Power system stabilizers (PSSs) are traditionally used to provide damping torque for the synchronous generators to suppress the oscillations by generating supplementary control signals for the generator excitation system. Numerous techniques have previously been proposed to design PSSs but many of them are synthesized based on a linearized model. The dynamic characteristics of the proposed PSS are studied in a typical synchronous machine connected to infinite-bus of power system through transmission line. This paper deals with the applying of the Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) technique to the design of the robust controller for two models of power system. The first model represents only the electrical control part of power system by means synchronous generator connected to infinite bus, while the second model, adding a turbine and governor to the model 1. Combined the Kalman filter, which is an optimal observer with the optimal LQR regulator to construct the optimal LQG controller are evaluated. Electromechanical oscillations of small magnitude and low frequency exist in the power system operation and often persist for long periods of time. Simulation results show the proposed PSS is robust for such nonlinear dynamic system and achieves better performance than the conventional PSS in damping oscillations.


Developing Thai Leaders for Long-term Fruitfulness within the Association of Churches Bangkok David D. Chang Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2018 The goal of this project is to develop an effective leadership-training program, partly through the use of a training manual for pastors and lay leaders within the Association of Churches in Thailand Bangkok (ACTB). This ministry focus paper will start with an examination of the context of Thai leadership development. There are historical, cultural and missiological factors that affect the growth of the Church in Thailand, particularly in Bangkok. Many young pastors left their churches due to discouragement and inability to overcome some barriers. Deeper reasons for attrition include lack of discipleship, consistent input, mentoring and peer-support. Further reflection on theology of leadership reveals that in order for leaders to have a long and fruitful ministry, there must be a balance between dependency upon God and personal growth. Integration between inner transformation and missional outlook is crucial to vitality. Effective Thai leaders are also contextually sensitive and biblically grounded. A reexamination of how Jesus and the Apostles trained leaders is certainly applicable for the Thai context. Having a training manual itself is not the main goal. Leadership seminars should not be merely content driven, but aim to bring together a cohort of leaders that can foster friendship and support for one another. Ministry coaching should also be implemented outside of classroom settings. The manual can be a tool to stimulate personal leadership growth, multiplication and development of leadership cohesiveness within the ACTB. It contains twelve lessons on biblical leadership, and is written specifically with a Thai church audience in mind. The manual will be translated into Thai and checked by native speakers for accuracy. Content Read: Carolyn Johnson, DMiss Word Count: 265


Eukaryotic transposons are DNA sequences able to move inside a genome. They are characterized by a sequence that encodes a transposase protein of ~300 aminoacids and flanking it, short terminal inverted repeats of ~30bp. Active DNA transposons are very difficult to predict computationally because: 1. Due to their activity, there are many copies, or paralogous, of the transposons of a family in a genome; 2. Due to mutation, a high diversity of sequences has resulted, and as consequence; 3. Many transposons are incomplete or mutated enough to render the element inactive. In order to circumvent these issues, we generated Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) for 12 families of eukaryotic transposases because HMMs are an appropriate technique for searching evolutionary divergent sequences.
In animals, during their development, transposons activity is regulated by piRNAs. This regulation occurs via Watson-Crick base pairing between the piRNA and the transposase transcript. In order to test the ability of our models to predict active transposases, we used as reference the mapping of known piRNAs sequences of an organism on its own genome, and compared it to our transposase predictions, and to those made by RepeatMasker, the current gold standard software for prediction of mobile elements. We found that, while RepeatMasker has a higher absolute number of predictions, its sensitivity and selectivity as classifier of active transposases is lower than our HMMs for all tested organisms. Although, there is a lot of room for improvement, these results are a step towards the improvement of the accuracy of prediction of active transposases.


ABSTRACT Efficient replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) subgenomic RNA in cell culture requires the introduction of adaptive mutations. In this report we describe a system which enables efficient replication of the Con1 subgenomic replicon in Huh7 cells without the introduction of adaptive mutations. The starting hypothesis was that high amounts of the NS5A hyperphosphorylated form, p58, inhibit replication and that reduction of p58 by inhibition of specific kinase(s) below a certain threshold enables HCV replication. Upon screening of a panel of kinase inhibitors, we selected three compounds which inhibited NS5A phosphorylation in vitro and the formation of NS5A p58 in cell culture. Cells, transfected with the HCV Con1 wild-type sequence, support HCV RNA replication upon addition of any of the three compounds. The effect of the kinase inhibitors was found to be synergistic with coadaptive mutations in NS3. This is the first direct demonstration that the presence of high amounts of NS5A-p58 causes inhibition of HCV RNA replication in cell culture and that this inhibition can be relieved by kinase inhibitors.


Western scholars on Sufism so far have paid more attention to Sufi figures that left us with many written works, either in the form of poems, biography, apologia, or mystical treatise. Practically, al-Jilani only left us with three original works, wherein we do not find any 'brilliant theory' about Sufism. So, at the face value, this Western academic indifference about al-Jilani is just plainly plausible. Al-Jilani's marginal position in the Western academic studies on Sufism in fact is an indication of a subtler ideological bias among many scholars. This article examines the life and works of al-Jilani while proposing a new theoretical basis in the study of Sufism. The writer argues that al-Jilani's teaching is popular Sufism by definition


The description of processes involving multi-body nonleptonic decays is very challenging. Data sets are very large nowadays, and demand better models. In this work we focus on three-kaon weak matrix elements 〈(KKK)|Aμ |0〉, expressed as a relatively simple structure, which generalizes the concept of form factor. This is particularly important for D+ → K+K−K+ decay considering the dominance of annihilation weak topology. Here, we present the first version of a model to D+→ K+K−K+ decay which encompass naturally all final states topologies, including a proper multi-particle structures that cannot be decomposed into simpler two-body processes. All the structures are derived from a chiral effective theory and dressed with coupled channels where appropriate. The final amplitude contain only 3 free parameters related to f0(980) that are predicted by the theory but needs to be fine-tuned by a fit to data. This approach represents a significant improvement when compared to isobar model, often employed in analyses of heavymeson decay data.


The incidence of alcoholism among patients suffering from tuberculosis in the Tuberculosis Hospital in Winnipeg was determined, and attention is drawn to the need to treat tuberculosis and alcoholism concurrently. In all, 306 patients with tuberculosis were studied and 32 alcoholics were discovered among them. This frequency is five times that estimated in the adult population of Canada. Ninety-two per cent of these alcoholics were addicted before the tuberculous disease was discovered. No direct causative factor was discovered linking alcoholism and tuberculosis. Poor socioeconomic status appears to be a common etiological factor.


Abstract. The appearance of eruptive space plasma processes, e.g. in eruptive flares as observed in the solar atmosphere, is usually assumed to be caused by magnetic reconnection, often connected with singular points of the magnetic field. We are interested in the general relation between the eigenvalues of the Jacobians of the plasma velocity and the magnetic field and their relation to the shape of a spatially varying, localized non-idealness or resistivity, i.e. we are searching for the general solution. We perform a local analysis of almost all regular, generic, structurally stable non-ideal or resistive MHD solutions. Therefore we use Taylor expansions of the magnetic field, the velocity field and all other physical quantities, including the non-idealness, and with the method of comparison of coefficients, the non-linear resistive MHD system is solved analytically, locally in a close vicinity of the null point. We get a parameterised general solution that provides us with the topological and geometrical skeleton of the resistive MHD fields. These local solutions provide us with the "roots" of field and streamlines around the null points of basically all possible 2-D reconnection solutions. We prove mathematically that necessarily, the flow close to the magnetic X-point must also be of X-point type to guarantee positive dissipation of energy and annihilation of magnetic flux. We also prove that, if the non-idealness has only a one-dimensional, sheet-like structure, only one separatrix line can be crossed by the plasma flow, similar to known reconnective annihilation solutions.


Learning a joint and coordinated representation between different modalities can improve multimodal emotion recognition. In this paper, we propose a deep representation learning approach for emotion recognition from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals guided by facial electromyogram (EMG) and electrooculogram (EOG) signals. We recorded EEG, EMG and EOG signals from 60 participants who watched 40 short videos and self-reported their emotions. A cross-modal encoder that jointly learns the features extracted from facial and ocular expressions and EEG responses was designed and evaluated on our recorded data and MAHOB-HCI, a publicly available database. We demonstrate that the proposed representation is able to improve emotion recognition performance. We also show that the learned representation can be transferred to a different database without EMG and EOG and achieve superior performance. Methods that fuse behavioral and neural responses can be deployed in wearable emotion recognition solutions, practical in situations in which computer vision expression recognition is not feasible.


Purpose: Restaurants form one of the core components of a mall's retail offering and its tenant mix. In order to successfully manage the tenant mix, research suggests that mall management continuously monitor their tenants' performance through customer satisfaction and return patronage surveys. The purpose of the study on which this article is based, was to gain insight into restaurant customers' satisfaction and return patronage in a shopping mall context. Research questions: The research was conceptualised with the following three research questions in mind: Which dining attributes are important for customer satisfaction and return patronage in mall restaurants? Is there a difference in restaurant customers' satisfaction and return patronage levels based on their demographic characteristics? Is there a difference in restaurant customers' satisfaction and return patronage in the respective mall restaurants? Design / methodology / approach: A mixed-methods research design was followed. The views of restaurateurs and mall managers were explored (qualitative) and 590 customers of eight restaurants situated in the mall successfully completed questionnaires (quantitative). Analysis of variance, t-tests, correlation analysis and regression analysis were performed to reach the objectives of the study. Findings: This research showed that food quality, quality service, restaurant ambience, the quality of facilities and the presence of management are important attributes in contributing to customers' overall dining satisfaction. Food quality and overall dining satisfaction are regarded as important attributes for restaurant customers' decision to return to a mall restaurant. Demographic characteristics of restaurant customers have little impact on customer satisfaction and return patronage levels. Mall restaurants were not equally successful in satisfying their customers in terms of service quality, quality of facilities and the presence of management. Implications: From a managerial perspective, it is important for mall restaurateurs to continuously strive to increase the levels of customer satisfaction and return patronage by emphasising the dining attributes identified in this article. Mall management needs to monitor customers' satisfaction in those restaurants that obtained significantly lower customer satisfaction ratings. Restaurateurs should address areas identified for improvement by this research. Originality / value: This article offers the South African restaurant subsector increased insight into customers' satisfaction and return patronage. The contribution of this article is unique in that, for the first time, customer satisfaction and return patronage are investigated from the context of restaurants situated in the same mall. The research findings supported the strategic responsible growth objectives of the National Tourism Sector Strategy.


