Wave-piercing catamaran hull forms are widely used for high-speed ferry applications due to the hull slenderness, suitable for achieving high speeds. The global loads acting on these craft are of great interest as there is limited knowledge on determining the magnitude of the loads, in particular when operating in random sea conditions. Longitudinal and transverse bending moments as well as pitch connecting moments and hull torsion loads act on the hull simultaneously. This paper investigates the estimation of these global loads from full-scale catamaran sea trials strain gauge data using finite element methods. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) load cases are applied to a finite element model in order to determine the conversion between local strain values observed during sea trials and prevailing global loads. Comparisons are thus made of global loads determined from strain data collected from sea trials with DNV global load cases. The results show that this method is relatively reliable for the prediction of hull global loads in the absence of slamming. Comparisons have been made for different heading angles. The quasi-static design loads are important during the ship design stage, as they are good proxies in wavelengths comparable to the hull length for rationally determined loads obtained from a first-principles dynamic analysis. The broad aims here are to demonstrate the use of strain sensor data obtained during sea trials for determination of global sea loads, to reconcile the loads thus determined with DNV load cases and thereby to improve the accuracy of the predicted loads used in design to increase the structural efficiency of vessel design.


Thesis advisor is someone who guides students research writing. Students usually need advisor
who can accept students' weaknesses or in other words, students will be glad to get in touch with
advisors who have good personality like patient, friendly, responsible, discipline, fair, firm,
humorous, flexible, careful, and cooperative. Having advisor who has a good personality makes
students motivated, safe, comfortable, when they discuss their problems with their advisor. As a
matter of fact, the advisor's personalities are not simple as we think. The advisor will be
expected to understand the need of students. In fact, some advisors personality and attitudes are
not completely compatible with students' expectation. It is common because each person has
different personality and characteristics from other. But it will be very beneficial if the advisor
knows students' expectation of their advisor personality.
The study aimed at investigating student's definition of each thesis advisors' personality and
student's expectation of thesis advisors' personality. In this case the design of this research is
descriptive quantitative. Population of this research was the students of English Department at
Muhammadiyah University of Malang in academic year 2001/2002 or they were now the eight
semesters students who were doing thesis writing. There were 196 students. The writer took 40
students or (20 percent of the whole population). The data were collected through close-ended
questionnaire. The data will be analyzed quantitatively.
The following conclusions are based on the finding of the research. Students have different
opinion about the definition of each thesis advisors' personality. Based on the conclusion and
analysis which are presented in the previous chapter, the writer concluded that the most expected
thesis advisors' personality to the least expected thesis advisors' personality by students are in
the following sequences patient, responsible, friendly, discipline, flexible, cooperative, fair,
careful, humorous, firm.


Ethnic residential segregation can arise from voluntary or imposed clustering of some ethnicities in specific urban areas. However, up to now it has been difficult to untangle the real causes underlying the segregation phenomena. In particular, voluntary segregation preferences could not be revealed from the observed location choices given the existence of constraints in the real housing market. This study aims at analysing the voluntary segregation drivers through a stated preferences experiment of neighbourhood choice. This method obviates the choice-constraint issue by allowing a hypothetically free choice of alternative urban locations. The results suggest that ethnic preferences exist, positive for co-national neighbours and negative for other foreign groups. However, such preferences do not constitute a major location choice driver given relatively modest willingness-to-pay for ethnic neighbourhood characteristics. Certain heterogeneity in preferences for higher concentration of own co-nationals is captured for households of different origins and educational attainment.


In an active galactic nucleus (AGN), a black hole shoots out two opposing jets of particles at nearly the speed of light. The shock from the jets drives gas away from the black hole, forming gigantic bubbles that send sound waves rippling through the galaxy9s surroundings for millions of years. The process heats the gas farther out, preventing it from cooling and collapsing to form new stars. It also stops more gas from falling into the black hole, which stops gaining mass and gravitational muscle. Both its growth and the growth of the galaxy come to a halt. Astronomers first glimpsed this cosmic shutoff valve in large galaxies in 2003. Since then, such "AGN feedback" has become one of the hottest topics in astrophysics. If it works the way some researchers think it does, AGN feedback is pivotal to understanding how galaxies evolve. It also appears to answer in one stroke two fundamental questions that have plagued researchers: Why are the masses of most galaxies so tightly connected to the masses of the enormous black holes at their centers? And why are very large and very small galaxies so much rarer than theory says they should be?


BACKGROUND
 Poor medication adherence puts patients who require thrombosis care at greater risk of complications. Little is known about the impact of multidisciplinary care models on medication adherence in patients requiring anticoagulation management. It is also unclear from the literature whether adherence varies in clinical practice with the advent of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) which have shorter half-lives and require limited or no laboratory monitoring compared to vitamin-K antagonists. We started a new multidisciplinary Adult Outpatient Thrombosis Service (TS) in October 2017 in a Canadian health authority servicing over 300 000 people. The TS is a comprehensive thrombosis and anticoagulation management program with unique, interrelated clinics providing the spectrum of care required for this patient group. The TS includes an Emergency Thrombosis Clinic for care after an acute episode of venous thromboembolism; Thrombosis Clinics addressing non-urgent thrombosis and anticoagulation questions and follow up; Anticoagulation Management Clinics for long term follow up of patients on anticoagulation; and a Perioperative Anticoagulation Management Clinic for patients on anticoagulation requiring surgery or procedures. The TS is staffed by Pharmacists, a Thrombosis Physician/Hematologist, and Clerical staff. The objective of the survey was to assess self-reported medication adherence of patients within the TS.
 PATIENTS/METHODS
 We conducted a cross-sectional survey of patients who were consulted to the TS between October 2017 and May 2019. Eligible patients were mailed an anonymous survey with a cover letter and self-addressed, return stamped envelope. Adherence to medication was assessed using the 12-item validated Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS). The ARMS utilizes a 4 point scale (1-4), with the continuous score range of 12 to 48, and lower scores indicating better adherence. Baseline characteristics and patient satisfaction with the TS were evaluated for association with medication adherence. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the associations between patient's characteristics, their satisfaction with TS and medication adherence.
 RESULTS
 Of 1058 eligible patients, 563 responded to the survey representing a response rate of 53%. Seventeen were excluded who had more than 6 missing responses to the ARMS items. Out of remaining 546 patients with complete responses 55% (n=297) were on DOACs, 19% (n=102) on warfarin, 5.0% (n=27) on low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), 3.3% (n=18) on antiplatelet therapy and 18% (n=96) were not receiving anticoagulation therapy at the time of completing the survey. Nearly half had taken anticoagulant for 1 to 5 years (47%, n=253) while 28% (n=150) and 25% (n=137) had been on an anticoagulant for less than 1 year and more than 5 years respectively. Most patients (87%, n=475) were 50 years of age or older and half (51%, n=277) were male. About two-thirds (67%, n=360) had at least post-secondary education. The mean score for the ARMS was 13.9 (SD 2.2, range 12 to 25). Most patients (88%, n = 481) reported high adherence to medication (ARMS score = 12-16). In univariate analysis, post-secondary education (β = 0.0052, p = 0.006) and patient satisfaction with the TS (β = 0.0004; p = 0.019) significantly predicted medication adherence among participants. In multivariate analyses education (β = 0.0039, p = 0.048) and duration of anticoagulant use (β = 0.0047, p = 0.0244) were significantly associated with medication adherence. The internal consistency reliability for the ARMS tool was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.70).
 CONCLUSIONS
 Self-reported medication adherence was high (88%) in patients seen at a multidisciplinary TS. Post-secondary education and duration of anticoagulant use were important predictors of medication adherence.

 Young: Sanofi Canada: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer: Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria. Chitsike:Bayer Canada: Research Funding; Sanofi Canada: Honoraria, Research Funding.


The evolution of techniques and knowledge of beating heart surgery has led anesthesia toward the development of new procedures and innovations to promote patient safety and ensure high standards of care. Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery has shown to have some advantages compared to on-pump cardiac surgery, particularly the reduction of postoperative complications including systemic inflammation, myocardial injury, and cerebral injury. Minimally invasive surgery for single vessel OPCAB through a limited thoracotomy incision can offer the advantage of further reduction of complications. The anesthesiologist has to deal with different issues, including hemodynamic instability and myocardial ischemia during aorto-coronary bypass grafting. The anesthesiologist and surgeon should collaborate and plan the best perioperative strategy to provide optimal care and ensure a rapid and complete recovery. The use of high thoracic epidural analgesia and fast-track anesthesia offers particular benefits in beating heart surgery. The excellent analgesia, the ability to reduce myocardial oxygen consumption, and the good hemodynamic stability make high thoracic epidural analgesia an interesting technique. New scenarios are entering in cardiac anesthesia: ultra-fast-track anesthesia with extubation in the operating room and awake surgery tend to be less invasive, but can only be performed on selected patients.


