The shelf life of a composite solid propellant is one of the critical aspects for the usage of solid propellants. To assess the ageing behavior of the composite solid propellant, the activation energy is a key parameter. The activation energy is determined by analysis of visco-elastic response of the composite solid propellant when subjected to sinusoidal excitation. In the present study, dynamic mechanical analyzer was used to characterize six different types of propellants based on hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene, aluminium, ammonium perchlorate cured with toluene diisocyanate having burning rates varying from 5 mm/s to 25 mm/s at 7000 kPa. Each propellant sample was given a multi-frequency strain of 0.01 percent at three discrete frequencies (3.5 Hz, 11 Hz, 35 Hz) in the temperature range -80 °C to + 80 °C. It was observed that all the propellants have shown two relaxation events (α- and β- transition) in the temperature range -80 °C to +80 °C. The α-transition was observed between -66 °C and -51 °C and β-transition between 7 °C and 44 °C for the propellants studied. The activation energy for both transitions was determined by Arrhenius plot from dynamic properties measured at different frequencies and also by time temperature superposition principle using Williams-Landel-Ferry and Arrhenius temperature dependence equations. The data reveal that the activation energy corresponding to α-transition varies from 90 kJ/mol to 125 kJ/mol for R-value between 0.7 to 0.9 while for β-transition the values are from 75 kJ/mol to 92 kJ/mol. The activation energy corresponding to β-transition may be used to predict the useful life of solid propellant. Defence Science Journal, 2014, 64(2), pp. 173-178.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.64.3818


In 2010 and 2011, as civil demonstrations erupted around the world, the observance of Sukkot, the annual Jewish holiday that commemorates the Israelites' biblical journey through the Sinai Desert to the Promised Land, came to embody the contemporary struggle for social and economic justice. During this weeklong autumn festival, observant Jews traditionally build and inhabit temporary outdoor ritual structures called sukkot, which translates from Hebrew to "booth" or "tabernacle." This practice creates a unique opportunity for creative expression through the construction, decoration, and interpretation of the sukkah (singular of sukkot) and for social interaction through the holiday's customary rite of hospitality. Ethnographic research conducted from 2010 to 2011 in Shchunat Hatikva (Neighborhood of Hope), a working-class, multiethnic neighborhood in south Tel Aviv, Israel, uncovers the purpose and variety of Sukkot observance in a community struggling with economic constraint and social neglect. Addressing the history of the holiday and its practice in south Tel Aviv in the fall of 2011, as housing and Occupy demonstrations took root across the country and the world, this study bridges the fields of vernacular architecture and folklore studies. Challenging the holiday's symbolic promise of shelter, the search for house and home among Israel's disadvantaged and migrant populations reframes the narrative and observance of Sukkot with both reaffirming and subversive expressions of sukkah construction and use.


Every year, millions of pounds of toxic chemicals thought to be linked to developmental problems in fetuses and young children are released into the air. In this paper we estimate the effect of these releases on the health of newborns. Using data from the Toxic Release Inventory Program and Vital Statistics Natality and Mortality files, we find significant negative effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants on gestation and birth weight. We also find that several developmental chemicals increase the probability of infant death. The effect is quite sizeable: the reported reductions in cadmium, toluene, and epichlorohydrin releases during the 90s could account for about 3.9 percent of the overall decrease in infant mortality. Our results are robust to several specification checks, such as comparing developmental to non-developmental chemicals, and fugitive air releases to stack air releases.


5-Fluorocytosine or flucytosine (FLC) is a well-known drug for anti-fungal treatment and is one of the essential medicines needed in a health system. The main disadvantage of FLC drugs is their instability due to hydration under storage conditions. In the present work, cocrystal/salt screening experiments resulted in three molecular salts of FLC with dihydroxybenzoic acid derivatives, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,3HBA), 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,5HBA), and 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,6HBA), and two cocrystals with gallic acid (GAA) and glutaric acid (GLA). Since FLC drugs are highly susceptible to hydration, the present work concentrated on the stability of the synthesized molecular salts/cocrystals under different relative humidity (RH) conditions. All the newly formed crystalline adducts were characterized structurally, and the crystal structures were determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques (SCXRD). The FLC–2,6HBA salt was found to be a monohydrate, whereas the FLC–3,5HBA salt was crystallized as a hemipentahydrate. FLC–2,3HBA and FLC–GLA were crystallized in 2 : 1 equimolar ratios of FLC and the coformer. The FLC–GAA cocrystal crystallized in a 1 : 1 equimolar ratio. Two point heterosynthons between FLC and the coformer were observed in all the crystalline structures except FLC–GLA, where the structure was formed through a single point heterosynthon. Stability studies under different relative humidity conditions showed the non-hygroscopicity of the synthesized molecular salts/cocrystals. It was found that the FLC–2,3HBA salt, and the FLC–GAA and FLC–GLA cocrystals did not experience any hydration under the accelerated humidity conditions (both 70–75% RH and 90–95% RH) at ambient temperature (∼30 °C). However, FLC–2,6HBA and FLC–3,5HBA were found to be hygroscopic under 70–75% RH conditions. Furthermore, all the synthesized salts/cocrystals except FLC–3,5HBA were found to be stable for 2 months under ambient conditions (∼30 °C, 60–65% RH). Therefore, the FLC–2,3HBA salt, and the FLC–GAA and FLC–GLA cocrystals are better candidates for the preparation of new drug products of FLC.


Study Design Retrospective analysis. Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness of anterior cervical discectomy with fusion for degenerative cervical disc disease. Overview of Literature Anterior spinal surgery originated in the mid-1950s and graft for fusion was also employed. Currently anterior cervical microdiscectomy and fusion with an intervertebral cage is a widely accepted procedure for treatment of cervical disc hernia. Artificial grafts and cages for fusion are preferred because of their lower morbidity, reduced operating time and acceptable fusion rate. Methods The study involved retrospective analysis and investigation of long-term results for 41 consecutive patients who had undergone anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with an intervertebral cage for cervical disc hernia. The angle of lordosis, segmental height and range of motion were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 month and 2 years. The clinical outcome was assessed by the visual analog scale and Odom's criteria. Results The angle of lordosis increased by 2.62° and the range of motion angle increased by 5.14° after the operation. The segmental height did not change. The visual analog scale and Odom's criteria scores decreased significantly after the operation. Conclusions Using a cage in anterior cervical discectomy prevents segmental collapse, so the segmental height and the angle of lordosis are preserved and newly-developed pain does not occur.


Ejaculates from nine Asian and two African elephants were analysed to gain a further understanding of mechanisms underlying variable semen quality after transrectal massage. Semen analysis was performed after collection (0 h; subjective motility parameters only) and after 24 h of chilled storage at 10 °C (24 h; all ejaculate and sperm characteristics). Ejaculates with ≤50% total motility (TM) at 24 h, which represented >90% of collection attempts, contained a sperm population with a high degree of DNA damage (64.2 ± 19.2% fragmented DNA) and an elevated incidence of detached heads (43.3 ± 22.5%). In contrast, good quality ejaculates designated as those with >50% TM at 24 h displayed higher (p < 0.05) values of sperm kinetic parameters, DNA integrity and normal morphology. Fertility potential was high for good quality ejaculates from two males (one Asian and one African bull) based on in vitro characteristics after chilled storage for up to 48 h post‐collection. Urine contamination of semen, as assessed quantitatively by creatinine concentration, was confirmed as a significant factor in reduced elephant ejaculate quality. However, the identification of considerable DNA damage and morphological degeneration in the majority of ejaculates after only 24 h of chilled storage indicates that sperm ageing could be a primary contributor to inconsistent semen quality in the elephant.


OBJECTIVE
Infertility is one of the most significant reproductive health issues addressed with medically assisted procreation. This study looked into a potential correlation between the number of mature oocytes harvested and donor biological characteristics in order to propose an anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) cutoff level to optimize the selection of candidates for gamete donation.

METHODS
The donors were healthy women included in the Public Gamete Bank between 2011 and 2021. Their results can be used as a national indicator of fertility.

RESULTS
We found that women with higher AMH levels had more antral follicles and oocytes harvested. As age increased, the number of oocytes harvested decreased. The suggested AMH cutoff level for successful donation was 1.12 ng/mL.

CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of the reproductive health of Public Gamete Bank donors allows the standardization of AMH cutoff values at a national level, since the same laboratory techniques were employed consistently across medical centers. The study also allowed insight into the factors that compromise donation success. If adopted, a more rigorous selection of donor candidates would increase the success rate of egg donations.


Magnesium hydroxide sulfate hydrate (MHSH) whiskers were prepared using brine, sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfate as raw materials by one-step hydrothermal process. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (TG-DTG) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were employed to characterize the MHSH whiskers. It was shown that the MHSH whiskers were MgSO4•5Mg(OH)2 •2H2O with a diameter of 0.2–0.3 μm and a length of 20–30 μm . The thermal decomposition of MHSH whisker was demonstrated a three-step scheme based on the TG-DTG data. The utilization ratio of magnesium in brine was above 80%.


