Multi agent system (MAS) is one of the most dominant research wings which consist of several agents who interact with each other to achieve a common objective. MAS has been developed for a wide range of applications in power systems. Power system restoration is a main application of that. Researchers present several architectures for fault identification, isolation and restoration of the power system. This paper presents a complete literature review on available architectures for power distribution restoration and future trends in MAS based power system restoration.


Untreated wastewater is used for irrigation in over 80% of all Pakistani communities with a population of over 10,000 inhabitants. The absence of a suitable alternative water source, wastewater's high nutrient value, reliability, and its proximity to urban markets are the main reasons for its use. Two case studies in Pakistan studied the impact of untreated wastewater use on health, environment, and income. The results showed a high increase in hookworm infections among wastewater users and a clear over-application of nutrients through wastewater. Heavy metal accumulation in soil over a period of 30 years was minimal in Haroonabad, a small town with no industry, but showed initial signs of excess levels in soil and plant material in Faisalabad, a city with large-scale industry. The impact of wastewater irrigation on household income was considerable as wastewater farmers earned approximately US$300/annum more than farmers using freshwater. Both case studies showed the importance of wastewater irrigation on local livelihoods. The lack of financial resources at municipal and provincial levels for wastewater treatment calls for other measures to reduce the negative impact of untreated wastewater use on health and environment, for example to manage groundwater, regular (canal) irrigation water, and wastewater conjunctively, and regular deworming treatment of those exposed to wastewater.


Antibodies targeting the spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are essential tools. In addition to important roles in the treatment and diagnosis of infection, the availability of high-quality specific antibodies for the S and N proteins is essential to facilitate basic research of virus replication and in the characterization of mutations responsible for variants of concern. We have developed panels of mouse and rabbit monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) and N protein for functional and antigenic analyses. The mAbs to the S-RBD were tested for neutralization of native SARS-CoV-2, with several exhibiting neutralizing activity. The panels of mAbs to the N protein were assessed for cross-reactivity with the SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV N proteins and could be subdivided into sets that showed unique specificity for SARS-CoV-2 N protein, cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV N proteins only, or cross-reactivity to all three coronavirus N proteins tested. Partial mapping of N-reactive mAbs were conducted using truncated fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein and revealed near complete coverage of the N protein. Collectively, these sets of mouse and rabbit monoclonal antibodies can be used to examine structure/function studies for N proteins and to define the surface location of virus neutralizing epitopes on the RBD of the S protein.


In some synchrotron facilities such as SPring-8, X-ray microbeams have been utilized for protein crystallography, allowing users to collect diffraction data from a protein microcrystal. Usually, a protein crystal is picked up manually from a crystallization droplet. However it is very difficult to manipulate the protein microcrystals which are very small and fragile against a shock and changes of temperature and solvent condition. We have been developing an automatic system applying the optical tweezers with two lensed fiber probes to manipulate the fragile protein microcrystal. The system succeeded in trapping a crystal and levitating it onto the cryoloop in the solvent. X-ray diffraction measurement for the manipulated protein microcrystals indicated that laser irradiation and trap with 1064nm wavelength hardly affected the result of X-ray structural analysis.


Social behavior involves both the recognition and production of social cues. Mice with selective deletion (knockout) of either the gene for oxytocin (OT) or genes for the estrogen receptor (ER) ‐α or ‐β display impaired social recognition. In this study we demonstrate that these gene knockout mice also provide discriminably different social stimuli in behavioral assays. In an odor choice test, which is a measure of social interest and discrimination, outbred female Swiss‐Webster mice discriminated the urine odors of male knockouts (KO: OTKO, αERKO, βERKO) from the odors of their wildtype littermates (WT: OTWT, αERWT, βERWT). Females showed marked initial choices of the urine odors of OTWT and βERWT males over those of OTKO and βERKO males, and αERKO males over αERWT males. The odors of OTKO and βERKO males also induced aversive, analgesic responses, with the odors of WTs having no significant effects. Odors of both the αERWT and αERKO males induced aversive, analgesic responses, with the odors of the WT inducing significantly greater analgesia. The odors of restraint stressed WT and KO males also elicited analgesia with, again, females displaying significantly greater responses to the odors of stressed OTKO and βERKO males than their WTs, and significantly lower analgesia to the odors of stressed αERKO than αERWT males. These findings show that the KO mice are discriminated from their WTs on the basis of odor and that the various KOs differ in the relative attractiveness/aversiveness of their odors. Therefore, in behavioral assays one causal route by which gene inactivation alters the social behavior of knockout mice may be mediated through the partners' modified responses to their odors.


Abstract : In this report, we present a case study of some of the individual and group responses to the threat posed by a tank explosion at a chemical plant in Taft, Lousiana, about 30 miles west of New Orleans. The focus is on the activities of the local emergency organizations, particularly their involvement in the relatively large scale evacuation behavior which occurred. In the description presented, the perspective taken is that of the local groups and what they knew or did not know as the threat situation developed. The analysis undertaken is a social science one which assumes that different valid criteria can be applied in evaluating any or all parts of the emergency response. The study was initiated because early reports and comments from the scene suggested that elements of a nuclear plant disaster plan might have been used in the evacuation. As our on-the-scene field work found, this was not the case in any meaningful sense, and only very indirectly did prior planning for the nuclear plant influence the response pattern of the local emergency organizations. However, our Louisiana study did find, as other researchers have consistently found, that disaster planning of any kind--and there was much disaster planning in the threatened area--makes a difference during a community threat emergency. Futhermore, it seemed particularly worth-while to document this particular case because of the high disaster risk nature of the community involved, its extensive experience with small and large scale emergencies, and the complexity of its disaster planning.


