Basically this report discusses the preliminary research done and surface
understanding about the chosen topic, CFD Multiphase Modeling of Fluidized Bed
using FLUENT® Software. A fluidized bed is formed when a bulk quantity of a
solid is forced to behave like a fluid; usually by the forced introduction of
pressurized fluid, often a gas through the particulate medium. For this project,
spouted bed was chosen as the main fluidized bed. The spouted bed is simulated
using FLUENT software. Fluent basically is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
computer program designed for modeling fluid flow and heat transfer in complex
geometries. Simulation of fluidized bed is important in order to understand the
particle behavior and effect of heat and mass transfer in the fluidized bed because in
real working plant, the real fluidized bed is hard to be observed. A few variables were
tested during this simulation: different in density of granule, air velocity, diameter
size of granule and total simulation time. The conditions applied for this spouted bed
are 3 m/s of air velocity, operated at 300.15 K of temperature and 101325 Pa of
pressure. The 2-D spouted bed was modeled first in GAMBIT and all of the
boundary condition required was selected and meshed. Then the meshed spouted bed
was exported into FLUENT using double precision calculation to simulate the
problem. As a conclusion, density of 750 kg/m was selected to be the applicable
density to be used because it formed a good fluidized bed among the others.
Meanwhile when using 2000 kg/m of granule density, granule diameter size of
0.0003 m was chosen since that size of granule gave a balance result, which is
fluidized bed was formed at the middle level of spouted bed height. Longer iteration
time does not represent more accurate data was produced. This was proven when by
using 0.5 s oftotal simulation time was sufficient enough to get the required result.


Soil residual herbicide activity has been investigated since the early 1960s. One objective has been to provide producers with specific re-crop recommendations. Numerous plant bioassays have been developed to meet this need. The Alberta Research Council (ARC) has been providing a bioassay service to detect symptoms consistent with herbicide carryover since 1986. The objective of this paper is to describe our bioassay methodology and to provide basic information arising from our experience. Soil samples suspected of containing active residues are submitted to the ARC. Once the soil sample is received, the target crop and a sensitive species are planted in both the submitted soil and a check soil, known to be herbicide-free. Samples are evaluated for initial severity of symptoms and recovery over time. Symptoms consistent with herbicide carryover were found in 77% of all samples submitted. The most common crop-herbicide type combination requested is canola-imidazolinone. The primary limitation of bioassays is that damage in the bioassay may not reflect yield loss in a producer's field. However, bioassays are the only risk-management tool available to producers and can detect the presence of residues below chemical detection thresholds.


Solar energy is one of the most important sources of alternative energy. This energy source is inexhaustible and the cleanest of all known energy sources. One of the most important systems which can be used to exploit energy stored in the solar rays is a Thermo-syphon. A thermo-syphon works under the principle of natural convection, in which the working fluid rises, once it heats up, due to reduction in its density. The research regarding the effect of various types of thermal loadings on the performance output of a thermo-syphon is severely restricted, and most of the work available is based on experiments in which the detailed analysis of the complex flow field within the thermo-syphon is extremely difficult to perform. Hence, the present study focuses on the use of advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based techniques to simulate natural convection in a thermo-syphon operating under various loading conditions. The results depict that an increase in the thermal load, for both steady and transient loading conditions, decreases the temperature of the working fluid within thermo-syphon because of loss of thermal energy in the condenser.


The objective of this paper was to analyze the concept and evolution of translational research in order to explore if it can be used in fields other than health sciences such as higher education. A mini review was conducted using Medline as a main source for identifying papers. We selected papers that appeared to be relevant according to our objective. Data extraction of these papers was made by summarizing documents using short textual descriptions. Search results yielded 1186 papers, 28 of which were finally selected for the mini review. The main aim of translational research is bridging the "know – do" gap. Several multiphase models have been identified. The first described model had two phases (T1, T2) but there are models with three (T1-T3) or four phases (T1T4). However, regardless of the model used, three main gaps exist that can be placed in the knowledge chain underpinning translational research. Translational research could be seen as a bidirectional bridge connecting the laboratory to practice either in health or in education. Its interdisciplinary "back and forth" ultimately contributes to improved health or education outcomes. This improvement can be achieved if the three gaps of the knowledge chain are overcome. Namely, these gaps are located: (1) between the discovery of new knowledge and dissemination to potential users of that knowledge; (2) between knowledge dissemination to potential users and its routine application to health or education practice; and (3) between clinical or educational practice and improvement of health or education outcomes.


: Norm-based grading has been associated with a reduction in student incentives to learn. Thus, it is important to understand faculty incentives for using norm-based grading. This paper used two waves of the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty to examine faculty characteristics related to the use of norm-based grading. Results suggest that norm-based grading is more likely when faculty and departments are more research oriented. Faculty who are at lower rank, male, younger, in science and social science departments are more likely to use norm-based grading, while faculty who feel that teaching should be the primary promotion criterion use criteria-based grading


Context and Aim: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) remains to be the commonest cause of hospital morbidity and mortality in spite of advances in diagnostic techniques and management. This project aims to study the various risk factors and the common microbial flora associated with VAP. It also evaluates the use of APACHEIII scores for prognostication. Study Design: A prospective cohort study was conducted over 1 year in medical critical care unit (CCU) of a tertiary-care teaching hospital. Methods and Material: VAP was diagnosed using the clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) of more than 6. The study cohort comprised 51 patients. All CCU patients requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 48 h formed the study group. Statistical Analysis Used: Univariate analysis, c2-test, and paired t -test. Results: Twenty-four out of fifty-one cases developed VAP. These cases had an average APACHEIII score of more than 55 on admission to critical care unit (CCU). They needed prolonged mechanical ventilation and had lower PaO2/FiO2 ratio as compared with the remaining patients who did not develop VAP. Pseudomonas aeroginosa was the commonest and most lethal organism. The mortality in the VAP group was 37% and correlated very well with higher APACHEIII scores on admission. Conclusions: Longer duration of mechanical ventilation and the need of reintubation are associated with proportionate rise in the incidence of VAP. Deteriorating PaO2/FiO2 ratio correlated well with the onset of VAP. Higher APACHEIII scores on admission stratify the mortality risk.


The emergence of auction that supports bids characterized by several attributes is one of the most recent evolutions within auction theory. The purpose of this paper is to introduce multi-attribute into the on-line auction mechanism, proposed by Lavi and Nisan. Our mechanism is designed for auctioning multiple units of a good when the bidders arrive and depart dynamically. To incorporate the buyer's preferences across attributes in an auction setting, we adopt a novel application of a scoring function. Furthermore, we describe a competitive reservation utility strategy (RUS), which helps the buyer decide when and how many goods he should buy. Finally, we also perform numerical examples showing our results.


Background Streptococcus mutans are gram positive bacteria classified into viridians group, and have a role in pathogenesis of dental caries. It's adhesion to the tooth surface is mediated by cell surface proteins, which interact with specific receptor located in tooth pellicle. Glucan binding protein, Glukosyltransferase, and antigen I/II are basic proteins of S. mutans, which have a role in initiating the interaction. A previous study showed that chicken's IgY can interfere the interaction. Purpose The objective of this study is to assess the ability of IgY in recognizing the surface molecule of Streptococcus mutans expressed by various serotypes (c, d, e, f) and a strain derived from IPB, Bogor. Method Western blot was used as a method to determine such capability. Result The result showed that IgY has a potency to recognize antigen I/II, but not the other proteins on the cell surface of all bacteria tested. Conclusion The ability of IgY to bind the surface protein, antigen I/II, indicates that this avian antibody could be used as a candidate for anti-adhesion in preventing dental caries.


An Earthquake is sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through Earth's rocks. Over the centuries they have been responsible for millions of deaths and extensive damage to property. Over the past couple of decades the astounding developments in design strategies have been made, which incorporate, earthquake protective systems in the structure. These protective systems are in the form of seismic isolation system and supplementary energy dissipation devices. The method of structural isolation deflects or filters out the earthquake energy by interposing a layer with low horizontal stiffness between the structure and the foundation. Another approach to improving earthquake response performance is that of supplemental energy dissipation system. In these systems, mechanical devices are incorporated into the frame of the structure and absorb the energy from the earthquake reducing the drift as well effects on the critical components of the structure. These mechanical energy dissipating devices have been found to be quite promising and their applications form the focus of this study.


The aim of the PhD study is to examine critically the integration of female personnel within the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF). Their integration is examined in light of the deployment of women in the international military, and in light of a liberal-feminist examination of the workplace in terms of its equality of opportunity agenda.

It is argued that the sex-role stereotyping used to recruit young men in to the military in the past along with socio-biological theories of women's and men's appropriate spheres of activity have combined to disempower women within military culture, i.e; women's involvement represents a threat to the constructed masculinity the military embodies. Despite the persistence of patriarchal culture within the sphere of the military, there has been an unprecedented growth in the numbers of women within the military in the west due to the demands of modem total and technological warfare. Military planners are recruiting women not for reasons of equality of opportunity, but out of a strategically determined necessity.

In this light and in the light of the role of women in combat, the study examines the effect that women have had on the culture of the PDF. This effect is measured in terms of the roles and status assigned them and the policies evolved by the military authorities to deal with their recruitment, training, deployment and promotion.

