A mine planning team is tasked among other duties with designing a feasible mine plan which in turn maps out the daily running of the mining project. A mine plan revolves around a cut-off grade which is thoughtfully and uniquely selected while considering various aspects such as grade tonnage distribution, economic and operational parameters specific to a mine. Selection of a cut-off grade can be a daunting task often involving iterative and lengthy mathematical formulas which take huge amounts of time to execute, often leaving room for error. In the occurrence of such errors, a mining project can be faced with sequential outcomes that could even lead to premature closure. The cut-off grade is therefore a strategic variable that determines the economic viability of a mine, and hence return on investment. It is critical that the cut-off grade is optimal so as to maximise the net present value. Lane's approach is a model that utilises several steps to yield one cut-off grade value. This algorithm is flexible and can be adjusted to include other factors specific to a mine. Regrettably, many mining companies continue to operate using inaccurate cut-off grades wrongly calculated or assumed. This has continuously led to frustrations due to losses and prematurely abandoned mines. This study focused on the development and implementation of an easy to use computer application based on Lane's approach that runs on Windows platform, and hence targeting a larger user base for choosing an optimum cut-off grade for open pit mines. Keywords: Cut-Off Optimisation, Cut-Off Optimiser, Optimum Cut-Off Grades, Whittle


he Wu-Yang monopole for pure SU(2) Yang-Mills theory is revisited. New classical solutions with finite energy are found for a generalized Wu-Yang configuration. Our method relies on known asymptotic series solutions and explores the conformal invariance of the theory to set the scale for the monopole configurations. Furthermore, by breaking the scale invariance of the pure Yang-Mills theory by a term which simulates the coupling to quark fields, four different monopole configurations with an energy of 2.9 GeV and spatial extent of 1.2 fm, 1.4 fm, 2.4 fm and 2.6 fm are obtained. These configurations may play a role in the transition to the plasma phase.


Using the referencing patterns in articles in Cognitive Science over three decades, we analyze the knowledge base of this literature in terms of its changing disciplinary composition. Three periods are distinguished: (A) construction of the interdisciplinary space in the 1980s, (B) development of an interdisciplinary orientation in the 1990s, and (C) reintegration into "cognitive psychology" in the 2000s. The fluidity and fuzziness of the interdisciplinary delineations in the different visualizations can be reduced and clarified using factor analysis. We also explore newly available routines ("CorText") to analyze this development in terms of "tubes" using an alluvial map and compare the results with an animation (using "Visone"). The historical specificity of this development can be compared with the development of "artificial intelligence" into an integrated specialty during this same period. Interdisciplinarity should be defined differently at the level of journals and of specialties.


Recently the number of users who purchase fashion-related items using mobile devices has increased rapidly. However, most users find it hard to find their choice of apparel items due to the mobile's limited screen space. Because the lists of items are displayed images optimized for viewing with a mobile device, it is hard for users to visualize the item size and how it will coordinate with other items. In this paper, we propose the "KiTeMiROOM" interface to quickly browse coordinating tops, bottoms, and shoes by adjusting the scale of the clothing images while simultaneously displaying them using carousel panels. To implement this function, we created clothing-only image data by mechanically extracting the images and features of various clothing from a huge collection of apparel on e-commerce websites. Finally, we compared our proposed method with an ordinal list-view method used in these websites and confirmed that the KiTeMiROOM interface enhances the experience of searching for coordinated clothing.


The thesis is split into two independent parts. In part I we discuss the phenomenology of jets in e(^+)e(^-) annihilation at small relative transverse momentum, with a view to testing higher order perturbative QCD (viz. the quark form factor). We phenomenologically extrapolate the quark form factor to cover the whole range in transverse momentum by using the exact 0(αs) cross section in the Parisi-Petronzio prescription (PPP). This then enables us to calculate the transverse momentum distribution of charged hadrons at small transverse momentum; we show that this is a poor way of testing the quark form factor, due to problems in fragmentation. Energy-energy correlations at small angles are found to be a much easier cross section to deal with. However, although the quark form factor is compatible with the data in energy-energy correlations, intrinsic transverse momentum dependence was incorporated in a very naive way, using the smearing function ρ(b) borrowed from Drell-Yan (where it describes hadronic structure). Fragmentation and intrinsic transverse momentum can be incorporated in a more physically meaningful way using the appropriate evolution equations. Erroneous approximations stemming from incorrect kinematic limits and misleading leading logarithms are discussed and corrected. This then allows a calculation of the energy weighted acollinearity of jets using a numerical solution of the evolution equations. Results are obtained in both singlet and non-singlet sectors and shown to be compatible with data at Q=30 Gev. The non-singlet sector is shown to be the dominant one at both Q=30 and at 100 Gev, where predictions are also made for the acollinearity. The effect of intrinsic transverse momentum is found to be much more significant in the evolution equation approach than when using the PPP, although at Q=100 Gev this effect is much lessened. Calculations using two-loop Altarelli-Parisi probabilities are discussed and it is demonstrated that these cannot be relied upon to give an unambiguous description of the data, due to gauge and renormalization scheme dependence. Various forms of the running couplingαs are used, but the data as yet does not show a strong preference for one or another. In part II we are concerned with analyses involving the S* and related scalar mesons. We investigate resonant effects in the isoscalar S wave scattering near the KK threshold using data on ππ and KK production. Various coupled channel parameterizations are considered, and using information from below and above KK threshold, the parameters of the S* and ɛ, resonance effects are determined. The ɛ (1400) is found to be in agreement with an ANL analysis and the S* is compatible with a KK bound state picture. We also study interference effects between the (P wave) φ meson and the underlying (K(^-)K(^+)) S wave in the reaction K(^-)p→(K(^-)K(^+)) ٨ at 4.2 Gev/c. A model independent amplitude analysis of the double multipole moments is performed and we investigate the implications for the KK→KK S wave amplitude.


The Cosmic Ray Telescope (CRT) is a 4m scintillator detector segmented into 16 slabs with dimensions of 25 100 cm. The detector is located at the Department of Physics, University of Bergen, and is intended primarily for educational purposes. As part of this project, the original photomultiplier tubes have been replaced with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), as they o ered greater bene ts than PMTs for this project. An entirely new SiPM readout system has been developed, enabling low muon crossing timing uncertainty (0:6 ns). The readout system runs custom software on an Arduino microcontroller, and any number of these systems can be linked together and controlled from a computer. The design of this readout system is presented in detail, and its implementation on the CRT is described. In addition to the development of the readout system, an application was developed for the purposes of controlling the detector and performing on-line analysis of the data it generates in order to locate coincidences between scintillator slabs. Compared to traditional analogue coincidence schemes this o ered greater exibility and cost-reduction. The algorithm and capabilities of the control software are presented.


Summary Long-term adaptation (LTA), a phenomenon previously studied in the crayfish claw, was examined in one of the motoneurones innervating the phasic abdominal extensor muscles. The motoneurone was conditioned by electrically stimulating the second root of the third abdominal ganglion in situ for 4 h per day, using trains of stimuli with an average impulse frequency of 2-5 Hz. In juvenile crayfish, 3 days of conditioning produced a marked (81%) reduction in EPSP amplitude, which recovered only slightly during the succeeding 7 days. The quantal content of synaptic currents also decreased (by an average of 65 %) . Estimated values of the binomial parameter p were lower for conditioned neurones than for controls, suggesting that the observed decrease in transmitter release involves a decrease in release probability. Conditioned neurones also displayed less synaptic depression than controls during repetitive stimulation at 5 Hz. In adult crayfish, conditioning for 7 days also produced a marked (74%) reduction in EPSP amplitude and resistance to synaptic depression. These results differ from those of previous work with the phasic axon of the claw closer muscle, which shows virtually no synaptic changes in adults after conditioning for 2 weeks. The ability to exhibit LTA, therefore, is not lost with age in all neurones.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and discuss methodology issues in menu-labelling experiments in commercial full-service restaurants, and to investigate how the menu description and price affects customers' choice of an organic veal entree in a Norwegian restaurant.

Design/methodology/approach

A menu-labelling experiment was conducted in a fine-dining restaurant during ordinary opening hours over a period of two weeks. The menu description of an organic veal entree was altered repeatedly and the effect of these changes on the sales of this entree was investigated.

Findings

Adding words to the menu description, such as "organic", or describing animal welfare had a very limited effect on customers' choices in the restaurant.

Research limitations/implications

The research illustrates the use of a natural field experiment in a commercial full-service restaurant and discusses strengths and weaknesses of the methodology.

Originality/value

Few experiments have been performed on the effect on credence attributes in commercial full-service restaurants and there is little knowledge about research challenges in menu-labelling experiments. This paper contributes to the knowledge on both issues by conducting a natural field experiment in a fine-dining restaurant.