ABSTRACT There is extensive literature acknowledging inequalities in health, particularly mental health services for adults, children and young people from Black and minority ethnic communities in the UK. However, there is little existing evidence on UK Pakistani young people's views of mental health and mental health services. Four focus-group discussions were carried out (n = 33 participants) at local schools, madrasas and a youth group; and data analysed using a framework approach. The findings from this study highlighted a number of barriers to accessing mental health services. Participants had a poor awareness of mental health services and treatment options. Most respondents referred to GPs as their first point of contact for mental health concerns. Knowledge of treatment options for mental illness focused mainly on counselling. There was little awareness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or family-based CBT as a therapeutic regime. Based on the findings of this study it is clear that young people have a poor awareness of mental health services, specifically child and adolescent mental health services services and treatment options for mental illness. Participants suggested a culturally appropriate mental health awareness intervention for young people. It was proposed that this took the form of community-based ambassadors facilitating knowledge exchange and discussion at community level.


This thesis examines how mothers, as primary caretakers, might promote the development of critical thinking of their 4- and 5-year-olds. Interest in critical thinking in very young children can be traced back to the early years of the 20th century with views expressed by philosophers such as John Dewey and John Stuart Mill that were in favour of giving young children opportunities that might encourage their free expression and inquiring, critical nature in the school context. Educators like Frobel and Montessori who developed programs for kindergartens worked on similar assumptions. However, how the home environment especially maternal support might foster the development of critical thinking in young children has received only minimal attention. The rise of the critical thinking movement in the 1970s enhanced the conceptualization of critical thinking, and how to assess the critical thinking ability. But studies of the precursors of critical thinking in young children received only minimal attention.

Two theoretical perspectives, the constructivist and the socio-cultural, represented by their most authoritative figures, Piaget and Vygotsky, respectively, have provided the conceptual basis for this research. While Piaget viewed children's cognition as developing through active construction while dealing with concrete, practical problems, Vygotsky considered children's cognitive development as evolving through the internalization of interactions with more able people in their immediate environment. In this thesis, Piaget's approach to investigating children's higher thinking processes was applied to the design of tasks that assessed critical thinking features in very young children whilst Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development was used to design the overall intervention program to develop very young children's critical thinking through meaningful interactions with their mothers.
How critical thinking in young children might develop through mothers' interaction strategies was investigated in the context of Indonesian participants in their home settings. In that cultural context, critical thinking is not nurtured, and even children's curiosity is often regarded as irritating by adults. The challenge for this study, therefore, was to design a program that would challenge the mothers' personal and cultural assumptions and to empower them to support the development of critical thinking in their young children. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated against whether and, if so, how the children's precursors of critical thinking improved across the intervention period.
The main contributions this study was expected to make are: (1) advance the conceptualization of the nature of critical thinking in very young children (2) develop and test innovative methods to identify the features of critical thinking in very young children; and (3) identifying how mothers, having been empowered through the metacognitive program, may promote the development of critical thinking in very young children.

The nature of critical thinking in very young children was operationalised through two different assessment methods specifically developed for this purpose. One was a dynamic qualitative assessment where each child interacted with his or her mother in a teaching-learning setting. The other consisted of a series of quantitative, Piagetian-like assessments, using play settings. The research used a pre- and post-intervention control group design in order to allow for comparisons both within-subjects, across the intervention period, and between-subjects as another group of mother-child pairs served as control receiving no intervention.

The findings revealed that very young children are able to show precursors of critical thinking consisting of both cognitive and affective elements, such as questioning, authentication, moral reasoning, and appropriate emotion. Features indicating inhibitors of critical thinking (such as passivity and over-compliance) were also found. Through the intervention program, the experimental group mothers learned to notice, encourage and support children's attempts at inquiry as the children grappled with making sense of their environment. Although the precursors of critical thinking identified before the intervention continued to develop over time due to maturation (as shown by the performance of the control group children), the experimental group children performed even better over time. In addition, the mothers of children with better performance in critical thinking tasks were observed to emphasize informing and reasoning, and to enjoy interacting with their children, rather than pressuring or commanding them.
This research has highlighted conceptual and methodological issues in identifying and assessing very young children's critical thinking, as well as the educational implications for the promotion of children's critical thinking at home and in schools through similar metacognitive programs for parents and teachers. More research into the assessment of very young children's critical thinking in different settings and with persons other than mothers is indicated, as is a focus on other factors that may influence the development of critical thinking.


Actuators are components that are essential to the moving, manipulating, or deforming of objects. Historically, conventional electromagnetic motors as well as pneumatic and hydraulic actuators have been developed to sophistication. In the past several decades, however, many other kinds of actuators based on novel principles have also been proposed. These have employed physical or/and chemical effects, such as piezoelectric, electrostatic, or giant magnetostrctive effects, as well as thermal expansion, phase transformation, or ion mobility in polymers. Not only the novel actuators but also conventional ones have been continually evolving in astounding ways. These actuators have been embedded not only in conventional machines but also in smart ones, such as artificial muscles for robots and power assist systems, electric vehicles, and machine tools. By combining the actuators with the Internet of Things (IoT), they are also used to test equipment. In addition, there is no doubt that the technologies involved in the development of novel actuators and the improvement of their efficiency are key to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as actuators currently consume a huge aggregate amount of energy. In sum, actuators have the potential to be central to the development of innovative machines.
 This special issue features one review, six research papers, and three technical papers on the most recent advances in various types of actuators. These papers cover topics that include magnetic levitation technologies for precision motion control, electromagnetic motors, fluid power actuators, electrostatic actuators embedded in micro-electromechanical systems, and an ultrasonic motor, plus their applications.
 All the papers were refereed through careful peer reviews. I believe that this special issue will help the readers to enhance their understanding and knowledge of actuators and their applications. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the excellent contributions of all the authors, and I appreciate the incisive efforts of reviewers in producing this special issue.


This paper presents a series of experiments to characterize the performance of the new IMAT beamline at the ISIS pulsed neutron source and provides examples to showcase the potential applications of Bragg-edge transmission imaging on the instrument. The characterization includes determination of the IMAT spectral and spatial resolutions through calibration measurements, and also determination of the precision and the accuracy of Bragg-edge analysis for lattice parameters of ceramics, metals and textured engineering alloys through high-temperature measurements. A novel Bragg-edge analysis method based on the cross-correlation of different Bragg edges has been developed to provide an estimate of the change in lattice parameter, which is especially useful for measurements of textured samples. Three different applications of the Bragg-edge transmission imaging technique are presented, including strain mapping, texture mapping and obtaining crystallographic information,i.e. the dependence on temperature of the Debye–Waller factor. The experimental results demonstrate the ability of the IMAT beamline to provide accurate strain measurements with uncertainties as low as 90 µ∊ with reasonable measurement time, while characteristic materials parameters can be mapped across the sample with a spatial resolution of 300–600 µm for a strain map and down to ∼90 µm for a texture map.


We demonstrate a nanoscale mode selector supporting the propagation of the first antisymmetric mode of a silicon waveguide. The mode selector is based on embedding a short section of PhC into the waveguide. On the basis of the difference in k-vector distribution between orthogonal waveguide modes, the PhC can be designed to have a band gap for the fundamental mode, while allowing the transmission of the first antisymmetric mode. The device was tested by directly measuring the modal content before and after the PhC section using a near field scanning optical microscope. Extinction ratio was estimated to be ∼23 dB. Finally, we provide numerical simulations demonstrating strong coupling of the antisymmetric mode to metallic nanotips. On the basis of the results, we believe that the mode selector may become an important building block in the realization of on chip nanofocusing devices.