A detailed sociological, and semiological analysis of PDF culture shows that as an institution the army is organised according to the values of patriarchy: the gender divisions within military culture extend from deployment to dress codes. From a liberal-feminist perspective, the 'masculine' patriarchal culture of the PDF could be said to be the antithesis of an equality of opportunity work environment.

Despite this and evidence of resistance from within the PDF to the recruitment of female personnel, the numbers of women within the PDF has trebled in recent years. This trend is continuing. The author has found evidence of the effects the advent of female personnel has had on PDF culture and evidence of the effects the growth in numbers of female personnel has had on recruitment, training and deployment policies.

In summary, the study examines a 'women's effect' on PDF culture as their numbers increase. The study examines a culture in transition.


Internal Model Control (IMC) is a commonly used technique that provides a transparent mode for the design and tuning of various types of control. The ability of proportional-integral (PI) and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers to meet most of the control objectives has led to their widespread acceptance in the control industry. The Internal Model Control (IMC)-based approach for controller design is one of them using IMC and its equivalent IMC based PID to be used in control applications in industries. It is because, for practical applications or an actual process in industries PID controller algorithm is simple and robust to handle the model inaccuracies and hence using IMC-PID tuning method a clear trade-off between closed-loop performance and robustness to model inaccuracies is achieved with a single tuning parameter.
Also the IMC-PID controller allows good set-point tracking but sulky disturbance response especially for the process with a small time-delay/time-constant ratio. But, for many process control applications, disturbance rejection for the unstable processes is much more important than set point tracking. Hence, controller design that emphasizes disturbance rejection rather than set point tracking is an important design problem that has to be taken into consideration.
In this thesis, we propose an optimum IMC filter to design an IMC-PID controller for better set-point tracking of unstable processes. The proposed controller works for different values of the filter tuning parameters to achieve the desired response As the IMC approach is based on pole zero cancellation, methods which comprise IMC design principles result in a good set point responses. However, the IMC results in a long settling time for the load disturbances for lag dominant processes which are not desirable in the control industry.
In our study we have taken several transfer functions for the model of the actual process or plant as we have exactly little or no knowledge of the actual process which incorporates within it the effect of model uncertainties and disturbances entering into the process. Also, the parameters of the physical system vary with operating conditions and time and hence, it is essential to design a control system that shows robust performance in the case of the above mentioned situations. Then we tried to tune our IMC controller for different values of the filter tuning factor.

Since all the IMC-PID approaches involve some kind of model reduction techniques to convert the IMC controller to the PID controller so approximation error usually occurs. This error becomes severe for the process with time delay. For this we have taken some transfer functions with significant time delay or with non invertible portions i.e. containing RHP poles or the zeroes. Here we have used different techniques like factorization to get rid off these error containing stuffs. It is because if these errors are not removed then even if IMC filter gives best IMC performance but structurally causes a major error in conversion to the PID controller, then the resulting PID controller could have poor control performance.
Thus in our approach to IMC and IMC based PID controller to be used in industrial process control applications, there exists the optimum filter structure for each specific process model to give the best PID performance. For a given filter structure, as λ decreases, the inconsistency between the ideal and the PID controller increases while the nominal IMC performance improves. It indicates that an optimum λ value also exist which compromises these two effects to give the best performance. Thus what we mean by the best filter structure is the filter that gives the best PID performance for the optimum λ value.


This chapter reviews information relevant to the design and scope of antimicrobial resistance monitoring and surveillance programs for animals and food, with emphasis on program purposes and methods. The chapter describes some of the essential features of existing monitoring and surveillance programs in various countries around the world. It shows how these programs have been useful in improving understanding of resistance and its relation to antimicrobial use and other factors, guiding public policy, and measuring the impact of interventions on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from animals, food, and humans. The major methodological considerations for the monitoring program include the types of samples to be collected, sampling strategies, species of bacteria, antimicrobials for susceptibility testing, data collection and analysis, and reporting of results. Comprehensive monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in animals in the context of animal and human health covers the entire farm-to-fork continuum. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has been active in developing new approaches for the preapproval assessment of antimicrobial resistance risks from antimicrobials used in animals. The Japanese Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring (JVARM) program examines the susceptibility of bacteria from food-producing animals to antimicrobial agents. Most programs focus on pathogenic bacteria or Salmonella, but some also report data on resistance in indicator bacteria isolated from healthy animals. Knowledge about antimicrobial resistance should be combined with knowledge regarding the usage of antimicrobial agents for different food animal species, which also should be performed on an internationally comparable basis.


The argument presented in this paper calls for an approach to flood infrastructure design that considers not only the need for a technical perspective in design but a social perspective also. As a result of climate change and changing weather patterns, it is predicted that more intense rainfall will be experienced as well as rising sea levels resulting in a greater number of people across the world vulnerable to flood events. The need for flood defence infrastructure is only going to increase. However, industry professionals responsible for design and construction have often neglected to see flooding as a social problem and consequently only develop technical and cost-effective, not social end user orientated solutions. This paper presents the preliminary findings from research that seeks to understand how the social value of a UK flood defence scheme is interpreted and discussed by both the local community and those responsible for the design, delivery and construction. The results are taken from a pilot case study, the Didsbury Flood Storage Basin Improvements scheme, conducted between April and August 2013 in Manchester, UK. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with both the community and those responsible for the design, delivery and construction of the scheme. The findings presented demonstrate how social value is articulated and where a difference in interpretation exists between the communities it is designed for compared to those responsible for the design, delivery, and construction. The conclusions drawn support the argument that adopting a social perspective in flood infrastructure design and construction produces not only a technically successful scheme, but also a considered and socially acceptable one. Adopting a socially as well as technically considerate approach for future flood infrastructure design is critical as more communities around the world are exposed to the very real risk of flood events.


Internet-based technologies have changed the way firms do business and manage their supply chains. They have influenced customers' purchase patterns, thereby motivating manufacturers to introduce online channels alongside traditional ones. Such structures are known as dual-channels. Nowadays, an increasing number of manufacturers offer a return policy to attract more customers and to stay competitive. Furthermore, learning-based continuous improvements help firms cope with market changes and be competitive, flexible and efficient. This thesis presents three main models:

The first model investigates the effect of adopting a dual-channel (comprised of a retail channel and an online channel) on the performance of a two-level (vendor-retailer) supply chain. The objective is to maximize the total profit of the system by finding the optimal markup margin and inventory decisions before and after adopting the dual-channel. The results show that adding an online channel would increase the profit of the system. However, it creates a conflict due to competition between the retail and online channels.

The second model studies a supply chain system, which is comprised of production, refurbishing, collection, and waste disposal processes. A return policy in which customers can return the purchased item for a refund is also considered. The purpose is to examine the effect of different return policies on the behavior of the system before and after adopting the dual-channel strategy. In both strategies, the model analyzes the change in the profit, the pricing and inventory decisions. The findings demonstrate that the more generous the return policy is, the higher the demand, the selling prices and the overall profit.

The third model investigates the effects of learning and forgetting in the vendor's production processes. It also considers single- and dual-channel strategies. Each channel structure can adopt any of six inventory policies. Learning and forgetting effects are considered in all policies except one. The objective is to maximize the profit of the system by finding the joint optimal pricing and inventory decisions. The results suggests that learning, despite being impeded by forgetting, reduces inventory-related costs thereby allowing the chain to reduce the prices of its product(s), which increases demand and subsequently sales.


Corrosion of Ti6Al4V was study with different heat treatments in 3,5% NaCl solution by electrochemical measurements, included potenthiodynamic polarization curves, linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), in order to focus on exploring the effect of annealing on the electrochemical response in a quantitative manner. The samples were prepared in the state of the art; heat treatments were applied at four different temperatures of 550, 750, 950 and 1100°C. The microstructure of samples has been studied using the optical microscopy and the mechanical properties have been evaluated such as microhardness HV. The electrochemical test show that the corrosion rates of treated samples at temperature equal or more then 750 ° C; are much better for the untreated sample. Although, the corrosion product on the surface is identified as titanium dioxide by XRD in all samples.


A supersaturated Al-0.3 wt.% Sc alloy was cold deformed by ECAP to an equivalent von Mises strain of 9.2 then pre-aged at 350 °C to generate a fine-grained alloy with an average grain size of 1 μm. The microstructure was highly resistant to grain coarsening at temperatures up to 500 °C with a detailed statistical analysis showing that the initial grain size distribution was very close to lognormal and, throughout annealing, remained lognormal and the normalized frequency distribution was time/temperature invariant despite a moderate broadening of the size distribution. This behaviour is largely similar to subgrain coarsening during recovery and grain growth after recrystallization. The homogeneous evolution of the microstructure during annealing, coupled with no appreciable change in texture, is also consistent with the advanced stages of continuous recrystallization.


Home Electrics is a highly informative and user-friendly book, which provides clear and concise advice on everything the homeowner needs to know about household electrics. Working through the basics of common household electrical structures, the reader is reminded of the importance of thorough planning and safety, given no-nonsense advice on installing, maintaining and replacing internal and external electrical systems, and offered practical guidance on dealing with professionals for the more specialised tasks. Covering everything from changing a plug to fitting wall lights to wiring up an extractor fan, the book finally works through a range of potential emergency situations and the particulars of dealing with them. This book will be an indispensable guide, both for those people who aim to do some of the work themselves, as well as those employing professionals in and around their home.