Extrinsic source/drain series resistance (RSD/) becomes a limiting factor as performance boosters, such as strain-Si and metal-gate/high-k gate stack that enhance the intrinsic MOSFET, are vigorously pursued and implemented in nanoscale CMOS (Ghani, et al., 2003). Non-melt laser spike anneal (LSA) (Feng et al., 2004) has been suggested (Shima, et al., 2004), (Fung et al., 2004) as a means to reduce RSD/. In this paper, we present, for the first time, application of LSA to 35nm gate length, high-performance PD/SOI CMOS with dual etch stop layer (dESL) stressors and NiSi (Grudowski et al., 2006), showing 10% (4%) nFET (pFET) on-state current (Ion) enhancement and non-self-heated Ion=1520/1160muA/mum (880/630muA/mum) at VDD=1.2V/1.0V


BACKGROUND
The amount of postoperative maxillary relapse of two different bone graft materials after Le Fort I osteotomy were compared in this study.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to compare postoperative maxillary relapse rates using heterologous and autologous graft materials after Le Fort I osteotomy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 80 patients who had developmental malocclusion were analyzed retrospectively in this study. Twenty nine (36.2%) and 51 (63.8%) patients underwent Le Fort I osteotomy, and Le Fort I and bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy (two-jaw surgery), respectively. Forty two (52.5%) maxillary bone gaps were filled with heterologous bone grafts (group A) and 38 (47.5%) were filled with autologous bone grafts (group B) after Le Fort I osteotomy. The cephalometric graphics and measurements were taken before (T1), 1 week after (T2), and 1 year after (T3) the surgery. The results were documented and determined by the Dolphin imaging 10.5 (Dolphin Imaging, Chatsworth, Calif.) computer program for skeletal relapse. Whether or not the relationship between group A's and B's maxillary relapse rates was evaluated in the postoperative period.

RESULTS
It was observed that both graft materials have positive effects on maxillary relapse rate in the postoperative period. When the groups are compared to each other, the relapse rates were similar between group A (8.3%) and group B (10.8%) (p>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Heterologous bone graft material (Osteoplant®-Flex) is thought to be a good alternative to autologous grafts in decreasing the relapse rates and reducing the morbidity of the donor area of the patients who underwent Le Fort I osteotomy.


Thermal overload relays are economic electromechanical protection devices which offers reliable protection for electric motors in the event of overload or phase failure. Presently there are two types of overload relays which depend on the temperature characteristics of metals to provide protection by tripping the circuit. These relays lack accuracy as they do not activate the trip circuit at any exact specified temperature. In this paper we introduce a new form of thermal over-load relay actuated by ferrofluid. The ferrofluid has a very accurate transition temperature known as curie temperature. It acts as a ferromagnetic material below the curie temperature and loses the property of ferromagnetism above this temperature. By using this property of the fluid we propose an alternative method for more accurate op-eration under overload condition. This relay finds application in the protection system of electrical machines. Thus, in this paper we present a novel and simple technique for protection against thermal overloading using ferrofluid.


Abstract. For Wi-Fi positioning location fingerprinting is one of the most commonly employed localization technique. To achieve an acceptable level of positioning accuracy on the few meter level, i.e., to provide at least room resolution in buildings, such an approach is very labour consuming as it requires a high density of reference points. Thus, the novel approach developed aims at a significant reduction of workload for the training phase. The basic idea is to intelligently choose waypoints along possible users' trajectories in the indoor environment. These waypoints are termed intelligent checkpoints (iCPs) and serve as reference points for the fingerprinting localization approach. They are selected along the trajectories in such a way that they define a logical sequence with their ascending order. Thereby, the iCPs are located, for instance, at doors at entrances to buildings, rooms, along corridors, etc., or in low density along the trajectory to provide a suitable absolute user localization. Continuous positioning between these iCPs is obtained with the help of the smartphones' inertial sensors. While walking along a selected trajectory to the destination a dynamic recognition of the iCPs is performed and the drift of the inertial sensors is reduced as the iCP recognition serves as absolute position update. Conducted experiments in a multi-storey office building have shown that positioning accuracy of around 2.0 m are achievable which goes along with a reduction of workload by three quarter using this novel approach. The iCP concept and performance are presented and demonstrated in this paper.


For some organisms, sex is not fixed by genotype at conception but determined later by environmental conditions encountered during development (environmental sex determination, ESD). According to theoretical models, selection should favour ESD when the environment experienced by offspring is patchy and unpredictable and affects the relative fitness of males and females differen- tially. In a field study, we analysed the environmental heterogeneity displayed among individuals of the sea squirt Ciona intestinalis, a host for the copepod Pachypygus gibber, which is characterised by ESD. Consistent with theoretical predictions, environmental parameters that affect sex-specifically the fitness of the parasite (food and sexual partners) vary significantly in space and time. The spatial genetic structure of populations of P. gibber in the Thau lagoon, France, was investigated from allozyme data. No differentiation was found between distant populations, indicating that the larvae disperse intensively in the lagoon. Since their environment has been shown to be heterogeneous in space, and since the mothers cannot leave the host in which they developed, we conclude that both parent and offspring have little control over the quality of the environment the offspring enters. All the conditions are thus validated to support the adaptive nature of ESD in P. gibber.


This exploratory paper is concerned with the conditions of possibility of business ethics from the viewpoint of social theory. The paper begins with a description of the tensions between moral philosophy and pragmatic managerialism that largely constitute the field of business ethics. It then explores some of the elements of this field – focusing particularly on the identity of ethics, the difference between ethics and morals and the tension between stories of nostalgia and modernization. The following section frames the problem of ethics in terms of modern and postmodern epistemologies which then leads into a (postmodern) attempt to undermine the notions of 'decision' and 'judgement' that must be central to any (modern) conception of ethics. The paper concludes with some speculations on the relevance and irrelevance of contributions like this to thinking, teaching and writing business ethics.


Abstract Question: What is the variation in species composition of Central European semi-dry grasslands? Can we apply a training-and-test validation approach for identifying phytosociological associations which are floristically well defined in a broad geographic comparison; can we separate them from earlier described associations with only a local validity? Location: A 1200 km long transect running along a gradient of increasing continentality from central Germany via Czech Republic, Slovakia, NE Austria, Hungary to NW Romania. Methods: Relevés with > 25% cover of Brachypodium pinnatum and/or Bromus erectus were geographically selected from a larger database. They were randomly split into two data sets, TRAINING and TEST, each with 422 relevés. Cluster analysis was performed for each data set on scores from significant principal coordinates. Different partitions of the TRAINING data set were validated on the TEST data set, using a new method based on the comparison of % frequencies of species occurrence in clusters. Clusters were characterized by statistically defined groups of diagnostic species and values of climatic variables. Results: Species composition changed along the NW-SE gradient and valid clusters were geographically well separated. Optimal partition level was at 11 clusters, six being valid: two clusters Germany and the Czech Republic corresponded to the Bromion erecti; two clusters from the Czech Republic and Hungary to the Cirsio-Brachypodion, and two clusters were transitional between these two alliances. Conclusion: The training-and-test validation method used in this paper proved to be efficient for discriminating between robust clusters, which are appropriate candidates for inclusion in the national or regional syntaxonomic overviews, and weak clusters, which are specific to the particular classification of the given data set. Nomenclature: Ehrendorfer (1973).


Major disturbance events can have large impacts on the demography and dynamics of animal populations. Hurricanes are one example of an extreme climatic event, predicted to increase in frequency due to climate change, and thus expected to be a considerable threat to population viability. However, little is understood about the underlying demographic mechanisms shaping population response following these extreme disturbances. Here, we analyse 45 years of the most comprehensive free-ranging non-human primate demographic dataset to determine the effects of major hurricanes on the variability and maintenance of long-term population fitness. For this, we use individual-level data to build matrix population models and perform perturbation analyses. Despite reductions in population growth rate mediated through reduced fertility, our study reveals a demographic buffering during hurricane years. As long as survival does not decrease, our study shows that hurricanes do not result in detrimental effects at the population level, demonstrating the unbalanced contribution of survival and fertility to population fitness in long-lived animal populations.


Optimization of light supply remains a critical issue in microalgae biotechnology. The impacts of light color on fatty acid production and biosynthesis in microalgae are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of light color on growth and fatty acid content in Chlorella strain KS-MA2. Cells were cultured on F/2 medium and incubated under blue, green, red or white light. The cells' growth, fatty acid composition and the expression levels of the ketoacyl synthase 1 ( KAS-1 ) , omega-6 desaturase ( ω-6 FAD ) and omega-3 desaturase ( ω-3 FAD ) genes were measured at the early stationary growth phase. Results of this study indicated that light color affected cell density and fatty acid profile produced by Chlorella sp. strain KS-MA2. Cells cultured under blue, red and white light had higher cell density than those cultured under green light. Palmitic acid (38.62 ± 3.29% of biomass dry weight) and linolenic acid (7.96 ± 0.88% of biomass dry weight) were highly accumulated under white light. Stearic acid was dominant under blue light (11.11 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight), whereas oleic acid was dominant under red light (30.50 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight). Linoleic acid was highly produced under green and blue light (28.63 ± 1.36% and 26.00 ± 0.81 % of biomass dry weight, respectively). KAS-1 and ω-6 FAD were highly expressed under blue light, whereas ω-3 FAD was highly expressed under green light. The production of particular fatty acids of interest from Chlorella could be achieved by shifting color of light used during the incubation of the cell cultures. Blue-light is the most suitable light color for producing biomass and stearic acid by Chlorella strain KS-MA2.


This article examines the underlying nature of the Islamic policy studies tradition as it relates to higher education, as an approach that shares some characteristics with public policy theory in Anglo-American contexts, but also has distinctive differences in values and practices. This includes similarities and differences in the major dimensions of policy studies that serve as a framework: the policy context, policy cycle, policy actors, policy instruments, and decision-making models in relation to the political system and governance. Differences in public policy like any aspect of administration are a function of cross-cultural factors, public administration structures, and higher education used to qualify civil servants. The first section of the paper examines pre-Islamic traditions of governance and higher education in the Middle East region that laid the foundation for subsequent regimes in the Middle East and later influencing the development of governance, policy and administration in the West. The second section examines the development of policy in the Islamic period, identifying those features most distinctive and influential in shaping policy values, participants and processes. The final section compares the models of public policy studies in an Islamic context and the Anglo-American model, demonstrating that many shared characteristics and dimensions exist, but there are critical differences in the foundations, roles, and practices in policy development.