Automotive interior lighting has to follow general trends in lighting and will therefore evolve toward hundreds and even thousands of RGB LEDs per car. Creating mood at day and night, pixelated sign‐like information, and theater‐like effects like welcome and goodbye messages are examples for outstanding user experience. Furthermore, safety features such as warnings and driving state are a must for autonomous cars. It requires new concepts for the whole interior lighting system to reach premium quality such as data rate (beyond today's bus standard for lighting), support for safety rules, compensation of temperature effects, daylight performance (including huge dimming range for night drive), uniformity in terms of luminance and color along the light guide, and mixing of red, green, and blue (RGB) with white. We report a new automotive RGB light‐emitting diode (LED) system that fulfills the above requirements and saves effort as well as cost by calibration before integration. Extensive studies were performed for daylight threshold evaluation with subjects and methods for judging on uniformity for direct‐lit RGB light guides based on the contrast sensitivity function and Gaussian fit of the LED luminance profile.


This article presents the results of a study on the digital inclusion of rural women in social networks. Its main objective is to understand the social support perceived by these women within online social networks and its relation to digital inclusion, considering also whether there are differences in the degree of support depending on age, family status and employment status. To do this, we applied two scales measuring perceived social support and digital inclusion to 478 women from rural areas of Andalusia aged 18 to 65. The results showed a medium level of support, with significant differences found in the social support perceived by women depending on their age, family status and employment status. Women, who were young, students, single, with no children and who use Tuenti and Facebook perceived a higher level of social support in social networks. We also observed a strong relation between perceived social support and the digital inclusion of women in social networks, with similarities appearing in studies carried out in different contexts and social groups. The discussion looks at implications for the formation of an active and participatory citizenship of women in social networks.


This study reports on the in-situ preparation of HfB2-HfO2 composite powders at room temperature by means of mechanochemical synthesis (MCS) from HfCl4-B2O3-Mg powder blends. The effects of milling duration and excess amounts of B2O3 and Mg reactants (20 and 30 wt%) on the HfB2 formation mechanism were investigated. After MCS and purification, HfB2, HfO2 and Mg2Hf5O12 phases were obtained. The Mg2Hf5O12 phase decomposed during the annealing treatment conducted at 1000 °C under Ar flow. The as-synthesized, purified, annealed and subsequently leached powders were characterized with an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), stereomicroscope (SM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and particle size analyzer (PSA). The HfB2-HfO2 composite powders with an average particle size of 140 nm and predominantly rounded morphology were consolidated with cold pressing/pressureless sintering (PS) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) techniques. The relative density values of the HfB2-HfO2 composites obtained by means of PS (with 2 wt% Co) and SPS techniques were 91.82 % and 93.79 %, respectively. A relatively high densification rate for the HfB2-HfO2 ceramic was achieved by means of Co addition, which was considered a promising sintering aid for HfB2-based ceramics. The HfB2-HfO2 composite sample consolidated with SPS exhibited hardness, wear volume loss amount and friction coefficient values of 18.45 GPa, 4.30 mm3 and 0.60, respectively.


Based on the warping method and the generalized eigenvalue problem the range‐independent solution is extended to that of range dependence. In this method, coupling in range is analytical and may be either one way or two way. Since the range steps are not dependent on finite‐difference schemes, the optimal range step at each point is determined. This leads to two advantages: (1) There is no need for input of range step; and (2) the optimal range step is predetermined by several conditions, thus avoiding overkill and reruns to determine stability. Comparisons with other range‐dependent methods are presented. [Work sponsored by ONR, the Naval Res. Lab., and the Univ. of New Orleans.]


The dead-end problem is an importance issue of location-based routing in sensor network, which occurs when a message falls into a local minimum using greedy forwarding. Current methods for this problem are insufjicient either in eliminating trafic/path memorization or finding satisfied short paths. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm, named Partial-partition Avoiding GEographic Routing (PAGER), to solve the problem. The basic idea of PAGER is to divide a sensor network graph into functional sub-graphs, and provide each sensor node with message forwarding directions based on these sub-graphs. That results in loop-free short paths without memorization of trafjics/paths in sensor nodes. We implement our algorithm in a protocol and evaluate it in sensor networks with different parameters. Results show that PAGER generates considerably shorter paths, higher deliveiy ratio and lower energy consumption than the Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing protocol. At the same time, PAGER achieves better performance in handling large-scale network than the Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector protocol.


This session focuses on applications of various migration, family labor and labor market models in international settings. Papers include: Rural Labor Mobility in China: Net Flows and Trends, Bryan Lohmar and Scott Rozelle, University of California-Davis; Changbao Zhao, Research Center for Rural Economics, Beijing. Fertility Desires and Sample Selection Bias: The Case of Senegal, Diafuka Saila-Ngita, Boris Bravo-Ureta, and Rafael Perez-Escamilla, University of Connecticut. Intergenerational Succession in Israeli Family Farms Ayal Kimhi and Noga Nachlieli, Hebrew University. A Panel Data Approach to the Output-Inflation Tradeoff: A Review of the International Evidence, Harold Zavarce, Carolina Pagliacci, and Maria-Christina Espinoza, Texas A&M University.


In this paper, we test the currently accepted taxonomic hypothesis that the hand of the Homo habilis holotype Olduvai hominid 7 (OH7) from Olduvai Gorge can be unambiguously assigned to Homo. Morphometric and morphological comparison with humans and australopithecines (Australopithecus and Paranthropus) indicate that the OH7 hand most likely belongs to P. boisei. The morphological adaptations of Paranthropus are thus further evaluated in the light of the alternative taxonomic hypothesis for OH7. Functional analyses suggest that morphological features related to human-like precision grasping, previously considered diagnostic of toolmaking by some, may be alternatively attributed to specialized manual feeding techniques in robust australopithecines.


Recently, the wild type yeast Kloeckera sp. strain KY1 was equipped in their cytoplasm with the phaABC operon containing genes phbA, phbB and phbC of the PHA biosynthetic pathway of Ralstonia eutropha. Unpredicted, resulted transgenic yeast strain KY1/PHA was able to synthesize another exopolymer beside the production of PHA. Subsequently, produced exopolymer was subject for further identification, characterization and analysis. Partial purification of exopolymer was performed and characterized as glycoprotein. HPLC analysis of the polymer revealed the presence of a fructose chain. The functional group analysis by FT-IR spectroscopy showed the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amid groups. The exopolymer was soluble in water and insoluble in any tested organic solvents and could flocculate kaolin suspension (5 g/l) over a wide range of pH (pH 3 to 9) and temperature (5 to 50°C) tested in the presence of CaCl2. The highest flocculation activity of 99% for kaolin suspension was achieved at a dosage of 13 mg/l. Thus, it is possible that this glycoprotein could be substituted for a commercial polymer with respect to flocculation.


The free energy of a process is the fundamental quantity that determines its spontaneity or propensity at a given temperature. Binding free energy of a drug candidate to its biomolecular target is used as an objective quantity in drug design. Binding kinetics -- rates of association (kon) and dissociation (koff) -- have also demonstrated utility for their ability to predict efficacy and in some cases have been shown to be more predictive than the binding free energy alone. Although challenging, some methods exist to calculate binding kinetics from molecular simulations. While the kinetics of the binding process are related to the free energy by the log of their ratio, it is not straightforward to account for common, practical details pertaining to the calculation of rates in molecular simulations, such as the finite simulation volume or the particular definition of the ``bound" and ``unbound" states. Here we derive a set of correction terms that can be applied to calculations of binding free energies using rates observed in simulations. One term accounts for the particular definitions of the bound and unbound states. The second term accounts for residual electrostatic interactions that might still be present between the molecules, which is especially useful if one or both of the molecules carry an explicit charge. The third term accounts for the volume of the unbound state in the simulation box, which is useful to keep the simulated volume as small as possible during rate calculations. We apply these correction terms to revisit the calculation of binding free energies from rate constants for a host-guest system that was part of a blind prediction challenge, where significant deviations were observed between free energies calculated with rate ratios and those calculated from alchemical perturbation. The correction terms combine to significantly decrease the error with respect to computational benchmarks, from 3.4 to 0.76 kcal/mol.


Project-based activities and authentic classroom experiences both foster deep and relevant learning. In the environmental sciences, authentic learning is generally achieved through carefully planned and assessed field-based activities. However, these are generally a once-only exercise as they are expensive and problematic to timetable. Hence it is difficult to run project-based activities, which require repeated observations that are truly authentic. Here we present an authentic project-based module in marine science designed in collaboration with the West Australian Museum (WAM). The project asks students to classify sections of a previously un-catalogued shell collection donated to Curtin University by a private collector within class time over 6 weeks. The mollusc curator at WAM was involved in the design of the project and the associated assessment to ensure an authentic experience. She also delivered initial lecture and laboratory material to students including information on working as a museum taxonomist. Students produce a catalogue of part of the shell collection in a standard museum format that can be built on by subsequent cohorts. Thus, students view the project through the prism of a long-term project with a defined goal beyond the immediate learning outcomes of the unit. While this module relied on the donation of a collection, it demonstrates a method of combining the deep learning associated with project-based learning and the engaging and relevant authentic activities preferred by students and demonstrated in the literature.


Wallace Lyon was Provincial Administrator and Administrative Inspector in northern Iraq - an area known unofficially as 'Kurdistan' - between 1918 and 1945. His job was to administer what at the time was a fairly wild and remote province, while protecting the Kurds from a predatory and unstable Iraq and safeguarding British imperial interests in the area. The pushing would have been impossible but for an in-depth understanding of natural respect for the family, tribal and religious ties that defined the area's complex social structures. Nor would it have been possible without Lyon's personal courage and immediate empathy for the people of the region. Lyon's work was an exemplar of the qualities that the British Empire hoped to breed in its servants. As the Empire waned the Kurdish north - so vital in geopolitical manoeuvring provided Lyon with the perfect vantage point from which to watch its decline.