The present study was undertaken to investigate the changes in composition of the mammary gland volume unit through all phases of lactation in rats subjected to lead acetate administration via drinking water during the first pregnancy and lactation. Stereological analysis was performed on serial slices of the organs. The point of support for our study was the fact that lead, apart from being a poison of wide range, is mostly poisonous for gonads and to their supervisory neuroendocrine structures and the mammary gland, in morpho-functional sense, should be admitted as their integral part. On the 7th day of lactation there was significant difference of the alveolar and ductal epithelium phase, which was significantly reduced in animals treated by lead. In the same animals there were larger lumens of the alveoli and ducti, more abundant connective tissue and greater number of the adipocytes but these differences in comparison to control group were not significant. On the 14th day of lactation there was significantly greater presence of the adipocytes phase and stromal tissue while the volume of the epithelium of alveoli and ducti was significantly reduced in study group. There was also an increase of the alveoloductal lumen phase but this was not significant. On the 21st day of lactation there were significant difference in epithelial and stromal tissue phases in two groups, having a significant decrease in the epithelium, and significant increase of stromal tissue in glands of lactating rats treated by lead acetate. There were non-significant differences as far as the presence of the adipocytes and alveoloductal lumen volume were concerned although the values for both phases in study group were above the control values. On the basis of given results we concluded that lead changes the quantitative characteristics of the mammary gland, i.e. the composition of the volume unit of the organ through all phases of lactation.


ABSTRACT Background: Typical voluntary bolus swallowing consists of a single discrete oropharyngeal swallow. Multiple Swallow Behaviour, such as piecemeal deglutition, is also known to occur in health. We hypothesized that Multiple Swallow Behaviour can be detected and sub-typed utilizing high resolution pharyngeal manometry (HRPM) with impedance. Methods: Prevalence of Multiple Swallow Behaviour was examined in 50 healthy subjects (29 females, mean age 47years, range 19.8–79.5years). HRPM was performed using the Medical Measurement Systems motility system and 8-French pressure-impedance solid state catheter (32 × 1 cm spaced uni-directional pressure sensors, 16 × 2 cm impedance segments). Triplicate boluses of 3, 5, 10 and 20 ml of thin, mildly thick and extremely thick consistencies were tested. Multiple Swallow Behaviour was defined by a sequence of two or more swallows on the pressure topography tracing, occurring after oral bolus administration, with an inter-swallow interval of ≤5 sec. Results: Single swallows were the most common behaviour observed. However, 28 of 50 participants exhibited at least one Multiple Swallow Behaviour event. Larger bolus volumes elicited more Multiple Swallow events. Using impedance, Multiple Swallow Behaviour was further sub-typed as Secondary Dry Swallows (70%, considered normal), Preceding Dry Swallows (1%, considered abnormal), Piecemeal Swallows (25%, considered abnormal for volumes <20 ml) or Clearing Swallows (4%, considered abnormal). Conclusion: HRPM with impedance enables the detection and characterization of Multiple Swallow Behaviour and potentially improves our ability to distinguish manifestations of swallowing disorders. Further studies are required to investigate Multiple Swallow Behaviour sub-types in patients with dysphagia.


textabstractChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health epidemic, which has important
consequences for patients and community, and still receives insufficient attention from
the health care professionals and scientists. COPD is a leading cause of chronic morbidity
(affects 210 million people) and mortality (causes 3 million deaths per year) worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the fifth most common cause
of death and the 10th most burdensome disease.
The first definition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be found in the 60's
and incorporates both terms "emphysema" and "chronic bronchitis".
According to the Global Initiative for obstructive lung diseases (GOLD), COPD is defined
as a "preventable and treatable disease with some significant extra-pulmonary effects that
may contribute to the severity in individual patients. The pulmonary component is characterized
by airflow limitation, which is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually
progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious
particles or gases, such as cigarette smoke". COPD is clinically characterized by symptoms
like cough, sputum production, and/or dyspnea. The diagnosis is confirmed by spirometry
and accordingly has four stages, from mild (GOLD stage I) to very severe (GOLD stage IV). Patients with COPD typically have a decrease in both FEV1 and a FEV1/FVC ratio of less
than 0.7. Using this ratio as cut-off point for all patients is currently questioned as it may
underestimate COPD in the young and overestimate COPD in older populations.
The GOLD definition has become globally accepted for the diagnosis of COPD and some
crucial components of this definition have been incorporated by the European Respiratory
Society (ERS) and by the American Thoracic Society (ATS).


ABSTRACT The link between social relations and psychological wellbeing is well established in sociological and mental health studies. Since the beginning of the 2000s, this link has been garnering new attention and interest in economic and public health studies. Almost twenty years of empirical studies testing this relationship have established contrasting results for two main reasons. First, the majority of the studies are based on cross-sectional data, leaving out endogeneity and heterogeneity problems; second, mental health measurements are often discordant from each other. This study investigates the relationship between structural social capital and individual self-rated mental health using five waves of the British Household Panel Survey from 1991 to 1995 (unbalanced panel N = 44,684). We take into account the heterogeneity and endogeneity issues and implement fixed effects and lag-dependent variable estimations. Moreover, we used different methodologies to measure mental health as a robustness check. Our findings show the existence of a negative relationship between being both a member of and active in an organization and worse mental health. In addition, being active within an organization in the previous year has a negative effect on worse mental health in the following year.


Abstract Medical technologists participate in research projects conducted by doctors and scientists. They should be encouraged to carry out their own research projects. Using data that is routinely generated in one's own laboratory can minimise the need for additional resources. Information contained in the laboratory's information management system (LIMS) is primarily used as a management tool. It can be utilised as a source of research material. The LIMS can be used to pose and answer research questions. Displaying your laboratory's data in an annual report is a good starting point and displaying this data over time can be an important disease surveillance tool. The type of research that it is possible to carry out on data generated by the laboratory can be used to learn more about the utilisation of your services and improve the service offered by the laboratory. It may also be used to advance medical knowledge and carry out disease surveillance. Examples from the authors' own experience in laboratory work are given.


An incremental form of constitutive model is proposed for shape memory alloys using the modified strain based on experimental results and the finite element analysis, taking into account of the laminar microstructure, the thickness of martensite phase lamina and the interaction between the two phases. The pseudoelastisity of NiTi shape memory alloy micro-tube subjected to pure tension and pure torsion are analyzed and compared with the experimental results respectively. It can be seen that the pseudoelastic behavior, especially the stress drop during tension processes, can be well described with the proposed model.


Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a positive‐strand RNA agent, has been associated with enterically transmitted non‐A, non‐B hepatitis in Asia, Africa, and Mexico. To evaluate the role of HEV in an outbreak of hepatitis in Pakistan, we used immune electron microscopy to detect 1) antibody to HEV, for evidence of infection, and 2) virus, to determine the pattern of HEV excretion. Paired sera from 2 patients were assayed for antibody by using reference HEV: one seroconverted, an atypical finding for HEV infections; the other had high levels of anti‐HEV in both sera. Virus particles with the size (29 × 31 nm) and morphology of HEV were detected in feces from 10 of 85 patients and serologically identified as HEV by using reference antibodies from an HEV‐infected chimpanzee. One of these HEV‐containing specimens was collected 9 days before the onset of jaundice; it was among feces from 38 outpatients with nonspecific symptoms and biochemical hepatitis, 12 of whom subsequently developed jaundice. The other 9 feces with HEV were among 36 collected within 7 days of the onset of acute icteric hepatitis; all 11 feces from days 8 to 15 were negative for HEV. Fecal concentrations of HEV appeared t o be lower than those of many enteric viruses: only one specimen contained as many as 5 particles per EM grid square. It is concluded that HEV was etiologically associated with the epidemic and was predominantly excreted at very low levels during the first week of jaundice.


Originating from a bold idea, Organic Valley currently reigns as the largest organic cooperative in North America. In 1988, from the non-glaciated, hilly part of Southwestern Wisconsin, seven progressive rural entrepreneurs started a courageous and visionary journey. The founders' original objectives were to create an organization that would provide stable pay-prices to farmers and a sustainable family farm life style. For much of its more than 25 year history, Organic Valley has achieved this mission. However, in the past few years a more hostile economic environment emerged testing the resolve of George Siemon, CEO, and the Organic Valley leadership team. This case shares the evolution of a determined, idealistic group of mostly small rural producers leading a farmer owned firm from nothing but a dream to a complex international cooperative facing an important set of challenges. The current quandary: can the original mission of Organic Valley – to simultaneously deliver a stable producer pay-price and a sustainable life style to member suppliers – be maintained?