Ring Oscillator (RO) Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) is one of the most popular silicon PUFs which exploit manufacturing variations during the chip fabrication process. RO PUF can generate secret bits by comparing the frequency difference between two ROs. However, previous RO PUFs improve flexibility and reliability through adding redundant ROs and thus incur unacceptable hardware overheads. In this work, we propose a crossover RO PUF to improve flexibility and reliability and reduce hardware overheads. The basic idea is to implement one-to-one input-output mapping with Lookup Table (LUT)-based interstage crossing structure in each level of inverters. Experimental results show that our proposed structure has much lower hardware overheads and better uniqueness and reliability than the previous configurable RO PUFs. In addition, individual customization on configuration bits of interstage crossing structure and different RO selections by challenges bring high flexibility.


: Polyglycolic acid sutures were used in 239 cases of intraocular surgery (164,6-0 size, 75, 7-0 size). Most of these (226) were cataract extractions. The results were excellent, with minimal complications. The 6-0 suture was somewhat stiff and associated with some tissue drag. The 7-0 size overcame these deficiencies and was considered the closest approach to date to the ideal absorbable suture. In addition, these appears to be an inhibition to bacterial penetration by PGA.


The presence of receptors for progesterone in a large proportion of human meningioma tissues is well established. The occurrence of in creased rates of growth of meningiomas in situ during pregnancy suggests the existence of a relationship between high progesterone levels and the growth of meningiomas. However, experiments with cultured meningioma tissue (cells or expiants) have shown only minimal effects of progesterone. It has been shown recently that many meningiomas have receptors for epidermal growth factor. In this paper we have investigated the response of cultured human meningioma cells to epidermal growth factor and other growth factors and the modulation of this response by progesterone and the progesterone-receptor blocking agent mifepristone (RU 38486). The results suggest that the presence of progesterone in the culture medium increases the sensitivity of meningioma cells to mitogenic stimuli, whereas mifepristone can counteract the stimulating effects of progesterone.


The concept of generative mechanisms is central to the realistic evaluation approach. They are seen as the drivers of change. Qualitative evidence is especially well suited to unearthing how mechanisms work. However, when evaluating a large-N programme, a realist evaluation might benefit from quantitative tests of the mechanisms hypothesized in the programme theory. Despite this, quantitative tests of mechanisms are rarely applied in realistic evaluation. The purpose of this article is therefore to illustrate how widely used quantitative social science methods can be utilized to test mechanisms in realistic evaluation when evaluating large-N programmes. The proposed methods focus on intra-programme comparison based on the strength of a quantitatively measured mechanism. The article illustrates how simple statistical methods in the form of descriptive statistics and logistic regression can be used to test the influence of mechanisms in generating outcomes.


Effective storage and transfer of fluid commodities such as oxygen, hydrogen, natural gas, nitrogen, argon, and others is a necessity in many industries and for hosts of different applications. Molecules are typically contained as low pressure, cryogenic liquids; or as high-pressure gases. Liquefied gasses afford high energy and volume densities, but require complex storage systems to limit boil-off losses, need constant settling in zero-gravity, and are not well suited for overly dynamic situations where the tank orientation can change suddenly. Most cryogenic liquid tanks are complex, nested configurations to increase thermal performance, making them large, massive, and difficult to be made into conformal shapes. Conversely, high pressure gas storage bottles are unaffected by orientation, and can be kept at room temperature; however, these vessels are heavy-walled to contain the high pressures, and the energy densities associated with gas storage are dramatically lower. These two options are typically traded depending on the system requirements, but few practical options exist that provide the benefits while limiting the downfalls. Alternatively, the Cryogenic Flux Capacitor (CFC) technology employs nano-porous aerogel composites to store, by physisorption processes, large quantities of fluid molecules in a molecular solid-state condition, at moderate pressures and cryogenic temperatures. By virtue of its design architecture, a CFC device can be "charged" and "discharged" quickly and on-demand according to operational requirements. Three CFC application areas are introduced: CFC-Fuel, CFC-Cool, and CFC-Life, corresponding to designs utilizing fuels such as hydrogen and methane; inert fluids such as nitrogen and argon for cooling power; and oxygen or breathing air for life support. Data for physisorption within different aerogel composites are presented in terms of both mass and volumetric parameters.


Advancements in fastener technology have been complemented by the development of new types of screwdriver bits. While designs may vary, so may the force application requirements placed on the tool user. The primary objective of this experiment was to analyze the relationship between user applied torque and screwdriver bit design. A further objective was to utilize the results to develop an effort metric by which bits of different designs can be compared. Three types of screwdriver bit designs (straight, Phillips, and combination of straight/Phillips (ECXTM)) were tested to determine how the design affects the amount and type of force applied by the user when performing a fastening task. The designs were tested to simulate fastener tightening and loosening operations. Sixteen participants were tested in this study. The data suggest there is no difference in user torque exertion between the ECXTM bit, Phillips, and the straight bit designs in either direction, 2.61-2.97 Nm for pronation and 2.63 -2.85 for supination. Mean axial force was significantly less for the Phillips (67 N) than the other 2 bits (72 and 80N). Although there was no significant effect of bit head design on maximal torque and axial force, the data suggest that the Phillips bit design may allow subjects to exert less axial force, which would result in a higher biomechanical effort ratio. A greater effort ratio would produce greater torque for the same axial force or the same torque for a lower axial force. Mean effort ratio for the Phillips bit was 3.6 N/N (Sup) and 4 N/N (Pro) and approximately 3.0 for the other two combinations of bits and directions. Subjective assessment indicated that users overwhelmingly preferred the Phillips bit design


In the recent years, the organic animal production in Gemany has constantly been increased. This growth was accompanied by an increasing demand for organic animal feed which could not be satisfied by the supply of German organic farmers only, especially with regard to protein feed. To fill this gap between demand and supply, a high amount of protein feed is imported. Due to the new EU Regulation 889/2008, which from 2015 on requires the use of 100% organic feed in organic farming, even more organic animal feed will be needed. However, the high amount of imported organic feed is opposed to a growing consumer demand for local food products. Consumers have become increasingly aware of production processes and are concerned about their food choices. But so far, it is unknown if consumers include feed origin in their understanding of local supply chains. The aim of the research project was to analyse organic consumers' understanding and perception of feed origin. If consumers prefer local feed, this would open up a new market opportunity for German organic farmers: A new market segment of local organic animal products from animals which have been raised with local feed could be established. Three focus group discussions with 8 to 12 participants were conducted in three towns in Germany. The results show that organic consumers have little knowledge about organic food production and feeding. Information about the import of organic feed is likely to unsettle organic consumers and undermine their trust in organic production. However, the results of our study indicate a high consumer preference for products from animals raised with local feed.


Extracts of the plant Eurycoma longifolia have been shown to possess cytotoxic, antimalarial, anti-ulcer, antipyretic and plant growth inhibition activities. The present study investigated the effects of extracts and their chromatographic fractions from the root of E. longifolia on the growth of a human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7. Our data indicated that E. longifolia extracts and fractions exert a direct antiproliferative activity on MCF-7. The bioassay-guided root fractionation resulted in the isolation of three active fractions, F5, F6 and F7, which displayed IC50 values of (6.17+/-0.38) microg/ml, (4.40+/-0.42) microg/ml and (20.00+/-0.08) microg/ml, respectively. The resultant from F7 purification, F16, exhibited a higher cytotoxic activity towards MCF-7, (IC50=15.23+/-0.66 microg/ml) and a certain degree of selectivity against a normal breast cell line, MCF-10A (IC50=66.31-0.47 microg/ml). F16 significantly increased apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, as evaluated by the Tdt-mediated dUTP nick end labelling assay and nuclear morphology. Western blotting revealed down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein expression. F16, however, did not affect the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein, Bax. These results, therefore, suggest that F16 has antiproliferative effects on MCF-7 cells by inducing apoptosis through the modulation of Bcl-2 protein levels.


Identifying a patient's important medical problems requires broad and deep medical expertise, as well as significant time to gather all the relevant facts from the patient's medical record and assess the clinical importance of the facts in reaching the final conclusion. A patient's medical problem list is by far the most critical information that a physician uses in treatment and care of a patient. In spite of its critical role, its curation, manual or automated, has been an unmet need in clinical practice. We developed a machine learning technique in IBM Watson to automatically generate a patient's medical problem list. The machine learning model uses lexical and medical features extracted from a patient's record using NLP techniques. We show that the automated method achieves 70% recall and 67% precision based on the gold standard that medical experts created on a set of deidentified patient records from a major hospital system in the US. To the best of our knowledge this is the first successful machine learning/NLP method of extracting an open-ended patient's medical problems from an Electronic Medical Record (EMR). This paper also contributes a methodology for assessing accuracy of a medical problem list generation technique.