TRANPLAN is a package of separate, distinct programs which perform travel demand analysis. TRANPLAN can be used to perform the traditional four-step transportation forecasting process: trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and traffic assignment. This guide is intended for use by the Texas Department of Transportation offices, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), municipalities, counties, and consultants contracted by public agencies in the state of Texas. The guide should be used in conjunction with the TRANPLAN reference manual and the Highway Network Information Systems (HNIS) reference manual. The information in this manual can be used to train new TRANPLAN users, refresh users who have been minimally exposed to TRANPLAN, and serve as a "template" to aid experienced users. This guide, however, is not intended to provide a comprehensive description of all the capabilities of the TRANPLAN software.


Arctomecon humilis is a critically endangered species endemic to the Moenkopi shale of Washington County, Utah. Recovery plans for the species would be improved by an understanding of genetic diversity and gene flow among its remaining populations. Ten variable isozyme loci were used to calculate genetic diversity statistics for study populations. Westerly populations possessed higher levels of genetic variability than other populations at the same isozyme loci. Three of the populations exhibited significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expectations. No correlation existed between genetic distance and geographic distance. Most of the genetic diversity was distributed among populations with little gene flow between populations, suggesting that observed genetic differences may arise from genetic drift. For the westerly populations, similar genotypes were observed in the seedling and old age classes, while intermediate age classes typically possessed an alternate set of genotypes at Pgi-2. Mean heterozygosity increased with age class across populations. Westerly populations of A. humilis shared more alleles with the nearest geographic population of A. californica than other populations. Since the westerly populations contained more genetic variability and more alleles in common with a near relative, they may be relictual. Other populations may contain less genetic diversity due to founder effects and/or genetic drift.


Stockholm archipelago is a combination of coastal and young glaciated conditions on hard rock geology with almost no primary porosity and very limited secondary porosity. Therefore the aquifer is both of limited capacity and exposed to salinity problem. In this context importance of fractures and soil cover is magnified.Lineaments are representatives of fractures in remote sensing. Fracture mapping in study area proves close correspondence between orientation of fractures and nearly located lineaments. Especially in this type of terrain, lineaments normally occur together with many other interesting hydrogeological features such as topographic attributes, soil, and vegetation; however, still each of these factors has its own effect on the groundwater situation.Through employment of geostatistical analysis and a modified variant of the RV (Risk Variable) method, called the PV (Probability Value) method, different attributes are rated by importance. The results show, soil cover is the most influencing factor then rock type and distance from lineaments; other factors are classified after them. It is discovered that the center of lineaments may not be the most suitable site to extract water because of being clogged by fills. This is particularly the case for shear fractures in which clay can be internally formed due to friction.Based on the statistical results a model is made in GIS environment in order to create hydrogeological maps. Such maps, after validation, can be used for any other area with similar properties even with missing or very limited data from boreholes. These maps definitively are only probability maps projecting areas with higher and lower prospect of aquifer potential and cannot guarantee high capacity in every borehole drilled in designated areas due to high heterogeneity of fractured rock system.Analysis of chemical data from wells proves a correlation between fracture orientations and topography with salinization and groundwater flow. Groundwater flow in the surroundings seems to be essential for feeding the aquifer as most of the wells with increased salt content have also low capacities.


The labelling of small molecules with comparably bulky metal complexes under retention of their biological behaviour represents an incentive for inorganic and radiopharmaceutical chemistry. The availability of new 99mTc building blocks enabled new strategies with de novo designed derivatives of small, biologically or pharmaceutically relevant molecules. The scope of this report is to review recent developments in the field of small molecule labelling with 99mTc with a focus on design and synthesis. Although many new radio-bioconjugates of small molecules have been prepared recently, few have been tested in vivo. After a conceptual introduction describing strategies towards successful small molecule radiopharmaceuticals, selected examples from the classes of carbohydrates, vitamins and myocardial imaging agents will be presented. Since fundamental chemistry towards novel building blocks is essential for improving the armoury of radiopharmacy, developments with novel core complexes will be discussed. There are many reports of less common small biomolecules or pharmaceuticals labelled with 99mTc in the literature, this short review will conclude with some correspondingly selected examples.


A model is presented to describe the degassing behaviour of sulphur and chlorine at the Soufrie©re Hills Volcano, Montserrat, using both geochemical analyses of glass and remote sensing data (correlation spectroscopy and open-path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). Constraints on total SO2 emitted at the surface (1.2 Mt up to September 2000) and petrological data indicate that the andesite was not the sulphur source. Mafic magma that intruded into the andesite magma chamber to trigger eruption at 5^7 km depth recharged the sulphur contents of the shallow volcanic system. Sulphur is removed from the mafic melt to enter a water-dominated vapour phase at depths of 5^7 km or greater. The passage of SO2 to the surface is sporadic and discontinuous in time and is governed by the permeability of the conduit and wallrock and the supply of mafic magma from depth. Chlorine is derived from the andesite magma and degasses on magma ascent, shown by the melt evolution recorded in the matrix glasses and the apparent link between extrusion rate and HCl flux at the surface. Petrological estimates of chlorine loss agree with measurements of total chlorine emission at the surface. The chlorine content of the matrix glass may be explained by fractional crystallisation combined with the partitioning of chlorine into a water-rich fluid phase with a partition coefficient of the order of 50. ß 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


Abstract. The Little Ice Age maximum extent of glaciers in Iceland was reached about 1890 AD and most glaciers in the country have retreated during the 20th century. A model for the surface mass balance and the flow of glaciers is used to reconstruct the 20th century retreat history of Hoffellsjokull, a south-flowing outlet glacier of the ice cap Vatnajokull, which is located close to the southeastern coast of Iceland. The bedrock topography was surveyed with radio-echo soundings in 2001. A wealth of data are available to force and constrain the model, e.g. surface elevation maps from ~1890, 1936, 1946, 1989, 2001, 2008 and 2010, mass balance observations conducted in 1936–1938 and after 2001, energy balance measurements after 2001, and glacier surface velocity derived by kinematic and differential GPS surveys and correlation of SPOT5 images. The approximately 20% volume loss of this glacier in the period 1895–2010 is realistically simulated with the model. After calibration of the model with past observations, it is used to simulate the future response of the glacier during the 21st century. The mass balance model was forced with an ensemble of temperature and precipitation scenarios derived from 10 global and 3 regional climate model simulations using the A1B emission scenario. If the average climate of 2000–2009 is maintained into the future, the volume of the glacier is projected to be reduced by 30% with respect to the present at the end of this century. If the climate warms, as suggested by most of the climate change scenarios, the model projects this glacier to almost disappear by the end of the 21st century. Runoff from the glacier is predicted to increase for the next 30–40 yr and decrease after that as a consequence of the diminishing ice-covered area.


One goal of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology is to solicit information about, promote discussion of, and support action on the many issues related to scientific and technical data preservation, archiving, and access. This brief paper describes four broad categories of issues that help to organize discussion, learning, and action regarding the work needed to support the long-term preservation of, and access to, scientific and technical data. In each category, some specific issues and areas of concern are described.


The clinical course of takotsubo syndrome (TTS) can be complicated by several life-threatening conditions. In particular, cardiogenic shock (CS) represents one of the leading causes of mortality in the acute phase and occurs in a considerable number of patients with TTS, with an incidence of ≈10%. At present, no established guidelines are available to support specific treatment recommendations,and the conventional therapy for CS leads to uncertain results in TTS cases. The International Takotsubo Registry (www.takotsubo-registry.com) is an observational, prospective, and retrospective registry established at the University Hospital Zurich in 2011, with the largest TTS database worldwide. Patients were included in the registry between 2011 and 2017 based on modified Mayo Clinic Diagnostic criteria. Hospitalization data were recorded through standardized forms on admission or during revision of clinical charts; follow-up data were obtained from medical records, telephone follow-up, or clinical visits. The study population was categorized into 2 groups: patients with TTS with and without CS. The study protocol was reviewed by the respective local ethics committees or investigational review boards at each collaboration site. Where informed consent was required, formal written consent was obtained from patients.


Numerical study of crack opening in the solid material of rock formation is presented in this article. Initially introduced straight-line crack is widened by increasing internal pressure. The crack shape evolution resembles hydraulic fracturing and is considered as a transient process. Commercial code LS-DYNA was employed to obtain solutions by three types of descriptions, they are compared to the solution obtained in Eulerian description by a program based on the finite-volume method and written in Python language. The main features of the self-developed code are a direct relation between velocities and strains, and a deriving of the aperture through density distribution.


This paper presents a new PV sizing methodology, based not only on the mean expected values of the daily solar radiation on the PV array but, also, on the statistical fluctuations of the solar radiation on an hourly and daily basis of the site concerned. The fluctuations of the global hourly solar radiation are processed, and the results are used in this PV sizing methodology. In this methodology, the concept of the energy independence for d days of a stand alone PV plant, in contrast to the conventional PV sizing, does not influence directly the estimation of the peak power and the battery storage system, but indirectly through the concept of the 95% probable energy deficit. The estimated peak power and battery storage capacity are much lower compared to sizing results obtained by methodologies existing in the literature. The methodology presented in this paper has two characteristics: (1) a correction term in the conventionally estimated peak power, related to the ration of the standard deviation of the daily solar radiation over the mean solar radiation at the site. (2) the concept of the effective Load that the stand alone PV plant has to meet. The effective load is related to the standard deviation of the solar radiation fluctuations. A comparison of PV sizing results obtained by the methodologies as in literature and the one presented in this paper, is shown, for various values of meteorological parameters for the case of W. Greece.