Reward shaping allows reinforcement learning (RL) agents to accelerate learning by receiving additional reward signals. However, these signals can be difficult to design manually, especially for complex RL tasks. We propose a simple and general approach that determines the reward of pre-defined events by their rarity alone. Here events become less rewarding as they are experienced more often, which encourages the agent to continually explore new types of events as it learns. The adaptiveness of this reward function results in a form of automated curriculum learning that does not have to be specified by the experimenter. We demonstrate that this Rarity of Events (RoE) approach enables the agent to succeed in challenging VizDoom scenarios without access to the extrinsic reward from the environment. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that RoE learns a more versatile policy that adapts well to critical changes in the environment. Rewarding events based on their rarity could help in many unsolved RL environments that are characterized by sparse extrinsic rewards but a plethora of known event types.


The research facility at the University of Manchester in the Morton Laboratory is a full scale replica of an industrial sized natural circulation thermosyphon reboiler, which comprises 50 tubes of 3 m length and 25.4 mm OD. The facility is operated under vacuum. Water is used as the process fluid and condensing steam is the heating source. Experimental datasets were obtained for the reboiler and have been presented in the form of profile plots of feed rate, fluid recirculation, recirculation ratio and vapour quality. The data elucidate the effect of pressure [0.1 to 1.0 bar] and heat duties [78 to 930 kW] on the performance of the reboiler. Three distinct modes of operation have been observed. Mode one is defined as a flow-induced instability or geysering (low heat duty) and exists below a definite transitional point that is independent of process pressure. Mode two is a region of stable operation that occurs above the threshold of the flow-induced instability, while mode three, which is defined as the heat-induced instability (density-wave instability), is pressure dependent obtained at high duties and is characterised by violent oscillations. These instability thresholds represent the lower and upper limits of operation of the reboiler. The region of stable operation is enveloped between the two limits and is very dependent on process pressure as it progressively becomes smaller as the vacuum becomes lower. These studies led to unique experimental observations, which revealed the existence of intermittent reversed flow in the entire loop. The use of throttling in the heat-induced unstable region to return to stable operation tends to be over a narrow range, outside of which the sole way to regain stability is to lower the heat load or increase the process pressure. In the region of flow-induced instability, throttling the fluid at the inlet is useless and actually makes the situation worse. These instabilities are alleviated by increasing the heat load.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


River corridors store, convey, and process nutrients from terrestrial and upstream sources, regulating delivery from headwaters to estuaries. A consequence of chronic excess nitrogen loading, as supported by theory and field studies in specific watersheds, is saturation of the biogeochemically-mediated nitrogen removal processes that weakens the capacity of the river corridor to remove nitrogen. Regional nitrogen models typically assume that removal capacity exhibits first-order behavior, scaling positively and linearly with increasing concentration, which may bias the estimation of where and at what rate nitrogen is removed by river corridors. Here we estimate the nitrogen concentration saturation threshold and its effects on annual nitrogen export from the Northeastern United States, revealing an average 42% concentration-induced reduction in headwater removal capacity. The weakened capacity caused an average 10% increase in the predicted delivery of riverine nitrogen from urban and agricultural watersheds compared to estimates using first-order process assumptions. Our results suggest that nitrogen removal may fall below a first-order rate process as riverine concentration increases above a threshold of 0.5 mg N l−1. Threshold behavior indicates that even modest mitigation of nitrogen concentration in river corridors above the threshold can cause a self-reinforcing boost to nitrogen removal.


Computers as learning media have become mandatory in the teaching and learning process. Mathematical learning in which the field of study is abstract and requires logical thinking is also inseparable from computer learning media. Many software made to facilitate mathematics learning activities, among others: Geogebra, Microsoft Mathematic, Maple, Matlab, SAS, SPSS etc. The dedication activities have been carried out by the Mathematics Department of FMIPA in collaboration with the Hasanuddin University Research and Community Service Institute (Lp2M) in Mathematics Subject Teacher (MGMP) at the junior high School in Pangkajene and Kepulauan District (Pangkep) held in the Junior High School 4 hall with a number of participants as many as 30 teachers from 23 various junior high schools in Pangkep Regency who are members of the MGMP. The purpose of this activity is to improve the ability of junior high school mathematics teachers in Pangkep Regency to use computer-based learning media such as Maple and Matlab. The material provided was training on Maple and Matlab software to support mathematics learning. The results of this activity can improve the ability of mathematics teachers to master mathematical material assisted by software.


An extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) for LIII Eu crystal edge at 6977 eV energy was studied on an original complex based on europium. The ligand was coordinated entirely with respect to europium atom for [Eu(dafone)2Cl2.(H2O)2](Cl)(H2O), where dafone is 4,5-diazafluoren-9-one. The EXAFS spectra showed close-neighbor correlations between europium and nitrogen atoms as well as to the adjoining carbon backbones on macrocyclic cages, which resulted in the bond lengths, the Debye-Waller factor, and coordination numbers. The Eu (III) complex in vitro antibacterial efficacy on a set of Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria showed that the complex displays marked antibacterial behavior. The minimum complex inhibitory concentrations showed that the Eu complex displays significantly higher antibacterial impact on conventional Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial strains compared to those of silver sulfadiazine and europium nitrate. The Eu (III) bacterial inhibitions are closely linked to relevant DNA binding affinities.


The multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique can be used to improve the performance of ad hoc networks. Various medium access control (MAC) protocols with multiple contention slots have been proposed to exploit spatial multiplexing for increasing the transport throughput of MIMO ad hoc networks. However, the existence of multiple request-to-send/clear-to-send (RTS/CTS) contention slots represents a severe overhead that limits the improvement on transport throughput achieved by spatial multiplexing. In addition, when the number of contention slots is fixed, the efficiency of RTS/CTS contention is affected by the transmitting power of network nodes. In this study, a joint optimisation scheme on both transmitting power and contention slots number for maximising the transport throughput is presented. This includes the establishment of an analytical model of a simplified MAC protocol with multiple contention slots, the derivation of transport throughput as a function of both transmitting power and the number of contention slots, and the optimisation process based on the transport throughput formula derived. The analytical results obtained, verified by simulation, show that much higher transport throughput can be achieved using the joint optimisation scheme proposed, compared with the non-optimised cases and the results previously reported.


Risk perceptions are important to the policy process because they inform individuals' preferences for government management of hazards that affect personal safety, public health, or ecological conditions. Studies of risk in the policy process have often focused on explicating the determinants of risk perceptions for highly salient, high consequence hazards (e.g., nuclear energy). We argue that it is useful to also study more routinely experienced hazards; doing so shows the relevance of risk perceptions in individuals' daily lives. Our investigation focuses on the impact perceived risk has on citizens' preferences over hazard management policies (as distinct from identifying risk perception determinants per se). We use a recursive structural equation model to analyze public opinion data measuring attitudes in three distinct issue domains: air pollution, crime, and hazardous waste storage and disposal. We find that citizens utilize perceived risk rationally: greater perceived risk generally produces support for more proactive government to manage potential hazards. This perceived risk–policy response relationship generally holds even though the policy options respondents were asked to consider entailed nontrivial costs to the public. The exception seems to be when individuals know less about the substantive issue domain.


In both practical marketing management and marketing scholarship the concept of County-of-Origin has been widely employed the last couple of decades. Despite the ubiquity of country-of-origin references in contemporary marketing there are conceptual blind spots in our understanding of the concept. In this article the theoretical perspective of country-of-origin is discussed using the empirical example of Swedish fashion to illustrate how marketing related to the notion of place is al- ways contingent on the various mythologies always already present. Departure is hence taken in the notion that an under- standing of contemporary Swedish fashion cannot be decoupled from an overall understanding of Sweden's role in popular culture. This base in popular culture, together with the partic- ular historicity of Swedish fashion, forms a basis of different versions of Swedishness on which contemporary fashion brands —both Swedish and foreign—can build. A number of different ways in which Swedish fashion brands relate to these available mythologies of Swedishness, as well as other place myth- ologies is outlined. On a theoretical level the paper addresses calls for more research on the symbolic aspects of coun- try-of-origin.To argue that the place where something "comes from" is important for the success of a market offering is by no means a novel thought. In mainstream marketing country-of-origin is typically seen as a cognitive cue, i.e. "an informational stim- ulus about or relating to a product that is used by consumers to infer beliefs regarding product attributes such as quality". Culturally influence marketing researchers have critiqued this notion and added that country-of-origin is not merely a piece of information that goes into making decisions, rather coun- try-of-origin might link a product to a rich product-country im- agery, with sensory, affective and ritual connotations. Furthermore, since contemporary production and branding proc- esses are rather complex, oftentimes encompassing multiple lo- cations, the designation product-country image is sometimes used rather than country-of-origin to signal that it is rather the place that something is associated with that matters, rather than where something is produced.Brands are important for consumers for several reasons. In the view of McCracken, consumption objects as well as brands represent bridges to displaced meanings, i.e. properties of our personality that we cannot attain in the here and now. The lack of these properties, we are led to believe, is what pre- vents us from being realized as a better version of ourselves. By the magical whims of advertising it is as if these proper- ties come to reside in the consumption objects. It is in this light that the notion of Swedish fashion, or any other place connected to a product group, needs to be thought about. Brand owners who try to connect their brand to a particular place trust that consumers will value this positively, and con- sumers value the place branding activities since they help them both in making decisions and in constructing a coherent life narrative. Country-of-origin might influence consumer product evaluations in three principle ways: cognitive, affective and normative. Cognitive means that country-of-origin is used as a cue for product quality, e.g. consumers might hold beliefs that garments sown in Italy are of high quality and garments sown in Turkey are of low quality. Affective means that coun- try-of-origin has symbolic and emotional value to consumers, e.g. consumers emanating from a particular country might be emotionally attached to certain brands and products from that country. Normative means that consumers might hold social and personal norms related to products from certain countries, e.g. some might not want to purchase products produced in sweatshops in which worker safety cannot be assured and oth- ers might want to purchase only locally produced products in order not to affect the environment with unnecessary shipping costs.In order to discuss the use of Swedishness in the marketing of Swedish fashion the potential marketing positions related to place can be structured according to the two dimensions Intended Market and Place Marketing Approach. Intended Market refers to whether a brand caters to the Intranational (Swedish) Market alone or whether they are also aspiring to a broader International audience. Place Marketing Approach refers to whether a company is leveraging the mythologies rooted in the Intranational (Swedishness) in building their brand or whether a company are using the mythologies the International, which might encompass both other places and no place at all. These two dimensions create four possible positions: provincial, national, pseudo-international, and cosmopolitan. One important insight from this article is that the possible meaning positions that a company can take is not limited to the factual location of the company; either a national or an international marketing approach can be taken by Swedish or international companies.A Swedish company leveraging a Swedish marketing approach could be said to have an indexical connection to the place. They can, in some way, claim lineage to the country of Sweden either because production takes place there or because the company in some other way is based in Sweden. Other companies might also leverage the mythologies of Swedishness but they then merely have an iconic connection to the place. There is a resemblance between the expression of the company and that of the available mythologies of the place, but no gen- uine physical connections. The same reasoning goes for the companies adapting a pseudo-international approach; they have an iconic connection to the places from which they draw their mythologies. By thinking about marketing based on coun- try-of-origin in this way we decouple the available strategies from the physical location of the companies and instead view various country-of-origin mythologies as cultural resources that can be leveraged by companies in their brand building activities. Depending on the intended market companies will need to adapt the way in which they perpetuate the available mythologies. This is especially the case for companies with a strong position on the local market but with aspirations to go global. These companies might then oscillate between a provin- cial position on the Swedish market and Swedish position on the international market.