Glass curtain walls are used in modern buildings as envelopes for wide surfaces due to a multitude of aspects. In glass curtain walls, tensile brittle panels are connected through mechanical or adhesive joints with steel frameworks or aluminum bracing systems, and due to the interaction of several structural components, the behaviour of the so assembled system is complex to predict, especially under exceptional loading conditions such as explosive events. In the paper, glazing curtain walls are investigated by means of Finite-Element (FE) numerical simulations, under the effect of air blast pressures of variable intensity. Their typical dynamic behaviour and criticalities under high-strain impact loads are first analyzed. By means of extended nonlinear dynamic FE parametric studies, innovative devices are applied to traditional curtain walls, at their support points, in order to improve their expected dynamic response. Two possible solutions, namely consisting of viscoelastic (VE) or elasto-plastic (PL) dampers, are proposed as passive control systems for the mitigation of maximum effects in the façade components deriving from the incoming blast pressures. As shown, although characterized by specific intrinsic mechanical behaviours, either VE or PL dampers can offer beneficial structural effects. In the first case, major advantages for the façade components derive from the additional flexibility and damping capacities of VE devices. In the latter case, PL dampers introduce additional plastic energy dissipation in the traditional curtain wall assembly, hence allowing preventing severe damage in the glazing components. It is thus expected that the current outcomes could represent a valid background for further experimental validation as well as detailed assessment and optimization of the proposed design concept.


A manifold (M;I;J;K) is called hypercomplex if I;J;K are complex structures satisfying quaternionic relations. A quaternionic Hermitian hypercomplex manifold is called HKT (hyperkahler with torsion) if the (2,0)-form associated with the corresponding Sp(n)-structure satises @ = 0. A Hermitian metric ! on a complex manifold is called bal- anced if d ! = 0. We show that balanced HKT metrics are precisely the quaternionic Calabi-Yau metrics dened in terms of the quaternionic Monge-Amp ere equation. In particular, a balanced HKT-metric is unique in its cohomology class, and it always exists if the quaternionic Calabi-Yau theorem is true. We investigate the cohomological properties of strong HKT metrics (the quaternionic Hermitian metrics, satisfying, in addition to the HKT condition, the relation dd c ! = 0), and show that the space of strong HKT metrics is nite-dimensional. Using Howe's duality for rep- resentations of Sp(n), we prove a hyperkahler version of Hodge-Riemann bilinear relations. We use it to show that a manifold admitting a balanced HKT-metric never admits a strong HKT-metric, if dimRM > 12.


Purpose
To investigate whether corneal biomechanical properties are associated with the lamina cribrosa (LC) curvature in eyes with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG).

Methods
Corneal biomechanical properties and LC curvature were assessed in 65 treatment-naïve POAG patients. Corneal biomechanical properties, including corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), and corneal-compensated intraocular pressure (IOPcc), were measured using an ocular response analyzer (ORA; Reichert Ophthalmic Instruments). LC curvature was assessed by measuring the LC curvature index (LCCI) on B-scan images obtained using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). The LCCI was determined by measuring LC curve depth on the anterior LC surface and the width of the reference line.

Results
The LCCI was correlated with CH (P = 0.001), CRF (P = 0.012) and IOPcc (P = 0.001) in the univariate analysis. To adjust multicollinearity, principal component analysis was performed, and multivariate regression analyses were conducted using one variable from each component. The larger LCCI was associated with larger IOPcc (P < 0.001), smaller CRF (P = 0.001) and smaller CH (P < 0.001).

Conclusions
Lower CH was associated with a more posteriorly curved LC in treatment naïve POAG patients. This finding may provide a basic explanation for the reported association between CH and an increased risk for glaucoma development and progression, and support a potential value of CH for risk assessment for glaucoma.


Engineering multicomponent active materials as electrodes with a rationally structured design is an effective strategy to meet the high-performance requirements of supercapacitors. In this report we describe the fabrication of a hierarchical layer-by-layer porous FeCo2S4@Ni(OH)2 three-dimensional (3D) network on nickel foam, which shows both an excellent specific capacitance of 2984 F g−1 at 5 mA cm−2 and cycling stability over 5000 cycles. The outstanding performance is ascribed to the distinctive self-supported structure and the synergistic effect between FeCo2S4 and Ni(OH)2. Moreover, the all-solid-state FeCo2S4@Ni(OH)2//reduced graphene oxide asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits a high energy density of 64 W h kg−1 at a power density of 800 W kg−1 and excellent cycling stability (92.9% of capacity retention after 10 000 cycles), while the output voltage can reach 1.6 V. This rational design of the layer-by-layer structured electrode provides an innovative strategy for fabricating electrodes for future energy storage devices.


Marketing research can be very difficult to get started on unless you know where to begin. Pikes Peak Library District has many resources available to help you with your research.


We examined DNA double-strand-break-induced mutations in the endogenous adenine phosphoribosyl-transferase (APRT) gene in cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells after exposure to restriction endonucleases. PvuII, EcoRV, and StuI, all of which produce blunt-end DNA double-strand breaks, were electroporated into CHO-AT3-2 cells hemizygous at the APRT locus. Colonies of viable cells containing mutations at APRT were expanded, and the mutations that occurred during break repair were analyzed at the DNA sequence level. Restriction enzyme-induced mutations consisted of small deletions of 1 to 36 bp, insertions, and combinations of insertions and deletions at the cleavage sites. Most of the small deletions involved overlaps of one to four complementary bases at the recombination junctions. Southern blot analysis revealed more complex mutations, suggesting translocation, inversion, or insertion of larger chromosomal fragments. These results indicate that blunt-end DNA double-strand breaks can induce illegitimate (nonhomologous) recombination in mammalian chromosomes and that they play an important role in mutagenesis.


Abstract. The "4.2 ka event" is frequently described as a major global
climate anomaly between 4.2 and 3.9 ka, which defines the beginning of
the current Meghalayan age in the Holocene epoch. The "event" has been
disproportionately reported from proxy records from the Northern Hemisphere, but
its climatic manifestation remains much less clear in the Southern Hemisphere.
Here, we present highly resolved and chronologically well-constrained
speleothem oxygen and carbon isotopes records between ∼6 and 3 ka
from Rodrigues Island in the southwestern subtropical Indian Ocean, located
∼600 km east of Mauritius. Our records show that the 4.2 ka event did not manifest itself as a period of major climate change at Rodrigues Island in
the context of our record's length. Instead, we find evidence for a
multi-centennial drought that occurred near-continuously between 3.9 and
3.5 ka and temporally coincided with climate change throughout the
Southern Hemisphere.


This paper presents hardware/software co-simulation and discusses its suitability in the development of real-time systems. Due to the facts that time-to-market challenge has increased the need for shortening the development process, new techniques and methodologies are introduced. A fashionable technique is to use co-simulation environments in the verification phase of a design process. As this technique is being adopted, and the fact that companies from a wide industry area are using it, real-time issues are becoming relevant. This paper discusses the use of a co-simulation tool for verification of embedded real-time systems.


ABSTRACT This study aimed to select endogamic progenies of tomato cv. Yoshimatsu and to conduct a progeny test in the state of Rondônia. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with four replicates and eight plants per plot, spacing 1x0.5 m, with one stem. A significant variation was observed among the fifteen progenies for productivity (2.0-5.5 kg plant-1), seed mass with placenta (18-31.5 g fruit-1), number of fruits per plant (18.8-38.7) and soluble solids (3.4-4.2°Brix). No significant variation was noticed for fruit size, pericarp thickness, number of locules, pH, number of flowers and fruit set, though. P6 progeny showed to be the most productive one (110 t ha-1): average fruit mass was 142.5 g, salad type tomato, 7.5 locules, 3.5°Brix, pH 4.2, 60.9 flowers per plant and 64.2% fruit set. Thus, these data show genetic variability of cultivar Yoshimatsu, being possible to obtain lines and/or cultivars with medium to large fruits adapted to the state of Rondônia.


Still terra incognita? Mountain climbing in the Eastern Carpathians in the period of Galician autonomyEarly mountain climbing in the distant, expansive, and wild Eastern Carpathians in a far corner of Galicia then part of Austria-Hungary, today in Ukraine looked rather different from that practiced in the Tatra mountains. This is attested to by the near universal use of the services of the local Hutsul highlanders with their horses in order to cover the greater distances from the piedmont localities, reachable by carriage or railway, to the mountain peaks. The present article — based on descriptions of expeditions in newspapers and specialized journals, books, and memoirs — considers the experience of various individuals and groups that conquered or attempted to conquer the peaks of Czarnohora from about 1873 to to the first years of the 20th century.  Among the climbers of the period one finds Tatra Society activists, students from the Galician capital of Lwów/Lemberg/L'viv, as well as a young Scotchwoman. Among other things, the article analyzes the challenges of the expeditions and the motivation and impressions of the participants in order to better understand why, despite the passage of time as well as the experiences of earlier mountain climbers, the peaks of Czarnohora in this period long remained only lightly frequented.


Abstract : This thesis analyzes the possible implications to global maritime interests posed by the growing international proliferation of advanced sea mines, and examines the role of NATO's mine countermeasures (MCM) forces in countering this threat in the post-Cold War security environment. It is argued that, given the Iraqi mining success during the Gulf War, the current global proliferation of sophisticated sea mines, and deficiencies in the international laws which govern their use, mine warfare will present a growing threat to vulnerable Western nations into the next century. Consequently, NATO's mine countermeasure forces will have a prominent role in future Alliance or UN-mandated out-of-area naval contingencies, ranging from counter-terrorism operations to major regional conflicts, and will be called upon to provide a credible MCM capability to protect Alliance and coalition naval forces, secure vital sea lines of communication (SLOCs), and ensure unimpeded maritime freedom of the seas prescribed under international law. NATO's capability to meet these challenges will depend largely on its ability to reorient its focus toward the requirements necessary to train and maintain a first-rate MCM rapid deployment force. As a leader within NATO, the United States Navy must assume the lead in forging multinational transatlantic MCM forces capable of dealing with any global mining contingency.