Dynamic properties of joints must be considered when designing complex structures. A good deal of investigation has been carried out for a better understanding of the dynamic behavior of mechanical joints. It is suitable initially to identify the parameters of a mechanical joint by using either experimental modal analysis or accurate finite element model, and then predicating the behavior of closure bolting system by means of spring-mass-damper model. The effect of bolt prestress on the maximum bolt displacement and stress has been treated. The loading is assumed to be initially peaked, exponentially decaying internal pressure pulse acting on the closure. The dependence of peak bolt stresses and deflections on the bolt prestress level and system damping is investigated. It has been shown that the derived formulas, if damping is neglected, reduce to those reported in the literature. Furthermore, the damping effect is shown to be most important, especially for large natural frequencies, longer loading duration, and lower levels of prestress. Existence of damping, which results in the reduction of maximum bolt displacement and stress, was shown to be beneficial, especially for longer loading duration. The importance of bolt displacement reduction from the viewpoint of fatigue life, vibration loosening, and sealing,more » especially for lower values of prestress, has been fully emphasized.« less


Aim: The aim of this study is to compare canal transportation and centering ratio using of Protaper Next (PTN) (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and Revo-S (RS) (MicroMega, Besancon Cedex, France) compared to Protaper Universal (PTU) (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) nickel-titanium rotary file systems in curved root canals using cone-beam computed tomography. Materials and Methods: Ninety maxillary mesiobuccal first molar uncalcified canals with mature apex, curvature of 20°–45° (the Estrela method) and minimum 20-mm length were selected. The samples were randomly divided into three groups of 30 teeth each, respectively, Group I PTU, Group II PTN, and Group III RS Rotary systems and Instrumented according to the manufacturers' instructions. Pre- and post-instrumentation cone-beam tomographic scan was performed in same position to calculate canal transportation and centering ability at 2 mm, 5 mm, and 8 mm from the root apex. Statistical analysis was performed with ANOVA and Post-hoc Tukey test. Results: PTU had maximum mean canal transportation and minimum mean centering ratio at all levels, whereas PTN showed minimum mean canal transportation and maximum mean centering ratio. The results were statistically significant. Conclusions: In terms of canal transportation and centering ratio in the middle and coronal third of the root, PTN and RS performed better than PTU. However, in apical third, PTN performed best among all other groups.


Analysis of DNA samples is an important tool in forensics, and the speed of analysis can impact investigations. Comparison of DNA sequences is based on the analysis of short tandem repeats (STRs), which are short DNA sequences of 2-5 base pairs. Current forensics approaches use 20 STR loci for analysis. The use of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has utility for analysis of complex DNA mixtures. The use of tens of thousands of SNPs loci for analysis poses significant computational challenges because the forensic analysis scales by the product of the loci count and number of DNA samples to be analyzed. In this paper, we discuss the implementation of a DNA sequence comparison algorithm by re-casting the algorithm in terms of linear algebra primitives. By developing an overloaded matrix multiplication approach to DNA comparisons, we can leverage advances in GPU hardware and algoithms for dense matrix multiplication (DGEMM) to speed up DNA sample comparisons. We show that it is possible to compare 2048 unknown DNA samples with 20 million known samples in under 6 seconds using a NVIDIA K80 GPU.


Previous studies have demonstrated that rapid evacuation, disrobing and emergency decontamination can enhance the ability of emergency services and acute hospitals to effectively manage chemically-contaminated casualties. The purpose of this human volunteer study was to further optimise such an "Initial Operational Response" by (1) identifying an appropriate method for performing improvised skin decontamination and (2) providing guidance for use by first responders and casualties. The study was performed using two readily available, absorbent materials (paper towels and incontinence pads). The decontamination effectiveness of the test materials was measured by quantifying the amount of a chemical warfare agent simulant (methyl salicylate) removed from each volunteer's forearm skin. Results from the first study demonstrated that simulant recovery was lower in all of the dry decontamination conditions when compared to matched controls, suggesting that dry decontamination serves to reduce chemical exposure. Blotting in combination with rubbing was the most effective form of decontamination. There was no difference in effectiveness between the two absorbent materials. In the following study, volunteers performed improvised dry decontamination, either with or without draft guidelines. Volunteers who received the guidance were able to carry out improvised dry decontamination more effectively, using more of the absorbent product (blue roll) to ensure that all areas of the body were decontaminated and avoiding cross-contamination of other body areas by working systematically from the head downwards. Collectively, these two studies suggest that absorbent products that are available on ambulances and in acute healthcare settings may have generic applicability for improvised dry decontamination. Wherever possible, emergency responders and healthcare workers should guide casualties through decontamination steps; in the absence of explicit guidance and instructions, improvised dry decontamination may not be performed correctly or safely.


This paper presents the implementation and evaluation of a high-resolution position estimation system for sinusoidal, surface phase modulation machines based on Hall-effect sensors and a vector-tracking observer. First, the tuning of the observer is presented and a speed-dependent gain scheduling strategy is proposed. Then various harmonic decoupling strategies are investigated to improve the performance of the observer, particularly at low speeds. Stability analysis is performed leading to the definition of local stability limits, within which the actual position is tracked with bounded estimation error. Both simulation and experimental testing illustrate the performance and limitations of the proposed observer topology and of the drive when this observer is used for state feedback.


ABSTRACT Maternal diet can significantly skew the secondary sex ratio away from the expected value of 0.5 (proportion males), but the details of how diet may do this are unclear. Here, we altered dietary levels of salt (4% salt in the feed) and/or fructose (10% in the drinking water) of pregnant rats to model potential effects that consumption of a "Western diet" might have on maternofetal growth, development, and sex ratio. We demonstrate that excess fructose consumption before and during pregnancy lead to a marked skew in the secondary sex ratio (proportion of males, 0.60; P < 0.006). The effect was not mediated by selective developmental arrest of female embryos or influenced by fetal position in the uterine horn or sex-specific effects on sperm motility, suggesting a direct effect of glycolyzable monosaccharide on the maternal ovary and/or ovulated oocyte. Furthermore, combined excess maternal consumption of salt and fructose-sweetened beverage significantly reduced fertility, reflected as a 50% reduction in preimplantation and term litter size. In addition, we also noted birth order effects in the rat, with sequential implantation sites tending to be occupied by the same sex.


This paper explores how an intervention research approach has been used to develop a simulation game to encourage active learning for undergraduate business accounting students.  Based on the lecturer's reflective practice, it was recognised that many business students struggle to understand the practical application of accountancy theory.  It was envisaged that using a virtual gaming environment would help students to contextualise accounting theories by encouraging them to engage in active learning.   While business simulation software already exists, the prototype of the game was developed with the learning outcomes from specific accounting modules in mind.  The process of game development, like professional development is iterative, and so feedback was sought from accounting students currently enrolled in undergraduate business programmes at the Institute of Technology, Sligo.  Their feedback was then used to refine the game to make it more relevant and user friendly.  The objective was to improve not only the quality of the learning for the student, but also the quality of the teaching.  This paper demonstrates how reflective practice, and the intervention which followed, has resulted in the development of a new tool for teaching and learning.


This paper presents a new approach to multiuser detection in code division multiple access (CDMA). The proposed detector is an adaptive nonlinear parallel interference cancellation scheme that uses a nonlinear function (hyperbolic tangent) as the decision device and uses the steepest descent method for finding the parameter of this nonlinear function. Numerical simulation results show the superior performance of the proposed method.


Dipsacales is an asterid angiosperm clade of ca. 1100 species, with most of its lineages occupying temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. A recent phylogenetic analysis based on 7593 nucleotides of chloroplast DNA recovered a well-resolved and strongly supported phylogenetic hypothesis, which we use here to estimate divergence times within the group. A molecular clock is strongly rejected, regardless of data partition. We used recently proposed methods that relax the assumption of rate constancy among lineages (local clocks, nonparametric rate smoothing, penalized likelihood, and Bayesian relaxed clock) to estimate the ages of major lineages. Age estimates for Dipsacales varied widely among markers and codon positions, and depended on the fossils used for calibration and method of analysis. Some methods yielded dates for the Dipsacales diversification that appear to be too old (prior to the presumed 125 my [million years] age of eudicots), and others suggested ages that are too young based on well-documented Dipsacales fossils. Concordant penalized likelihood and Bayesian studies imply that Dipsacales originated in the Cretaceous, as did its two major lineages, Adoxaceae and Caprifoliaceae. However, diversification of crown Adoxaceae and Caprifoliaceae mainly occurred in the Tertiary, with the origin of major lineages within these clades mainly occurring during the Eocene. Another round of diversification appears to have occurred in the Miocene. Several radiations, such as Valerianaceae in South America and Dipsacaceae around the Mediterranean, are even more recent. This study demonstrates the wide range of divergence times that can be obtained using different methods and data sets, and cautions against reliance on age estimates based on only a single gene or methodology. Despite this variance, significant conclusions can be made about the timing of Dipsacales evolution.


Background: Several recent studies investigated the relationship between self-esteem and ADHD, however, the results are still controversial. In the present study we analyze the characteristics of self-esteem in a sample of children and adolescents suffering from ADHD, with a particular focus on the relationship between ADHD symptoms severity and treatment strategies. Methods: A total of 85 patients with ADHD (44 drug-free and 41 drug-treated, 23 of which atomoxetine-treated and 18 Methylphenidate-treated) and 26 healthy controls were enrolled in the study in order to evaluate self-esteem using the Self-esteem Multidimensional Test (TMA). Results: ADHD subjects revealed lower scores on all self-esteem domains compared to controls. Both ADHD drug-free (47.1%) and ADHD drug-treated (44.1%) groups showed significantly higher rates of subjects in the pathological range as compared to normal control group (8.8%) (p <.001) with a higher percentage of subjects in the pathological range. Among ADHD drug-treated subjects, the methylphenidate group showed higher self-esteem scores as compared to the atomoxetine group. Conclusion: A lower self-esteem profile is more common in subjects suffering from ADHD than in healthy controls, suggesting the importance of an early detection of psychological well-being in these children in order to reduce the ADHD symptoms long-term impacts.