Although perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), which include depression and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and postpartum, are common among mothers in Colorado and the United States, these medical conditions often go undiagnosed and untreated.1,2 While PMADs have received increasing attention from policymakers and professional societies, the societal costs have not been well documented. This issue brief describes the findings from a new mathematical model that quantifies the societal costs3 of untreated PMADs from conception to age 5. The model uses the most recent data and credible estimates of maternal, child, and societal outcomes associated with untreated PMADs from peer-reviewed literature. We estimate that the total societal cost of untreated PMADs in Colorado is $199 million for all births in 2017 when following the mother-child pair from pregnancy through five years postpartum.


With increasing processing capability and power consumption in multi-layered micro-electronic packages, efficient thermal management and structural integrity continue to remain crucial factors for ensuring package reliability. Effective and simple to implement analytical methods for temperature and warpage prediction are important tools to predict the thermo-mechanical performance of a package. While many existing analytical thermal models predict exact or approximate solutions [1], [2], they are computationally expensive for non-uniform power distributions and do not account for the effect of thermal warpage on the package thermal resistances and the temperature distribution. Similarly, existing methodologies for calculating the warpage or thermal stresses in bi- and multi-layer strip [3], [4] do not consider non-uniform power distribution on the chip surface.This paper presents an analytical solution for the temperature distribution in a multilayer chip-on-spreader package, combining the thermal warpage of the chip and package with the imposed uniform and non-uniform power distributions on the chip. An analytical solution is developed to calculate the warpage and the radius of curvature for a multilayer unlidded package as a result of mismatch in the thermal expansion of the package components as its temperature varies. The model is verified against Timoshenko's model for two layers and is found to be a match. The temperature distribution on the chip is calculated using an analytical method for an unwarped package [5] where the linear superposition principle is applied to an exact solution of heat transfer in the spreader, coupled with 1D heat conduction from the chip and the thermal interface material (TIM) to the spreader. The two methods are solved implicitly until a converged solution is reached. The temperature distribution and the warpage results are presented for 10 by 10 grid uniform and non-uniform power maps applied to the chip. The model predicts a significant change in the temperature distribution as a result of package warpage. The results are also reported for a 60 by 60 grid non-uniform power map representative of power dissipation in a server chip. A comparison between the analytical model and the numerical results is also presented and are found to be in good agreement.


The En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) system will continue to integrate new capabilities and features to assist controllers in managing increasingly high levels of traffic in the National Airspace System (NAS). The Federal Aviation Administration Human Factors Branch conducted a study to examine potential modifications to the system. The study included an evaluation of (a) the location and format of conflict probe notifications, (b) the use of 30-inch displays, and (c) the use of different pointing devices at en route controller workstations. This report summarizes the evaluations of the conflict probe and display alternatives. This is the second Separation Management simulation. The first simulation investigated the automation requirements needed to assist controllers in working en route sectors capable of accommodating 3-nmi (5.56 km) and 5-nmi (9.26 km) separation standards. Eighteen (12 retired, 6 current) en route air traffic controllers participated in the study. All participants managed high-traffic level scenarios under test conditions that varied the location and format of the conflict probe notifications on controller displays and that compared controller management of traffic using current displays and 30-inch displays. The authors collected system and participant performance measures and ratings of workload and performance. The authors did not find significant differences across test conditions for measures of performance, efficiency, and safety. The authors did find that radar (R)-side participants viewed a higher proportion of notifications when only the most imminent notifications were presented on their displays. When notifications were available on the R-side display, the participants tended to select them more often from the data block than from the Conflict Alert List. In the Display Evaluation, the 30-inch displays were rated more favorably by the data (D)-side participants than by the R-side participants. Providing conflict probe notifications for imminent notifications on the R-side display and providing a 30-inch display on the D-side appear useful.


Graphite is one of the many presolar circumstellar condensate species found in primitive meteorites. While the isotopic compositions of low-density graphite grains indicate an origin in core-collapse supernovae, some high-density grains have extreme isotopic anomalies in C, Ca, and Ti, which cannot be explained by envelope predictions of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars or theoretical supernova models. The Ca and Ti isotopic anomalies, however, match the predictions of He-shell abundances in AGB stars. In this study, we show that the C, Ca, and Ti isotopic anomalies are consistent with nucleosynthesis predictions of the H-ingestion phase during a very late thermal pulse (VLTP) event in post-AGB stars. The low 12C/13C isotopic ratios in these grains are a result of abundant 12C efficiently capturing the protons that are being ingested during the VLTP. Very high neutron densities of ∼1015 cm−3, typical of the i-process, are achieved during this phase in post-AGB stars. The large 42, 43, 44Ca excesses in some graphite grains are indicative of neutron capture nucleosynthesis during VLTP. The comparison of VLTP nucleosynthesis calculations to the graphite data also indicate that apparent anomalies in the Ti isotopic ratios are due to large contributions from 46, 48Ca, which cannot be resolved from the isobars 46, 48Ti during the measurements. We conclude that presolar graphite grains with moderate to extreme Ca and Ti isotopic anomalies originate in post-AGB stars that suffer a VLTP.


Summary Lentil frequently suffers from drought stress towards the end of the growing season in rainfed Mediterranean farming systems. This study aimed to quantify the contribution of yield potential under irrigated conditions and of drought escape to the adaptation of lentils to drought, and to identify traits of value in selection for adaptation to a rain-fed Mediterranean environment. Twenty-five diverse lentil lines were sown under both irrigated and rainfed conditions in the 1987/88 and 1988/89 seasons in northern Syria. In 1987/88 the total seasonal rainfall was 403 mm and average rainfed biomass and seed yields were 5.0 and 1.8 t ha-l, respectively. In contrast, in 1988/89 the total season rainfall was 180 mm and average biomass and seed yields were only 0.67 and 0.12 t ha-1, respectively. Early vigour (estimated as a visual score) and percentage ground cover were strongly associated with final biomass, and were of value in predicting economic yield (seed + straw). Early maturity was correlated with seed yield. In the dry season 1988/89, 49% of the variation in seed yield among lines was accounted for by variation in flowering time. Drought escape was clearly the key response to drought. For severely drought-prone areas, selection for early flowering is therefore required. Variation in flowering time and seed yield under irrigated conditions accounted for 62% of seed yield variation under drought stress.


System design with nanoscale molecular devices will require developing new circuit and architectural techniques to exploit highly dense and regular structures such as nano-crossbar. It also requires addressing some inherent limitations with these devices, such as large process variations, high defect rates, lack of voltage gain (preventing logic cascading), and large overhead of interfacing logic. We propose an asynchronous design paradigm for nanoscale crossbar that combines them with CMOS-based event- driven bistable elements to implement micropipeline structures. An automated design platform for synthesizing these systems is also presented. The proposed asynchronous design approach addresses three main issues with nanoscale crossbar: 1) parameter variations, 2) logic cascading, and 3) large overhead of interfacing logic. Simulation results show considerable improvement in robustness under variations as well as in total area (up to 1.8X), delay (up to 2X) and power (up to 3.2X) compared to equivalent sequential implementation.