Radiocarbon ages determined by the AMS method on hand-picked foraminifera shells are reported. The results allow estimates of the ventilation rate of the deep Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during glacial time. They also extend our knowledge of the chronology of events associated with the transition from full glacial conditions ca 15,000 years ago to full interglacial conditions ca 8000 years ago. This and the previous lists (Broecker et al 1988c) contain all the results obtained as part of this program through the fall of 1989.


Abstract Although Australian marsupials are characterised by unique biology and geographic isolation, little is known about the viruses present in these iconic wildlife species. The Dasyuromorphia are an order of marsupial carnivores found only in Australia that include both the extinct Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) and the highly threatened Tasmanian devil. Several other members of the order are similarly under threat of extinction due to habitat loss, hunting, disease, and competition and predation by introduced species such as feral cats. We utilised publicly available RNA-seq data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database to document the viral diversity within four Dasyuromorph species. Accordingly, we identified fifteen novel virus sequences from five DNA virus families (Adenoviridae, Anelloviridae, Gammaherpesvirinae, Papillomaviridae, and Polyomaviridae) and three RNA virus taxa: the order Jingchuvirales, the genus Hepacivirus, and the delta-like virus group. Of particular note was the identification of a marsupial-specific clade of delta-like viruses that may indicate an association of deltaviruses with marsupial species. In addition, we identified a highly divergent hepacivirus in a numbat liver transcriptome that falls outside of the larger mammalian clade. We also detect what may be the first Jingchuvirales virus in a mammalian host—a chu-like virus in Tasmanian devils—thereby expanding the host range beyond invertebrates and ectothermic vertebrates. As many of these Dasyuromorphia species are currently being used in translocation efforts to reseed populations across Australia, understanding their virome is of key importance to prevent the spread of viruses to naive populations.


For forging die fracture behaviors during the actual forging process of compactor grinding tooth, the fully forging process has been simulated based on FEM. Die stress changes and distributions were analyzed in details through two related simulation processes. The maximum load acting on the die which type is ideal rigid body predicted firstly. Then, the die stress can be obtained by the elastic-plastic analysis when the die bears maximum load. Results show that Local stress concentration beyond ultimate strength of material causes the fracture of lower die.


Lignocellulose degradation is central to the carbon cycle and renewable biotechnologies. The xyloglucan (XyG), β(1→3)/β(1→4) mixed-linkage glucan (MLG) and β(1→3) glucan components of lignocellulose represent significant carbohydrate energy sources for saprophytic microorganisms. The bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus has a robust capacity for plant polysaccharide degradation, due to a genome encoding a large contingent of Carbohydrate-Active enZymes (CAZymes), many of whose specific functions remain unknown. Using a comprehensive genetic and biochemical approach, we have delineated the physiological roles of the four C. japonicus glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) members on diverse β-glucans. Despite high protein sequence similarity and partially overlapping activity profiles on disaccharides, these β-glucosidases are not functionally equivalent. Bgl3A has a major role in MLG and sophorose utilization, and supports β(1→3) glucan utilization, while Bgl3B underpins cellulose utilization and supports MLG utilization. Bgl3C drives β(1→3) glucan utilization. Finally, Bgl3D is the crucial β-glucosidase for XyG utilization. This study not only sheds the light on the metabolic machinery of C. japonicus, but also expands the repertoire of characterized CAZymes for future deployment in biotechnological applications. In particular, the precise functional analysis provided here serves as a reference for informed bioinformatics on the genomes of other Cellvibrio and related species.


Recently, due to widespread use of Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) systems in personal applications, security and privacy of these systems have got more attention. In order to provide security and privacy of RFID users, different authentication protocols have been proposed. In 2014, Mohammadi et al. proposed an improved authentication protocol for RFID systems. They claimed that their protocol is secure against various attacks. In this study, we investigate security and privacy of their protocol. It is shown that their protocol is not safe against several attacks including secret parameters reveal, tag impersonation, data integrity, desynchronization and also it cannot provide user privacy. Then, in order to omit aforementioned weaknesses, we apply some changes on Mohammadi et al.'s protocol and we propose an improved protocol. In addition, the security and privacy of the proposed protocol are analyzed against various attacks.


Abstract-Voting is regarded as one of the most effective methods for individuals to express their opinions to select their democratic leader in the public elections. As the computing, communicating, and cryptographic techniques progress rapidly, increasing emphasis has been placed on developing electronic voting schemes capable of providing more efficient voting services than conventional paper-based voting methods. It has been widely recognized as a secure electronic voting scheme, which satisfies not only completeness, privacy, unfeasibility, eligibility, fairness, verifiability, and robustness, but also receipt-fairness. A receipt-free e-voting scheme based on the virtual voting booth that can be implemented with a smart card. Receipt-freeness is achieved by distributing the voting procedure between the voter and the smart card. The voter and the smart card jointly contribute randomness for the encryption of the ballot. To provide convenience to voters, sufficient voting facilities are supplied in sufficient public voting booths. Unlike conventional paper-based voting systems the voter can choose any voting booth that is convenient and safe to them in the proposed e-voting scheme. By using smart cards to randomize part of content of the ballot, the voter can not construct a receipt.


: In the present work, a phase field method is used to study the growth/annihilation of nanovoids under thermal and mechanical loadings. To do so, the coupled system of the Cahn-Hilliard and elasticity equations is solved using the nonlinear finite element method in 2 dimensional. This coupling is due to the presence of elastic energy in the Cahn-Hilliard free energy and the dependence of total strain on the void misfit strain. The novel point in the present physical model is including the temperature dependence of elastic properties and void formation energy. Then, examples of nanovoid structure evolution are presented consisting of planar gas-solid interface formation and evolution, growth/annihilation of circular nanovoids at different temperatures, growth/annihilation of nanovoids under biaxial compression and at different temperatures and nanovoid structure evolution with initially, randomly distributed void pattern. The obtained results show a faster growth with larger amounts of void concentration at lower temperatures. Also, the stress field significantly varies during nanovoids growth/ annihilation especially inside the solid-gas interface and its value depends on the nanovoid size and the concentration.


Internal combustion engine due to Thermodynamics deliver output of 25% of the
input fuel energy. Hence £75 out of every £ 100 invested in fuel in an engine is lost in
the form of emissions, vibration, or heat di ssipation. Mechanical losses in an IC
engine are referred to as " parasitic losses", which account for 15% of the total losses.
There is a possibility for reducing these losses through appropriate remedies.
The piston assembly is a common contributor to the mechanical losses. This could be
as high as 45% of it. A typical piston assembly consists of a compression ring, a
scraper ring and an oil ring mounted on the piston body. The most significant loss in
the piston assembly is from the ring pack and cylinder bore interaction and can
account for 80% of this. Two thirds of the total loss due to ring pack is contributed by
the compression ring. In the process of simultaneous sealing and reciprocation, a
compression ring is subjected to modal stresses, which imparts radially a outward
force, in-plane, out-of-plane bending moment and twisting moment; as well as axial
flutter and twist. The radial deformation of the ring and the issue of ring-bore
conformability are important, and are addressed in the current analysis, which
deve lops a tribo-dynamics model of the compression ring and cylinder liner
conjuction.
As part of the lubrication modelling, an isothermal model is developed to estimate
frictional losses, initially with a consideration of asperity interaction and viscosity pressure
dependency, when solving Reynolds equation. Further improvements include
the effect of roughness on flow behaviour of the lubricant. Both of these approaches
are combined for a transient analysis. The results are compared with measurements
from the literature and good agreement is found.
The novelty of the current research is the combined solution of Reynolds' equation,
and the energy equation using appropriate rheological behaviour for evaluating the
key lubrication performance parameters such as pressure, temperature, viscosity,
minimum film, friction loss, also considering asperity interaction for a globally
deformed compression ring.


The communication gap between a hospital's top management and the line employees need not be an ever-widening chasm. St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, MO, has established a system that allows administrators and employees to meet face to face every month without destroying the hospital's essential chain of command.


Development economics witnessed an 'institutional turn' from the 1990s onwards, with an increasing number of studies examining the two-way relationships between institutions and growth or individual incomes. Most of these studies, however, rely on mathematical models with empirical evidence being analysed via econometrics, thus assuming the possibility that given institutions may be subsumed under quantifiable variables. Many possible channels of causality have been highlighted over time and are in fine inconclusive. The context-dependence of causalities has been underscored in the literature. This paper goes further, building an original conceptual framework that articulates concepts from development economics, evolutionary theories of institutions and cognitive psychology. Firstly, the paper argues that the modelling of causalities is hindered by the very nature of the concept of institutions: these are composite entities and include varieties of 'forms' and 'contents,' which are driven by heterogeneous evolutionary dynamics and combine between themselves according to contexts. The concept of institution thus does not have the properties of semantic precision and stability in time and space that is yet required by modelling. What econometric studies measure are indeed some public attributes ('forms') of an institution, but this gives little information on the beliefs that individuals have about a given institution. Building on this first argument, the second argument is that this ex ante causal indeterminacy (on economic outcomes) is compounded by the heterogeneity of institutions. Some institutions have the property in individual mental representations to be more resilient than others, notably those governing group memberships: in the context of a limited presence of other institutions (e.g., those created by states) they exhibit a greater social dissemination - but cumulative causation may generate 'institutional traps.' Understanding these 'core' institutions may explain the vicious circles in which some developing regions seem to be caught.