Human interventions in response to drought can both alleviate and enhance drought. Developments of infrastructure for freshwater storage, groundwater abstraction and irrigation have proved to be effective in overcoming meteorological and agricultural drought in many locations worldwide. At the same time such developments may exacerbate hydrological drought, especially during and following extended periods of (meteorological) drought. In order to effectively manage drought, there is an urgent need to better understand and evaluate the drivers of such events. This means that we need to separate between human and natural factors that affect hydrological processes in basins. In this paper, we demonstrate how the Downstreamness concept can be used for Drought Diagnosis. This is done for a subcatchment of the Jaguaribe basin in Northeast Brazil. Our diagnosis focuses on the propagation of three severe multi-year droughts that have developed during the period 1979-2016. Our study shows how a network of surface water storage reservoirs has affected the propagation of drought. Applying the proposed approach is helpful for the spatiotemporally-explicit assessments of droughts and their propagation. Strategic and operational water (and drought-risk) management relies on valuations of trade-offs between commitments of upstream and downstream uses and technical implementations of upstream and downstream measures. Our study offers valuable insights through the inclusion of sub-basin points of view as an integral part of a river basin perspective. In this way, the effects of anthropogenic processes affecting drought propagation can be better understood.


The design of hybrid organic/inorganic nanostructures with controlled assembly drives the development of materials with new or improved properties and superior performances. In this paper, the surface and internal structure of hybrid ZnO poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone (ZnO/PVP) mesocrystals are investigated in detail and correlated with their emitting properties. A photoluminescence study at room temperature reveals that the as-synthesized particles show a remarkable ultraviolet (UV) emission, whereas an emission from defects in the visible region is not observed. On the other hand, a visible emission is achieved upon calcination of the hybrid ZnO/PVP particles in air, and its intensity is found to increase with the calcination temperature and, in some cases, to overwhelm the UV emission. A molecular description is proposed for the absence of a visible emission from defects in the as-synthesized ZnO/PVP mesocrystals on the basis of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and solid-state 13C NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy. An in-depth electron microscopy study sheds light on the internal organization of mesocrystals and reveals the formation of nanoreactors, that is, particles with enclosed porosity, upon thermal treatment.


The flt-1 gene encodes for both the full-length receptor Flt-1 (VEGFR-1) and a soluble form designated sFlt-1. sFlt-1 carries the VEGF-binding domain of Flt-1 as well as a 31-amino-acid stretch derived from an intron and tightly binds VEGF, suppressing its angiogenic activity. The flt-1 gene has so far been identified only in mammals and is highly expressed in placenta as well as in vascular endothelial cells. In placenta, sFlt-1 is abundant in the trophoblast layer during pregnancy, suggesting that it is a negative regulator to excess angiogenesis and vascular permeability at the feto-maternal border in mammals. However, we show here for the first time that the flt-1 gene exists and is highly conserved in chickens. Surprisingly, the chicken flt-1 gene also encodes for sFlt-1 in addition to the full-length receptor. Similar to the mammalian sFlt-1, chicken sFlt-1 carries the VEGF-binding domain and a 31-amino-acid carboxyl region derived from an intron, which was significantly homologous to that in mammals. Chicken sFlt-1 is expressed early in embryogenesis. These findings strongly suggest that the natural antiangiogenic molecule sFlt-1 is widely conserved in vertebrates and regulates the angiogenic process.


Situs inversus totalis is a rare syndrome, with an estimated prevalence of 1/10,000 births, characterized by the inverted position of the thoracic and abdominal organs with respect to the sagittal plane. The condition affects all major structures within the thorax and the abdomen. The etiological factors for which are still not completely understood. In a patient with situs inversus totalis, the anesthetic management during the respective surgical procedure is challenging. We are reporting a patient who was incidentally detected with situs inversus totalis with dextrocardia and was operated for Angle's grade 3 malocclusion. The present case report lays an emphasis on the potential difficulties during anesthetic management and its various implications.


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to systematically analyze the effect of pulmonary emphysema (PE) on the dosimetric results for intensity modulated arc therapy (IMAT). Methods: One patient diagnosed with non‐small cell lungcancer was chosen as the model patient. Hypothetic tumors with volumes of 2cc, 48cc and 169cc were contoured in the right middle lung. GPU based helical tomotherapy IMRT planning system is used in the study. 50 Gy in 5 fractions were prescribed to planning target volume (PTV). The planning parameters include a jaw size of 2.5 cm and 1cm, a pitch of 0.287 and 0.1, and dosimetric constrains according to RTOG 0813. To simulate emphysema lung density was overwritten from 0.05 to 0.4 g/cc. The dosimetric results such as tumor coverage, R50, and lung V20 were analyzed. Results: All plans satisfy 95% of PTV receiving 50Gy prescription. Lung density has a significant effect on the dosimetric results for all tumor sizes studied. For plans with jaw size of 2.5 cm and pitch of 0.287, R50 increases by as much as 92%, 55% and 35% for PTV of 2cc, 48cc and 169cc, when the lung density was reduced from 0.3 to 0.05 g/cc. Similarly, lung V20 increases by 32%, 20% and 18% for PTV of 2cc, 48cc and 169cc, respectively. Interestingly, for plans with jaw size of 1cm and pitch of 0.1, although the R50 for different tumor sizes follows similar trend as 2.5cm plans, the effect of lung density on V20 is non‐linear. For PTV of 2cc and 48cc, V20 plot shows a peak with varying lung densities. Conclusions: Systematic planning studies show that lower lung densities generally result in poorer dosimetry due to the greater difficulty to achieve electron equilibrium. Therefore, the lung density should be taken into consideration in the lungSBRT protocol.


Lean and obese Zucker rats, 7-8 wk of age, were treated with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) for either 3 or 7 days to determine the initial cellular event(s) that might be responsible for the antiobesity activity of DHEA. Epididymal, retroperitoneal, and brown adipose tissue weights were unaltered by either 3 or 7 days of DHEA treatment. Liver weight was not affected by 3 days of treatment but was 13 and 18% higher in 7-day DHEA-treated lean and obese rats, respectively, compared with their corresponding control group. Mitochondrial state 3 respiration rates with glutamate-malate and succinate as substrates were elevated by an average of 35% in 3- and 7-day DHEA-treated obese rats and by 15-20% in 7-day DHEA-treated lean rats compared with rates obtained in the corresponding control groups. State 3 respiration was not affected in 3-day DHEA-treated lean rats compared with control lean rats. The specific activities of long-chain fatty acyl-coenzyme A synthase and hydrolase and the levels of free CoA were increased by severalfold in cellular fractions of both DHEA-treated lean and obese rats compared with their respective control group. Hepatic malic enzyme activity, which was shown earlier to be elevated with long-term DHEA treatment, was unaltered by either 3 or 7 days of DHEA administration. The above results suggest the involvement of mitochondrial respiration and fatty acid deacylation/reacylation in the antiobesity mechanism of action of DHEA.


A novel reconfigurable phase inverter architecture allowing frequency-switchable is proposed. Interdigital striplines, metallic via holes, and the defected ground structure are used to obtain 180° phase inverter. The switchable frequency is controlled by the length of the slot-line on the defected ground which can be changed by PIN-diodes and a single control voltage. For verification, the simulated and measured results of switchable frequency at 900 MHz and 1.6 GHz phase inverter implemented on microstrip are shown.


The diagnosis of Crohn's disease is established through an assessment of the clinical presentation with confirmatory evidence from radiographic, endoscopic, and pathological findings. As there is no known cure, and the condition runs a relapsing course, patients are recurrently reinvestigated. Although ultimately curable by colectomy, many patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are managed medically for years, and require investigations to define the extent of disease, to re-examine diagnosis validity as clinical findings change, and to facilitate dysplasia surveillance. Imaging studies in these diseases serve to establish the primary diagnosis and to provide information for guiding the management of patients with known disease.1

Conventional investigations in patients with suspected or proven inflammatory bowel disease include colonoscopy, ileal intubation, and small bowel follow through (SBFT) or small bowel enteroclysis (SBE). It is recognised that these diagnostic modalities may not be uniformly confirmatory. Complete colonoscopy is not always possible due to technical difficulties, poor preparation, or patient intolerance. While the rate of ileal intubation by experienced endoscopists is reported to be 74%, that rate exceeds 90% when intubation is deemed necessary.2 A recent study reports that the rate of ileal intubation is low in the presence of an endoscopically normal colon, even when symptoms suggestive of inflammatory bowel disease are present.3 Of the 20 638 patients who underwent colonoscopy in the setting of an endoscopically normal colon for the indication of abdominal pain, diarrhoea, or anaemia, ileal intubation was performed only 18% of the time.

SBFT is considered a reliable approach to imaging the small bowel in inflammatory bowel disease, provided that it is a dedicated study, incorporating fluoroscopy with manual manipulation.4 The sensitivity and specificity of SBFT in terminal ileal disease is reported in the range of 85–95% and 89–94%, respectively, but these parameters are highly dependent on …


A study was conducted to investigate how operator exposure in interventional radiology is affected by various common fluoroscopic imaging conditions. Stray radiation levels surrounding the imaging chain of a C-arm angiographic system were measured with an anthropomorphic abdomen phantom under different imaging conditions, and isodose curves were constructed. Operator exposure was shown to increase with patient dose-area product as the imaging field of view (FOV) is changed, with the highest scatter levels occurring with an intermediate-sized FOV. Use of copper spectral beam filtration was found to result in decreased operator exposure, whereas use of wedge-shaped equalization filters was found to increase exposure. The effect of increasing patient abdomen thickness was simulated by surrounding the phantom with plastic bolus material. Increasing the thickness by 5 cm resulted in a doubling of exposure at the operator's waist. Exposure to the operator's upper body was significantly reduced when the FOV was positioned on the far side of the patient. Operator exposure can be maintained at an acceptable level by taking these variables into consideration and incorporating the suggested dose reduction techniques into routine practice to the greatest extent possible.