The dynamic response of squared conduction velocity, theta 2, to repetitive stimulation in canine Purkinje fibers with quinidine was studied using a double-microelectrode technique. With stimulation, a frequency-dependent monoexponential increase in conduction delay (CD) and a decline in theta 2 were observed. The exponential rates and changes in steady-state CD and theta 2 were frequency- and concentration-dependent. The overall drug uptake rates describing blockade and the interpulse recovery interval were linearly related and steady-state values of theta 2 were linearly related to an exponential function of the stimulus intervals. Based on first-order binding, the frequency- and concentration-dependent properties of quinidine were characterized by the apparent binding and unbinding rates of 14.2 +/- 5.7 X 10(6) mol-1.s-1 and 63 +/- 12 s-1 for activated and 14.8 +/- 1.0 X 10(2) mol-1.s-1 and 0.16 +/- 0.03 s-1 for resting states. The recovery time constant extracted from the pulse train interpulse interval was 5.8 +/- 1.5 s compared with 5.1 +/- 0.6 s determined from a posttrain test pulse protocol. This study demonstrates that the kinetics of drug action can be derived from measures of impulse propagation. This provides a basis for characterizing frequency-dependent properties of antiarrhythmic agents in vivo and suggests the plausibility of a quantitative assessment of drug binding and recovery rates in man.


Background Breathalyzers have become an indispensable tool for monitoring alcohol levels among drivers for evidential purposes. Israels traffic police, like many other countries worldwide, uses the Drager 7110 MKIII, which is correlated with blood alcohol levels at a 2100:1 partition ratio. Recent uncertainty with this association resulted in a legal standstill in the conviction of drunk drivers. Objective To assess the correlation between breath alcohol, measured using the Drager 7110 MKIII-IL breathalyzer, and blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). Methods Sixty-one healthy volunteers, ages 21–37 years, participated in a blinded study. Participants were administered between 0.89 and1.16 g 95% alcohol/kg body weight according to gender mixed with juice. Breath and blood samples were taken simultaneously before and at 30-, 60- and 90-min after alcohol ingestion. Breath alcohol concentrations were measured by police officers trained in the use of the breathalyzer and under field conditions. Blood alcohol levels were determined by head-space gas chromatography technique in an accredited laboratory. Results A total of 242 valid blood/breath tests were performed on 61 participants. The correlation coefficient between breath and blood alcohol levels was high (r=0.983). The regression equation for the prediction of breath alcohol was equal to 10.224+4.292*blood alcohol. The sensitivity and the specificity of the breathalyzer instrument were 97% and 93%, respectively. Blood to breath alcohol ratio was 1:2231242. Conclusions The Drager 7110 MKIII IL breathalyzer was highly correlated with BAC. The results of this study were used in the Israeli courts as evidence for the reliability of the Drager 7110 MKIII breathalyzer measurement.


The aim of this study is to assess the possibility of developing novel predictive models based on data mining algorithms which would provide an automatic tool for the calculation of the extent of lung tumor motion characterized by its known location and size. Data mining is an analytic process designed to explore data in search of regular patterns and relationships between variables. The ultimate goal of data mining is prediction of the future behavior. Artificial neural network (ANN) data-mining algorithm was used to develop an automatic model, which was trained to predict extent of the tumor motion using the data set obtained from the available 4D CT imaging data. The accuracy of the designed neural network was tested by using longer training time, different input values and/or more neurons in its hidden layer. An optimized ANN best fit the training and test datasets with a regression value (R) of 0.97 and mean squared error value of 0.0039 cm2. The maximum error that was recorded for the best network performance was 0.32 cm in the craniocaudal direction. The overall prediction error was largest in this direction for 70% of the studied cases. In this study, the concepts of neural networks were discussed and an ANN algorithm is proposed to be used with clinical lung tumor information for the prediction of the tumor motion extent. The results of optimized ANN are promising and can be a reliable tool for motion pattern calculation. It is an automated tool, which may assist radiation oncologists in defining the tumor margins needed in lung cancer radiation therapy.


Ice cream is one of dairy-based frozen desserts which has a huge potency to be developed into a probiotic product. Cells viability is the main concern in formulation and processing of probiotic ice cream. Freezing and frozen storage are critical for cell viability. Recently, considerable interest has been shown in non-dairy ice cream which is suitable for vegetarians and people who are lactose intolerant. Usually, the non-dairy ice cream uses soymilk combined with coconut milk to increase fat and total solid. The objective of this research is to study the effect of coconut milk level (50 g/500 g and 160 g/500 g) and frozen storage time(0;7;14;21;and 28 days) on viability of Lactobacillus acidophilus in non-dairy probiotic ice cream. The coconut milk level of 50 g/500 g produced the non-dairy ice cream with total fat of 3.78% (mellofreeze), total solid of 25.37% and overrun of 8.26%, while its level of 50 g/500 g produced non-dairy ice cream with total fat of 9.52% (mellorine), total solid of 34.53% and overrun of 42.84%. The differences of coconut milk level and frozen storage times significantly affected the viability of Lactobacillus acidophilus. The coconut milk levesl of 50 g/500 g and 160 g/500 g produced ice cream with the cell viability of 10.22 log cfu/ml and 11.12 log cfu/ml, respectively. The Lactobacillus acidophilus viability decreased significantly after 7 days, but not for further storages. At the end of storage (28 days), the viable cells were 8 to 9 log cfu/ml, which complied with the probiotic prereq-


In this paper, four different nondestructive testing (NDT) methods and the static bending test were conducted on the birch (Betula platyphylla Suk.) laminated veneer lumber (LVL). The NDT methods included the longitudinal transmission method, longitudinal vibration method, in-plane and out-plane flexural vibration method. The effects of the compression ratio on the static bending (MOE) and bending strength (MOR) of LVL with vertical load were investigated. There were four compression ratios for different ply numbers of LVL, 8.1% for eight-ply samples, 18.3% for nine-ply samples, 26.5% for ten-ply samples, 33.1% for eleven-ply samples, respectively. The microscopic structure of the LVL was analyzed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the MOE and MOR of LVL were increased with increasing compression ratio, and there was a strong correlation between each dynamic Young's modulus and the static MOE.


A rhizotron study was conducted to assess the relationship between soil water availability and shoot and root growth of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) under conditions where O 2 availability and mechanical resistance were considered not limiting. Relationships between soil water availability and (i) root growth rate, (ii) root distribution, (iii) growth periodicity, and (iv) above- and belowground allocation were evaluated under four watering regimes ranging from maintaining profile near field capacity (WK 1) to withholding moisture for 4 wk (WK 4). The final distribution of cumulative root growth was similar among watering treatments, even though root growth shifted downward with depth during the growing period due to water depletion in surface soils. Relative root elongation rates were found to be linearly related to soil water potential. The strength of this relationship was improved by considering only periods of active root growth. Reductions in above- and belowground growth were proportional among water-restricting treatments. Stem volume and root growth in the driest treatments were reduced 46 and 41%, respectively, compared with the WK 1 cells, indicating that patterns of biomass allocation above and below ground were similar among treatments. In the absence of other limiting soil factors, flushes of root growth in this study were a function of relatively short-term changes in soil water potential. Our results indicate that when maximum tree biomass is desired, management efforts in establishing pine should be aimed at reducing any restrictions to root growth during establishment.


The color designers are used to introduce customized product design, visually communicating the unique impression of a car. They always carefully observe harmony of color and body shape to obtain desired visual impression. This paper studies to what extent anisotropic appearance improves a visual impression of a car body beyond a standard isotropic one. To address this challenge, we ran several psychophysical studies identifying the proper alignment of an anisotropic axis over a car body. We have shown that subjects preferred an anisotropy axis orthogonal to car body orientation and that the majority of subjects found the anisotropic appearance more visually appealing than the isotropic one.


There has been much effort on predicting users' location (country or region) using social media sites, like Twitter. However, exciting work has not addressed the prediction of users' place of visit at finer granularity like restaurant or park. To address this problem, in this paper, we present the methodology of predicting user's place of visit using: (i) personality attributes of users obtained from her tweets using SystemU; and (ii) time and day at which prediction is to be made. Based on these features, we build a model that predicts the likelihood of a user's place of visit at given time and day. We performed extensive experiments involving, real data derived from twitter timelines of more than 3000 users. Models are trained using different machine learning algorithms and results demonstrate the effectiveness of work with accuracy more than 80% for top 5 predictions.


The surface preparation of moulds for high gloss applications, e.g. tools for injection moulding of plastic parts, is still a relatively unknown area. Most knowledge is accumulated by individual polishers with long experience in the field. Literature covering the polishing process/mechanisms is rare and it becomes harder and harder to recruit new skilled polishers. Today it is also a matter of time, and cost; how long time is needed to prepare a new mould? How many steps are needed? Which tools? Is it possible to replace the manual polishers by robots? This article is part of a study where equivalent steel samples were prepared in different polishing shops to investigate the surface quality achieved in every step of the process. The polishers have documented their processes and comment on the final results. The main goal was to study how different proceedings affect the final surface quality; which are the crucial factors in order to achieve a high gloss polished surface with low defect levels? The sample analysis is based on visual estimations as well as interferometer measurements and belonging surface parameters; e.g. seems the number of preparation steps be crucial to the final surface quality.


By exploiting the received signal's second-order cyclostationary statistics, blind algorithms have been previously proposed for joint estimation of the frequency offset and the symbol timing delay of a linearly modulated waveform transmitted through a flat-fading channel. The goal of this paper is to establish and analyze the asymptotic (large sample) performance of the Gini-Giannakis (1998) and Ghogho-Swami-Durrani (1999) estimators as a function of the pulse shape bandwidth and the oversampling factor. It is shown that the performance of these estimators improves as the pulse shape bandwidth increases, and the best performance is obtained by selecting small values for the oversampling factor.


