjunctive therapy in breast cancer. Methods This was a prospective, randomized, controlled trial. A total of 72 breast cancer patients were randomized into an observation group (Western medicine treatment combined with TCM Xiaozhengshugan recipe, n = 38) and a control group (Western medicine only with no TCM therapy, n = 34). The effectiveness of therapy for breast cancer was evaluated. Results The study demonstrated that the Xiaozhengshugan recipe could relieve clinical symptoms and improve quality of life (QoL). QoL scores in both groups were higher than before treatment (p < 0.01). The improvement in Chinese medical symptoms in the observation group was significantly better than in the control group (p < 0.05). CA153, CEA and CA125 levels were decreased in both groups after therapy compared to before ( p < 0.05, respectively). None of the patients died during the follow-up period. In the control group, five patients experienced a recurrence of disease and nine patients had metastases, with a median disease-free survival (DFS) of 5.7 years. The rate of recurrences and metastases in the observation group was lower than in the control group, and the DFS was longer, but there were no significant differences between the two groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions TCM combined with Western medicine can relieve the clinical Chinese medical symptoms of breast cancer, promote QoL, and decrease CA15-3, CEA and CA125 levels, but shows no efficacy in preventing or delaying recurrence and metastasis. Acknowledgments This research was financially supported by the Medicine and Health Care Science and Technology Development Plan Projects Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. 2014WS0282) and the Application Technology Research and Development Project Foundation in Rizhao City (Grant No. 2014SZSH002).


Surface plasmon polariton(SPP), a sub-wavelength surface wave promising for photonic integration, always suffers from the large metallic loss that seriously restricts its practical application. Here, we propose a compact SPP amplifier based on a nonlinear hybrid waveguide(a combination of silver, LiNbO3, and SiO2), where a couple of Bragg gratings are introduced in the waveguide to construct a cavity. This special waveguide is demonstrated to support a highly localized SPP-like hybrid mode and a low loss waveguide-like hybrid mode. To provide a large nonlinear gain, a pumping wave input from the LiNbO3 waveguide is designed to resonate inside the cavity and satisfy the cavity phase matching to fulfill the optical parametric amplification(OPA) of the SPP signal. Proper periods of gratings and the cavity length are chosen to satisfy the impedance matching condition to ensure the high input efficiency of the pump wave from the outside into the cavity. In theoretical calculations, this device demonstrates a high performance in a very compact scheme(3.32 μm) and a much lower pumping power for OPA compared with single-pass pumping. To obtain a comprehensive insight into this cavity OPA, the influences of the pumping power, cavity length, and the initial phase are discussed in detail.


The ultrafast synthesis of ε-Fe3N1+x in a diamond-anvil cell (DAC) from Fe and N2 under pressure was observed using serial exposures of an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL). When the sample at 5 GPa was irradiated by a pulse train separated by 443 ns, the estimated sample temperature at the delay time was above 1400 K, confirmed by in situ transformation of α- to γ-iron. Ultimately, the Fe and N2 reacted uniformly throughout the beam path to form Fe3N1.33, as deduced from its established equation of state (EOS). We thus demonstrate that the activation energy provided by intense X-ray exposures in an XFEL can be coupled with the source time structure to enable exploration of the time-dependence of reactions under high-pressure conditions.


The Swedish welfare system thrives in spite, or perhaps because of, its contradiction of contemporary economic thought. By ignoring the most basic principles of the deadweight loss of taxation and the inefficiency of transfer payments, the Swedish system has persisted in the face of international and European trends towards smaller government. At the same time, this Nordic state has adapted to international changes, allowing it to survive storms that have affected Europe's economic giants. For these reasons, the Swedish system has been a quandary for social scientists, economists, and political theorist alike. Today, Sweden faces a slew of new challenges; it needs to call upon its malleable nature to reform and adapt, as it has so successfully done in the past. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A Meteoric Rise Two centuries ago, Sweden lagged behind the rest of Europe; it was failing agriculturally due to its frigid climate and suffering industrially as well. Like much of the rest of Europe, Sweden adopted a parliament known as the Riksdag. It also created a socialist economic system, including a strong welfare program. In the twentieth century, largely because of its military neutrality in the two World Wars, Sweden quickly surpassed former giants like Great Britain and France. Because it profited from post-war reconstruction and did not suffer from any infrastructural losses as did the rest of war-torn Europe, Sweden managed to propel itself forward in the latter half of the 1900s. But in 1993, the humming Swedish system was tested by troubles that had long been overlooked. The model welfare state could no longer handle the artificial employment rate created by the injection of government jobs into the system, massive government spending, and inflation that governmental policies had not addressed. Simply put, the government was growing too fast to be sustained by the private sector. By 1990, government spending matched 57 percent of the GDP, government jobs accounted for 33 percent of total employment, and annual inflation hit 10 percent. All of these factors led to a spike in unemployment between 1992 and 1993, constituting an implosion in the model welfare state. Dealing with Disaster Sweden has come far since the economic crisis of 1993. Due to stringent reforms made in response to the economic faults of the 1990s, government spending is still large, but has been limited. With the exception of 2001, the government has posted a surplus every year since 1993, allowing debt to decrease from 74 percent of GDP in 1993 to 47 percent of GDP in 2006, according to Statistics Sweden, the government authority for official statistics. Over 90 percent of Sweden's industrial production is now privatized. These gains in private sector growth are a direct result of massive deregulation of industries in response to the early 1990s recession. Because Sweden responded quickly to the crisis and recognized the importance of the private sector, it maintained the benefits of competition. In addition, Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, now keeps a tight rein on inflation. Prices are growing at 2 percent a year, allowing the economy to have a rather stable platform compared to the rest of the world. All of this reform has been effected without sacrificing many of the government-funded social benefits that Swedes enjoy. Everything from childcare to transportation is subsidized, and workers receive several months of sick leave and vacation each year. Even after becoming unemployed, Swedish workers receive welfare benefits that cover around 80 percent of the lost income if they had previously held a job for 12 full months. Those without jobs also receive subsidized training for new occupations so as to avoid structural unemployment. This social insurance, combined with a relatively low 5 percent unemployment rate, contributes to Sweden consistently being named in surveys as one of the happiest nations in Europe. …