Djerassi Resident Artists Program Executive Director Margot H. Knight describes the genesis and ultimate success of the inaugural edition of Scientific Delirium Madness, a collaborative initiative of Leonardo/ISAST and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. At the heart of Scientific Delirium Madness is a month-long residency that brings together artists and scientists at the Djerassi 585-acre retreat in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains to explore and transform the boundaries of art and science. Leonardo Gallery


Ready-made spectacles are low-cost spectacles for correcting refractive errors in children who would otherwise have their refractive errors uncorrected due to lack of availability and affordability of conventional, expensive custom-made spectacles. Thus, this study seeks to estimate the proportion of children with uncorrected refractive errors eligible for ready-made spectacles in a school-based programme. A school-based descriptive cross-sectional study was employed to screen children aged 12–15 years in eighteen public junior high schools within the Bongo district of Ghana. Children who failed the 6/9 acuity test were refracted and given spectacles. Ready-made spectacle was prescribed when visual acuity improved by ≥2 lines in at least one eye with full correction (astigmatism of ≤0.75D); spherical equivalent corrected visual acuity to ≤1 line worse than best corrected visual acuity with full correction in the better eye; and there was ≤1.00D difference between the two eyes. A total of 1,705 school children were examined. Of this number, 30 (1.8%; 95% CI: 1.2–2.5%) met the criteria for refractive correction but none had any. Twenty-six (86.7%; 95% CI: 69.7–95.3%) were found to be eligible for ready-made spectacles (power range: -1.50D to +1.00D, mean spherical equivalent ± SD = -0.27D ± 0.79D) while 4 (13.3%; 95% CI: 4.7–30.3%) were not, hence, given custom-made spectacles. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of being eligible for one type of spectacles was similar between males and females (OR: 1.1; 95% CI: 0.1–12.7; p = 0.93). A large proportion of students who met the criteria for spectacle correction could be corrected with ready-made spectacles. There is, therefore, the need for these spectacles to be considered an appropriate alternative for refractive error correction during school eye health programmes.


ABSTRACT Transition from education to practice can be troublesome for many early-career engineers because expectations, habitual work practices and values tend to conflict with realities of engineering workplaces. Emerging technologies referred to as 'Industry 4.0' or the 'fourth industrial revolution' have prompted many to argue for students to develop improved socio-technical skills. Understandings of practice emerging from contemporary research could help educators shape a new generation of engineers with more appropriate abilities to restore global productivity growth and transform economies to eliminate greenhouse emissions in a short enough time to limit human-induced global warming. However, so far, explicit curriculum reforms addressing graduate attributes and workplace skills have not resulted in significant employability improvements. This paper argues that assessment practices and curriculum gaps may be acting as an implied or hidden curriculum shaping student expectations and values. This paper proposes ways to overcome these curriculum deficits in higher education institutions and also workplace education interventions. These changes could help educate engineers about productivity improvement, commercial and social value generation, business requirements and entrepreneurship. Changes like these will be needed to achieve sustainable development goals, especially in developing countries.


This research aims to analyze the relationship between the interest rate relationship is inversely proportional to the amount of the premium on the pension plan. The method used is to measure several variables, among others FSL (Future Service Liability), PVFSAL (Present Value Future Salary), PR (Pension Rate) and Premiums. Calculation, life annuity uses actuarial assumptions, one of which is the interest rate assumption, if the assumptions used are not in accordance with the actual conditions, then what happens is excessive payments or deficient payments. The interest rate has an influence in the process of calculating the defined benefit pension plan premium. Using the assumption of different interest rates (11%, 12 % and 13%), it is found that the interest rate relationship is inversely proportional to the amount of the premium. The results of this study are FSL, PVFSAL, PR and Premiums for the interest of 11%, 12% and 13% (participants aged 25 years) as follows 720,187.97; 554,000,24; 430,570.07 (FSL in Rupiah); 27,155,187.70; 24,922,770,59; 23,002,699.40 (PVFSAL in Rupiah); 2.6521; 2.2229; 1.8718 (PR in%) and 55,535.38; 46,546.85; 39,196.00 (Premiums in Rupiah)The higher the interest rate, the smaller the pension premium and vice versa.


High-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) is a non-histone nuclear protein with alarmin activity. When present in an extracellular location, HMGB1 can activate the innate immune system and promote inflammation in conditions such as sepsis. To exert these activities, HMGB1 must transit from the nucleus, through the cytoplasm, to the outside of the cell. This process can occur during cell activation as well as cell death. In murine macrophages (MΦ), stimulation of TLR3 and TLR4, but not TLR9, can cause HMGB1 translocation. With cell death, necrosis can lead to extracellular HMGB1 by a passive mechanism. With apoptosis, HMGB1 is only released during secondary necrosis, when cell permeability barriers break down. Since agents that stimulate MΦ can also induce apoptosis, HMGB1 release following TLR stimulation may also reflect a contribution from dead cells, suggesting a common mechanism for protein release in activation and death.


For properly choosing grinding parameters, predicting probable faults and processing quality, simulation of grinding based on virtual reality technology was study. Physiognomy forming mechanism of grinding wheel was analyzed and a 3D virtual grinding wheel models was built. Effects to grinding wheel physiognomy by grain size and organization number were analyzed and grain distribution was visually represented. Effect to processing quality by grinding wheel granularity, dressing parameters, grinding wheel speed, feed speed and grinding depth was simulated. And experiments were carried out for comparative analyzing. Experiments result proved the reliability and practicality of the virtual grinding wheel model.


A number of drama academics have been interviewed about how they search for, organise, use and evaluate information for their teaching and research. From this research, interesting themes have emerged about making connections between sources, exploring information, and the serendipitous discovery of information for learning. Drama staff explore, play with sources of information and often collect "interesting" threads of information which they later weave together to create inspiring teaching.

Although drama students seem to approach examining a play with a ludic attitude within a performance or practice space, this playfulness and exploration is missing in their interactions with sources such as books and journal articles. Even within the library space itself, they tend to see one particular sequence of books as "their" library, being reluctant to explore the wider physical or information landscape.

This session will highlight some of the information literacy stories of drama academics, exploring their interactions with the forest of information that is available to them. It will then move to suggestions as to how we can use these "expert" stories to cut paths for students to follow and so improve undergraduate research skills in Arts & Humanities subjects.

Attendees will be asked to reflect on how familiar these stories are and how they can use the examples given to forge new learning stories for their students.


Bacillus cereus sensu lato is one of the most harmful bacterial groups affecting the quality and safety of powdered infant formula (PIF). In this study, samples were collected from the raw materials and processing environments of PIF. A total of 84 isolates were identified as Bacillus cereus sensu stricto (B. cereus s. s.) by 16S rRNA analysis, molecular typing technology, and physiological and biochemical tests. The 84 B. cereus s. s. strains were assigned to panC group II, group III, and group IV. Then, the 7 housekeeping genes glpF, gmk, ilvD, pta, pur, pycA, and tpi were selected for multilocus sequence typing. Results showed that the 84 isolates were clustered into 24 sequence types (ST), and 14 novel ST were detected. Among the 24 ST, ST999 (19/84, 22.62%) and ST1343 (13/84, 15.48%) predominated. The correlation between processing areas and ST showed that the processing environments of the production and packing areas were the most susceptible to contamination by B. cereus s. s. Spores of these ST showed different heat resistance phenotypes evaluated by the analysis of DT (time in minutes of spore decimal reduction at each temperature) and Z values (temperature increase required to reduce the DT value to one-tenth of the original). Spores from group III according to panC gene analysis were the most heat resistant. These findings will help us to better understand B. cereus s. s. contamination and control in PIF processing environments.


Previous reports of tactile responses in human visual area MT/V5 have used complex stimuli, such as a brush stroking the arm. These complex moving stimuli are likely to induce imagery of visual motion, which is known to be a powerful activator of MT. The area described as "MT" in previous reports consists of at least two distinct cortical areas, MT and MST. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we separately localized human MT and MST and measured their response to vibrotactile stimuli unlikely to induce imagery of visual motion. Strong vibrotactile responses were observed in MST but not in MT. Vibrotactile responses in MST were approximately one-half as large as the response to visual motion and were distinct from those in another visual area previously reported to respond to tactile stimulation, the lateral occipital complex. To examine somatotopic organization, we separately stimulated the left and right hand and foot. No spatial segregation between hand and foot responses was observed in MST. The average response profile of MST was similar to that of somatosensory cortex, with a strong preference for the contralateral hand. These results offer evidence for the existence of somatosensory responses in MST, but not MT, independent of imagery of visual motion.


Interview with Arthur and Louise Caillet Dieterich, owners and operators of Hermosa Farms, Dallas, Texas. The interview includes the Dieterich's personal experiences about farming in Dallas, education, and establishing Hermosa Farms. The Dieterich's talk about their family backgrounds, Arthur's employment as operator of dairy cooperative with his brother in El Paso, Texas, the effect of the Great Depression on Dallas dairy businesses, milk processing and delivery operations, a typical day on a dairy farm, their change from retail to wholesale business, developing dairy herd, their cooperation with agricultural experiment stations, personnel practices, and civic and trade association activities. The interview includes an appendix with a family history written by Louise Caillet Dieterich.


Cemented tungsten carbides were produced by liquid-phase sintering. In these work high energy milling (HEM) was used to produce homogeneous and finely grained powder mixtures. The milling effect on the magnetic properties of sintered samples is studied. Different mixtures in same composition (WC-10wt.%Co) were prepared by conventional mixture technique and wet HEM up to 300 hs in Planetary Mill. Magnetic hysteresis measurements on the sintered samples detected a significant increase in the coercitive field and a decrease on the saturation magnetization with milling time increasing. X-ray diffractogram show phase transformations with milling time. The Magnetic properties are correlated with phase relations and microstructural properties of the sintered samples.