This paper studies the quantitative properties of a general equilibrium model where a continuum of heterogeneous entrepreneurs are subject to aggregate as well as idiosyncratic risks in the presence of a borrowing constraint. The calibrated model matches the highly skewed wealth and income distributions of entrepreneurs. The authors provide an accurate solution to the model despite the significant nonlinearities that are absent in the economy with uninsurable labor income risk. The model is capable of generating the average private equity premium of roughly 3 percent and a low risk-free rate. The model also produces procyclicality of the risk-free rate and countercyclicality of the average private equity premium. The countercyclicality of the average equity premium is largely driven by tightening (loosening) of financing constraints during recessions (booms).


This paper surveys the extent and application of Internet-enhanced course instruction in agricultural economics. We find that roughly thirty percent of agricultural economics courses have websites and that the purpose of these websites is to distribute course documents. We argue that this application substitutes readily for traditional teaching methods. According to production economics principles, introduction of an input that substitutes readily for an existing input will not increase production. Therefore, we would not expect course websites used in this manner to greatly enhance learning. We briefly discuss Internet-based tools that offer greater potential benefits than simple document distribution.


The results of transformation process in Russia came out to be just the opposite to the reformators' expectations at the beginning of 1990s. That is why the government has changed the course of reforms and implemented the traditional for Russian economy practices the given mechanisms in the new forms. The general theory of institutional transformations gives another explanation towards what is going on. The explanation differs from the popular assumption of renaissance of plan economy and renewal of the institutions of power-ownership. According to this theory Russia has witnessed the creation of the «economy of the liberal distribution», the characteristics of which become the state contract and state order as modern forms of institutionalization of the "take-give" relations, state corporations become the basis for production function while the basic economic mechanism will be budget accounting


Background:There is an emerging group of intensive care unit (ICU) patients known as the chronically critically ill (CCI). This patient group is steadily increasing worldwide (Nelson et al., 2004).No published literature was located that focused on the nursing experience of caring for CCI patients, however studies alluded to CCI patients as frustrating to look after.This is pertinent because these patients are costly to care for and considered burdensome to nurses and physicians. (Daly, Rudy, Thompson & Happ, 1991). In a working environment where turnover and shortage of nursing staff is evident and predicted to worsen, this is cause for real concern about future resourcing for this patient group (Carasa & Nespoli, 2002). Research Aims: The aim of this study was to explore and describe nurses' experiences of caring for CCI patients. ICU nurses are the key providers of bedside care to all ICU patients. They have valuable contributions concerning the planning and implementation of patient-focused care, including that of long-stay and CCI patients. Method: A qualitative approach was used with an exploratory descriptive design. Semistructured interviews were conducted which generated in-depth description of participant experiences. Findings: Six key themes are identified: 1. Nursing autonomy and control 2. Work-related stress, compassion fatigue and staff allocation 3. The CCI patient in the ICU environment 4. Teamwork, nursing practice and continuity of care 5. The culture of ICU 6. Withdrawal of care and palliation. Summary: Six nurses from two tertiary level ICUs within New Zealand were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. Participants were encouraged to comment on several issues including access to training and resources, cultural issues within ICU and any suggestions for how CCI patient care might be improved.The interviews were transcribed to allow a thorough content analysis. These topics were explored and generated recommendations for changing practice.


One of the application fields of nuclear transfer (NT) is to increase the population of endangered mammals. In the present study, cloning of native Anatolian Grey Cattle living semi-wildly especially in the Marmara Region was aimed. Bovine oocytes isolated from slaughterhouse ovaries were matured in TCM-199 supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 50 μg mL–1 of sodium pyruvate, 1% v/v penicillin-streptomycin (10.000 U mL–1 of penicillin G, 10 000 mg mL–1 of streptomycin), 50 ng mL–1 of epidermal growth factor, 0.5 μg mL–1 of FSH, 5 μg mL–1 of LH (Arat et al. 2004 Reprod. Fertil. Dev. 16, 135). After removing the cumulus cells of matured oocytes (MII), meiotic spindles and first polar bodies were removed. As nuclear material source, cartilage and fibroblast cells obtained from the ear tissue of 3-year-old Anatolian Grey Bull were used. This animal is kept under the National Conservation Program of the Turkish Government. Prior to NT, all somatic cells were allowed to grow to confluency (G1/G0) in DMEM-F12 supplemented with 10% FBS (Arat et al. 2002 Biol. Reprod. 66, 1768–1774). After transfer of single cells to enucleated oocytes, oocyte-cell couples were fused by a DC pulse of 2.66 kV cm–1 for 30 μs in the Zimmerman medium. After fusion, fused NT units were activated using a combination of calcium ionophore (5 μm for 5 min), cytochalasin D (2.5 μg mL–1) and cycloheximide (CHX, 10 μg mL–1) for 1 h and CHX alone for 4 h. In the first experiment, after activation, NT units were cultured in Sage cleavage medium (Cooke et al. 2002 Fertil. Steril. 78, 1254–1260; Tang et al. 2006 Hum. Reprod. 21, 1179–1183) supplemented with 8 mg mL–1 of BSA for 72 h and then developing embryos were divided into 4 groups. After 72 h of culture, all cleaved embryos from cartilage cells in groups I, II, III, and IV were respectively cultured in Sage blastocyst media supplemented with 8 mg mL–1 of BSA, 8 mg mL–1 of BSA + 5% FCS, 4 mg mL–1 of BSA + 5% FCS, and 4 mg mL–1 of BSA + 100 ng mL–1 of insulin-like growth factor for additional 4 days. Differences among groups were analyzed by one-way ANOVA after arcsin square transformation (P = 0.05). In group III, development rate to blastocyst (27.3%) was significantly higher than the other groups (18.2, 21.2, and 15.0% for groups I, II, and IV, respectively). In the second experiment, development rates of embryos from cartilage or fibroblast cells, cultured in the group III medium treatment above, were compared. Development rate to blastocyst of 1-cell embryos from cartilage cells (30.8%) was significantly higher than the rate of embryos from fibroblast cells (20.8%). Forty-two good quality embryos from cartilage cells and 11 embryos from fibroblast cells were transferred into 23 Holstein dairy recipient cows (2–5 blastocysts/cow). Day 35 pregnancies were diagnosed in 10 cows from cartilage cells (53% 10/19; one of them was over to 100 days) and in 1 cow from fibroblast cells (50% 1/2). Two recipient cows carrying embryos from fibroblast cells were not yet examined for pregnancy. This cloning study is the first on the Anatolian Grey Cow and is still going on. This study was supported by grants from TUBITAK, Turkey (TOVAG-104O360 and KAMAG-106G005).


It is presently well-established that the synthesis of polycarbonates or cyclic carbonates from metal-catalyzed reactions of CO2 and oxiranes provides a viable industrial process for the production of these important chemicals. In this study, we have demonstrated that CO2 collected under aerobic conditions at atmospheric pressure over [Cu3(btc)2(H2O)3] (btc = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) or HKUST-1, a commercially available metal–organic framework material (MOF), can be utilized to synthesize poly(propylene carbonate) from propylene oxide and CO2 catalyzed by Co(III) salen catalysts at optimal pressure. That is, CO2 thermally released from the MOF material selectively affords copolymer in the pressure range that is not rate-limiting. Similar results were noted for the copolymerization of the much less reactive cis-2-butylene oxide monomer with CO2. Comparative studies using CO2 provided directly from a compressed gas source gave similar results. This investigation provides a baseline study for the practi...


Context. Poly(beta-amino ester) (PBAE) with its pH sensitiveness and Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with huge DNA cargo capacity in combination prove to be highly efficient as DNA delivery system. Objective. To study the effectiveness of novel synthesized PBAE polymer with PLGA blend at different ratios in DNA vaccine delivery. Methods. In the present study, multifunctional polymer blend microparticles using a combination of PLGA and novel PBAE polymers A1 (bis(3-(propionyloxy)propyl)3,3′-(propane-1,3-diyl-bis(methylazanediyl))dipropanoate) and A2 (bis(4-(propionyloxy)butyl)3,3′-(ethane-1,2-diyl-bis(isopropylazanediyl))dipropanoate) at different ratios (85 : 15, 75 : 25, and 50 : 50) were prepared by double emulsion solvent removal method. The microparticles were characterized for cytotoxicity, transfection efficiency, and DNA encapsulation efficiency. Result. It was evident from results that among the microparticles prepared with PLGA/PBAE blend the PLGA : PBAE at 85 : 15 ratio was found to be more effective combination than the microparticles prepared with PLGA alone in terms of transfection efficiency and better DNA integrity. Microparticles made of PLGA and PBAE A1 at 85 : 15 ratio, respectively, were found to be less toxic when compared with microparticles prepared with A2 polymer. Conclusion. The results encourage the use of the synthesized PBAE polymer in combination with PLGA as an effective gene delivery system.


Many mass extinctions of life in the sea and on land have been attributed to geologically rapid heating, and in the case of the Permian–Triassic and others, driven by large igneous province volcanism. The Siberian Traps eruptions raised ambient temperatures to 35–40°C. A key question is how massive eruptions during these events, and others, could have killed life in the sea and on land; proposed killers are reviewed here. In the oceans, benthos and plankton were killed by anoxia–euxinia and lethal heating, respectively, and the habitable depth zone was massively reduced. On land, the combination of extreme heating and drought reduced the habitable land area, and acid rain stripped forests and soils. Physiological experiments show that some animals can adapt to temperature rises of a few degrees, and that some can survive short episodes of increases of 10°C. However, most plants and animals suffer major physiological damage at temperatures of 35–40°C. Studies of the effects of extreme physical conditions on modern organisms, as well as assumptions about rates of environmental change, give direct evidence of likely killing effects deriving from hyperthermals of the past. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Hyperthermals: rapid and extreme global warming in our geological past'.