The basement membrane is a specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) that is crucial for the development of epithelial tissues and organs. In Drosophila, the mechanical properties of the basement membrane play an important role in the proper elongation of the developing egg chamber; however, the molecular mechanisms contributing to basement membrane mechanical properties are not fully understood. Here, we systematically analyze the contributions of individual ECM components towards the molecular composition and mechanical properties of the basement membrane underlying the follicle epithelium of Drosophila egg chambers. We find that the Laminin and Collagen IV networks largely persist in the absence of the other components. Moreover, we show that Perlecan and Collagen IV, but not Laminin or Nidogen, contribute greatly towards egg chamber elongation. Similarly, Perlecan and Collagen, but not Laminin or Nidogen, contribute towards the resistance of egg chambers against osmotic stress. Finally, using atomic force microscopy we show that basement membrane stiffness mainly depends on Collagen IV. Our analysis reveals how single ECM components contribute to the mechanical properties of the basement membrane controlling tissue and organ shape.


As the core count grows rapidly, dynamic voltage/frequency scaling (DVFS) in networks-on-chip (NoCs) becomes critical in optimizing energy efficacy in chip multiprocessors (CMPs). Previously proposed techniques often exploit inherent network-level metrics to do so. However, such network metrics may contradictorily reflect application's performance need, leading to power over/under provisioning. We propose a novel on-chip DVFS technique for NoCs that is able to adjust per-region V/F level according to voted V/F levels of communicating threads. Each region is composed of a few adjacent routers sharing the same V/F level. With a voting-based approach, threads seek to influence the DVFS decisions independently by voting for a preferred V/F level that best suits their own performance interest according to their runtime profiled message generation rate and data sharing characteristics. The vote expressed in a few bits is then carried in the packet header and spread to the routers on the packet route. The final DVFS decision is made democratically by a region DVFS controller based on the majority election result of collected votes from all active threads. To achieve scalable V/F adjustment, each region works independently, and the voting-based V/F tuning forms a distributed decision making process. We evaluate our technique with detailed simulations of a 64-core CMP running a variety of multi-threaded PARSEC benchmarks. Compared with a network without DVFS and a network metric (router buffer occupancy) based approach, experimental results show that our voting based DVFS mechanism improves the network energy efficacy measured in MPPJ (million packets per joule) by about 17.9% and 9.7% on average, respectively, and the system energy efficacy measured in MIPJ (million instructions per joule) by about 26.3% and 17.1% on average, respectively.


Supply chain management is the basic theory for company material procurement. In applying it to China Northern Airlines (GJ), the key point is to understand nowadays supply chain management theory and figure out the intrinsic relationship between material procurement and the theory. Thus, the fundamental value of the theory and its scientific application can be guaranteed. From the perspective of the supply chain theory, the effective analysis on the intrinsic relationship between the supplier and the buyer enables the specific study on the environment of establishing the supply chain between them. Thus, makes it possible for the supplier and buyer to further discuss the factors that affect the establishment of the supply chain environment. Thereby, manifest the diversification and creativity in GJÂ's material procurement approach. Besides, both targeted and comprehensive, Supply chain management can also be gradually achieved. Based on the study of supply chain management theory, this paper firstly discusses the specific issues of traditional procurement model. Then it studies the important role of strategic procurement partnership to help establish the emerging supply chain system. Finally, it explores how to establish strategic procurement partnership so as to realize diversification of GJ material procurement approaches. The above shows the topic, the idea and main targets of this paper. I hope this could help to provide theoretical support for further study in the future.


The purpose of this study has been to explore reading comprehension with a focus on how teachers talk about their teaching of reading comprehension. To gain knowledge about how teachers work to increase and stimulate pupils' reading comprehension, we decided to use qualitative interviews to further our knowledge and understanding of reading comprehension. Therefore, we interviewed five teachers who teach English in years 7–9, asking them to define reading comprehension and reading strategies, describe a lesson opportunity when they worked with texts and tasks, and encouraging them to talk about what reading strategies they usually promote in their teaching to enhance pupils' understanding of texts. The results show that teachers defined reading comprehension in similar ways. From the interviews it appeared that all teachers believe that pupils can understand texts if they link them to their own experiences. Therefore, it is important that texts are interesting to read. The results differed among the teachers regarding the teaching of reading strategies. Even though several of the interviewed teachers believe that it is important that pupils use different strategies to develop their reading comprehension, four of them do not spend time on teaching them. Instead, they advise pupils to use some strategies that they think are useful. In addition, the results reveal that pupils also need to distinguish between strategies and adapt them to the purpose for reading texts. The findings also show that teachers work with different types of texts and they design various tasks for texts according to pupils' levels and needs.


: As an alternative to complete mergers or joint ventures, hospitals recently have begun to explore virtual mergers, in which the parties are able to retain some managerial and financial independence while coordinating their mutual operations to financial advantage. Because virtual mergers are a recent phenomenon and can be structured in various ways, the antitrust risks associated with such transactions are unclear. A state antitrust challenge brought against an East Coast virtual merger and informal guidance by Federal antitrust attorneys suggest that the antitrust agencies will be inclined to challenge a virtual merger if the parties to the transaction retain too much independent decision-making authority. Hospitals that are considering a virtual merger therefore would do well to structure the transaction to combine governance and administration, financial assets, operations, and medical staffs as much as possible, while still allowing each party to the transaction to retain the independent decision-making authority each feels is necessary.


The goal of this paper is to elucidate the theoretical underpinnings of the metastable electronic state approach (MESA) and demonstrate its utility for the evaluation of the nonlinear optical response of noble-gas atoms with emphasis on the application of the method to the propagation of multicolor optical fields in large-scale, spatially resolved simulations. More specifically, single-active-electron models of various atoms are employed to calculate their nonlinear properties both within the adiabatic approximation, involving a single metastable state and beyond, capturing inertial effects, and wavelength-dependent ionization. Simulations for excitation pulses at different center wavelengths as well as ionization in two-color pulses are presented and compared with numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. Illustrative examples of the numerical simulation of high-power pulse propagation incorporating MESA data are also presented and showcase the successful application to optical filamentation in the midinfrared region.


Activation of the Escherichia coli malEp promoter relies on the formation of a higher order structure involving cooperative binding of MalT to promoter‐proximal and promoter‐distal sites as well as CRP binding to three sites located in between. MalT is the primary activator and one function of CRP is to facilitate cooperative binding of MalT to its cognate sites by bending the intervening DNA. It is shown here that CRP also participates directly in malEp activation. This function is carried out by the molecule of CRP bound to the CRP site centered at −139.5 (CRP site 3). This molecule of CRP recruits RNA polymerase by promoting the binding of the RNA polymerase α subunit C‐terminal domain (αCTD) to DNA immediately downstream from CRP site 3, via a contact between αCTD and activating region I of CRP. The action of MalT and CRP at malEp hence provides the example of a novel and complex mechanism for transcriptional synergy in prokaryotes whereby one activator both helps the primary activator to form a productive complex with promoter DNA and interacts directly with RNA polymerase holoenzyme.


IN EARLY AUGUST 1868 THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU AGENT FOR IBERVILLE Parish, Louisiana, Charles E. Merrill, was called upon to mediate one of the countless labor disputes that occupied much of his and other bureau agents' time. In this instance, Merrill investigated the complaint of John Williams, a freedman and the "head laborer" on Belle Grove plantation, who claimed that his employer, Henry Ware, had dismissed him "on account of his political opinion." Merrill ultimately concluded that Williams's dismissal did not involve his political views. Nonetheless, because political and labor conflicts had become inseparable in the highly charged atmosphere surrounding the 1868 presidential campaign, Merrill found it necessary to remind the local justice of the peace, James C. Adamson (whom Williams had at first evidently petitioned without success), that planters must not be allowed to use their authority as employers to interfere with their workers' political rights. "Mr. Ware has no right to discharge any of his laborers on account of their political opinion," Merrill lectured Adamson, adding that "[i]f the planters carry politics into the fields they will find it bad business." Planters who could not convince freedmen "to join their party by fair and honorable means" were to leave them alone. "If Mr. Ware does not want republican laborers on his plantation, let him pay them in full for the time contracted for, and they will leave his plantation at once," Merrill insisted. "If he wants their labor, let them go to work, without regard to politics."(1) Merrill's sentiments notwithstanding, planters in the Louisiana sugar region and throughout the South would have found it impossible--even had they been so inclined--to let freedmen go to work "without regard to politics."(2) As Eric Foner, Michael W. Fitzgerald, and Julie Saville have convincingly shown, black grassroots political mobilization profoundly shaped labor arrangements on southern plantations in the years after emancipation.(3) Instances of black political mobilization in the South had appeared before the war's end but tended to be dominated at first by the antebellum free black elite and confined largely to urban areas. With the onset of Radical Reconstruction in 1867, by contrast, this mobilization expanded to include the mass of former plantation slaves, who formed political organizations, held rallies and engaged in debate, registered and voted en masse, and banded together for self-defense and to preserve internal unity. These activities injected politics into questions concerning the freedmen's working lives, as conflict over seemingly mundane aspects of plantation routine underscored the larger contest over decision-making authority between former slaveholders and freedmen. Black politics transformed the social landscape by shifting the balance of power on the plantations. In the fluid labor markets of early Reconstruction, it even tilted that balance--albeit briefly--in the freedmen's favor. While it is true that black grassroots political mobilization altered southern labor arrangements, most scholarly attention has focused on how this development unfolded in the cotton South, where the freedmen's success in rejecting gang labor and in gaining access to land had unintended consequences. The various forms of sharecropping and tenancy that came to dominate in cotton production, whatever their much-debated origins, eventually undermined the very solidarity that had strengthened the former slaves' bargaining position in the first place. As individual black families or households spread out over the cotton plantations, it became increasingly difficult for them to mobilize for self-defense or to act collectively in other ways. "Ironically," Michael W. Fitzgerald observed in his study of black political mobilization and the emergence of sharecropping, "the freedmen's success in renting land dispersed them widely throughout the countryside, making them more vulnerable to attack. …