The propagation of transient elastic waves in a three-dimensional multilayered medium subjected to general dynamic loadings is analyzed in this study. One of the objectives of this study is to develop an effective analytical method for determining transient full-field solutions in the multilayered medium subjected to nonaxisymmetric dynamic loadings. The wave field is decomposed into two parts; one is the P-SV system of waves and the other is the SH system, each of which propagates independently in a horizontally layered medium. A simple relationship between solutions of two- and three-dimensional problems in the Fourier transform domain is also presented. A matrix solution in the triple transform domain is obtained by Brownwich expansion and the inverse transform is inverted by Cagniard's method. The matrix representation of the solution can be easily used to calculate the transient response of the multilayered medium without tracing the ray path manually. The formulas presented in this study enable us to calculate the long-time transient responses of the multilayered medium for three-dimensional configuration. The theoretical transient solution for a layer overlaying a half-space subjected to an arbitrarily oriented point force is presented in detail. The numerical calculations are compared with experimental measurements for the surface displacement response on a plate and a layer overlaying a half-space subjected to an axisymmetric point force. The numerical investigation is also carried out for nonaxisymmetric loading problem of a layer overlaying a half-space.


Abstract Arsenic is a toxic element for animals and the majority of plants, in spite of evidence that it is also an essential element. The long-term intake of small doses of arsenic has a carcinogenic effect. There are well-identified regions where arsenic ground water concen- trations can reach values higher than 2 mg/L. Water purification and waste treatment techniques based on (1) precipitation of calcium, magnesium, and iron(III) arsenates, and/or (2) adsorption or coprecipitation of arsenic oxyanions are unlikely to produce aqueous solutions with arsenic concentrations below the guideline values proposed for arsenic dissolved in potable water and treated sewage effluents. As(III) species are more toxic than As(V) species. Arsenate species are predominant at moderate and high redox potentials, while arsenite species occur under more reducing conditions. Metal arsenites are much more soluble than the corresponding metal arsenates, and arsenites are adsorbed less by solid phases. Remediation techniques must consider the available information on solubility and adsorptive properties of As(III) and As(V). The less-soluble lead and barium arsenates are not suitable for arsenic decontamination. New remediation methods must consider solubility data for arsenic-containing materials and minerals.


The production of the Bacillus subtilis /3-glucanase enzyme was examined in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ability of the bacterial signal peptide to translocate and secrete the enzyme was analysed and compared to the yeast a-factor signal peptide. A truncated version of the signal was also examined as was the effect of complete removal of the signal sequence. Glycosylation of the /3-glucanase enzyme in the yeast secretory pathway was examined using both Western blots and activity gels and the effects of glycosylation on /3-glucanase production was assessed. A second bacterial enzyme, /3-glucuronidase, was also examined for its potential use as a reporter enzyme in yeast expression and secretion systems. This work included attempts to secrete the enzyme, the definition of its active site, investigation of its potential for use in translational fusion experiments and the generation of a polyclonal antibody to the E.coli /3-glucuronidase enzyme.


Two peptides [NAPVSIPQ (NAP) and SALLRSIPA (ADNF-9)], that are associated with novel glial proteins regulated by vasoactive intestinal peptide, are shown now to provide protective intervention in a model of fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal demise and growth restrictions were produced after intraperitoneal injection of ethanol to pregnant mice during midgestation (E8). Death and growth abnormalities elicited by alcohol treatment during development are believed to be associated, in part, with severe oxidative damage. NAP and ADNF-9 have been shown to exhibit antioxidative and antiapoptotic actions in vitro. Pretreatment with an equimolar combination of the peptides prevented the alcohol-induced fetal death and growth abnormalities. Pretreatment with NAP alone resulted in a significant decrease in alcohol-associated fetal death; whereas ADNF-9 alone had no detectable effect on fetal survival after alcohol exposure, indicating a pharmacological distinction between the peptides. Biochemical assessment of the fetuses indicated that the combination peptide treatment prevented the alcohol-induced decreases in reduced glutathione. Peptide efficacy was evident with either 30-min pretreatment or with 1-h post-alcohol administration. Bioavailability studies with [(3)H]NAPVSIPQ indicated that 39% of the total radioactivity comigrated with intact peptide in the fetus 60 min after administration. These studies demonstrate that fetal death and growth restriction associated with prenatal alcohol exposure were prevented by combinatorial peptide treatment and suggest that this therapeutic strategy be explored in other models/diseases associated with oxidative stress.


Secure retention of CO2 in geological reservoirs is essential for effective storage. Solubility trapping, the dissolution of CO2 into formation water, is a major sink on geological timescales in natural CO2 reservoirs. Observations during CO2 injection, combined with models of CO2 reservoirs, indicate the immediate onset of solubility trapping. There is uncertainty regarding the evolution of dissolution rates between the observable engineered timescale of years and decades, and the >10 kyr state represented by natural CO2 reservoirs. A small number of studies have constrained dissolution rates within natural analogues. The studies show that solubility trapping is the principal storage mechanism after structural trapping, removing 10–50% of CO2 across whole reservoirs. Natural analogues, engineered reservoirs and model studies produce a wide range of estimates on the fraction of CO2 dissolved and the dissolution rate. Analogue and engineered reservoirs do not show the high fractions of dissolved CO2 seen in several models. Evidence from natural analogues supports a model of most dissolution occurring during emplacement and migration, before the establishment of a stable gas–water contact. A rapid decline in CO2 dissolution rate over time suggests that analogue reservoirs are in dissolution equilibrium for most of the CO2 residence time. Supplementary material: Dissolution rate for all plots and exponential function curves for scenarios A and B are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5476199 Thematic collection: This article is part of the Geoscience for CO2 storage collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/geoscience-for-co2-storage


Considerable attention has been devoted to the possible effects of global climate change on the environment of the circumpolar world.With regard to the Inuit, the aboriginal culture of Arctic Canada, research interest has focused principally on the vulnerability of the hunting and harvesting component of the traditional food system, otherwise frequently referred to as the subsistence system, if wild terrestrial and marine resources become less available. Although also concerned with the traditional Inuit food economy, this paper concentrates on the customary institutional mechanisms by which the Inuit distribute and share the products obtained from hunting. After analysing this social economy, a review of the data on recent climate-related range changes of a number of Arctic animal populations is carried out, in terms of how projected environmental changes may affect this other aspect of Inuit subsistence. After tentatively concluding that some species substitution and/or replacement will occur, the final aspect of the paper considers the potential for the possible exclusion of these "replacements" as a result of the political aspect of climate change.


Austenitic stainless steels are frequently used for engineering applications in aggressive environments. Typical sources of component failures are associated with localized attack at grain boundaries, such as intergranular corrosion and stress corrosion cracking. To prevent premature failures, structural integrity assessments are carried out, with the aim of predicting the maximum likelihood of cracking that may develop. For accurate predictions it is of great importance to know the interaction of parameters involved in life-determining processes.This PhD thesis investigates the effect of microstructure and stress on intergranular stress corrosion cracking in Type 302 / Type 304 austenitic stainless steels. High-resolution X-ray tomography has been successfully applied to examine, for the first time in 3-dimensions, in-situ, the interaction between microstructure and crack propagation. The development and subsequent failure of crack bridging ligaments has been observed and correlated with regions of ductile tearing persistent on the fracture surface. These ductile regions were consistent with the morphology of low-energy, twin-type grain boundaries, and are believed to possess the capability of shielding the crack tip.Following this observation, a new grain bridging model has been developed, in order to quantify the effect of static stress and crack bridging on the maximum likely crack length. The model was compared and evaluated with in the literature available percolation-like models.Intergranular stress corrosion tests in tetrathionate solutions have been designed and carried out to validate the new model. The assessment comprised,(i) a thorough examination of the microstructure and analysis parameters employed,(ii) the determination of the degree of sensitisation with subsequent crack path investigations,(iii) the identification of a suitable test system with associated grain boundary susceptibility criteria,(iv) the application of Grain Boundary Engineering (GBE) for microstructure control,(v) statistical crack length assessments of calibrated IGSCC test specimens.The results of these tests showed that the new model successfully predicts the magnitude of stress and the effect of grain boundary engineering on the maximum crack lengths.


DARIAH (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities) aims to enhance and support digitally-enabled research across the Arts and Humanities by offering a portfolio of services centred around European research communities. The DARIAH infrastructure is a social and technological infrastructure; it aims to be a connected network of tools, information, knowledge, people and methodologies for investigating, exploring and supporting research across the broad spectrum of the Digital Humanities and Arts. The core strategy of DARIAH is to bring together national, regional, and local endeavours to form a cooperative infrastructure where complementarities and new challenges are clearly identified and acted upon. DARIAH is aiming to bridge the gap between traditional and digital Humanities and Arts, taking into account technical as well as social innovation. DARIAH integrates national digital Arts and Humanities initiatives all over Europe and operates a platform to enable trans-national, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research. It offers a portfolio of services and activities centred around research communities. It develops a research infrastructure for sharing and sustaining digital Arts and Humanities knowledge. By bringing together national activities from several countries, DARIAH will be able to offer a broad spectrum of services including training initiatives, such as summer schools and trans-national curricula, a knowledge repository with standards and good practices for digital asset management, and guidance on repository certification and digitisation processes. The DARIAH e-Infrastructure utilizes standards and best practices, allowing collaborations with several research infrastructures and offering opportunities for innovative research. For the various affiliated projects, services for data sharing and digital publishing will be offered alongside technical systems for persistent identification, authentication and long-term preservation. The DARIAH-ERIC was established on August, 15th 2014, by 15 Founding Members:


We follow the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to review the emerging international body of empirical evidence on consumers' attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, and RNA interference. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these abilities of NPETs, evidence suggests that many, but not all, consumers discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our review sorts out findings to identify conditioning factors that can increase the acceptance of and WTP for these novel foods in a significant segment of consumers. International patterns of acceptance are identified. We also analyze how information and knowledge interact with consumer acceptance of these novel foods and technologies. Heterogeneity of consumers—across cultures and borders and in attitudes towards science and innovation—emerges as a key determinant of acceptance and WTP. Acceptance and WTP tend to increase when socially beneficial attributes—as opposed to producer-oriented cost-saving attributes—are generated by NPETs. NPET-improved foods are systematically less discounted than transgenic foods. Most of the valuation estimates are based on hypothetical experiments and surveys and await validation through revealed preferences in actual purchases in food retailing environments.