A concentric tube resonator was investigated to determine the accuracy of the numerical method used for sound‐pressure simulations. The interaction between the tube and the cavity was through a perforated surface, of which the acoustical properties were experimentally determined [J. W. Sullivan, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 76, 479–484 (1984)]. These properties were imposed as boundary conditions to the finite‐element analysis (FEA) code. Predicted and measured transmission losses were compared under no mean flow conditions. The work was then extended to include the effects of mean flow. Empirical equations given in literature were used to modify the acoustical properties of the perforated surface to incorporate the effects of flow [Garrison et al., Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Rep. (1969)]. The mean flow terms in the scalar Helmholtz equation were treated explicitly in order to avoid the additional storage requirements for the FEA code. Special attention had been paid to the design of the FEA code, such that inform...


Detention at Guantanamo, targeting of individuals with drones, use of civilians to warn the targets of military operations, use of military commissions – courts in the United States and abroad have grappled with these and other questions extensively over the past decade and more. These issues, and others that arise in the course of armed conflict and counterterrorism operations, bring the role of national courts in the implementation and enforcement of international humanitarian law into direct relief. Courts faced with wartime cases encounter two critical determinations before even reaching the merits of the case: whether to apply international humanitarian law and, if so, to what extent. The answers to those two questions will then likely have a major impact on the disposition of the case. Any actors engaged in the implementation or enforcement of international humanitarian law – whether lawyers, military operators, political leaders or others – must have a clear understanding of how their national courts will approach cases involving international humanitarian law. This essay will analyze what factors cause courts to choose to apply – or not apply – international humanitarian law and how much of it they will apply. Knowing how the law actually applies to the facts at hand is, of course, critical to the preparation of any case, military operation, advocacy campaign or other action. In the international humanitarian law paradigm, however, this analysis must go beyond the specific substantive law. A court's initial decision about whether to apply IHL or to what extent it applies, relative to human rights law, for example, will have a significant effect on the merits of the case. Because the process – which law and how much law – is substantively determinative, on a broad strategic level, predicting or understanding how courts will approach the legal framework as cases arise is important for effective advocacy, operational and political decision-making and long-term legal analysis.


We report on the nonlinear magnetization dynamics of a HoFeO3 crystal induced by a strong terahertz magnetic field resonantly enhanced with a split ring resonator. The terahertz magnetic field induces a large magnetization change of 40% of the spontaneous magnetization. The frequency of the antiferromagnetic resonance decreases in proportion to the square of the magnetization change.


Author(s): Banger, K; Nafziger, ED; Wang, J; Pittelkow, CM | Abstract: © 2019 The Authors. Core Ideas DSSAT was calibrated for simulating soil N concentration during the maize growing season. Two-step validation included research experiments and 49 commercial maize fields. Model performance was fair in predicting SOM mineralization and N management impacts. The model captured effects of early season rainfall on soil N variability across sites. Farmers have limited knowledge of inorganic soil nitrogen (N) concentration during maize (Zea mays L.) growth in the US Midwest, particularly after periods of wet spring weather. The objectives of this study were to calibrate the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) model for predicting inorganic soil N concentration using data from three field experiments in Illinois, to evaluate model performance against three independent sites and additional data from 49 commercial maize fields, and to assess the impacts of rainfall variability on the predicted decrease in soil N concentration early in the growing season. Model calibration included adjustments to soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition parameters based on predicted soil organic carbon concentration (obtained from gSSURGO) and soil drainage rates. Model performance was considered "fair" in predicting SOM mineralization dynamics and the effects of fall vs. spring N fertilizer application across the validation datasets (normalized RMSE, 21.2–25.7%). The model also captured the variability in soil N concentration across 49 commercial fields (R2 = 0.68–0.88; slope, 0.99–1.24), with higher cumulative rainfall from January to July (g800 mm) reducing predicted soil N availability compared with fields receiving less rainfall (500–600 mm). Results suggest that DSSAT has the potential to estimate soil N availability across variable weather patterns, soil properties, and fertilizer management scenarios in Illinois. However, future work is needed to further improve model accuracy, especially if it is to be used as a decision support tool for farmers.


Dynamic characteristics of structures determine the methods to be used for their analysis and design against environmental loads such as wind. In some structures, the effect of the energy contained in gusts sequences must be attended, emphasizing the fluctuating components of the gusts that resonate with them. In these cases, dynamic methods in time domain are frequently used. Numerical simulation of wind loads is a tool that has been widely developed and applied. The aim of this study is to perform a literature review to determine the necessary parameters for simulating wind time series as well as the existing numerical methods for this purpose, emphasizing in tropical cyclone-prone region.


In a dramatic example of the power of domestication, beginning some 9000 years ago people in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest transformed the unappetizing grass called teosinte into the many-kerneled maize that today feeds hundreds of millions around the world. Researchers had already identified a handful of genes involved in this transformation. Now, studies of ancient DNA by two independent research groups show what was happening to the plant's genes middomestication, about 5000 years ago. The snapshot reveals exactly how the genetics changed over time as generations of people selected plants with their preferred traits.


We hypothesized that combined transgenic overexpression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and placental lactogen in islets would lead to even greater increases in beta-cell mass and replication than either growth factor alone. This did not occur, suggesting that beta-cell replication is saturable or subject to molecular restraint. We therefore performed the first comprehensive G(1)/S cell cycle survey in islets, cataloguing the broad range of kinases, cyclins, and kinase inhibitors that control the G(1)/S transition in islets from normal, HGF, placental lactogen, and doubly transgenic mice. Many of the G(1)/S checkpoint regulators (E2Fs; pRb; p107; p130; cyclins D(1),(2),(3), A, and E; cdk-2; cdk-4; p15; p16; p18; p19; p21; p27; MDM2; p53; c-Myc; and Egr-1) are present in the murine islet. Most of these proteins were unaltered by overexpression of HGF or placental lactogen, either alone or in combination. In contrast, p21(cip) was uniquely, dramatically, and reproducibly upregulated in placental lactogen and HGF islets. p21(cip) was also present in, and upregulated in, proliferating human islets, localizing specifically in beta-cells and translocating to the nucleus on mitogenic stimulation. Homozygous p21(cip) loss releases islets from growth inhibition, markedly enhancing proliferation in response to HGF and placental lactogen.


Introduction: The integration of wind generation into power systems is affected by uncertainties in the forecasting of the expected power output. Misestimating of meteorological conditions or large forecasting errors (ie phase errors, near cutoff speeds) are costly for infrastructures (ie unexpected loads on turbines) and reduce the value of wind energy for end-users. Existing wind power forecasting approaches focus on the "usual" operating conditions rather than on extreme events. This paper presents the research methodology and first results of the European project SafeWind, which aims at developing extensive research for improving wind modeling and forecasting in challenging or extreme situations. Approach: Due to the variable nature of the wind resource, the large-scale integration of wind power causes several difficulties to the operation and management of a power system. Short term forecasts of wind generation, from a few hours up to a few days ahead, are necessary for the optimal integration of wind generation into power systems. However, existing forecasting approaches focus on the "usual" operating conditions rather than on extreme events. This paper presents an overview of the main results of the 4-year European project SafeWind (FP7) which is coming at its end by 2012. Main body of abstract: The results presented here cover three main axes of Safewind. Firstly, the project aims at improving predictability with focus on extremes at various temporal and spatial scales going from a few minutes to a few days and from the level of wind turbine to the European scale respectively. Although current forecasting technology mainly encompasses deterministic models for wind production, the project develops the concept of complementary tools that can be used jointly to traditional forecasts to assess wind predictability. The project developed: * new forecasting methods for wind generation focusing on uncertainty and challenging situations/extremes (i.e. probabilistic models for ramps timing). * models for "alarming": providing information for the level of predictability in the (very) short-term. They use near-real time online observations for alerts on potential extreme prediction errors and for immediate updates of short-term (0-6h) wind power predictions on regional and local scale; * models for "warning": providing information for the level of predictability in the medium-term (next day(s)). Such tools, based on ensemble weather forecasts and weather pattern identification, can be used to moderate risks in decision making procedures related to market participation, reserves estimation etc. The second axes of the project is to study how new measurement technologies like Lidars can be beneficial for improved evaluation of external conditions, resource assessment and forecasting purposes. Advances to that direction are presented in the paper. At the early stages of wind energy, the focus was on resource assessment, where the aim is to take optimal decisions where to install new wind farms. Nowadays, the revenue of a wind farm may be generated by its direct participation to an electricity market. Prediction errors result to penalties that reduce revenue. The third axes of the project studies how the predictability of a site can be considered as a design parameter when taking decisions for the installation of a new wind farm. It is studied whether a site with lower resource but with higher predictability may be advantageous to select. Conclusion: This paper concludes with a critical discussion on the results. This is the basis for a number of recommendations presented on future R&D directions for improving wind predictability.


BACKGROUND
Most methodologic search filters developed for use in large electronic databases such as MEDLINE have low precision. One method that has been proposed but not tested for improving precision is NOTing out irrelevant content.

OBJECTIVE
To determine if search filter precision can be improved by NOTing out the text words and index terms assigned to those articles that are retrieved but are off-target.

DESIGN
Analytic survey.

METHODS
NOTing out unique terms in off-target articles and testing search filter performance in the Clinical Hedges Database.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Sensitivity, specificity, precision and number needed to read (NNR).

RESULTS
For all purpose categories (diagnosis, prognosis and etiology) except treatment and for all databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO), constructing search filters that NOTed out irrelevant content resulted in substantive improvements in NNR (over four-fold for some purpose categories and databases).

CONCLUSION
Search filter precision can be improved by NOTing out irrelevant content.