Background and Objectives: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) are provided in a wide variety of settings. Goal: To compare, by test setting, the perceptions of the testing experience among HIV-positive persons who were not receiving medical care. Design: A baseline questionnaire was administered at enrollment into the Antiretroviral Treatment Access Study by the use of audio computer-assisted self-interview. Results: Of 316 respondents, 27% reported that the counselor did not spend enough time with them and 22% that the counselor did not answer all questions. The odds were higher that persons in the following settings, compared with those at HIV test sites, would report that the counselor did not spend enough time with them: office of private physician or health maintenance organization (HMO) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 5.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-21.7), jail (AOR, 5.10; 95% CI, 1.06-24.6), and emergency room (ER) or hospital overnight visit (AOR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.15-7.44). Similarly, the odds were higher that persons in the following settings compared with those at HIV test sites would report that the counselor did not answer all questions: office of private physician or HMO (AOR, 9.62; 95% CI, 2.22-41.7), jail (AOR, 7.87; 95% CI, 1.50-41.4), and ER or hospital overnight visit (AOR, 3.32; 95% CI, 1.11-9.90). Conclusion: Further training and quality assurance in HIV CTR may be needed in some test settings.


PURPOSE
To review, contrast, and compare current known tapetal mechanisms and review the implications for the evolution of the tapetum.

METHODS
Ocular specimens of representative fish in key piscine families, including Acipenseridae, Cyprinidae, Chacidae; the reptilian family Crocodylidae; the mammalian family Felidae; and the Lepidopteran family Sphingidae were reviewed and compared histologically. All known varieties of tapeta were examined and classified and compared to the known cladogram representing the evolution of each specific family.

RESULTS
Types of tapeta include tapetum cellulosum, tapetum fibrosum, retinal tapetum, invertebrate pigmented tapetum, and invertebrate thin-film tapetum. All but the invertebrate pigmented tapetum were examined histologically. Review of the evolutionary cladogram and comparison with known tapeta suggest that the tapetum evolved in the Devonian period 345 to 395 million years ago. Tapeta developed independently in at least three separate orders in invertebrates and vertebrates, and yet all have surprisingly similar mechanisms of light reflection, including thin-film interference, diffusely reflecting tapeta, Mie scattering, Rayleigh scattering, and perhaps orthogonal retroreflection.

CONCLUSION
Tapeta are found in invertebrates and vertebrates and display different physical mechanisms of reflection. Each tapetum reflects the wavelengths most relevant to the species' ecological niche. With this work, we have hypothesized that the tapetum evolved independently in both invertebrates and vertebrates as early as the Devonian period and coincided with an explosion of life forms.


ABSTRACT Christian Democratic socio-economic ideology underwent a paradigm shift through the Europeanization of its party networks. Christian Democratic networks started with a distinctive Catholic socio-economic ideology emphasizing corporatism, welfare transfers and a coordination of the economy. This institutional blueprint influenced the early years of European socio-economic integration. The original social Catholicism was gradually replaced by Protestant and secular inspired socio-economic ideology, emphasizing undistorted market competition with successive enlargements of the European Union and the European People's Party (EPP). The article empirically reconstructs the contested process of transformation of the EPPs socio economic ideology through the inclusion of mainstream conservative and Protestant Christian Democratic parties and its impact on European Christian Democracy and the European integration process.


In this study we formulated a priori hypotheses for the changes in the benthos that would be expected as a result of the direct impacts of trawl fisheries. These were tested using a data set comprising stomach contents for dab Limanda limanda collected in March and August in the early 1950s and a matched sample from 1996-97. Changes in samples taken in August were consistent with the hypothesised effects of fishing, with an increased prevalence of scavengers and decreased occurrence of sedentary polychaetes in the diet. There were also marked differences between the 1950s and 1996-97 for March samples due to the high prevalence of fish remains in the contemporary samples. While ou results must be treated with caution, they are consistent with the hypothesis that there have been widespread long term changes in benthic communities due to fishing.


The aim of this paper is to study the impact of macroeconomic announcements on asset prices, with the objectives of both measuring the average response of stock returns to macroeconomic news surprises, and explaining the sources of such a reaction. To assess the importance of scheduled French and US macroeconomic announcements, Stock returns are analyzed on the French stock market. It is shown that, according to previous studies, there is little evidence of the reaction of the market to those surprises. News about inflation, U.S consumption and real economic activity are specially expected by investors. It confirms the leading role of the U.S. economy and in particular of U.S. consumers in determining the development of the world economy and the dynamics of stock markets. Results also show that unexpected positive surprise in the unemployment rate causes a cut on future excess returns and future dividends. The opposite reaction is observed from the housing starts indicator. The consumer price index appears to have an impact not only on future excess returns, but also on future real interest rates.


A Hartree–Fock mean-field theory of a weakly interacting Bose-gas in a quenched white noise disorder potential is presented. A direct continuous transition from the normal gas to a localized Bose-glass phase is found which has localized short-lived excitations with a gapless density of states and vanishing superfluid density. The critical temperature of this transition is as for an ideal gas undergoing Bose–Einstein condensation. Increasing the particle-number density a first-order transition from the localized state to a superfluid phase perturbed by disorder is found. At intermediate number densities both phases can coexist.


The thesis took an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented approach to address the research problem: 'Is farmed fish capable of replacing wild-caught fish in the Malaysian diet?' The main objectives of the project were to assess current fish consumption habits, evaluate the impacts of these on sustainability of fish stocks and determine whether aquacultured products could be a suitable substitution. A combination of data collection methods was used, namely dietary assessments, systematic literature review, market research interviews and surveys and analysis of electronic and paper-based official records. The review of the Malaysian food balance sheets showed a significant transition in diet over the last three decades, specifically with respect to an increase in animal protein by approximately 60% over this time, with fish as the major source of protein. To further explore the contribution of fish to the diet of Malaysians, and any ethnic and geographical differences in consumption, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess habitual dietary intakes within selected coastal, rural and urban populations across different cultural groups in Klang Valley. The FFQ provided a clearer picture of the quantities of fish consumed by Malaysians and enabled the characterisation of Malaysian fish consumers based on the types of fish species consumed for sustainability assessment purpose. The nutritional contribution of wild versus farmed fish was compared and contrasted. Results from this study, combined with detailed studies of perception of wild versus farmed fish by consumers, aquaculturists and wholesalers, provided a greater understanding of the factors that influence consumers' fish buying and consumption habits. The key findings are discussed with respect to the sustainability of the current situation, potential for expanding the aquaculture sector to replace wild fish in the Malaysian diet and recommendations for future research and issues for policy makers involved in the expansion of the industry.


The aim of this paper is to highlight that the primary goal of certain regional planning laws – i.e., to limit land consumption – is contradicted by the legislative provisions they contain, which state that the maximum acceptable land consumption should comply with the previous General Regulatory Plan. Moreover, the paper is intended to suggest what innovative regional planning strategies should be adopted. The goal to promote "vertical" development, through strategies of densification and volumetric replacements fostered by reward policies, is not commonly found in regional laws, which, instead of reducing "horizontality", confirm the surfaces established by the previous General Regulatory Plan stating that they "may be confirmed and/or adapted as urbanized areas and as areas intended for residential purposes, in the new preliminary document" (own translation) (Regional Planning Law 19/02 – Region Calabria).


Implicit tax rates priced in the cross section of municipal bonds are approximately two to three times as high as statutory income tax rates, with implicit tax rates close to 100% using retail trades and above 70% for interdealer trades. These implied tax rates can be identified on the cross section of municipal bonds because a portion of secondary market municipal bond trades involve income taxes. After valuing the tax payments, market discount bonds, which carry income tax liabilities, trade at yields around 25 basis points higher than comparable municipal bonds not subject to any taxes. The high sensitivities of municipal bond prices to tax rates can be traced to individual retail traders dominating dealers and other institutions.


The administration of ex vivo engineered T cells is championed by academia and industry alike and has resulted in dramatic clinical responses. I will discuss how T cells can be engineered ex vivo using a transposon/transposase system for in vivo applications. We will discuss how this non-viral approach to gene therapy can be combined immunotherapy to redirect specificity and improve the effector functions of T cells manufactured for clinical trials. For example, T cells can be genetically modified to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and T-cell receptors (TCRs) to redirect specificity for protein and carbohydrates antigens. I will reveal how the non-viral Sleeping Beauty (SB) system can be adapted and used to stably express CARs and TCRs to improve the therapeutic potential of clinical grade T cells. These clinical data serve as a foundation for additional genetic engineering to co-express transgenes to improve persistence as well as provide the opportunity for genome editing to eliminate undesired endogenous genes to improve T-cell potency. As genetically modified T cells achieve FDA approval and enter into the mainstream of clinical practice a central question remains how to broaden the number of recipients that can receive such immunotherapy. This anticipated need can met by the use of non-viral gene transfer which provides an avenue for academia and industry to develop distribution systems to widen the human application of next-generation T-cell therapies. Citation Format: Laurence Cooper. Nonviral gene transfer to redirect T cell specificity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr IA47.