AIM
To elucidate what impact has the use of different narcotic drugs, alcohol and tobacco on the health of students and the risk of injuries.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
We carried out a questionnaire survey of the first year students from all six vocational schools of Klaipeda (Lithuania) in 2004, 2006 and 2008. A total of 912 students (507 boys and 405 girls, mean age 17.5 years) were surveyed with an anonymous questionnaire. The findings were analysed with computer soft SPSS (SPSS 16.0 for Windows).

RESULTS
The results showed that the use of any psychoactive substances is damaging to health, especially injection and club narcotic drugs. Adolescents addicted to any psychoactive substances more often than non-addicts visited doctor due to illness or injury during the last 12 months.

CONCLUSION
Adolescents on illegal drugs, especially boys on injectable narcotic drugs and girls on club drugs were at twice higher risk for disease or injury (odds ratio--OR--3.39, 95% confidence interval--CI--1.25 to 9.19, p = 0.016 and OR--2.38, CI--1.35 to 4.20, p = 0.003, respectively). Tobacco and alcohol consumption did not significantly increase this risk with the exception of tobacco smoking girls. We think it happened because these two addictions are widely spread among large part of the boys from the vocational schools.


Abstract. In this contribution we introduce LoopStructural, a new open-source 3D
geological modelling Python package (http://www.github.com/Loop3d/LoopStructural, last access: 15 June 2021).
LoopStructural provides a generic API for 3D geological modelling applications harnessing
the core Python scientific libraries pandas, numpy and scipy. Six different interpolation
algorithms, including three discrete interpolators and 3 polynomial trend
interpolators, can be used from the same model design. This means that
different interpolation algorithms can be mixed and matched within a
geological model allowing for different geological objects, e.g. different
conformable foliations, fault surfaces and unconformities to be modelled using
different algorithms. Geological features are incorporated into the model
using a time-aware approach, where the most recent features are modelled
first and used to constrain the geometries of the older features. For
example, we use a fault frame for characterising the geometry of the fault
surface and apply each fault sequentially to the faulted surfaces. In this
contribution we use LoopStructural to produce synthetic proof of concepts models and a
86 km × 52 km model of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia using map2loop.


A full modeling of deceleration of α-particles in SiC is carried out using a Monte-Carlo method. The distribution of energy losses in nuclear elastic collisions is calculated. The spectrum has a characteristic asymmetric form and the line width at half peak maximum is 4.62 keV. The final form of a spectral line is obtained by convolution with a Gaussian peak, and including the contribution of ionization fluctuations and noise. The resulting value of the line width was 8.75 keV (at a noise dispersion of detector and equipment of 1.7 keV). The resolution of detectors reached in practice is twice the lowest calculated value. It is shown that charge losses during transport of nonequilibrium carriers through the volume of the detector are insignificant, while a resolution divergence may result from a non-optimized "entrance window".


Other than open micropipes (MP), overgrown micropipes do not necessarily lead to a^significantly reduced blocking capability of the affected SiC device. However they can lead to a degradation of the device during operation. In this paper the physical structure of overgrown micropipes will be revealed and their contribution to the leakage current will be shown. The possible impact of the high local power dissipation in the surrounding of the overgrown micropipe will be discussed and long term degradation mechanisms will be described. Failure simulation under laboratory conditions shows a clear correlation between the position of overgrown micropipes and the location of destructive burnt spots.


Fruit type in the genus Lithocarpus (Fagaceae) includes both classic oak acorns and novel modifications. Bornean taxa with modified fruits can be separated into two sections (Synaedrys and Lithocarpus) based on subtle shape differences. By following strict criteria for homology and representation, this variation in shape can be captured and the sections distinguished by using elliptic Fourier or eigenshape analysis. Phenograms of fruit shape, constructed by using restricted maximum likelihood techniques and these morphometric descriptors, were incorporated into combined and comparative analyses with molecular sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear rDNA, using branch-weighted matrix representation. The combined analysis strongly suggested independent derivation of the novel fruit type in the two sections from different acornlike ancestors, while the comparative analysis indicated frequent decoupling between the molecular and morphological changes as inferred at well-supported nodes. The acorn fruit type has undergone little modification between ingroup and outgroup, despite large molecular distance. Greater morphological than molecular change was inferred at critical transitions between acorn and novel fruit types, particularly for section Lithocarpus. The combination of these two different types of data improved our understanding of the macroevolution of fruit type in this difficult group, and the comparative analysis highlighted the significant incongruities in evolutionary pattern between the two datasets.


The increasing popularity of automated tools for software and hardware verification puts ever increasing demands on the underlying decision procedures. This paper presents a framework for distributed decision procedures (for first-order problems) based on Craig interpolation. Formulas are distributed in a lazy fashion, i.e., without the use of costly decomposition algorithms. Potential models which are shown to be incorrect are reconciled through the use of Craig interpolants. Experimental results on challenging propositional satisfiability problems indicate that our method is able to outperform traditional solving techniques even without the use of additional resources.


The assay of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (EC 184.108.40.206) does not follow ideal zero-order kinetics when assayed in a crude extract from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germ. Our results show that the lack of ideality is the consequence of contamination by ATPase and adenylate kinase. These enzyme activities generate significant amounts of ADP and AMP in the assay mixture, thus limiting the availability of ATP for the carboxylase reaction. Moreover, ADP and AMP are competitive inhibitors, with respect to ATP, of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Similar relationships between adenylate nucleotides and acetyl-CoA carboxylase are found in isolated chloroplasts. There is no evidence that acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in the extracts of the plant systems examined is altered by covalent modification, such as a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycle. A scheme is presented that illustrates the dependency of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthesis on the energy demands of the chloroplasts in vivo.


We analyze how the sampling instant error affects the receiver performance in a raised-cosine filtered DS-CDMA systems. An expression is presented for the signal to inter chip interference (S/IC1) ratio as a function of the sampling error characteristics and raised-cosine roll-off factor. Finally, we use the analysis in the paper to derive the sufficient sampling resolution for the high performance WCDMA-HSDPA system.


This paper addresses the educational hackthon as innovation pedagogy method for teaching fuzzy front end of innovation (FFEI) in higher education institutions (HEIs). Specifically it focuses on the process design and execution. This study is based on the idea that educational hackathons are a specific type of innovation contest aimed at teaching and learning, thus incorporating a set of design variables. Therefore, the paper reports a case study according to those variables in HEI teaching in university-industrycollaboration. This paper presents both the process description along with students' learning and feedback, i.e. the development suggestions for the method. Presenting conclusions for both academic use and practical design of hackathons in teaching, the paper clarifies the literature of educational hackathons as a type of innovation pedagogy method, for teaching FFEI in HEIs beyond IT-industry.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in the success of postoperative weight loss after 2 years of CB.

METHODS
A prospective observational study was conducted in consecutive patients with morbid obesity aged between 18 and 59 yrs and enrolled in the bariatric surgery program of the Obesity Surgery Unit of our hospital from June 2007 through June 2010, with two years postoperative follow-up. Participants were divided into two groups according to their participation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or not. Over a 3-month period, CBT was applied in 12 2-h sessions. The main dependent variables studied were body weight and height, from which we calculated BMI and percentage of excess weight lost (weight lost x 100)/(initial weight-ideal weight), classifying patients as successful (E ) those with EPP > 50%, and unsuccessful (NE) those with EPP <50%. Participants were also, assessed for general (stress, anxiety, depression and self-esteem) and specific (binge eating and food craving) psychopathology.

RESULTS
Of the 35 patients with bariatric surgery, 30 responded postoperative evaluations, 16 underwent CBT before CB and 14 underwent surgery without receiving psycho-nutritional therapy, (76% female) with a mean age of 41 ± 9.5 years. The mean baseline BMI was 42 ± 10 and 45% of patients were classified as super obese (BMI: 56 ± 6). Mean excess weight loss (EPP) was 77%. According to the EPP were classified as "successful" (S) (59%) and "unsuccessful" (U) (41%). Of the patients assigned to S, 94% received CBT (15 individuals of 17 total), compared with only 12% who did not receive (2 individuals of the 17 total) with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Also, the S patients appeared to be significantly less anxious and stressed and have higher self-esteem (P < 0.05). Regarding specific psychopathology, the food craving guided by hunger, loss of control over food intake and guilt was lower in patients who achieved > 50% of EPP (p < 0.04, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). It was also noted that these patients were plans to eat less and ate less for positive reinforcement (p < 0.03 and p < 0.000, respectively) than the patient group NE.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients who achieved successful results in the evolution of weight loss at two years of CB are mostly (94%) who received CBT, presenting lower psychological comorbidity than NE. CBT could positively influence postoperative outcomes.