Inversion of magnetic data is an important step towards interpretation of the practical data. Smooth inversion is a common technique for the inversion of data. Physical bound constraint can improve the solution to the magnetic inverse problem. However, how to introduce the bound constraint into the inversion procedure is important. Imposing bound constraint makes the magnetic data inversion a non-linear inverse problem. In this work, a new algorithm is developed for the 3D inversion of magnetic data, which uses an efficient penalization function for imposing the bound constraint and Gauss Newton method to achieve the solution. An adaptive regularization method is used in order to choose the regularization parameter in this inversion approach. The inversion results of synthetic data show that the new method can produce models that adequately match the real location and shape of the synthetic bodies. The test carried out on the field data from Mt. Milligan copper-gold porphyry deposit shows that the new inversion approach can produce the magnetic susceptibility models consistent with the true structures.


A variety of studies assess the impact of multinational enterprises (MNE) in developing countries. They mainly focus on the negative externalities of these companies. Therefore, this study focuses on the positive effects emanating from the presence of MNEs in developing countries. It is hypothesised that positive externalities resulting from MNEs have their source in the local embeddedness of the firm. The two case studies presented in this paper assess the embeddedness of Syngenta's subsidiaries in Kenya and Colombia. The focus is on Syngenta's potato production and related crop protection business. The study investigates the perspective of the company, the view of experts and the potential impact on smallholder farmers. The results show that in both countries Syngenta is collaborating with universities and other research institutions, governmental institutions, NGOs and the local private sector. Syngenta creates attractive skilled jobs for locals in both countries. The company positively influences its business partners in the area of standards and good business practices. Furthermore, farmers profit from the technologies and trainings provided by the firm or its partners. It can be concluded that through embeddedness, Syngenta understands the needs of farmers and can help to meet these needs, which in turn results in a business case for the company.


We review recent progress in attaining a quantitative understanding of the scarring phenomenon, the non-random behavior of quantum wavefunctions near unstable periodic orbits of a classically chaotic system. The wavepacket dynamics framework leads to predictions about statistical long-time and stationary properties of quantum systems with chaotic classical analogues. Many long-time quantum properties can be quantitatively understood using only short-time classical dynamics information; these include wavefunction intensity distributions, intensity correlations in phase space and correlations between wavefunctions, and distributions of decay rates and conductance peaks in weakly open systems. Strong deviations from random matrix theory are predicted and observed in the presence of short unstable periodic orbits.


The first data about the composition of lava flows from Branco Island (Cabo Verde) are presented in this
work. Most lava flows in the sequence are alkali basalts (Fo84-76 olivine, En44-36 diopside, An83-31 plagioclase)
showing geochemical affinity of typical ocean island basalts. The scarce most evolved members are
mugearites (olivine absent, En41-31 clinopyroxene, An51-26 plagioclase, and kaersutite). The compositional
variations between both the types are explained by crystal fractionation and extraction of pyroxene (up to
29%) and lesser proportions of olivine and Fe and Ti oxides (Cpx: 75; Ol: 21; OxFeTi: 4). The transition to
mugearites from the most evolved basalts would mainly be due to extraction of pyroxene (24%) and Fe
and Ti oxides (Cpx: 68; Ol: 3; Plag: 5; OxFeTi: 30).


The objects of this study concerted to identify the develop Aspergillus flavus, Hymenocrater longiflovus extracts have been evaluated for their bioactivities on A. flavus. In total, 100 samples of nuts were collected from markets of Iraq. Through the study, PDA media were used to isolate A. flavus. The results revealed the A. flavus was identified in 65% from nuts. Aspergillus flavus isolates were further culture on PDA media contain ethanol H. longiflovus extracts, and hydroethanol H. longiflovus extracts. The results showed the effect of different concentrations of plant extracts on radial mycelial growth of A. flavus. Increasing concentration of plant extract significantly reduced the mycelial growth of the pathogen. These results evidently indicate that the plant H. longiflovus had inhibitory effect on post-harvest pathogen of nuts in alcoholic extracts of H. longiflovus have been reported to have antimicrobial properties.


Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are fatal, neurodegenerative diseases that include Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie in animals. Prion diseases are characterized by the accumulation of a misfolded prion protein, PrPSc, which is made by a posttranslational conformational change of the host-encoded cellular prion protein, PrPC. The process of the conformational change remains enigmatic, but a large number of researches on the therapeutic intervention have been done in experimental models over the past 30 years. Against the background of the occurrence of variant CJD in the UK in the 1990s, which is considered to occur by transmission of the BSE agent and to possibly spread through secondary infection via blood transfusion, the research on the development of therapeutic agents has been accelerated using an increasing number of disease models in animals, cells and in vitro system. Candidate therapeutic targets for prion diseases include the following four factors: the PrPC; the PrPSc; the cellular factors associated with the conversion of PrPC into PrPSc; the cellular factors responsible for the neurodegenerative processes. In this article, recent advances in the therapeutic development for prion diseases on the basis of molecular targeting are reviewed, and its future perspectives are discussed.


Continual scaling of on-chip wiring structures has brought significant challenges for materials and processes beyond the 32-nm technology node in microelectronics. Recently, 3-D integration with through-silicon vias (TSVs) has emerged as an effective solution to meet the future interconnect requirement. Among others, thermomechanical reliability is a key concern for the development of TSV structures used in die stacking as 3-D interconnects. This paper examines the effects of thermally induced stresses on the interfacial reliability of TSV structures. First, 3-D distribution of the thermal stress near the TSV and the wafer surface is analyzed. Using a linear superposition method, a semianalytic solution is developed for a simplified structure consisting of a single TSV embedded in a silicon (Si) wafer. The solution is verified for relatively thick wafers by comparing to numerical results from finite element analysis (FEA). The stress analysis suggests interfacial delamination as a potential failure mechanism for the TSV structure. An analytical solution is then obtained for the steady-state energy release rate as the upper bound for the interfacial fracture driving force, while the effect of crack length is evaluated numerically by FEA. With these results, the effects of the TSV dimensions (e.g., via diameter and wafer thickness) on the interfacial reliability are elucidated. Furthermore, the effects of via material properties and dielectric buffer layers are discussed.


This paper presents an analysis of stochastic gradient-based adaptive algorithms with general cost functions. The analysis holds under mild assumptions on the inputs and the cost function. The method of analysis is based on an asymptotic analysis of fixed stepsize adaptive algorithms and gives almost sure results regarding the behavior of the parameter estimates, whereas previous stochastic analyses typically consider mean and mean square behavior. The parameter estimates are shown to enter a small neighborhood about the optimum value and remain there for a finite length of time. Furthermore, almost sure exponential bounds are given for the rate of convergence of the parameter estimates. The asymptotic distribution of the parameter estimates is shown to be Gaussian with mean equal to the optimum value and covariance matrix that depends on the input statistics. Specific adaptive algorithms that fall under the framework of this paper are signed error least mean squre (LMS), dual sign LMS, quantized state LMS, least mean fourth, dead zone algorithms, momentum algorithms, and leaky LMS.


'Technology Is Not Neutral" was a major new touring exhibition of digital works by leading pioneering and contemporary female digital artists. From drone choreography, sequencing of bacteria and brainwave art to hacking reality, social media activism and telepresence, this exhibition highlights the contribution of female artists in shaping what digital art is today. The title of the show refers to the challenges faced by female artists in this field where they are often under-represented and less acknowledged than their male colleagues.

The exhibition features existing and newly commissioned artworks by Ghislaine Boddington (body>data>space), Susan Collins, Laura Dekker, Anna Dumitriu, Bhavani Esapathi, Julie Freeman, Kate Genevieve, Sue Gollifer, Luciana Haill, Nina Kov, and Gordana Novakovic.

As part of the exhibition, Ghislaine Boddington presents pictures from skintouchfeel (shinkansen and body>data>space). A series of works, evolving and re-iterating themselves between 1999 and 2004, skintouchfeel emerged from a series of dance-tech workshops "CellBytes" and other creative gatherings directed by Ghislaine Boddington across this time period and earlier in London, Lisbon and Arizona.

These images were taken from several public performances simultaneously held in 2 to 3 venues. Combining live sound, video and dance in structured improvisation, these performances explored and portrayed tele-intuition and digital intimacy to the watching public.

The exhibition premiered at Phoenix Brighton as part of Brighton Digital Festival 2016 (2nd September – 25th September 2016) then toured to Watermans Arts Centre in London (November 4th 2016 to January 8th 2017) accompanied by a major symposium.

The exhibition was funded by Arts Council England, The Computer Arts Society, and UCL Department of Computer Science and supported by Women Shift Digital, Phoenix Brighton and Watermans.