The efficacy of cancer treatment by radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs is often limited by severe side effects that primarily affect the hematopoietic system and the epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract. Progress in understanding differences in the mechanisms involved in the responses of normal and tumor cells to genotoxic stress has led to the development of new rational approaches to selective protection of normal cells, such as suppression of apoptosis by pharmacological inhibition of p53 or activation of NF-kappaB. Another promising approach presented in this issue by Johnson et al. is based on the idea of using pharmacological inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) to convert normal cells into a radioresistant state by inducing reversible cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition. The evidence indicates that this approach is likely to be specific for protection of normal cells and may, therefore, have clinical potential as an adjuvant in anticancer therapies.


We estimate dynamic treatment effects of violent political conflicts on firm decisions to purchase inventory. We analyze monthly purchase data of 431 clients of a multinational beverage firm in Mozambique, as well as annual survey data. Firms respond to increases in conflict by decreasing purchases of inventory by up to 15%. This effect is significantly more pronounced for smaller firms. Firms exposed to violent conflicts also show greater intention to expand to less violent locations. The eruption of violent conflicts have significant short-term economic impact for small firms however, these do not persist beyond 2 months.


Against the background of an increasing energy demand and growing environmental problems in Morocco due to the strong foreign dependence (Import over 95% of the country's energy needs), renewable energy resources offer interesting opportunities for Morocco. This paper suggests the simulation and perform the analysis of CSP using a Parabolic Trough Collector PTC as a technology. Therefore, the code developed not only used for the optimization of CSP plants implemented in Morocco but also for performance prediction under variable weather conditions of Moroccan zones. On this way, a detailed model on the Ouarzazate CSP project is given taking into account actual data and all technical constraints. Then, a comparison between potentials sites is performed. The analysis shows the competitive viability of CSP plants in Morocco.


Control and communication technologies are key building blocks of cyber-physical systems (CPSes) that can improve the efficiency of the physical processes. However, they also make a CPS vulnerable to cyberattacks that can cause disruptions or even severe damage. This article focuses on one particular type of CPS cyberattack, namely the time delay attack (TDA), which exploits vulnerabilities in the communication channels to cause potentially serious harm to the system. Much work proposed for TDA detection is tested offline only and under strong assumptions. In order to construct a practical solution to deal with real-world scenarios, we propose a deep learning-based method to detect and characterize TDA. Specifically, we design a hierarchical long short-term memory model to process raw data streams from relevant CPS sensors online and continually monitor embedded signals in the data to detect and characterize the attack. Moreover, various strategies of interpreting the outputs of the model are proposed, which allow the user to tune the performance based on different objectives. We evaluate our model on two representative types of CPS, namely power plant control system (PPCS) and automatic generation control (AGC).Code and dataset can be found at: https://github.com/prakharg24/tda For TDA detection, our solution achieves an accuracy of 92% in PPCS, compared with 81% by random forests (RFs) and 72% by k-nearest neighbours (kNNs). For AGC, our solution achieves 98% accuracy, compared with 74% by RFs and 71% by kNNs. It also reduces the mean absolute error in the delay value characterization from about six to two seconds in the PPCS, and from about three seconds to half a second in the AGC, with about 3x to 4x shorter reaction latency in both systems.


Pilocytic astrocytomas of the optic nerve (optic nerve gliomas) are closely associated with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), and allelic losses of the NF1 gene region on chromosome 17q occur in sporadic pilocytic astrocytomas. We therefore hypothesized that the NF1 gene acts as a tumor suppressor gene in pilocytic astrocytomas, and that NF1 gene expression would be reduced or absent in these tumors. To evaluate this possibility, we examined quantitative and qualitative aspects of NF1 gene expression in six sporadic pilocytic astrocytomas. Surprisingly, the NF1 gene was overexpressed up to fourfold in these tumors when compared with normal brain. This up-regulation was accompanied by immunohistochemical positivity using a carboxyl-terminal antibody and by the absence of mutations in one kilobase of the NF1 coding sequence, consistent with the expressed transcript and protein being full length and probably wild type. Pilocytic astrocytomas showed a marked predominance of transcripts containing exon 23a and lacking exon 9br, the same isoforms that are expressed by normal and reactive astrocytes and malignant astrocytomas. These data illustrate that pilocytic astrocytomas overexpress specific NF1 gene transcripts, perhaps as a regulatory response to growth stimuli. The role of the NF1 gene as a tumor suppressor in pilocytic astrocytomas, however, remains to be proven.


Francis Beaumont's play, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607) stages a disjunction between interpretation and legitimate authority, centred around an audience which is empowered partly by the threat of informing. As a contrast, Ben Jonson's onstage audiences are often allowed only ridiculous or overblown reactions, a kind of instructional dysfunction, while remaining entirely under the control of the author. In The Knight of the Burning Pestle however, the onstage audience are allowed a much more actively intrusive role, as they attempt to hold sway over the writing and production of the play they inhabit. Beaumont's onstage citizens therefore stage an authorship which feels itself to be under siege by a far more unruly form of audience empowerment and signify the fear of of venal interpretation and misheld authority. The end result is a theatrical form which accurately reproduces the critical atmosphere of the drama and of the material context of its production. In offering this Beaumont reveals the precarious nature of his own authority in relation to that of a potentially informing audience. His metadrama therefore  registers, in both form and content,  the solid fear that 'unseemly speeches . . . mistaking the Author's intention' by informers may lead not only to 'unkind reports', but also ultimately to the horrors of the early modern gaol.


High-resolution images for remote sensing applications are often not affordable or accessible, especially when in need of a wide temporal span of recordings. Given the easy access to low-resolution (LR) images from satellites, many remote sensing works rely on this type of data. The problem is that LR images are not appropriate for semantic segmentation, due to the need for high-quality data for accurate pixel prediction for this task. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end framework that unites a super-resolution and a semantic segmentation module in order to produce accurate thematic maps from LR inputs. It allows the semantic segmentation network to conduct the reconstruction process, modifying the input image with helpful textures. We evaluate the framework with three remote sensing datasets. The results show that the framework is capable of achieving a semantic segmentation performance close to native high-resolution data, while also surpassing the performance of a network trained with LR inputs.


Peer effects have figured prominently in debates on school vouchers, desegregation, ability tracking, and antipoverty programs. Compelling evidence of their existence remains scarce for plaguing endogeneity issues such as selection bias and the reflection problem. This paper is among the first to firmly establish the link between peer performance and student achievement, using a unique data set from China. We find strong evidence that peer effects exist and operate in a positive and nonlinear manner; reducing the variation of peer performance increases achievement; and our semiparametric estimates clarify the trade-offs facing policymakers in exploiting positive peer effects to increase future achievement.


"Industry 4.0 is the next developmental stage in the organisation of the manufacturing value chain. ICT-based systems will play a major role, mainly by creating a virtual copy of the physical world and facilitating decentralised structures through Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Over the IoT, CPS cooperate with each other and humans in real-time. Via the Internet-ofServices, internal and cross-organisational services are utilised by participants of the value chain. DISRUPT aims to spearhead the transition to the next-generation manufacturing by facilitating the vision of a ""Smart Factory"". The new era of manufacturing asks for flexible factories that can be quickly reprogrammed to provide faster time-to-market responding to global consumer demand, address mass-customisation needs and bring life to innovative products. The traditional automation pyramid seems unable to accommodate this transformation. Our concept is to DISRUPT that pyramid by utilising the capabilities offered by modern ICT to facilitate (i) in-depth (self-)monitoring of machines and processes, (ii) decision support and decentralised (self-)adjustment of production, (iii) effective collaboration of the different IoT-connected machines with tools, services and actors (iv) seamless communication of information and decisions from and to the plant floor and (v) efficient interaction with value chain partners. Within DISRUPT, each element of production is controlled via the IoT by its virtual counterpart. The data collected is analysed to detect complex events that trigger automated actions. DISRUPT offers a set of decision support tools based on three core modules (modelling, simulation and optimisation) and a secure and flexible ""plug-n-play"" platform that will allow engineers from different disciplines to collaborate in developing services. It will be cloud-based to accommodate the anticipated high data volume and computational needs, while offering accessibility via any device anywhere in the world." Total cost: EUR 3 468 312,50


An experiment in which a high-power mode-locked femtosecond semiconductor laser system was used as a source of extremely low jitter intense optical pulses in the distribution of a clock to 1024 ports via optical fibers is described. The total accumulated dynamic clock jitter between any two ports, which contains both correlated and uncorrelated sources, was measured to be less than 12 ps. This laser system produced a train of 460-fs optical pulses with over 70 W of peak power at 302 MHz. These results represent the largest fanout with the minimum timing jitter for an optically distributed clocking network. >


SummaryThe inheritance of rheumatoid arthritis was investigated in three areas in Sweden where nearly the total population over the age of seven (22,707 persons) was examined for the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (ARA-criteria). No significantly higher frequencies of rheumatoid arthritis were found among relatives of rheumatoid arthritics than among matched relatives of matched controls. The results are disappointing and throw no new light on possible inheritance of rheumatoid arthritis.