The chromatic sum of a graph is the minimum total of the colors on the vertices taken over all proper colorings using natural numbers.
In Chapter I this concept is introduced. It is shown that computing the chromatic sum is NP-complete. For every natural k the smallest tree which needs k colors to attain its chromatic sum is constructed. It is demonstrated that asymptotically, for each k, almost all trees require more than k colors to achieve their chromatic sums. Also a linear algorithm for a single tree is presented.
In Chapter II three constructions of graphs that require t colors beyond their chromatic number k to achieve their chromatic sum are presented, depending on the ratio ${\rm t}\over{\rm k}$. The order of the resulting graphs grow linearly, quadratically, cubically and exponentially. The construction is proven to be the best possible for t = 1 and all k.
Chapter III deals with the chromatic sequences associated with a specific graph G, that is the sequence in k of the minimum sums of colors taken over all proper colorings of the graph G using exactly k colors. It is shown that for trees this sequence is constrained, in fact it is inverted unimodal, while for arbitrary graphs it is unconstrained.
In Chapter IV the weighted chromatic sum is investigated.
In Chapter V efficient algorithms for trees are presented. They are based on the Beyer - Hedetniemi and on Wright - Richmond - Odlyzko - McKay constant time algorithms generating all rooted trees and all free trees of a given order. Besides the generic algorithm, three specific algorithms are given: to find among all trees of a given order the tree with maximum average order of a subtree; to examine the frequencies of cospectral trees; and to examine the frequencies of the trees which need two colors to attain their chromatic sums. It is shown that, for rooted trees, the average number of steps per tree is bounded by a constant independent of the order of the trees. It is also conjectured that a similar property is true for free trees.
Appendices contain Pascal codes of the algorithms presented in Chapter V.


Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) working group has standardized the transmission of internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) packets over IEEE 802.15.4 low power wireless personal area network (LoWPAN) as 6LoWPAN protocol. It provides the wireless sensor network (WSN) node with IP communication capabilities by putting an adaptation layer above the 802.15.4 link layer. Different mechanisms performed by adaptation layer require the 6LoWPAN header encapsulation in the packet. Although routing is among the key issues of 6LoWPAN research, the way to encapsulate a new routing header in the 6LoWPAN packet has yet been investigated thoroughly. In this paper, different ways of routing header encapsulation in 6LoWPAN protocol stack is discussed. The simplified version Ad-Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) such as On-Demand Distance Vector (LOAD) and Dynamic MANET On-demand for 6LoWPAN (DYMO-low) have currently been proposed in 6LoWPAN routing. Hierarchical routing (HiLow) is another routing protocol that is used in 6LoWPAN to increase the network scalability. Some comparisons of these routing protocols have been made in terms of their routing metric such as number of hops count. The used control messages for the route discovery in different routing protocols have also been investigated. These comparisons show that each routing protocol has its own advantage depends on the involved applications. There are some tradeoffs of respective routing protocols. The routing protocol that uses hello message may provide more reliable but results a higher delay in the packet routing.


Range-free localization approaches are cost-effective for mobile sensor networks (because no additional hardware support is required). However, existing range-free localization approaches for mobile sensor networks suffer from either sparse anchor node problem or high communication cost. Due to economic considerations, mobile sensor networks typically have sparse anchor nodes which makes most range-free localization algorithms inaccurate. On the other hand, due to the power limitation of mobile sensor nodes (i.e., they are battery-operated) and high power consumption by communication, high communication cost will significantly reduce the network life time. For solving these two problems, in this paper, we use historical beacons (i.e., anchor nodes' announcements delivered in previous time slots) and received signal strength (RSS) to derive three constraints. By the aid of the three constraints, we introduce a low-communication-cost range-free localization algorithm (only one-hop beacon broadcasting is required). According to the theoretical analysis and simulation results, our three constraints can indeed improve the accuracy. Simulation results also show that our algorithm outperforms even in irregular-radio-signal environments. In addition, a hardware implementation running on sensor nodes, Octopus Xs, confirms theoretical analysis and simulation results.


What was the Keynesian revolution in economics? Why did it not succeed to the extent that Keynes and his close pupils had hoped for? Keynes and the Cambridge Keynesians addresses these and other questions by tracing the historical development of Keynesian economics. The book is split into three parts. Part I contains the author's CaffA¨ Lectures on Keynes's 'unaccomplished revolution'. Part II is a series of biographical essays where the author, himself a witness and participant of the group on which he writes, presents the successful and unsuccessful endeavours of Keynes's most important pupils: Richard Kahn, Joan Robinson, Nicholas Kaldor, Pierro Sraffa and Richard Goodwin. Part III of the book looks to the future by developing a conceptual analytical framework that makes sense of Keynes's 'revolution in economics', discussing the many ways in which the Keynesian way of doing economics is incompatible with the neoclassical tradition.


"Here is a rich new biographical perspective on the brilliant storyteller whose sophisticated romantic fiction . . . made her an international success and perpetual candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. . . . [These letters] contain the raw material that was later transformed into her classic memoir "Out of Africa" (1937). They also reveal her as a highly intelligent and sensitive analyst of a strange new world." Bruce Allen, "Christian Science Monitor" ""Letters from Africa" is literary gold, 24 karat." Alden Whitman, "Boston Globe""


A nonlinear model for the dynamics of a hanging cantilevered pipe simultaneously subjected to internal and external axial flows is developed in this paper. The pipe discharges fluid downwards, which then flows upwards through an annular region contained by a rigid channel. Thus, the external flow is dependent on the internal one, and confined over the whole length of the cantilever. A nonlinear equation of motion is derived for that system via Hamilton's principle to third-order accuracy. The fluid-related forces associated with the external flow; namely the inviscid, hydrostatic and viscous forces are derived separately, as well as the non-conservative forces due to the internal flow. The equation of motion is nondimensionalized and then discretized utilizing Galerkin's technique. The solution is obtained numerically and presented by means of bifurcation diagrams, time histories, power spectral density and phase-plane plots. The results are compared to those presented in experimental and linear theoretical studies from the literature having the same system parameters. It was found that the nonlinear theory can qualitatively predict the same dynamical behaviour as observed, and is in reasonable quantitative agreement with the recorded data. Moreover, this model provides a better estimation of the onset of instability compared to the linear one.


A detailed analysis of the spectra and frequencies of tones produced on metallophones in a Balinese orchestra clarifies a number of issues that arise in studying timbre and tuning. Among these are the relative importance of accuracy and completeness of measurements, the relevance of acoustical description to musical perception and style, the appropriateness of statistical generalizations and numerical formulations to musical practice and theory, and the possibility of bi-musical responses to divergent tuning systems. Byproducts of the investigation include a proposed basis for inter-cultural ear training and a novel formulation of the unison, octave, and other intervals (including wide and narrow variants), as well as traditional scales and interval collections that have existed side-by-side in widely varying forms within individual cultures.


A simple and efficient methodology for tuning the input parameters applied to the ant colony optimization multiuser detection (ACO-MUD) in direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) is proposed. The motivation in using a heuristic approach is due to the nature of the NP complexity posed by the wireless multiuser detection optimization problem. The challenge is to obtain suitable data detection performance in solving the associated hard complexity problem in a polynomial time. Previous results indicated that the application of heuristic search algorithms in several wireless optimization problems have been achieved excellent performance-complexity tradeoffs . Regarding different system operation and channels scenarios, a complete input parameters optimization procedure for the ACOM UD is provided herein, which represents the major contribution of this work. The performance of the ACO-MUD is analyzed via Monte-Carlo simulations. Simulation results show that, after convergence, the performance reached by the ACO-MUD is much better than the conventional detector (CD), and somewhat clos e to the optimum likelihood detector (OMuD). Flat Rayleigh channels is initially considered, but the input parameter optimization methodology is straightforward applicable to selective fading channels scenarios, as well as to joint time-spatial wireless channels diversities. Keywords— Ant colony intelligence; multiuser detection; input parameters optimization; computational complexity; DS-CDMA.


Higher education in science has been criticized and calls to increase student learning and persistence to degree has been recognized as a national problem by the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, and the National Academy of Sciences. One mode of academic assistance that may directly address this issue is the implementation of Supplemental Instruction (SI) in science courses. SI is a specific model of academic assistance designed to help students in historically difficult science classes master course content, thus increasing their academic achievement and retention. This study assessed the SI program at California State University, San Marcos, in supported science courses. Specifically, academic achievement based on final course grades were compared between SI participating and nonparticipating students, multiple affective factors were measured at the beginning and end of the semester, and students' perceptions of the classroom and SI session learning environments recorded. Overall, students who attended five or more SI sessions achieved higher final course grades. Students who chose to participate in SI had higher initial levels of responsibility and anxiety. Additionally, SI participants experienced a reduction in anxiety over the semester whereas nonparticipants experienced an increase in anxiety from beginning to the end of the semester. The learning environment of SI embodies higher levels of constructivist principles of active learning such as cooperation, cohesiveness, innovation, and personalization -- with one exception for the physics course, which is a based on problem-based learning. Structural equation modeling of variables indicates that high self-efficacy at the end of the semester is directly related to high final course grades; this is mediated by cohesion in the classroom and the cooperation evidenced in SI sessions. These findings are elaborated by student descriptions of what happened in SI sessions and discussed given the theoretical frameworks of Bandura's concept of self-efficacy and learning environment activities that embody constructivist principles


The climate of West Africa is characterised by a monsoonal system that brings rainfall onto the subcontinent during an annual rainy season. From the late 60's to the mid-90's, rainfall levels significantly below average were observed, which brought severe socio-economic implications. The causes of the uncharacteristically long drought period, and indeed the mechanisms underpinning West African climate were poorly understood at the time, but have since attracted growing attention from the scientific community. Amongst the factors identified as critical is the interaction between the Earth surface and the atmosphere. To investigate these interactions over West Africa we have adopted an approach based upon regional climate modelling, an internationally recognised discipline enabling the representation of past and future climates, and the study of specific meteorological mechanisms. Using the regional climate model MAR, we have carried out simulations of the West African climate for the years 1986, 1987, and 1988. To improve the accuracy with which the model represents the biosphere, a new dataset describing the local vegetation was incorporated and a new scheme for the representation of roots implemented. A measure of the internal variability inherent to all results produced with this, and other such models, was determined. Subsequently, the influence of soil moisture anomalies on the model behaviour was investigated. The latest version of the model was validated by comparing it to observational data for selected years. Our results have prooven the ability of the improved MAR to simulate the West African climate, its monsoon and its spatial and temporal behaviour and provide strong evidence of its suitability for further investigation of the surface-atmosphere interactions over West Africa.