Introduction Nasogastric tube (NGT) insertion is commonly performed but mismanagement of NGTs can have disastrous consequences for patients. Misplacement of an NGT which results in feeding into the respiratory tract has been listed as an NHS England 'Never Event' since 2009. Despite the focus on safe usage, between 2011 and 2016 there were 95 reported incidences of fluid or medication being introduced into the respiratory tract via an incorrectly placed NGT 1. Improved education in the identification of incorrectly placed NGTs is required to help address this patient safety issue. Method The nutrition team at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHTr) has developed an e-learning tool to teach junior doctors the correct methods for confirming NGT position with a view to improving their competence and confidence. The tool provides information on indications and contraindications for NGT insertion, a protocol for checking position including nose-ear-xiphysternum (NEX) measurement and pH testing. It provides formal teaching of chest x-ray (CXR) interpretation and a structured approach to assessing anatomical landmarks: "the 2Cs and 2Ds" (clavicle, carina, diaphragm and deviation) consistent with NPSA 2016–006 alert. Multiple choice questions assess the interpretation skills. The tool was evaluated in training sessions with 39 doctors of different levels of experience. Pre- and post-training questionnaires were completed, assessing trainees' perceived competence in correctly confirming NGT position (using Likert scales). Results 90% of those who attended the training sessions had never experienced using a similar tool in the context of teaching NGT position confirmation. After completing the training package, there was a significant increase in the participants' Likert scores related to confidence in correctly confirming NGT position using CXRs (p<0.01), describing anatomical landmarks (p<0.01), and training a colleague in CXR interpretation ( p<0.01). Attendees were satisfied that the tool addressed the issues regarding NGT insertion and the importance of correctly confirming position. Conclusion The e-learning tool is endorsed by the National Nutrition Nurse Group and completion will be compulsory for all trainee doctors rotating into LTHTr from August 2017. Further evaluation of the tool is necessary but it is hoped that its use will improve the safety of patients with NGTs in LTHTr. There is scope for extending the use of this tool beyond our trust and methods for increasing its availability are being evaluated with NHS Improving Quality. Reference . NHS improvement. Patient Safety Alert: Nasogastric tube misplacement: continuing risk of death and severe harm. Available from: https://improvement.nhs.uk/news-alerts/?articletype=patient-safety-alert (2016) Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Dietary fat is a strong predictor of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome. A great number of epidemiological and observational studies clearly show that in addition to the amount of fat consumed in a diet, fat composition is an equally important factor in the development of chronic diseases. Evidence abounds indicating that adherence to a diet with high content of polyunsaturated (PUFAs) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) such as the Mediterranean diet has substantial health benefits, while diets with high content of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) such as the Western type diet increase the risk for the development of several chronic diseases. Nutritional genomics or nutrigenomics investigates the interaction between nutrients and genes at the molecular level, by using genomic tools. Within the field of nutrigenomics, dietary fatty acids and their metabolites are seen as signaling molecules that target specific cellular response systems. Dietary fatty acids have been reported to bind physically to PPARs, a family of ligand activated transcription factors, that play a major role in metabolic homeostasis. Three PPAR isotypes have been identified, PPARα, PPARβ/δ and PPARγ. Their expression and target genes vary among different tissues and cell types. After a meal triglycerides are packed into chylomicrons in the small intestine and via the lymph system, they reach the blood and the peripheral tissues. Triglyceride chylomicrons deliver free fatty acids to the organs after being lipolylised by lipoprotein lipase (LPL), which is anchored to the capillary endothelium. Among different organs, heart and liver show the highest uptake of dietary triglycerides, postprandialy.  However, opposite to the liver, heart is a constant working muscle, which covers its demands on energy mainly by fatty acids, delivered to the heart via hydrolysis of circulating triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Unbalanced fatty acid uptake and fatty acid oxidation is common in cardiac diseases, such as cardiac failure, myocardial ischemia and diabetes. Heart is characterized by decreased lipid storage capacity, therefore chronic elevated levels of lipids uptake and intracellular storage is considered harmful and may lead to lipotoxic cardiomyopathy. Our first aim was to explore the whole genome effects of individual dietary fatty acids in the intact heart via transcriptional profiling. By conducting these experiments in wild-type and PPARα−/− mice, we aimed to determine the specific contribution of PPARα, which has been previously described as a master regulator of lipid homeostasis in the heart. We took advantage of a unique experimental model, where mice were given a single oral bolus of synthetic triglycerides composed of a single fatty acid. We sacrificed the mice 6hours after the oral gavage and we compared the effects of different fatty acids on gene expression by microarray analysis in the total heart. Many genes were regulated by one particular treatment only and among those most of them showed large functional divergence. Although, the majority of genes responding to fatty acid treatment were regulated in a PPARα-dependent manner, emphasizing the importance of PPARα in mediating transcriptional regulation by fatty acids in the heart, we observed a substantial number of genes regulated in a PPARα- independent manner. Finally, we observed that deletion and activation of PPARα had a major effect on expression of numerous genes involved in metabolism and immunity. We identified response to oxidative stress as the top upregulated process activated by all  administered  fatty  acids  in  the  heart.  High  rates  of  mitochondria  oxidation,  due  to increased supply of substrate after the oral gavage are coupled with enzymatic and non- enzymatic mechanisms aiming to counterbalance the production of highly reactive secondary products of the respiratory chain, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the heart. Under conditions such as chronic high fat diet or insulin resistance, increased lipid influx in combination with uncontrolled production of ROS and lipid intermediates may result in mitochondrial malfunctioning and lipid accumulation. Myocardial lipotoxicity refers to the accumulation of intramyocardial lipids and is associated with contractile dysfunction and even myocytes death. We found Angptl4 to be the top upregulated gene, in all groups that received the fatty acids oral gavage. Angptl4 has been described as a target gene of PPARs and an endogenous inhibitor of the triglyceride hydrolyzing enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL), which catalyzes uptake of circulating lipids into tissues.  We were able to show that the strong upregulation of Angptl4 by dietary fatty acids is mediated by PPARβ/δ and is part of a feedback mechanism aimed at protecting the heart against lipid overload and consequently fatty acid–induced oxidative stress, one of the hallmarks of lipotoxic cardiomyopathy. Angptl4 has been shown to have a potent inhibitory effect in LPL activity and subsequent reduction in uptake of lipids by several tissues and cell types, including macrophages. Furthermore, Angptl4 was shown to prevent the formation of foam cells in mesenteric lymph nodes upon high fat feeding. Accordingly, we hypothesized that Angptl4 may affect atherosclerosis development by reducing foam cell formation. Thus, our second aim  was  to  investigate  the  role  of  Angptl4  on  atherosclerosis  development.  We  studied Angptl4 expression in atherosclerotic lesions and macrophages and determined the effect of Angptl4 transgenic overexpression in atherosclerosis prone ApoE3Leiden (E3L) mice fed a Western diet containing 0.4% cholesterol. We observed a decrease in atherosclerosis in Angptl4 overexpressing mice on an ApoE3L background. This effect was independent of the plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Importantly, Angptl4Tg.E3L exhibited a less pro- inflammatory phenotype with decreased accumulation of monocytes/macrophages in the atherosclerotic plaque, suggesting an anti-inflammatory role of Angptl4 in atherosclerosis development. Finally, we set out to identify transcriptional targets of fatty acids in macrophages, as part of a general goal to elucidate mechanisms through which fatty acids exhibit a direct role in modulating inflammatory processes in macrophages. We identified Hig-2 to be strongly upregulated by all treatments. We found expression of Hig-2 to be the highest in peritoneal macrophages and white adipose tissue. Chronic high fat feeding increased Hig-2 expression levels in adipose tissue but not in liver. Immunohistochemistry indicated colocalization of Hig-2 with Cd68 in infiltrating macrophages as part of crown-like structures. Based on these findings we propose that Hig-2 has a specific role in macrophages and may function as an interesting target in the study of obese adipose tissue. In conclusion, this thesis contributes new information on gene regulation by dietary PUFA in the mammalian heart and provides mechanistic insight on their previous reported beneficial effects. Furthermore, we reveal a novel protective role of Angptl4 in atherosclerosis development. We propose that this effect is mediated by a mechanism, which is independent of inhibition of LPL-mediated systemic lipid clearance and it is probably related to the effect of Angptl4 on macrophage oxLDL uptake and chemotaxis. Finally, in the present thesis we start up an effort to identify fatty acid target genes in macrophages, which open new future research paths.


Subsurface granitic environments are scarce and poorly investigated. A multi‐disciplinary approach was used to characterize the abundant moonmilk deposits and associated microbial communities coating the granite walls of the 16th Century Paranhos spring water tunnel in Porto city (north‐west Portugal). It is possible that this study is the first record of moonmilk in an urban subsurface granitic environment. The morphology and texture, mineralogical composition, stable isotope composition and microbial diversity of moonmilk deposits have been studied to infer the processes of moonmilk formation. These whitish secondary mineral deposits are composed of very fine needle‐fibre calcite crystals with different morphologies and density. Calcified filaments of fungal hyphae or bacteria were distinguished by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Stable isotope analysis revealed a meteoric origin of the needle‐fibre calcite, with an important contribution of atmospheric CO2, soil respiration and HCO3− from weathering of Ca‐bearing minerals. The DNA‐based analyses revealed the presence of micro‐organisms related to urban contamination, including Actinobacteria, mainly represented by Pseudonocardia hispaniensis, Thaumarchaeota and Ascomycota, dominated by Cladosporium. This microbial composition is consistent with groundwater pollution and contamination sources of the overlying urban area, including garages, petrol stations and wastewater pipeline leakage, showing that the Paranhos tunnel is greatly perturbed by anthropogenic activities. Whether the identified micro‐organisms are involved in the formation of the needle‐fibre calcite or not is difficult to demonstrate, but this study evidenced both abiotic and biogenic genesis for the calcite moonmilk in this subsurface granitic environment.


Transfection of chicken vinculin cDNA into two tumor cell lines expressing diminished levels of the endogenous protein, brought about a drastic suppression of their tumorigenic ability. The SV-40-transformed Balb/c 3T3 line (SVT2) contains four times less vinculin than the parental 3T3 cells, and the rat adenocarcinoma BSp73ASML has no detectable vinculin. Restoration of vinculin in these cells, up to the levels found in 3T3 cells, resulted in an apparent increase in substrate adhesiveness, a decrease in the ability to grow in soft agar, and suppression of their capacity to develop tumors after injection into syngeneic hosts or nude mice. These results suggest that vinculin, a cytoplasmic component of cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesions, may have a major suppressive effect on the transformed phenotype.