Objectives: To evaluate patterns of dispensing of medicines from private community pharmacies in Tamilnadu and to identify and analyze problems in medicine supply or dispensing toward its rational use. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in two towns of Tamilnadu, India between July 10 and October 25, 2009. Medicines dispensed from 24 randomly selected pharmacies, each from a different area of two towns were investigated. Two 2 hour study visits were made. Data were collected by observations and interviews with pharmacists or drug retailers. Results: A total of 1160 medicines were dispensed; 44.2% on a doctors prescription and the remaining over the counter (26.9% on request by clients themselves and 28.9% on recommendations from pharmacists). Anti-infective agents were the most commonly dispensed (20.6% of all items), followed by medicines acting on the gastrointestinal system (18.2%), vitamins and nutritional supplements (10.9%), analgesics and antipyretics (10.5%). More than three-quarters of the anti-infective agents (n=188; 78.7%) were provided over the counter. The study indicates that 61.2% of prescription-only medicines were dispensed over the counter. Conclusions: Extensive supply of medicines (both prescription-only and over the counter) from private pharmacies, including those used for serious illnesses, has been observed. The study shows trends toward inappropriate dispensing. Educational and managerial interventions to improve dispensers' knowledge, professional behavior and attitudes are required to improve the situation.


We report on the X-ray spectral (using XMM-Newton data) and timing behaviour [using XMM-Newton and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data] of the very faint X-ray transient and black hole system Swift J1357.2-0933 during its 2011 outburst. The XMM-Newton X-ray spectrum of this source can be adequately fitted with a soft thermal component with a temperature of ˜0.22 keV (using a disc model) and a hard, non-thermal component with a photon index of Γ ˜ 1.6 when using a simple power-law model. In addition, an edge at ˜0.73 keV is needed likely due to interstellar absorption. During the first RXTE observation, we find a 6 mHz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) which is not present during any of the later RXTE observations or during the XMM-Newton observation which was taken 3 d after the first RXTE observation. The nature of this QPO is not clear, but it could be related to a similar QPO seen in the black hole system H1743-322 and to the so-called 1 Hz QPO seen in the dipping neutron-star X-ray binaries (although this latter identification is quite speculative). The observed QPO has similar frequencies as the optical dips seen previously in this source during its 2011 outburst, but we cannot conclusively determine that they are due to the same underlying physical mechanism. Besides the QPO, we detect strong band-limited noise in the power-density spectra of the source (as calculated from both the RXTE and the XMM-Newton data) with characteristic frequencies and strengths very similar to other black hole X-ray transients when they are at low X-ray luminosities. We discuss the spectral and timing properties of the source in the context of the proposed very high inclination of this source. We conclude that all the phenomena seen from the source cannot, as yet, be straightforwardly explained neither by an edge-on configuration nor by any other inclination configuration of the orbit.


A System for Foot Joint Kinetics – Integrating Plantar Pressure/Shear with Multisegment Foot Modeling Spencer Ray Petersen Department of Exercise Sciences, BYU Master of Science Introduction: Instrumented gait analysis and inverse dynamics are commonly used in research and clinical practice to calculate lower extremity joint kinetics, such as power and work. However, multisegment foot (MSF) model kinetics have been limited by ground reaction force (GRF) measurements. New technology enables simultaneous capture of plantar pressure and shear stress distributions but has not yet been used with motion capture. Integrating MSF models and pressure/shear measurements will enhance the analysis of foot joint kinetics. The purpose of this study was to develop methodology to integrate these systems, then analyze the effects of speed on foot joint kinetics. Methods: Custom software was developed to synchronize motion capture and pressure/shear data using measured offsets between reference frame origins and time between events. Marker trajectories were used to mask pressure/shear data and construct segment specific GRFs. Inverse dynamics was done in commercial software. Demonstrative data was from 5 healthy adults walking unshod at 3 fixed speeds (1.0, 1.3, and 1.6 m/s, respectively) wearing retroreflective markers according to an MSF model. Plantar shear forces and ankle, midtarsal, and first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint kinetics were reported. Speed effects on joint net work were evaluated with a repeated measures ANOVA. Results: Plantar shear forces during stance showed some spreading effects (directionally opposing shear forces) that relatively were unaffected by walking speed. Midtarsal joint power seemed to slightly lag behind the ankle, particularly in late stance. Net work at the ankle (p = 0.024), midtarsal (p = 0.023), and MTP (p = 0.009) joints increased with speed. Conclusions: Functionally, the ankle and midtarsal joints became more motorlike with increasing speed by generating more energy than they absorbed, while the MTP joint became more damperlike by absorbing more energy than it generated. System integration appears to be an overall success. Limitations and suggestions for future work are presented.


Normal cardiac function is dependent on a healthy conduction system to maintain coordinated and synchronised activity. In the presence of heart failure, dyssynchronous ventricular activation due to left bundle branch block or right ventricular pacing can result in worsening symptoms and increased mortality; cardiac resynchronisation therapy in the form of biventricular pacing has therefore become an established and effective treatment. However, it also appears that right ventricular pacing can be a cause of heart failure in some individuals, even when there is no evidence of associated pre-existing cardiac disease. A better understanding of the processes leading to dyssynchrony-induced cardiomyopathy will allow better identification and treatment of patients who are at risk, and will contribute to our knowledge about heart failure in general.This PhD adopted a translational approach to cardiac dyssynchrony, by developing a novel model of atrial-synchronous ventricular pacing in adult Welsh Mountain sheep. The right ventricle was paced from the apex continuously for 3 months at a rate that was determined by the intrinsic atrial rate; this allowed the ventricular activation pattern to be altered without changing the heart rate. In parallel, a previously-developed model of rapid ventricular pacing was studied. In this model, the heart was paced continuously at a fixed rate of 210 bpm, which led to the development of symptomatic heart failure.In vivo parameters were characterised using standard clinical techniques of electrocardiography and echocardiography. Autonomic nervous system activity was investigated by examining the heart rate responses to pharmacological blockade using atropine and propranolol, and to beta-adrenergic stimulation using dobutamine. Heart rate variability was analysed in the time and frequency domains. In vitro, patch clamping studies were performed on ventricular myocytes isolated through enzymatic digestion from the interventricular septum and left ventricular free wall. Using the perforated patch current clamp technique at 37 ?C, action potential duration was measured and the associated triggered calcium transient was analysed using the calcium-sensitive fluorescent indicator Fura-2AM.Heart failure was associated with in vivo evidence of autonomic dysfunction, including a 38 % increase in the resting heart rate, blunting of the heart rate response to dobutamine, and almost complete loss of vagal tonic heart rate control. This pattern was not present in dyssynchrony. At a cellular level, normal sheep had heterogeneity of action potential duration, which was longer in the septum than the free wall. Heart failure disrupted this pattern, and was also associated with approximately a 40 % reduction in the magnitude of the calcium transient in both the septum and the free wall. Dyssynchrony was associated with a similar reduction in the calcium transient, but this was isolated to the free wall.RV apical pacing therefore induced a phenotype that resembled a localised cardiomyopathy, but without the associated autonomic dysfunction of the heart failure model. However, it was possible to identify a subgroup within these subjects that displayed a pattern of autonomic changes similar to those seen in heart failure, and this appeared to be associated with the most profound cellular changes. This raises the possibility that early dyssynchrony-induced cardiomyopathy may manifest as changes in the autonomic profile, which may be detectable in clinical practice.


—The geothermal potential of the southern Raton basin and the adjoining Las Vegas basin/Tucumcari basin, Cimarron arch, and Sierra Grande uplift in northeastern New Mexico was evaluated using equilibrium, bottom hole, and wireline temperature data. Equilibrium logs are generally from shallow wells (<600 m); interval geothermal gradients frequently correspond to lithology, which is indicative of conductive heat flow. Interval geothermal gradients in the Paleogene Raton and Poison Canyon Formations and in Cretaceous shales (Pierre, Carlile, Graneros) are on the order of 40–75°C/km. In contrast, interval gradients in the Cretaceous Trinidad Sandstone and in other sandy units are 20–30°C/km. Bottom-hole temperature (BHT) data constrain the deeper thermal structure of the basin. High BHTs were measured in the southern Raton basin near the Colorado state line (Stubblefield Canyon gas field); the maximum uncorrected BHT is 135°C at a depth of 2160 m and associ ated geothermal gradients are 50–68°C/km. BHTs in the Las Vegas basin/Tucumcari basin to the south are cooler (85°C at 3091 m) compared to those in the southern Raton basin at similar depths. Four wells with multiple BHTs in the Castle Rock Park gas field show a distinct decrease in temperature between measurements in the Trinidad Sandstone and measurements in the underlying Pierre Shale. This pattern implies lateral flow of warm (~45°C) water in the Trinidad Sandstone in this area. Wire line temperature logs can provide good thermal data if used with caution. Wireline logs are obtained by petroleum companies to look for zones of fluid flow or to gauge the quality of a cement job. Wireline temperature logs measured in air-drilled holes that are filled with formation water prior to measurement yield thermal data of a quality similar to equilibrium logs. Temperatures of 150°C at depths of ~2 km are present in the Colorado part of the Raton basin just north of the state border. Equilibrium data from the Stubblefield Canyon area just south of the state line yield published heat flow values of 89–120 mW/ m 2 . If the elevated gradients derived from thermal data from Stubblefield Canyon are extrapolated to depth, then a temperature of 150°C is reached at 2.6–2.7 km: this depth range is greater than the depths to 150°C on the Colorado side of the border (1.6–2.5 km). The difference in temperature between the southern Raton basin and the Las Vegas basin/Tucumcari basin is attributed to erosion of low thermal conductivity Cretaceous shales from the Las Vegas basin.