To understand the problem of torture in a democratic society, we have to take up a political-theological perspective. We must ask how violence creates political meaning. Torture is no more destructive and no more illiberal than other forms of political violence. The turn away from torture was not a turn away from violence, but a change in the locus of sacrifice: from scaffold to battlefield. Torture had been a ritual of mediation between sovereign and subject. Once sovereignty is located in the people, it no longer makes sense to speak of being sacrificed for the sovereign. Instead, sovereign presence is now realized in an act of self-sacrifice. The wars of modern nation-states have been acts of reciprocal self-sacrifice. Terror invokes torture in response because both speak a primitive language of political sacrifice, denying the enemy the privilege of self-sacrifice.


Background: There are documented effects of platelets on the solid tumors which need further study. The elevated platelet counts have been described for majority of cancers. There is inadequate information of effect of benign and malignant oral and maxillofacial tumors on the regulation of platelets. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in platelet counts among patients with oral and maxillofacial benign and malignant tumors following surgical interventions. Methods: A descriptive postoperative study was done whereby patients with benign and malignant oral and maxillofacial tumors who met the inclusion criteria were included. The included patients were those who had no history of blood transfusion prior, during or after surgery, not on haemoglobin-boosting or bone marrow suppressing medications, not seropositive to human immunodeficiency virus also without clinical findings suggestive of lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, ecchymosis and petechiae. Demographic data, Platelet counts and haemoglobin levels before and after surgery were documented and analysed by chi-square test and values were considered to be significant if p < 0.05. Results: A total of 61 patients were included in the study. The mean age of participants was 37.03 ± 16.6 years with range of 7 to 77 years. Majority 82.5% (n = 52) had benign tumors with a leading diagnosis of ameloblastoma followed by ossifying fibroma. In general there was an increase of platelet counts following surgery from the mean of 276.38 ± 109.40 K/uL to 308.51 ± 117.24 K/uL. Looking at benign and malignant separately, following surgery there was an increase of platelet counts for benign tumors (278.87 ± 106.37 to 305.96 ± 123.12) but a decrease for malignant tumors group (282.33 ± 147.03 to 232 ± 78.48). The haemoglobin level changed from the mean of 12.60 ± 1.71 g/dl before surgery to 11.69 ± 1.70 g/dl after surgery. Conclusion: The mean postoperative increase in platelet counts in benign and malignant tumors was due to healing process of the wound following surgery while the postoperative decrease in platelets counts in malignant tumors was due to effect of tumor removal which diminished the production of platelets activating factors. Malignant tumors produce platelets activating factors which are necessary for them to grow. Also, the difference in postoperative platelets counts in benign and malignant oral and maxillofacial tumors could be attributed by different biological behavior of benign and malignant tumors and hence different interactions of platelets to these tumors.


SUMMARY: An organism able to grow in a simple medium with creatine as the main C and N source was isolated from garden soil and subsequently identified as Pseudomonas ovalis Chester. Organisms harvested from a creatine-containing medium destroyed creatine with the uptake of O2 and the formation of CO2, NH2 and urea. With the exception of urea the quantities of reactants fell short of those required by theory, and only part of the deficiency could be attributed to oxidative assimilation. Optimal conditions for the growth of active organisms and for the destruction of creatine were determined. In these conditions the organisms destroyed, in addition to creatine, only arginine and agmatine from a variety of compounds tested; compounds not attacked included creatinine and glycocyamine. Ability to oxidize creatine was partially lost during repeated washing and storage of the organisms, and was inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoic acid and fatty acids.


The larynx is an extremely important and complex part of our airway, and patients commonly seen by an allergist may have a large number of laryngeal problems that may be either totally or partially responsible for their presenting complaints. These problems may be structural in nature or may be related to abnormal motion of the vocal cords. A thorough knowledge of laryngeal anatomy, physiology, and possible pathology, combined with visualization of the larynx is necessary for accurate diagnosis.


In the last decades, most of the parents turned their attention towards teaching their children private lessons especially in scientific fields; thinking that public education is no longer beneficial for them. In the light of this tight, the current research aims to shed light on the reasons that drive pupils to prefer private tutoring rather than public education. In other words, it endeavors to test the attitudes of the tutees and their performance in comparison to other pupils. In this vein, data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively using a questionnaire, an interview, and a classroom observation. Participants were selected from three levels at Mohamed Belkheir secondary school in Saida. To this end, the findings demonstrated that most of the tutees displace positive attitudes towards private education. The results also revealed that the central factor revolves around overcrowded classrooms and the poor level of teaching.


What is Real Estates than location? The location means everything both for a researcher but for practitioners also. Nowadays the technology has evolved so much that real estate and economics field require a very rapid adaptation to it. One of the most interesting aspect of the real estate and economic research is to locate the most suitable places and the ones who may give u the best opportunities of earning reputation and money. For these it is required to use geographical tools and software also. GIS programs offer many chances to understand all the problems from the Real Estates field, but economics too. So my paper its focused on linkages between geography, real estates, economics and GIS with case studies from Bucharest. The purpose isnt to analyze the areas, but to offer perspectives of this field n GIS


The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) suggests that two factors predict computer acceptance behaviour: perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness. User participation is also believed to positively affect these two determinants. Researchers have suggested that user acceptance is best measured by measuring the satisfaction level of users with IS. This study not only measures acceptance through satisfaction with the new IS but also explores whether or not users' current satisfaction with the existing IS have any significant affect on the users' perception of ease of use, and usefulness of a new IS. A model was established with measures of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, current level of satisfaction with existing IS, user participation in developing new IS and perceived satisfaction. The results of this study indicate that user participation and current satisfaction positively affect perceived ease of use. The results also validate the TAM.


Particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, but also in "the West," radical right politics established itself in the mainstream and continues to challenge liberal democracy from within. While there is broad consensus that radical right politics in both regions constitute an exclusionary, anti-pluralist counter-reaction against societal modernization, the discussion continues whether the radical right in the East remains a contextually distinctive phenomenon sui generis, or rather becomes increasingly similar and "functionally equivalent" to the West. This review synthesizes extant findings on radical right politics from a comparative East-West perspective. Pursuing a "middle path" approach based on the framing perspective, it discusses conceptual synergies behind contextually distinctive and functionally equivalent aspects of radical right politics, expanding these comparative observations towards narrative strategies, mainstreaming mechanisms, and its impact on societies, party systems, policies, and liberal democracy as such. The discussion demonstrates the potential of the framing approach for comparative East-West study of radical right politics. It further shows that not only can concepts developed for WE cases be adapted to inform studies on CEE. Concurrently, contextualized insights from Central and Eastern Europe can provide broader lessons relevant to the study of radical right politics across Europe and in "the West."


Depictions of children in British science fiction and horror films in the early 1960s introduced a new but dominant trope: the 'extraordinary' child. Extraordinary children, I suggest, are disturbing because they violate expected developmental norms, drawing on discourses from both the 'psy' sciences and early neuroscience. This post-war trope has been considered by film and literature scholars in the past five years, but this existing work tends to present the extraordinary child as an American phenomenon, and links these depictions to adults' psychoanalytical anxieties about parenthood and the family. This article, considering Village of the Damned (1960), Children of the Damned (1963), The Damned (1963), and Lord of the Flies (1963), will contend that the extraordinary child was British before it was American, and tapped as much into nuclear anxieties generated by the early Cold War as fears about the 'permissive society', especially given that many of these films preceded the peak of the 'Swinging Sixties' and were based on British science fiction of the 1950s. The 'psy science' that was dominant in these films was developmental psychology, not psychoanalysis. Moreover, adolescents as well as adults were key audiences for these films. Drawing on self-narrative essays written by English adolescents aged 14 to 16 between 1962 and 1966, I will demonstrate that this age group employed their own fears of nuclear war and their knowledge of psychological language to challenge adult authority, presenting a counter-narrative to adult conceptions of the abnormal and irresponsible 'rising generation'.