Communication design, as a significant tool for sustainable social advocacy, is still under-explored both academically and within creative practices worldwide. In a developing country like Pakistan, the role of social advocacy as an effective tool for social change is ambiguous. This practice-led research aims to redress this imbalance by exploring the development of graphic communication design approaches (GCDs) for social advocacy, in response to a low Pakistani literacy context. The investigation presents a contextually responsive GCD model for design development (Fig3a: 13), as a critical design framework, for synthesising graphic languages in Pakistan. This is presented as an alternative non-traditional communication approach, in response to contextual constraints (socio- cultural, literacy levels and/or available resources) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The practice asserts contextually driven communication design approaches for sustainability, and it also contests the effectiveness of universal design approaches in culturally diverse contexts.

Using a case study approach, a semiotic analysis of three forms of Pakistani graphic media, namely Lollywood billboards, Pakistani truck art and political campaign posters, is undertaken. As a mapping stage, this explores the development of vernacular communication systems and visual codes to advance effective graphic languages in Pakistan, while a simultaneous review of the literature and practice supports the case studies. However, the analysis relies primarily on a pilot study, contextual interviews and collaborative design projects, with Pakistani truck and billboard artists, to identify critical graphic frameworks operative in the Pakistani visual context. This leads ultimately to the final participatory design-led synthesis stage, which co-designs social advocacy interventions in the low- income community of Dhok Chaudrian, Rawalpindi. The interventions address the major issue of open garbage dumps, and the co-design approach highlights the significance of communication design practice evolving as a sustainable social engagement tool in response to a specific issue in a specific context.

This thesis is organised in four major sections. Chapter One introduces the research aims, structure and organisation of the thesis. Chapter Two reviews the context and identifies gaps in graphic communication design theory and practice in a social context, before it grounds the research in the Pakistani context. Chapter Three maps the Pakistani visual vernacular through a case study analysis, a pilot study and three collaborative design projects in the cities of Lahore and Rawalpindi. This establishes critical communication design frameworks as a rhetorical design framework (pg. 88) and contextual GCD principles (pg.77) in Pakistan, which are then tested in the proceeding final synthesis stage. Chapter Four entails the design synthesis, which involves testing and evaluating previously developed critical frameworks through co-design sessions in the Dhok Chaudrian community, Rawalpindi. This chapter focuses specifically on community participation as a tool to inform the development of effective graphic languages for design sustainability. Co-design sessions, as an interaction prototype, are evaluated for short-term impacts in terms of engagement, with custom- designed communication tools for a low-literacy target audience.

As for resources, this research draws on contextual interviews, collaborative design projects, contextual observations and design evaluations, all of which are supported by published material. The research-led design process is systematically documented as design taxonomy, to be valued as a transferable model of communication design practice. Organisations, artists and designers, with similar research or practical ambitions, can take away the underpinning principles from this research practice and locate them within their own respective practices.


OBJECTIVES
To characterize the paleodiet of individuals from Formative Period (1500 B.C.-A.D. 400) Atacama Desert sites of Ancachi and Quillagua as a means of understanding the dietary and cultural impacts of regional systems of exchange.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-one bone samples recovered from the cemetery of Ancachi (02QU175) and in/around the nearby town of Quillagua were the subject of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen and hydroxyapatite and multisource mixture modeling (FRUITS, food reconstruction using isotopic transferred signals) of paleodiet. These individuals were compared with nearly 200 other Formative Period individuals from throughout the region to identify differences in dietary behaviors.

RESULTS
80.6% (25/31) of the samples yielded sufficient well-preserved collagen and were included in the multisource mixture model. The FRUITS model, which compared individuals with a robust database of available foods from the region, identified a wide diversity of diets in the Ancachi/Quillagua area (including both coastal and interior individuals), and, most notably, thirteen individuals who consumed an average of 11.2 ± 1.9% terrestrial animals, 19.8 ± 1.9% legumes, and 22.5 ± 3.1% marine fauna, a balanced pattern of protein consumption distinct from both the coastal and inland individuals in our larger regional sample.

CONCLUSIONS
The combination of stable isotope analysis and multisource mixture modeling permitted the characterization of dietary behavior of 25 individuals from nodal sites in the Atacama Desert, thus enhancing our understanding of the economic and social relationships that bound together Formative Period sites, populations, and individuals in this hyperarid region.


This study evaluated the efficacy of a leadership development intervention using an assessment centre approach. Participants were 72 managers and peer workers (50%) with a steel manufacturing organisation from the Gauteng province of South Africa (females = 17% and males = 83%). A randomised group design was used to evaluate the programme. The intervention involved a leadership development assessment centre which included simulations to develop a leader. Pre-post intervention data were collected using the New Leadership Behaviour Inventory—Version 2 (LBI—2). The results indicate that the leadership development intervention was effective in developing the key competencies of a leader. The most significant increase was found between the pre- and post-test for the competency, and articulating vision. Leaders should have a vision for themselves and the company and should share a dream and direction which their subordinates and peers wish to share and follow.


OBJECTIVES--In epidemiological studies of neurotoxic effects neuropsychological tests are often applied to assess possible functional changes. In these studies tests presumed to be resistant to neurotoxic effects, "hold tests", are often used to adjust performance in tests presumed to be sensitive to neurotoxic effects, "nonhold tests", in assessment of pre-exposure ability. This conception is based on experience from the examination of patients with organic brain disorders. For this adjustment to be valid hold tests should change comparatively little over time and should not change differently in groups of people with different exposures to neurotoxic agents. METHODS--These assumptions were examined in 71 carpenters and 135 painters divided in three subgroups according to level of cumulative exposure to organic solvents. The results were noted from two verbal tests (test A, which involved following verbal instructions and test C, word comprehension), which were performed at conscription (age 18-20). The tests resemble hold tests used in occupational studies. The same tests were performed again at the age of 45-60 together with a conventional synonym test (SRB 1), often used in occupational studies. RESULTS--In the three tests given at the time of the investigation some differences were found between the carpenters and the subgroups of painters. The painters with low exposure tended to perform better than the carpenters in all three tests and the heavily exposed painters tended to perform less well in the tests. These differences were not present at the age of 18-20. In one of the conscription tests painters with different cumulative exposure to organic solvents developed differently over time. There was little improvement among painters with heavy and intermediate exposure and obvious improvement among painters with low exposure. The results in the other conscription test showed similar tendencies. CONCLUSIONS--The results indicate that the hold tests examined do not meet basic criteria for hold tests used in occupational studies. Thus adjustments for conventional verbal tests seem inappropriate in such studies. It is possible that other presumed hold tests may meet the criteria but our results suggest that such tests also should be evaluated before being used as hold tests in working populations.


Molecular analysis of the human trk oncogene, a transforming gene isolated from a colon carcinoma biopsy, revealed the existence of a novel member of the tyrosine kinase gene family. This locus, which we now designate the trk proto-oncogene, codes for a protein of 790 amino acid residues that has several features characteristic of cell surface receptors. They include (i) a 32-amino-acid-long putative signal peptide, (ii) an amino-terminal moiety (residues 33 to 407) rich in consensus sites for N-glycosylation, (iii) a transmembrane domain, (iv) a kinase catalytic region highly related to that of other tyrosine kinases, and (v) a very short (15 residue) carboxy-terminal tail. Residues 1 to 392 were absent in the trk oncogene, as they were replaced by tropomyosin sequences. However, no other differences were found between the transforming and nontransforming trk alleles (residues 392 to 790), suggesting that no additional mutations are required to activate the transforming potential of this gene. The human trk proto-oncogene codes for a 140,000-dalton glycoprotein, designated gp140proto-trk. However, its primary translational product is a 110,000-dalton glycoprotein which becomes immediately glycosylated, presumably during its translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum. This molecule, designated gp110proto-trk, is further glycosylated to yield the mature form, gp140proto-trk. Both gp110proto-trk and gp140proto-trk proteins possess in vitro kinase activity specific for tyrosine residues. Finally, iodination of intact NIH 3T3 cells expressing trk proto-oncogene products indicated that only the mature form, gp140proto-trk, cross the plasma membrane, becoming exposed to the outside of the cell. These results indicate that the product of the human trk locus is a novel tyrosine kinase cell surface receptor for an as yet unknown ligand.