OF DISSERTATION HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN BALED SWITCHGRASS FOR STORAGE AND BIOCONVERSION APPLICATIONS The temperature and moisture content of biomass feedstocks both play a critical role in minimizing storage and transportation costs, achieving effective bioconversion, and developing relevant postharvest quality models. Hence, this study characterizes the heat and mass transfer occurring within baled switchgrass through the development of a mathematical model describing the relevant thermal and physical properties of this specific substrate. This mathematical model accounts for the effect of internal heat generation and temperature-induced free convection within the material in order to improve prediction accuracy. Inclusion of these terms is considered novel in terms of similar biomass models. Two disparate length scales, characterizing both the overall bale structure (global domain) and the individual stems (local domain), are considered with different physical processes occurring on each scale. Material and fluid properties were based on the results of hydraulic conductivity experiments, moisture measurements and thermal analyses that were performed using the constant head method, TDR-based sensors and dual thermal probes, respectively. The unique contributions made by each of these components are also discussed in terms of their particular application within various storage and bioconversion operations. Model validation was performed with rectangular bales of switchgrass (102 x 46 x 36 cm3) stored in an environmental chamber with and without partial insulation to control directional heat transfer. Bale temperatures generally exhibited the same trend as ambient air; although initial periods of microbial growth and heat generation were observed. Moisture content uniformly declined during storage, thereby contributing to minimal heat generation in the latter phases of storage. The mathematical model agreed closely with experimental data for low moisture content levels in terms of describing the temperature and moisture distribution within the material. The inclusion of internal heat generation was found to be necessary for improving the prediction accuracy of the model; particularly in the initial stage of storage. However, the effects of natural convection exhibited minimal contribution to the heat transfer as conduction was observed as the predominate mechanism occurring throughout storage. The results of this study and the newly developed model are expected to enable the maintenance of baled biomass quality during storage and/or high-solids bioconversion.


This paper analyzes the effects of open access (OA) on the creation of scientific knowledge. In a first step, drawing on the theory of Nonaka and colleagues, their SECI model is applied to the processes of knowledge creation in science. Typical activities of the research process are assigned to the four knowledge conversion modes socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. Subsequently, on the basis of the resulting framework it is shown how OA affects scientific knowledge creation. We conclude that (1) with regard to the epistemological dimension of knowledge, OA decreases the time of running through the SECI cycle, and (2) concerning the ontological dimension, OA enlarges the number of possible receivers of newly created knowledge. Those propositions provide a basis for further empirical studies within the introduced framework.


Next-generation high-energy batteries will require a rechargeable lithium metal anode, but lithium dendrites tend to form during recharging, causing short-circuit risk and capacity loss, by mechanisms that still remain elusive. Here, we visualize lithium growth in a glass capillary cell and demonstrate a change of mechanism from root-growing mossy lithium to tip-growing dendritic lithium at the onset of electrolyte diffusion limitation. In sandwich cells, we further demonstrate that mossy lithium can be blocked by nanoporous ceramic separators, while dendritic lithium can easily penetrate nanopores and short the cell. Our results imply a fundamental design constraint for metal batteries ("Sand's capacity"), which can be increased by using concentrated electrolytes with stiff, permeable, nanoporous separators for improved safety.


The African tulip tree Spathodea campanulata is a major invasive species on the island of Tahiti (French Polynesia), where it has established from sea level up to montane cloud forest. This invader continues to spread across the island; however, little information is available about the seed rain and germination rate of Spathodea seeds. In this study, we quantified seed rain of Spathodea, estimated potential seed dispersal distances, and determined temperatures required for seed germination. Seed traps were positioned in a Spathodea-dominated forest and monitored over 86 days during the seed-fall period. The cumulative seed rain generated a density of 289 Spathodea seeds per square meter with a mean daily frequency of 3.3 seeds/m2 in the plot. Based on seed production estimates from canopy pod counts, we inferred that many Spathodea seeds were dispersed away from the plot, rather than being deposited locally in the Spathodea invaded plot. A simple dispersal model indicated that seeds from a single tree perched on a steep precipice are capable of dispersing across the entire island of Tahiti during strong trade winds. Laboratory germination tests of freshly collected seeds showed that the maximum germination (100%) was obtained at 25 °C while 96% germination was observed at 20 °C; however, no germination was observed at 15 °C or 12 °C after 34 days. Thus, Spathodea invasion in Tahiti may currently be limited to elevations <1,500 m due to lack of germination at cooler temperatures. The large number of seeds per adult Spathodea as well as the seed dispersal ability and high rate of germination may provide an important establishment advantage to Spathodea in the tropical rainforests of Tahiti. We unexpectedly found that 61% of Spathodea seeds that fell in seed traps were depredated before falling in the traps. It is not known whether this predispersal seed predation has reduced Spathodea's rate of spread in Tahiti.


Artificial neural networks (ANN) using raw electroencephalogram (EEG) data were developed and tested off-line to detect transient epileptiform discharges (spike and spike/wave) and EMG activity in an ongoing EEG. In the present study, a feedforward ANN with a variable number of input and hidden layer units and two output units was used to optimize the detection system. The ANN system was trained and tested with the backpropagation algorithm using a large data set of exemplars. The effects of different EEG time windows and the number of hidden layer neurons were examined using rigorous statistical tests for optimum detection sensitivity and selectivity. The best ANN configuration occurred with an input time window of 150 msec (30 input units) and six hidden layer neurons. This input interval contained information on the wave component of the epileptiform discharge which improved detection. Two-dimensional receiver operating curves were developed to define the optimum threshold parameters for best detection. Comparison with previous networks using raw EEG showed improvement in both sensitivity and selectivity. This study showed that raw EEG can be successfully used to train ANNs to detect epileptogenic discharges with a high success rate without resorting to experimenter-selected parameters which may limit the efficiency of the system.


Background and purpose: The aim of the study was to perform molecular analysis in a group of patients affected with prion disease. Diagnosis was based on results of clinical and/or histopathological examination of the brain. This is the largest investigation of this type performed so far in Poland. Material and methods: Analysed material contained 36 cases of prion disease, including 35 cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and one case of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease, as well as two familial cases initially suspected of Huntington disease and Alzheimer disease. The control group consisted of 87 subjects. The most frequent known mutations in the PRNP gene were looked for, namely those in codons 102, 117, 178, 200, 217 and OPRI; the polymorphism Met/Val in codon 129 was also analysed. The methods applied were PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing. Results: The following mutations were found: E200K in 5 families, P102L in one family (previously identified), D178N in one family and 6OPRI in one family. Overall, mutations were detected in 17 persons (including 8 preclinical ones) from 8 pedigrees. Highly significant difference of codon 129 Met/Val heterozygosity frequencies was found between the affected subjects and the controls. Frequency of the familial form of prion disease in the material analysed was 14%. Conclusions: Screening for mutations in the PRNP gene should be performed in all diagnosed cases of prion disease and Hereditary form of prion disease in Poland


This study examined the antecedents of preschool age children's mental representations of attachment, assessed using the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT). Antecedent predictors were maternal attachment scripts, assessed using the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA), and the child's secure base behaviors, assessed using the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). Participants were 121 mothers and their preschool children assessed in three samples (Portuguese sample, n = 31; US Midwestern sample, n = 38; US Southeastern sample, n = 52). AQS and ASA assessments were completed approximately 1.5 years before the ASCT data were collected. No cross-sample contrasts for the attachment variables were significant. Correlations and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that the three attachment measures were significantly associated and that both maternal secure base script knowledge and children's secure base behaviors (AQS) were uniquely and significantly associated with children's mental representations of attachment (ASCT). A test of the indirect effect between maternal scripts and child representations through children's secure base behaviors was not significant.


The untimely death of Michael Robert Herman in November 2000 deprived the scientific community of one of its deepest mathematical minds, who had a profound impact on the theory of dynamical systems over the last 30 years. Born in New York, he was educated in France. He was a student at École Polytechnique before being one of the first members of the Centre de Mathématiques created there by Laurent Schwartz. For more than 20 years, his seminar had a major influence worldwide and was the main vector of the development of the theory of dynamical systems in France. All of his students remember with thankfulness and emotion the passion with which he led them into the wonderful mathematical world. He maintained through the years strong connections with the Instituto de Matemática Pura e Aplicada in Rio de Janeiro. His interests covered most aspects of the modern theory of dynamical systems and much beyond that, from economics to arts and philosophy. However, it is fair to say that from the start the so-called small divisors problems, related in particular to the stability of quasiperiodic motions, were closest to his heart. His epoch-making theorem on the linearization of circle diffeomorphisms [1–4], his two volumes [5, 6] on invariant curves for twist diffeomorphisms, which are still the standard reference 20 years later, his very many deep contributions on the existence and geometry of invariant tori all bear witness to that interest [7–10].