Objective : this study aimed to evaluate the effects of irrigants and dry canal on the accuracy of electronic apex locator (EAL) in locating simulated root perforations. Material and methods : twenty singlerooted, mandibular premolars were decoronated at CEJ, and the contents were removed with a barbed broach. The canals were instrumented up to a size of 15 K-file. The roots were artificially perforated at 4 mm from the anatomic apex. The actual length (AL) up to the perforation site was determined. The electronic length (EL) of perforations was obtained by Root ZX mini and iRoot in the dry canal and in the presence of 5.2% NaOCl, SmearOff, and 0.9% sodium chloride using a size 20 K-file. The differences between the EL and AL of the perforations were calculated. Statistical analyses using Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to analyse the data with the level of significance set at p < 0.05. Results : there were significant differences in different canal conditions with both Root ZX mini and i Root. Measurements in dry canals were significantly longer for both apex locators (p < 0.05). Measurements with NaOCl were significantly shorter for both apex locators (p < 0.05). Both apex locators produced significantly accurate values for Saline and Smear OFF (p < 0.05). Conclusions : in this study, both Root ZX mini and i Root were affected by different canal conditions. The most accurate measurements were seen in the presence of saline and SmearOFF. KEYWORDS Electronic apex locator; I Root; Perforation; Root ZX mini; SmearOFF; Sodium hypochlorite; Saline. Keywords:  Electronic apex locator, i Root, perforation, Root ZX mini, SmearOFF, sodium hypochlorite, saline


The generalized linear mixed‐effects model (GLMM) is a popular paradigm to extend models for cross‐sectional data to a longitudinal setting. When applied to modeling binary responses, different software packages and even different procedures within a package may give quite different results. In this report, we describe the statistical approaches that underlie these different procedures and discuss their strengths and weaknesses when applied to fit correlated binary responses. We then illustrate these considerations by applying these procedures implemented in some popular software packages to simulated and real study data. Our simulation results indicate a lack of reliability for most of the procedures considered, which carries significant implications for applying such popular software packages in practice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Chinese animal product consumption behaviour was analysed for both urban and rural households using a complete regional consumption dataset that was augmented to include away-from-home consumption. Seven animal product expenditure share equations were estimated with an extended Almost Ideal Demand System model. The results suggest that Chinese consumers will continue to increase their consumption of animal products, but that consumption patterns have changed in the 1990s. A large percentage of household animal product expenditure is still on pork. However, the shares for aquatic and poultry products consumption will increase substantially. As a consequence, the pork expenditure share will be gradually reduced as incomes grow and diet preferences change in both urban and rural households. There are significant differences in animal product consumption preferences across regions of China. As a result, studies that omit regional dummy variables in their demand systems can produce different expenditure and price parameters. The present paper also found that many of the estimates of elasticities and marginal expenditure shares would be rather different if the data ignored consumption away from home.


Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and worldwide. This has led to major research initiatives focusing on improving early diagnosis rate, as well as the development of pharmacodynamic biomarkers. However, broad clinical integration of these approaches is limited due to the invasive nature of lung biopsies, needle aspirates and resections. Recently, an advance for sampling suspicious lung nodules to collect mini-bronchoalveolar lavage (mBAL) samples was shown to be diagnostically relevant but limited by standard cytology techniques leading to low sensitivity and specificity. In addition, a second non-invasive method that holds great promise is the collection of circulating tumor cells, a rare population of tumor cells that have shed into peripheral circulation from primary or metastatic tumor sites, from blood. Here, we utilize a recently published platform, VerIFAST, for the capture and proteomic analysis of rare cells, to isolate cells of interest from lung cancer patients using both mBAL and blood samples. The VerIFAST platform leverages surface tension at the microscale to pin aqueous and oil fluids in adjacent chambers to create a virtual filter between two aqueous fluids. In this manuscript, the VerIFAST was further enhanced to include oil pinning, which allowed on-device tumbling, further eliminating a laborious and time consuming step that could result in increased sample loss. Finally, we further developed the base assays used in standard histopathologic assays for diagnostic and pharmacodynamic analysis of these rare lung cancer cells. Specifically, we examined thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) signal intensity, in which loss is associated with more aggressive disease, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signal intensity, which is a high value therapeutic target in lung cancer.


In spoken language, especially in conversation people could not avoid interruption and this might affect human interaction. A speaker who was interrupted a lot might feel offended and this would affect the interaction between the speaker and the interlocutor. The researcher interested in observing interruptions and conversational style in "Gift of a Family" novel because the researcher wanted to bring out something different. By this research, the researcher wanted to know the factors of interruption because two main characters have different background of life, position, and characterization. The researcher also wanted to know the features of conversational style that caused interruption and showed language which was used by two main characters. This reasearch might help people to understand the factors of interruption and the features of conversational style and why they happened in a conversation.

This study used descriptive qualitative method to describe the research data. In analyzing "Gift of a Family" novel the researcher used objective approach as an object of the study. The data was collected from the quotations and situations as the answer of the resarch problem.

There were three kinds of factors of interruption found in this novel. They were gender composition effects, group size, and familiarity to the speaker. Furthermore, there were three features of conversational style found in this novel. They were tag question, gesture forms, and questioning intonation


This paper reports on an investigation that aimed to develop appropriate sediment management strategies for a small combined sewer network. Field data from a 2-year field study were used to illustrate the potential impacts of various strategies. The fieldwork collected data on the potential impact of persistent sediment deposits found in a large combined sewer in London. The data collected was used to support modelling of the hydraulic and the sediment behaviour in the local sewer system. The model results were used to investigate whether or not the sediment deposits found in sections of the main sewer would influence levels of surcharge and so impact on the risk of sewer flooding in the future. After it was established that sediment deposits in the main sewer could, under certain circumstances, change pipe surcharge levels, several sediment management options were examined in order to find the most suitable option. All options comprised additional planned operational activities combined with increased levels of infrastructure expenditure.


The recent phase of power sector reforms has focused on distribution reforms, under the APDRP, and Information Technology (IT) is seen as a savior for the power industry, whereby advanced technologies such as digital metering will bring in much greater efficiency, theft reduction, and collection. While somewhat true, it is important to recognize that not all IT based solutions are equal, and poor designs can hamper longterm benefits. We present some analysis and results looking at different technologies and systems in the Indian context. In particular, we highlight some non-IT issues relating to reforms and tariff design that impact on IT's potential and pitfalls. A full "smart" system will offer long-term benefits beyond simply theft reduction, and should be the focus of planners, analysts, and industry. What IT Can and Cannot do for the Power Sector and Distribution in India: Link to Reforms, Incentives, and Management


The current standard for measuring tumor response using X-ray, CT and MRI is based on the response evaluation criterion in solid tumors (RECIST) which, while providing simplifications over previous (WHO) 2-D methods, stipulate four response categories: CR (complete response), PR (partial response), PD (progressive disease), SD (stable disease) based purely on percentage changes without consideration of any measurement uncertainty. In this paper, we propose a statistical procedure for tumor response assessment based on uncertainty measures of radiologist's measurement data. We present several variance estimation methods using time series methods and empirical Bayes methods when a small number of serial observations are available on each member of a group of subjects. We use a publically available database which contains a set of over 100 CT scan images on 23 patients with annotated RECIST measurements by two radiologist readers. We show that despite of bias in each individual reader's measurements, statistical decisions on tumor change can be made on each individual subject. The consistency of the two readers can be established based on the intra-reader change assessments. Our proposal compares favorably with the RECIST standard protocol, raising the hope that, statistically sound decision on change analysis can be made in future based on careful variability and measurement uncertainty analysis.


. The article is an analysis of the Phoenician tourism concept in the South of the Romanian coast, respectively the parallel generation-gentrification given the changes that have taken place over the years, with different generational, political, and social imprints and last but not least with different economic imprint over time. Thus, the zonal social elements, respectively the inhabitants and investors, participated directly and indirectly in the evolution and involution of the area and that of tourism. Currently, the area enjoys a social, touristic, and economic rise, and the main factor is the influence given by the development and rebirth of zonal tourism as an effect of the Romanian Phoenician tourism concept. The present study highlights the connection between tourism, the gentrification of Olimp Resort, and the imprint of generations in the reconstruction of a current social episteme.


In this research, we had studied the sensitivity for machining of cobalt-based superalloy Haynes 188 with ceramic cutting tool. The investigation had focused on the effects of the cutting speed, on the cutting forces, and on the surface roughness based on Taguchi's experimental design. The effects of machining parameters were determined using Taguchi's L27 orthogonal array. The signal-to-noise ratio was calculated for the average of surface roughness and the cutting forces, and the smaller were used to determine the optimal cutting conditions. The analysis of variance and the signal-to-noise ratio had effects on the parameters on both surface roughness and cutting. Three different types of cutting tools had been used in the experiment, namely KYON 4300, KYS 25, and KYS 30. The cutting force of Fz was considered to be the main cutting force. Depending on the material which had been used as cutting tool, the Fz had the lowest cutting speed and the lowest surface roughness with the KYS25 ceramic tool. The cutting force and the surface roughness of KYON 4300 cutting tool had shown better performance than other cutting tools. The flank wear and notch were found to be more effective in the experiments. The long chips were removed at low and medium cutting speeds, while the sawdust with one edge and narrow pitch at high cutting speeds was obtained.


Abstract : This thesis explores the prospects for a U.S./Brazilian naval partnership for the twenty-first century. It examines the viability of existing multilateral agreements between the United States and Latin American countries for maritime defense of the South Atlantic. It argues that the existing agreements are outdated and ineffective, primarily due to a reduction in cold war threat. With a naval capability ranked among the highest in the third world, and historical naval ties to the United States from both World Wars, the Brazilian navy offers the possibility to assume a greater role in western defense. As a possible means to cultivate this beneficial relationship, a shift in emphasis from the current posture of U.S./Latin American multilateral hemispheric defense, to a focused bilateral U.S./Brazilian naval partnership is suggested. The thesis also suggests that national security threats to the hemisphere have changed to terrorism, narco-trafficking, the spread of high technology weapons, and the rise of ethnic tensions. These threats affect both the United States and Brazil, and could lead to closer cooperation in U.S./ Brazilian naval relations.