The layers and protocols of an air interface layering architecture are designed to be modular and can be modified and upgraded to support new features, perform complex tasks, and implement additional functionality. Prior to commencement of data communication between a first entity (e.g., an access terminal) and a second entity (e.g., a radio network), a set of layers and/or protocols is selected for negotiation. For each selected layer and protocol (i.e., each attribute), a list of attribute values considered acceptable to the first entity is determined. The selected attributes and their associated attribute values are sent from the first entity and, in response, a list of processed attributes and their associated lists of processed attribute values arc received. Each list of processed attribute values includes attribute values considered acceptable to the second entity. The layers and protocols in the first entity are then configured in accordance with the received list of processed attributes and their associated processed attribute values. Other features related to configurable layers and protocols are also provided.


In this paper we present a multi-band CMOS transmitter for cellular applications. The transmitter covers a wide range of frequency bands and it is designed to minimize power consumption in order to increase handset talk-time. The output noise performance allows the removal of SAW for certain W-CDMA and CDMA bands; moreover it can be configured to be used for SAW-less GSM/EDGE operations while maintaining an excellent linearity.


While the literature on corporate strategy has typically focused on examining diversification along the industry and geographical market dimensions, this study seeks to supplement previous research by introducing the concept of business model as a new way of thinking about diversification. Specifically, by integrating the literatures on business models, diversification, and acquisition strategy, we provide a conceptual analysis of how business model relatedness may influence performance implications of M&As. When business models among acquirers and targets are related, the sharing and transfer of superior resources may improve post-acquisition performance. In contrast, when business models among acquirers and targets are unrelated, internal and external identity conflicts may harm post-acquisition performance. Moreover, the conceptual framework developed in this study suggests that even if acquirers and targets are related in a product and geographical market sense, dissimilarities across business models may still harm post-acquisition performance. Overall, we suggest that using the recently emerged concept of business model may provide a new step in examining diversification decisions above and beyond the traditionally examined concepts of product and geographical markets, providing a more complete understanding of when and how multibusiness firms can create value.


The research summarized in this report was concerned with the design of testbed and emulation tools suitable to assist in projecting, with reasonable accuracy, the expected performance of highly concurrent computing systems on large, complete applications. Such testbed and emulation tools are intended for the eventual use of those exploring new concurrent system architectures and organizations, either as users or as designers of such systems. While a range of alternatives was considered, a software-based set of hierarchical tools was chosen to provide maximum flexibility, to ease in moving to new computers as technology improves and to take advantage of the inherent reliability and availability of commercially available computing systems.


IT compliance is an area of increasing attention and capital spend in enterprise IT environments. Enforcing compliance is a complex process, which involves following regulatory requirements coming from many, often overlapping sources, and mapping those requirements against a controls framework that implements them on the ground. In this paper, we propose a solution for streamlining the process of analyzing, monitoring and enforcing compliance in the cloud. We rely on text classification methodologies to match both regulatory requirements and controls against a common hierarchy. Finally, we explain how to use the text classification techniques to analyze the regulatory requirements, and match them to executable code that enforces these requirements in the cloud infrastructure components, such as in virtual machines and containers.


Introduction: Digastric is a suprahyoid muscle and usually consists of two bellies. Its action consists in drawing the mental region downwards and backwards when opening the mouth, resulting in the depression of the mandible. Methods and Results: During a routine dissection of the cervical region, a muscle bundle arising from the intermediary tendon going towards the middle line was found. The supranumerary belly arised from the intermediary tendon so that some bundles inserted on the middle rafe and others continued towards the mento and inserted on the belly of mylohyoid muscle at the same side. These anatomic variations on the anterior belly of the digastric muscle could be significant during surgical procedures involving the submental region. Conclusion: Besides this surgical importance, we suggest that these supranumerary bellies have no direct action on the mandible, but on the floor of the mouth, due to its insertions on the mylohyoid muscle.


Formate is recognized as a superior substrate for biological H2 production by several bacteria. However, the growth of a single organism coupled to this energetic pathway has not been shown in mesophilic conditions. In the present study, a bioreactor with gas sparging was used, where we observed for the first time that H2 production from formate can be coupled with growth of the model sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris in the absence of sulfate or a syntrophic partner. In these conditions, D. vulgaris had a maximum growth rate of 0.078 h(-1) and a doubling time of 9 h, and the ΔG of the reaction ranged between -21 and -18 kJ mol(-1). This is the first report of a single mesophilic organism that can grow while catalyzing the oxidation of formate to H2 and bicarbonate. Furthermore, high volumetric and specific H2 production rates (125 mL L(-1) h(-1) and 2500 mL gdcw(-1) h(-1)) were achieved in a new bioreactor designed and optimized for H2 production. This high H2 production demonstrates that the nonconventional H2-producing organism D. vulgaris is a good biocatalyst for converting formate to H2.


The current study focusses on ultrasound guided Brachial Plexus Block (BPB) which plays an important role in patients with hand trauma either in pain control or for surgical intervention. The brachial plexus can be blocked by several techniques but the most commonly used are the Supraclavicular (SCB) and Axillary (AXB) blocks.

 To compare the two techniques with regards to the performance time, needling time, anesthesia-related time, block-related complications, number of needle pass and block related pain.

 After approval of the ethical committee and obtaining a written informed consent from patients, this prospective, randomized, interventional double-blinded study was done to patients undergoing emergency crushed hand surgery. 80 patients were allocated randomly into two equal groups. Under ultrasound guidance, the SCB and AXB were done for the two groups, respectively. The needling time, performance time, anesthesia-related time, onset time, number of 1st needle pass in each group and block related complications were noted.

 Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS) version 23 SPSS.

 Longer needling, performance, anesthesia-related time in the AXB group than SCB and less complications have occurred with AXB than SCB group.

 Axillary block of brachial plexus is a good alternative to Supraclavicular block in emergency crushed hand surgery and the choice is made according to the requirement of each case.


In this paper, statements from popular science sources are contrasted with data from primary science articles and studies. It is observed to what extent the opinions and statements of the popular science articles differ from the studies and scientific articles in terms of ethics and acceptance. For this purpose, the field is divided into 4 fields, which are processed independently.To begin with, the industrial robots are examined. These are used in the area of production as well as in the area of maintenance and repair. These robots are able to learn from each other and to work with each other and with humans. Even a tire change can be carried out by an industrial robot today. Likewise, new developments offer construction spaces that are difficult for humans to access. Activities that do not serve industrial production, but rather the performance of services for people and facilities, are carried out by service robots. They are freely programmable motion devices that perform services partially or fully automatically and are used in the areas of care, gastronomy, tourism, as well as private households. In the future, skills such as flexibility and judgment must be perfected. The use of some service robots is already safe for humans. Similar to service robots, social robotics also focuses on interaction between humans and robots. These are sensorimotor robots that can communicate with humans in a social manner. In doing so, they can build social relationships and constantly learn. The social robots are usually in a human-like (humanoid) or animal-like (animaloid) body, but can also be used merely as software. Examples for application are care, therapy and entertainment robots. In addition to the three physical robots, software robots (software bots) are virtual robots used for process automation. They are the result of the application of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which includes various approaches and technologies. They are used in almost every industry. In the following paper, the applications of softwarebots in finance, healthcare, public administration, and law are examined. Only minor discrepancies between the secondary literature studied and the state of the art can be observed in the texts examined.For the industrial robots, no deviations from statements from popular science sources can be found. In the secondary literature, however, these are not found as frequently as the other robot types studied. This is probably since the interested parties tend to be companies that are advertised through other channels. Nevertheless, some publications can be found for the manufacturing and maintenance and repair sectors. The largest application area today is still manufacturing. However, current robot developments offer promising and potential benefits for the maintenance and repair of industrial plants. In comparison, the research on service robots have shown that a variety of characteristics and capabilities are attributed to them in the secondary literature, most of which are consistent with the status quo of service robotics. In the next area examined, social robotics, the claims from the secondary literature, as with the previous robot types, deviate little from the primary scientific facts. In the technical area, the claims of the secondary literature are fundamentally true, although the ability of robots is generalized in some aspects. Softawarebots, on the other hand, are partially distinct from the previously mentioned robots. Especially the terms used for software applications as software bots in popular science articles do not refer to scientific classifications.


BACKGROUND
In a porcine model of neurological decompression sickness (DCS), perivascular leukocyte activation was a consistent finding in biopsies of associated cutaneous DCS. This prompted examination of other organs for similar changes; multifocal leukocyte activation was found in the lungs (pneumonitis) and liver (hepatitis).

HYPOTHESIS
DCS in pigs induces leukocyte aggregation and activation in the liver and lungs.

METHODS
Male Yorkshire swine, trained to run on a modified treadmill, were compressed to 200 ft of seawater (fsw) in a dry, air-filled compression chamber. Decompression varied according to the profile under study.

RESULTS
In 106 pigs, evidence for association of leukocyte aggregation and activation with the clinical diagnosis of neurologic DCS was sought. The incidence of pneumonitis (20/68, 29% with DCS; 4/38, 10% without DCS) and hepatitis (23/68, 33% with DCS; 4/38, 10% without DCS) were strongly correlated with the incidence of neurologic DCS via Pearson Chi-squared analysis (p = 0.026 pneumonitis and p = 0.008 hepatitis). Additionally, Kruskal-Wallis rank analysis for numbers of organs involved and incidence of neurologic DCS showed a strong correlation between the increasing occurrence of neurologic DCS and the involvement of both the liver and lungs (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS
The results imply that, at least in pigs, DCS induces leukocyte aggregation and activation in the liver and lungs. These organs are not normally considered targets of DCS. Leukocyte aggregation in these organs may be related to their roles as highly perfused organs. Leukocyte aggregation may be a marker for DCS, providing further evidence for wider, systemic effects of DCS.