The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a comprehensive review of Therapeutic Touch research. Specifically, the article reviews and describes doctoral and/or published research which is directed at testing either outcomes of Therapeutic Touch or theories underlying the process. Critique of selected studies is offered where it seems appropriate and critical to interpretation of the results. This review provides the foundation for discussion, in a later article, related to future directions for research in this evolving, holistic nursing intervention.


This paper discusses the apparent Italian paradox where human capital exhibits relatively low returns despite its scarcity. While a highly centralized bargaining system might explain wage compression, it is puzzling why firms, contrary to theoretical predictions, do not adopt skillintensive technologies in response to such a low price of skilled labour. A possible explanation is considered: if the labour market features a frictional matching process, high recruiting costs associated with scarcity of qualified labour can discourage firms' from opening vacancies for high-skill jobs. To explore this mechanism a simple static model is presented, in which workers' investment in education and firms' skill intensity decisions display strategic complementarities. The model has some empirical predictions: i) strong labour market frictions yield a «feedback» effect between demand and supply that can significantly curb human capital accumulation, ii) if high and low-skill labour are good substitutes multiple equilibria can arise, possibly confining the economy in a «low-skill/low education» trap. Some suggestive empirical evidence is provided: using Italian data it is shown that firms assign a larger share of workers to skilled jobs when the average educational attainment of the local labour force is higher, regardless of relative wages.


Abstract. Field experiences are a critical component of undergraduate geoscience education; however, traditional onsite field experiences are not always practical due to accessibility, and the popularity of alternative modes of learning in higher education is increasing. One way to support student access to field experiences is through virtual field trips, implemented either independently or in conjunction with in-person field trips. We created a virtual field trip (VFT) to Grand Ledge, a regionally important suite of sedimentary outcrops in central lower Michigan, USA. This VFT undertakes all stages of a field project, from question development and detailed observation through data collection to interpretation. The VFT was implemented in undergraduate Sedimentation and Stratigraphy courses at two different liberal arts institutions, with one version of the VFT conducted in-person and the other online. The VFT was presented from a locally hosted website and distributed through an online learning platform. Students completed a series of activities using field data in the form of outcrop photos, virtual 3D models of outcrops and hand samples, and photos of thin sections. Student products included annotated field notes, a stratigraphic column, a collaborative stratigraphic correlation, and a final written reflection. VFT assessment demonstrated that students successfully achieved the inquiry-oriented student learning outcomes and student reflection responses provide anecdotal evidence that the field experience was comparable to field geology onsite. This VFT is an example of successful student learning in an upper-level Sedimentation and Stratigraphy course via virtual field experience with an emphasis on local geology.


Nanomanipulation could be defined as the manipulation of nanometer size objects using a nanometer size end effector with ultra precision, which was enabled by the invention of Scanning Tunneling Microscopes (STM). However, most of the existing micromanipulators provide only planar 3-DoF or spatial 3-DoF translational motion characteristics. In this paper, a 3-DoF UPC type rotational spatial compliant parallel manipulator is presented. In order to develop the structure stiffness of this kind of spatial compliant parallel manipulator, structure analysis of this mechanism is proposed. A simple but useful method which based on screw theory and geometric constraint conditions is also proposed. The compliant parallel manipulator is driven by three piezoelectric actuators and the three actuators in this mechanism are arranged according to the Cartesian coordinate system. The results of experiments via ANSYS have shown the validation of the theoretical analysis.


One of the challenges in protein secondary structure prediction is to overcome the cross-validated 80% prediction accuracy barrier. Here, we propose a novel approach to surpass this barrier. Instead of using a single algorithm that relies on a limited data set for training, we combine two complementary methods having different strengths: Fragment Database Mining (FDM) and GOR V. FDM harnesses the availability of the known protein structures in the Protein Data Bank and provides highly accurate secondary structure predictions when sequentially similar structural fragments are identified. In contrast, the GOR V algorithm is based on information theory, Bayesian statistics, and PSI-BLAST multiple sequence alignments to predict the secondary structure of residues inside a sliding window along a protein chain. A combination of these two different methods benefits from the large number of structures in the PDB and significantly improves the secondary structure prediction accuracy, resulting in Q3 ranging from 67.5 to 93.2%, depending on the availability of highly similar fragments in the Protein Data Bank.


A worldwide introduction of renewable energy has been required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Concomitantly, this has caused conflict between renewable energy development and local communities over landscape changes. This study aims to clarify the factors of conflict and find a way of conflict management. A case study on Japan is used, where a solar rush occurred due to the feed-in tariff (FIT) system. We analyze the public reasons to worry about renewable energy and the spatial characteristics of its locations. A socio-spatial approach is used by first utilizing a qualitative survey based on questionnaires and interviews with the local governments to understand the awareness regarding the issues, and then utilizing a quantitative survey on the location changes to solar power by using GIS. The results suggest that there were links between local governments' concerns and the location of solar power concentration. These results show that conflicts over renewable energy are not unavoidable and may be managed by local governments that can act as intermediaries with sufficient knowledge of the local communities.


People living with dementia and their caregivers continue to experience social isolation and are impacted by consequential negative health impacts. Social recreational programs are community-oriented programs that aim to reduce the levels of social isolation among persons with dementia and their informal caregivers by providing the opportunity to strengthen their social network through an increased social participation in the community. The purpose of this chapter is to focus on the reduction of social isolation experienced by persons living with dementia and their caregivers through the use of social recreational programs as a recovery intervention method. A review of the existing literature was conducted to explore the impact of social isolation among the dementia community and to explore the role of social recreational programs as an exemplar of recovery intervention to promote social connectedness. Literature was examined through thematic analysis to identify the emerging themes. Two main themes were examined through the literature review: (1) the impact of social isolation on the health and emotional burden experienced by the persons living with dementia and their caregivers; and (2) the therapeutic components of social recreational programs that represent as a potential recovery intervention to promote the sense of social inclusion. This chapter highlighted the need for future research to examine the effectiveness of social recreational programs in helping the persons with dementia and their caregivers to combat the negative effects of social isolation, as well as to empower them in actively participating and being socially engaged in the community.


The submitted paper analyses the check of operational capacity and of economic efficiency of the selected machines in case of the use of different types of oil, determination of mode of friction and of machine wear and specification of interval of oil change. The object of the paper is a machine park in the industrial company comprising of five machine tools. Particularly, it is the case of two grinding machines, two lathes and one milling cutter. Having been removed from the greasing systems, the oils were used to gain information on technical condition of the respective machines.


Mixed isotype A beta dE alpha d class II molecule-restricted antigen- reactive T cell clones were obtained from (BALB/c x B6E alpha d)F1 mice. These T cell clones responded to keyhole limpet hemocyanin in the presence of (BALB/c x B6E alpha d)F1 but not CBF1 APCs. Both anti-A beta d and anti-E alpha mAbs blocked the proliferative responses of these clones. The frequency of such mixed isotype A beta E alpha- restricted T cell clones in (BALB/c x B6E alpha d)F1 mice was estimated to be approximately 10% from our limiting dilution cloning. The existence of such mixed isotype class II molecule-restricted T cells would have important implications for the expansion of the T cell repertoire as well as the induction of autoimmunity.


Objective Anaesthesiologists use the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA PS) classification to assess patients' overall health. The primary objective of this study was to predict the prognostic value regarding peri-operative variables until discharge from hospital and post-operative outcomes. The secondary objective was to evaluate the inter-rater agreement of the ASA scores assigned at the outpatient department (OPD) vs. operating theatres (OT). Methods A total of 227 adults scheduled for elective surgery were assigned the ASA grade in preoperative OPD and on the day of surgery. The type of anaesthesia and surgery were noted. The operating time, post-operative ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, post-operative stay, bronchopulmonary complications, cardiac complications, renal dysfunction and any mortality until discharge from hospital were noted. Descriptive statistics were used to report the primary objective. For the secondary objective, Pearson's correlation test was used for inter-rater reliability. Results The ASA grading done at OPD and at OT was the same. It was found that the higher the ASA grade of a patient, the longer was the ICU stay. Patients with higher ASA PS scores were at a comparatively milder risk of developing remaining peri-operative and post-operative complications. Conclusion The correlation was the highest with the ICU stay. The inter-rater ASA grades assignment at the clinics and the OT were found to be almost perfect.


This paper investigates the persistency in the ex-post real interest rates in the presence of endogenous structural breaks for Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the UK and the USA using seasonally adjusted quarterly data. The procedure used in this study extends the previous research in the respect of investigating degree of persistency of the ex-post real interest rates series by allowing for possible process shifts at endogenously determined more than two structural breaks dates following the principles suggested by Lumsdaine and Papell (1997). The results from the study show that real interest rates are very persistent when such breaks are not taken into account. However, the findings also indicate low persistency in real interest rates for all countries when such breaks are allowed in the data-generating process. We find that endogenously determined structural breaks substantially reduce the degree of persistency of the real interest rate series, which has important theoretical implications as well.


The solvent-promoted aggregation of porphyrins covalently linked to medium length peptides occurs with the formation of chiral supramolecular structures if the peptide chain can adopt an α-helical secondary structure. The circular dichroism spectra of different porphyrin-peptide conjugates show that the chiral arrangement of the porphyrins in the aggregates does not depend on the screw-sense of the peptide helix. Experimental evidence and molecular dynamic simulations suggest that the linker between the porphyrin and the peptide helix is responsible for the overall chirality of supramolecular structures. In particular when the linker is a chiral α-amino acid it is possible to tune the morphology of the chiral aggregates by inverting the configuration of the chiral center.