Social development communication activities are competing with all of the other communication activities for the attention of the audience. The Johns Hopkins University/Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS) strongly believes that one of the best ways to get the attention of a designated audience, and to keep it, is to entertain the audience and educate it at the same time. They call this concept enter-educate. The basic precepts of this approach include: 1) Choose the most appropriate medium to reach the intended audience; 2) Enlist professionals experienced in the chosen medium in order to have access to the best available resources; 3) Develop a high-quality product that will attract the commercial sector; 4) Use a medium which has a big regional or national audience; and 5) Make the program appealing by including entertainment elements appropriate for the intended audience and not obviously preachy. The most successful project that JHU/PCS has supported that incorporated the concept of enter-educate is the Communication for Young People project in Latin America, better known as the Tatiana and Johnny project. This project used popular music, and its spin offs, to reach young people in 11 Spanish-speaking countries with a sexual responsibility message. Other successful projects in Nigeria and Mali are also described. Nigeria used television shows with family planning skits; in Mali the traditional Koteba theatrical format was made into films for short cinema showings before the main feature.


There has been extensive investigation into factors affecting digital technology integration in learning and teaching, but the complexity of integration continues to elude understanding. Thus, questions about how digital technologies can be best used to support learning persist. This paper argues that methods designed to address complex systems are needed to understand the interplay between teaching, learning and digital technologies. Starting with a developing system model of teachers' technology integration, this study revises the model to include factors of students' experience using digital technologies and beliefs about learning. The revised model is then used to demonstrate possible effects of student experiences in a technologically integrated group learning task. Analysis draws on data from a large-scale Australian study of technology innovation (N = 7406). Data mining techniques are used to identify patterns of students' technology use and perceptions of group work. Findings inform revision of the model to include factors of students' experience and learning and their effects on teachers' practice. Implications for learning design and students' learning experiences are explored.


Summary 1. Biomedical researchers have long appreciated that maternal stressors can induce preparative and adaptive programming in offspring via exposure to maternal Glucocorticoids (GCs). However, few ecologists are aware of the capacity for maternal GC exposure to translate ecological and environmental stressors into preparative and adaptive programmed offspring responses in free-living systems. We review a growing body of experimental work indicating that circulating maternal GCs link ecological stressors with adaptive programming of the stress axis. Throughout, we emphasise that natural and human-induced ecological stressors play a fundamental role in programming the capacity of individuals, populations and communities to respond to both predictable and unpredictable ecological change via translating maternal adversity into responsive programming of the vertebrate stress axis. 2. To encourage rigorous testing of this paradigm in a broad range of ecological systems, we introduce the principal extrinsic stressors with a recognised potential to alter maternal circulating GC levels. We then review from the biomedical literature regarding the underlying physiological and epigenetic mechanisms of stress-induced programming of individual phenotypes to predict how variation in ecological stressors can produce individual variation in stress axis management. 3. To appreciate the potential evolutionary inertia (i.e. adaptive value) of maternally programmed individual variation, we review key recent studies in free-living systems that test its adaptive function, and then discuss how variation in stress-axis programming may scale up to influence populations and ecological communities. 4. Given the huge potential of this field, it is encouraging that ecologists are beginning to examine how and why maternal GCs translate ecological and environmental stressors into preparative stress axis programming in free-living systems.


HARMAJA, H. 1976: Another poisonous species discovered in the genus Gyromitra: G. ambigua. Karstenia 15 :36-37. A case of intoxication in Sweden caused by Gyromitra ambigua (Karst.) Harmaja (Ascomycetes: Pezizales), a species previously not known to be poisonous, is reported . The fresh fruit bodies were boiled but the boiling water was taken with the dish and eaten, too. Three other cases of poisoning, occurred in Alaska and Finland and caused by fruit bodies of G. infula (Fr.) Que!. coli . (i.e., either G. ambigua or G. infula) which were fresh prepared for dish without boiling and rinsing , are also discussed. On the other hand, two different cases are known when fruit bodies of G. ambigua kept in boiling water (the water not being used for the dish) did not cause any effects of intoxication. Dried or boiled and rinsed fruit bodies of G. infula coli. apparently have never been reported to have caused poisonings. The symptoms of the present cases are very similar to those known to occur in intoxications caused by the famous relative species, G. esculenta (Pers.) Fr. These facts suggest that the toxically effective substance of G. ambigua is the same as (or chemically closely related to) that in G. esculenta, i.e. gyromitrine. G. infula s. str. is apparently intoxical.


The aim of the present study is to provide experimental data relevant to the issue of what leads humans to use automatic tools. Two answers can be offered. The first is that humans strive to minimize physical and/or cognitive effort (principle of least effort). The second is that humans tend to keep their perceived control over the environment (principle of more control). These two factors certainly play a role, but the question raised here is to what do people give priority in situations wherein both manual and automatic actions take the same time - minimizing effort or keeping perceived control? To answer that question, we built four experiments in which participants were confronted with a recurring choice between performing a task manually (physical effort) or in a semi-automatic way (cognitive effort) versus using an automatic tool that completes the task for them (no effort). In this latter condition, participants were required to follow the progression of the automatic tool step by step. Our results showed that participants favored the manual or semi-automatic condition over the automatic condition. However, when they were offered the opportunity to perform recreational tasks in parallel, the shift toward manual condition disappeared. The findings give support to the idea that people give priority to keeping control over minimizing effort.


Importance Ocular inflammation is occasionally observed after vaccinations, and most of them resolve without permanent visual disturbances. However, there are some rare cases of severe ocular complications following vaccinations. Objective To report the findings in an infant boy who developed an acute loss of vision bilaterally after Haemophilus influenzae type b, Pneumococcal conjugate vaccination, and measles and rubella vaccination. His vision did not recover. Design, Setting, and Participant A retrospective review of the medical records of a 13-month-old Japanese boy. Main Outcomes and Measures Fundus and fluorescein angiographic findings, ultrasonographic and optical coherence tomographic images, and electroretinographic findings. Results A healthy 13-month-old boy had an acute loss of vision in both eyes 31 days after Haemophilus influenzae type b and Pneumococcal conjugate vaccinations and 24 days after a measles and rubella vaccination. He also developed a common cold 10 days before the vision loss. Ultrasonography showed an exudative retinal detachment 1 day after the onset of the visual reduction; however, his fundi appeared normal 4 days later. His eyes did not pursue objects, and pupillary light reflexes were not present. No signs of anterior uveitis were noted. He was treated with corticosteroids, but his vision did not improve. The retinal vessels gradually attenuated, and diffuse small white punctate lesions appeared in the deep retina. Optical coherence tomography showed a thinner outer nuclear layer and an absent ellipsoid zone. The electroretinograms were nonrecordable. These findings suggested a severe impairment of the photoreceptors, especially their outer segments. Western blot analysis of the patient's sera detected an antibody against recoverin, a calcium-binding protein of photoreceptors. Conclusions and Relevance We hypothesize that an infection induced severe chorioretinitis with an exudative retinal detachment, which then produced an autoantibody against recoverin. The autoantibody then altered the function of the photoreceptors very rapidly. The initial infection may have been caused by the measles and rubella vaccination. However, because to our knowledge this has not been reported previously, the visual loss after the vaccinations may have been an extremely rare event that was coincidental or may have been related to the vaccination.


Trichloroanisoles (TCA) might contribute to several unsolved earthy-musty taste episodes, because their taste threshold concentrations are lower than the CLSA GC-MS detection limit. The relative importance of such taste-causing compounds in earthy-musty taste episodes in distribution systems was investigated by combining lab-scale and water aging experiments in a pipe loop pilot. Experiments showed that earthy-musty taste associated with TCA formation can easily occur in distribution systems and is linked mainly to fungi metabolism. By maintaining chlorine residual, a control of such tastes can be achieved. The masking effect of these earthy-musty tastes induced by TCA by chlorine is not very effective.


State of the Wild is a biennial series that brings together international conservation experts and writers to discuss emerging issues in the conservation of wildlife and wild places. Each volume in the series combines evocative writings with a fascinating tour of conservation news highlights and vital statistics from around the world. One-third of each volume focuses on a topic of particular concern to conservationists. This 2010–2011 edition considers how destabilization and war affect wildlife and wild places. Only recently has the international community begun to appreciate the cost of conflict—simmering tension, war, and reconstruction—on the natural world. This special section examines the role that conservation plays in the context of human conflict considering issues such as, Can the work of saving wildlife and wild places help ameliorate tensions? Can conservation deepen political understanding? Can conservation help in post-conflict situations? The book's twenty essays are intermixed with poetry and beautiful photos that capture our connection to the wild.