A theoretical study of the complexes between dihydrogen, H2, and a series of amine, phosphine, and arsine derivatives (ZH3 and ZH2X, with Z = N, P, or As and X = F, Cl, CN, or CH3) has been carried out using ab initio methods (MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ). Three energetic minima configurations have been characterized for each case with the H2 molecule in the proximity of the pnictogen atom (Z). In configuration A, the σ-electrons of H2 interact with σ-hole region of the pnictogen atom generated by the of X-Z bond. These complexes can be ascribed as pnictogen bonded. In configuration C, the lone electron pair of Z acts as the Lewis base, and H2 plays the role of the Lewis acid. Finally, configuration B presents a variety of noncovalent interactions depending on the binary complex considered. The atoms-in-molecules theory (AIM), natural bond orbitals (NBO) method as well as the density functional theory-symmetry adapted perturbation theory (DFT-SAPT) approach were used in this study to deepen the nature of the interactions considered.


Living donor kidney transplant has considerably expanded over the last ten years, in order to increase the pool of renal donors. Selection and extensive work-up of the kidney provider is of paramount importance. The technique of harvesting has evolved simultaneously with minimally-invasive surgery. In our experience, the most appropriate technique is performed through hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic access, since it ensures the high security of open harvesting, and provides the donor with the minimal invasiveness of endoscopic surgery.


We present here an efficient but detailed approach to modelling Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release in the diadic cleft of cardiac ventricular myocytes. In this Framework we developed a spatial resolved Ca(2+) release unit (CaRU), consisting of the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum and the diadic cleft, with a well defined channel placement. By taking advantage of time scale separation, the model could be finally reduced to only one ordinary differential equation for describing Ca(2+) fluxes and diffusion. Additionally the channel gating is described in a stochastic way. The resulting model is able to reproduce experimental findings like the gradedness of SR release, the voltage dependence of ECC gain and typical spark life time. Due to the numerical efficiency of the model, it is suitable to use for whole cell simulations. The approach we want to use extend the developed (CaRU) to such a whole cell model is already outlined in this work.


Repurposed drugs that are immediately available and have a good safety profile constitute a first line of defense against new viral infections. Despite a limited antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, several drugs serve as candidates for application, not only in infected individuals but also as prophylaxis to prevent infection establishment. Here we use a stochastic model to describe the early phase of a viral infection. We find that the critical efficacy needed to block viral establishment is typically above 80%. This value can be improved by combination therapy. Below the critical efficacy, establishment can still sometimes be prevented; for that purpose, drugs blocking viral entry into target cells (or equivalently enhancing viral clearance) are more effective than drugs reducing viral production or enhancing infected cell death. When a viral infection cannot be prevented because of high exposure or low drug efficacy, antivirals can still delay the time to reach detectable viral loads from 4 days when untreated to up to 30 days. This delay flattens the within-host epidemic curve, and possibly reduces transmission and symptom severity. These results suggest that antiviral prophylaxis, even with reduced efficacy, could be efficiently used to prevent or alleviate infection in people at high risk. It could thus be an important component of the strategy to combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the months or years to come.


This paper focuses on systematic analysis and controller design of the two-inertia STABILIZATION system, considering the angular motion on a base body. This approach is essential to the stabilization system to aim at a target under three or six degrees of freedom base motion. Four controllers, such as conventional PDF(Pseudo-Derivative Feedback) controller with motor speed feedback, PDF controller with load speed feedback, modified PDF controller with motor-load speed feedback and feedforward controller added to modified PDF controller, are suggested to improve reference tracking and disturbance rejection performance. Characteristics and performance of each controller are analyzed and validated by simulation in the case of the modified PDF controller with and without a feedforward controller. Keywords—Two-Inertia stabilization System, ITAE criterion, Speed Control.