This article aims to quantify the impact optical character recognition (OCR) has on the quantitative analysis of historical documents. Using Eighteenth Century Collections Online as a case study, we first explore and explain the differences between the OCR corpus and its keyed-in counterpart, created by the Text Creation Partnership. We then conduct a series of specific analyses common to the digital humanities: topic modelling, authorship attribution, collocation analysis, and vector space modelling. The article concludes by offering some preliminary thoughts on how these conclusions can be applied to other datasets, by reflecting on the potential for predicting the quality of OCR where no ground-truth exists.


Thin-film coatings based on cobalt oxides are obtained. For depositing cubic spinel Co 3 O 4 and CoO films the sol-gel dip-coating technique was used. The as-deposited films were subjected to different thermal treatments in air and in reducing atmosphere (H 2 /N 2 ), respectively. Optical absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize the samples. The Swanepoel method was employed for the study of the films optical constants as a function of wavelength. By XRD studies it was established that the annealed films become polycrystalline. The films exposed in air consist in Co 3 O 4 phase, while the films annealed in reducing atmosphere (H 2 /N 2 ) exhibit the CoO phase. AFM studies showed uniform films with smooth surface. By exposing the film to H 2 /N 2 , the average rugosity increases ten times. After treatment, the cobalt oxide films transmittance values decrease. The decrease is more meaningful when the films are exposed in reducing atmosphere. The UV-VIS spectra of the films exposed in air present an absorption peak at λ= 730 nm, which corresponds to a charge transfer ligand-metal: O 2- →Co 3+ The peak which corresponds to λ= 690 nm is due to Co 2+ . These transitions confirm the existence of Co 3 O 4 . Concerning the films annealed in reducing atmosphere (H 2 /N 2 ), the band at 594 nm which appears in the spectra is typical for Co 2+ in octahedral coordination and ascribed to the 4 A 2 → 4 T 1 (P) transition. The refraction index presents a normal dispersion, the films exposed in forming gas having higher values than the films exposed in air. The films annealed in a reducing atmosphere feature only direct transitions, representing an internal oxido-reduction process Co 3+ →Co 2+ . The films exposed in air present both direct and indirect transitions. Co 3 O 4 films present an allowed direct interband transition of 1.4-1.5 eV and 2.18-2.23 eV, respectively, while CoO films have an optical band gap energy of 2.2-2.8 eV.


There are many fundamental problems with the injection of nano‐zero‐valent iron (NZVI) particles to create permeable reactive barrier (PRB) treatment zone. Among them the loss of medium porosity or pore blocking over time can be considered which leads to reduction of permeability and bypass of the flow and contaminant plume up‐gradient of the PRB. Present study provides a solution for such problems by confining the target zone for injection to the gate in a funnel‐and‐gate configuration. A laboratory‐scale experimental setup is used in this work. In the designed PRB gate, no additional material from porous media exists. NZVI (d50 = 52 ± 5 nm) particles are synthesized in water mixed with ethanol solvent system. A steady‐state condition is considered for the design of PRB size based on the concept of required contact time to obtain optimum width of PRB gate. Batch experiment is carried out and the results are used in the design of PRB gate width (~50 mm). Effect of high initial NO3–‐N concentration, NZVI concentration, and pore velocity of water in the range of laminar groundwater flow through porous media are evaluated on nitrate‐N reduction in PRB system. Results of PRB indicate that increasing the initial NO3–‐N concentration and pore velocity has inhibitor effect—against the effect of NZVI concentration—on the process of NO3–‐N removal. Settlement velocity (S.V.) of injected NZVI with different concentrations in the PRB is also investigated. Results indicate that the proposed PRB can solve the low permeability of medium in down‐gradient but increasing of the S.V. especially at higher concentration is one of the problems with this system that needs further investigations.


Balancing iatrogenic prematurity against stillbirth due to terminal placental dysfunction poses a crucial dilemma in the management of severe fetal growth restriction (FGR). The role of multivessel Doppler assessment in defining severity and progression is clear, but gestational age at delivery remains the single most important factor when FGR is severe and early onset1. Recently, Diemert and Hecher2 reported FGR cases where venous Doppler indices may have called for delivery, but pregnancy was extended because arterial indices were not so abnormal. Is this discordance a rare curiosity, or a significant caution to the Dopplerbased management of FGR? We were prompted by this question to analyze our collaborative database of 604 FGR cases3,4. In any study of Doppler and FGR, methodology is key. Our collaborative group included 12 academic perinatal centers that enrolled patients with suspected placentabased FGR in local, prospective studies. When a review suggested that all centers were using comparable entry criteria, Doppler methods and outcome measures, a true collaborative effort was conceived. We took several steps to test the comparability of measurements within this diverse international group:


With recent advances in cooperation among mobile computer systems, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can be expected to be operated in large numbers and become a part of daily life for a variety of use cases. UAVs are already envi- sioned to act as mobile base stations, e.g., for situations with high node densities and strong communication requirements. However, UAVs are typically imagined to be provided specifically for this purpose. In this work, we study the effects of exploiting randomly passing UAVs at an urban intersection for the communication between vehicles on the ground. We show that a UAV, while following its pri- mary mission, can support cooperative driving vehicles in a purely opportunistic fashion by collecting periodic wireless broadcasts from vehicles and propagating all collected information periodically in an aggregated format. Using simulations, we show that such an opportunistic UAV relaying approach can lead to an improvement of approx. 6 percentage points (% points) in terms of perception of other vehicles.


The prevalence of obesity is increasing world wide, resulting in morbidity, mortality, and reduced quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess comorbidities and complaints of subjects with morbid obesity in comparison to milder forms of overweight. Therefore, 299 patients visiting our obesity consultation were examined and surveyed prospectively. 41% of the subjects were morbidly obese showing a significantly higher prevalence of arterial hypertension, edema, dyspnea, eczema and depression. Additionally, sleepiness, reduced work capacity, physical inactivity, disadvantages in social life and disturbed eating habits were observed more frequent. Evaluation of subjects with morbid obesity should include a large spectrum of complications, in order to be able to offer a comprehensive support and treatment.


In order to improve the access efficiency of small items storage system in Automatic Storage & Retrieval System, we use the particle swarm optimization approach to analyze and optimize its order-picking path by taking the carousel with double sorting tables as research object. Through the analysis of order-picking process, a mathematical model for solving optimization of order-picking path is brought forward, and a solving process based on particle swarm is designed aiming at this model and testing the effectiveness of this algorithm. The experimental simulation proves that PSO can be the fast, stable and effective solution to the optimization problem of order-picking path for double sorting tables, thereby improving the overall operation efficiency of Automatic Storage & Retrieval System.


This experimental study examines whether use of a corpus-based terminological preparation procedure, managed by a term extraction tool (Syllabs Tools) and a concordance tool (on the Sketch Engine platform), enables trainee interpreters (Chinese A, English B) to achieve greater accuracy in a simultaneous interpreting (SI) task on a specialised topic. Twenty-two interpreting students on a one-year MA course in the UK were divided into a test group (10 students) and a control group (12 students). Nine days before the experiment, which involved SI from the A into the B language as well as vice versa, both groups were given preparatory documentation in both languages. In addition, the test group received term lists automatically generated by the extraction tool and used the Sketch Engine concordance tool. The control group extracted terms manually and did not have the concordance tool. Terminological accuracy in SI was found to be significantly higher, with fewer omissions, even when terms occurred in rapid succession, in the test group. All students afterwards participated in focus group discussions, providing feedback on the effectiveness of their preparation and an estimate of the time they had dedicated to it. In addition, their recall of terms was tested two months later by completion of a 15-item quiz and was found to be significantly better in the test group.


Common-law jurisprudence characterises a tax as a compulsory payment imposed by a public body for a public purpose under the authority of the legislature. While useful in many situations — and despite judicial statements that a tax is not a penalty, fine or user charge — this understanding of a tax fails to make clear how some other transactions should be classified. This is arguably because certain elements of the common-law characterisation are lexically inappropriate, logically redundant and inconsistent with extant decisions. This article proposes an alternative. It argues that a tax is a compulsory transfer of value imposed primarily for a redistributive purpose. This definition is purposive (it lends insight into the appropriate aims of taxation), universal (the focus on redistribution distinguishes taxes from other payments to government) and practicable (it promotes fiscal transparency and clarifies the actual financial contribution each and every natural and legal person makes to the public finances).


In the cutting process, cutting force is one of the important physical parameters, which affects the generation of cutting heat, tool life and surface precision of workpiece directly. In this paper an orthogonal design of experiment and subsequent data is analyzed using high speed finish hard cutting GCr15 whose hardness is 65HRC. Cutting speed is 200-400m/min, to study the influence of cutting parameters on cutting force, cutting force empirical model has obtained from least square method.


Bioaffinity separation principally asks for membranes that show a good compatibility to the targeted biological fluids, provide coupling sites for (bio)ligands and posses a hydrophilic surface to reduce non-specific adsorption caused by hydrophobic atraction. Due to its good blood compatibility and very low water solubility, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers(EVAL) has become a promising biomedical membrane material, but has so far not been investigated in detail for (bio)affinity separation. The work reported in this thesis focuses on the preparation of EVAL microporous membrane adsorbers for protein separation based on affinity or ion exchange interaction modes.