The topics explored in this essay include Ivan Andreevich Krylov's reading practices in his young and mature years, reconstructed on the basis of various sources. The paper recontextualizes Krylov's unique reading trajectory not always comprehensible for his contemporaries. It also highlights numerous links, not accentuated earlier, between Krylov's strategies — in life, writing and publishing — and his service as a librarian in the Imperial Public Library of St. Petersburg. The analysis of several situations showing Krylov as a brilliant reciter of his own texts who smartly deals with expectations and obsessions of his audience allows to affirms the existence a special connection, of his personality, considerably mythologized due to his own efforts, the literary genre of fable and the status of classical writer obtained by Krylov by 1830. Sub specie of this connection the transformations of the circle of Krylov's readers are represented, as well as different ways of perception of his fables by children


The innovation of modeling firm search behavior using NK fitness landscapes is twenty years old, but despite the potential of this method its adoption remains sparse. This is likely be due to three reasons. First, many questions of current interest are not amenable to the classic NK model formulation, especially those involving the structure of interactions within firms. Second, rugged landscapes for larger N values are impossible to conceptualize. Third, generating landscapes of significant scale can be computationally intensive. We introduce and extend two innovations, the NM parametric formulation of fitness landscapes and the LON mapping of landscapes, that resolve these issues. The maximal order of interaction specification~(NM) greatly simplifies the landscape computational requirements as well as provides a straightforward, transparent and consistent method of defining interaction structure within a landscape with varying degrees of interaction~(K). We extend the NM specification by introducing the Structured Interaction NM~(SINM) specification. The local optima network~(LON) mapping of a landscape provides insights into landscape structure through a meaningful visualization of the entire landscape, as well as searchability metrics that allow for relevant comparisons between landscapes. By combining these innovations, we can directly structure the interactions in a landscape and then describe how this structure affects the landscape's searchability characteristics. We demonstrate that these searchability characteristics are different for structured and random landscapes, and furthermore that these characteristics actually represent differences in ease of search with a simple iterated search algorithm. We close by considering applications for the application of agent based models with strategic management.


Previous studies in isolated turtle bladder have demonstrated that high concentrations of carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitors limit H+ transport (JH) by reducing the catalyzed rate of CO2 hydroxylation and also by inhibiting some other step in the acidification process. One possibility is that these inhibitors alter the energy substrate requirement for JH. Recent work has demonstrated that JH may be dependent in part on glucose oxidation via the pentose shunt (PS). The present study was undertaken to determine whether CA inhibitors exert a direct effect on PS metabolism by turtle bladder. Acetazolamide and benzolamide at concentrations of 5 X 10(-4) M significantly reduced the rate of 14CO2 evolution from [1-14C]- but not [6-14C]glucose after JH was abolished by an adverse electrochemical gradient for JH+. These changes are consistent with a reduction in PS metabolism. These same sulfonamides also reduced glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) activity in mucosal cell homogenates. Acetazolamide decreased the Vmax of G-6-PD but not the Km and, therefore, appears to be a noncompetitive inhibitor of G-6-PD with an estimated Ki of 10(-4) M. The t-butyl analogue of acetazolamide, CL 13850, which is without CA inhibitory activity, had no measurable effect on G-6-PD activity. Accordingly, it is suggested the sulfonamide CA inhibitors may reduce JH by two modes of action, inhibition of CA and inhibition of G-6-PD.


ABSTRACT Kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) is an evolutionarily conserved component of Ras-dependent signaling pathways. Here, we report the identification of B-KSR1, a novel splice variant of murine KSR1 that is highly expressed in brain-derived tissues. B-KSR1 protein is detectable in mouse brain throughout embryogenesis, is most abundant in adult forebrain neurons, and is complexed with activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and MEK in brain tissues. Expression of B-KSR1 in PC12 cells resulted in accelerated nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neuronal differentiation and detectable epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced neurite outgrowth. Sustained MAPK activity was observed in cells stimulated with either NGF or EGF, and all effects on neurite outgrowth could be blocked by the MEK inhibitor PD98059. In B-KSR1-expressing cells, the MAPK–B-KSR1 interaction was inducible and correlated with MAPK activation, while the MEK–B-KSR1 interaction was constitutive. Further examination of the MEK–B-KSR1 interaction revealed that all genetically identified loss-of-function mutations in the catalytic domain severely diminished MEK binding. Moreover, B-KSR1 mutants defective in MEK binding were unable to augment neurite outgrowth. Together, these findings demonstrate the functional importance of MEK binding and indicate that B-KSR1 may function to transduce Ras-dependent signals that are required for neuronal differentiation or that are involved in the normal functioning of the mature central nervous system.


This paper looks at the impact of the introduction of new soybean technologies on the clearing of natural vegetation (forest and savanna) in southern Brazil, the Brazilian Cerrado, and Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The paper looks at how technological change interacted with other government policies and examines general equilibrium effects on product and labor markets as well as the direct on-farm effects. In southern Brazil new technologies made large-scale mechanized soybean production more profitable. This led to the displacement of many small farmers that moved to the Brazilian Amazon and clearing forests for agriculture. It may have also encouraged deforestation in southern Brasil itself. In the Brazilian Cerrado and Santa Cruz Bolivia the new technologies made it possible to plant soybeans in areas where it had previously not been economically feasible. Large areas of forest and other natural vegetation were cleared as a result.


The phosphonate–phosphate rearrangement is an isomerisation of α-hydroxyphosphonates bearing electron-withdrawing substituents at the α-carbon atom. We studied the stereochemical course of this rearrangement with respect to phosphorus. A set of four diastereomeric α-hydroxyphosphonates was prepared by a Pudovik reaction from two diastereomeric cyclic phosphites. The hydroxyphosphonates were separated and rearranged with Et3N as base. In analogy to trichlorphon, which was the first reported compound undergoing this rearrangement. All four hydroxyphosphonates could be rearranged to 2,2-dichlorovinyl phosphates. Single-crystal X-ray structure analyses of the α-hydroxyphosphonates and the corresponding phosphates allowed us to show that the rearrangement proceeds with retention of configuration on the phosphorus atom.


We study an online setting of the linear quadratic Gaussian optimal control problem on a sequence of cost functions, where similar to classical online optimization, the future decisions are made by only knowing the cost in hindsight. We introduce a modified online Riccati update that under some boundedness assumptions, leads to logarithmic regret bounds. In particular, for the scalar case we achieve the logarithmic regret without any boundedness assumption. As opposed to earlier work, the proposed method does not rely on solving semi-definite programs at each stage.1


Despite globalization, major differences in access and affordability of pharmaceuticals remain across the countries of the world. This dissertation aims at quantifying the differences in the price of pharmaceuticals amongst countries, identifying the factors responsible for these differences, and examining the policy consequences.
Paper 1 compares prices in a large set of middle-income countries to some high- and lowincome countries. It finds that prices of pharmaceuticals are inconsistently related to income, with many middle-income countries paying more than some high-income countries and some paying less than countries that are far poorer. Paper 2 confirms the belief that drug prices in United States are generally higher than in 20 other high-income countries, but shows that prices became more similar over the period 1999-2008. Using the values and the range of three price indices (Laspeyres, Paasche, and Fisher) calculated with multilaterally- and bilaterally-matched samples provides a nuanced understanding of these price differences and their evolution. Paper 3 combines price data from middle- and high-income countries to ascertain the social, economic and demographic factors that determine differences in pharmaceutical prices. It finds that prices in middle- and high-income countries are affected differently by competition and globalization and that the greater effect of demographic factors on prices in middle-income countries can give them an inherent disadvantage in early price negotiation. Paper 4 also examines possible determinants of price but in this case focusses on health system characteristics in OECD countries only. The study finds that whilst the overall health system type does not bear any significant relationship with price, governance structures do have a moderately strong relationship with the price and availability of pharmaceuticals. Based on these results, the Conclusion discusses the issue of horizontal and vertical equity in pricing across countries and highlights important policy themes emerging from this work overall.


The traditional way set up noise dose-effect relationships is to rely on cross-sectional studies, where narrow bands of actual or projected noise exposure levels are plotted against an effect, e.g. self-reported annoyance. When there is an abundance of noise levels to compute from, and a common scale for the effect measures, this procedure is straightforward. Means and confidence intervals of e.g. annoyance at a given noise level can be presented. However, setting up dose-effect relationships can be approached from another point if view. If the focus is shifted away from generating levels of effect at different noises doses to the relative change in effect by lowering or increasing the noise dose, the relevant information is found in the slope or 1st derivative of the noise dose-effect relationship. Just plotting noise-effect slopes from different studies, will, if the grouping of the slopes come out in a coherent and orderly way, set a platform for statements about gains and losses in effects as a result of changes in levels. This was done in the present paper for a set of cognitive outcomes of noise exposure. The results showed that reading and recall memory were the cognitive outcomes with the steepest slopes.


Service tasks on large infrastructural or industrial structures, e.g. inspection of bridges on structural
integrity or window cleaning of skyscrapers, usually entail laborious and expensive support structures
and hazardous working environments. Recent developments on UAVs interacting with their
environment offer many new possibilities, leading to service robotics becoming airborne.
Within the AIRobots project [1], a European collaboration in the field of innovative aerial service
robots, a manipulation system was developed to endow a UAV for interactive tasks. For this
manipulator a delta structure with 3 degrees of freedom was chosen, because of the advantages of
the parallel kinematics compared to serial equivalents. In sequel to this project a versatile endeffector
must be developed to make full use of the broad range of possible applications the system
can offer.
This work covers the design of a modular end-effector capable of executing a large variety of service
and maintenance tasks. Two task specific modules are elaborated: a non-destructive testing (NDT)
sensor and a versatile underactuated gripper. The permanently attached basis of this modular
system, i.e. the end-effector, has 3 degrees of freedom to improve the interaction stability of UAVs
with unknown environments. This system is suspended with a pre-tensionable passive spring system
in order to provide a stable and adaptable zero reference position, which is modelled, designed and
realized. The NDT module, having one additional, actuated degree of freedom, has also been
designed and realized in a lightweight prototype. The underactuated gripping module has not yet
been realized apart from a preliminary 3D printed version, though a novel design is proposed,
employing a variable stiffness actuator in order to gain control over the contact force distribution.