Friedreich ataxia is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease caused by defects in the FRDA gene, which encodes a mitochondrial protein called frataxin. Frataxin is evolutionarily conserved, with homologs identified in mammals, worms, yeast, and bacteria. The CyaY proteins of gamma-purple bacteria are believed to be closely related to the ancestor of frataxin. In this study, we have determined the crystal structure of the CyaY protein from Escherichia coli at 1.4-A resolution. It reveals a protein fold consisting of a six-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet flanked on one side by two alpha-helices. This fold is likely to be shared by all members of the conserved frataxin family. This study also provides a framework for the interpretation of disease-associated mutations in frataxin and for understanding the possible functions of this protein family.


Does the presence of cities enhance precipitation? It is an issue that needs to be addressed. This study focuses on the thermal excess in cities and attempts to determine the influence of this parameter on atmospheric instability, which constitutes the background condition for convective precipitation. A simple analytical approach involving the calculation of the daytime evolution of the mixed layer over a homogeneous ground surface was developed. The calculations were based on the data from the ensemble average of observations. Using these calculations, the convective available potential energy (CAPE) was obtained for two idealized geographic areas: one with urban land cover and the other with rural land cover. Urban heat excess, which was 200 W m greater than rural area, increased CAPE value by 75 % comparing to the rural CAPE value of 513 J kg. Cities can produce stratification in the atmosphere that is favorable for convective precipitation.


The authors describe the kinetic cerium arsenite method for measuring iodine in the urine using reagents made in Russia. The urine is prepared for analysis by wet calcination with a mixture of chlorous and perchloric acids. The method of synthesizing chlorous acid, preparing reagents, collecting urine, and procedure of analysis are described. The method was used for assessing iodine excretion with the urine in schoolchildren of Novosibirsk and Kemerovo.


There is a vital need for an updated evaluation of children's and adolescents' changing commercial media environment. In this article, we introduce an investigative framework for young people's processing of commercial media content (PCMC) that can deal with current and future developments in the media landscape. To develop this framework, we (a) introduce an integrated model of young people's persuasion processing, adopting a developmental perspective on adult persuasion models; (b) theorize how communication can predict persuasion processing, based on a limited capacity information processing approach; (c) identify specific message characteristics that affect persuasion processing (e.g., prominence, interactivity, integration). Thus, the PCMC model provides a theoretical framework as well as specific guidelines for future research investigating young people's commercialized media environment.


Purpose: Neuroprotective therapeutics stop or slowdown the degeneration process in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, we investigated the anti‐inflammatory effect of bee venom (BV) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated microglia. Method and Materials: To investigate whether MR techniques have added value in neuroprotection research in the MPTP mouse model, both MRI and MRS were applied to investigate the neuroprotective effects of BV. BV is suggested to stimulate anti‐inflammatory processing indirectly via DA‐dependent mechanisms or γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate release. Magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and 1H‐MRS studies were performed on control mice, MPTP‐intoxicated mice and BV treatment mice. The successfully induced lesions were verified by tyrosine hydroxylase immunolabelling on the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum (ST) performed on perchloric extracts of mice brains, after the control mice and the MPTP‐intoxicated mice were killed. All the MTR and 1H‐MRS experiments were performed on a 9.4 T MRI/MRS system using a standard head coil. Outer volume suppression combined with the ultra‐short echo‐time stimulated echo acquisition mode was used for the localized 1H‐MRS. The quantitative analysis of metabolites was determined using jMRUI from the 1H spectra obtained in vivo on the striatum. Results: The peak height of the MTR histograms in the PD model group was significantly lower than that in the BV treatment group (P<0.05). The present study revealed that the peak height of the MTR histogram was significantly decreased in the ST and SN, and a significant increase of the Glx/Cr ratio was found in the striatum of the PD group, as compared with that of the BV treatment group. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that BV possess a potent suppressive effect on proinflammatory responses of microglia and suggest that these compounds may offer substantial therapeutic potential for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases that are accompanied by microglial activation.


This thesis, entitled 'Shaping, Intertextuality and Summation in D. H. Lawrence's Last Poems' , is the first full-length study of the poetry written by Lawrence in 1928-30, posthumously labelled 'More Pansies' and 'Last Poems' by Richard Aldington in 1932. My opening chapter discusses the characteristics of these two late poetry notebooks, challenging interpretations offered by Holly Laird and Christopher Pollnitz. I argue for the necessity of moving beyond an analysis limited to the consideration of poem sequences within a verse-book, or the evolution of individual poems through draft-stages. This conviction provokes a discussion of intertextual theory, in order to establish an approach which will facilitate the placing of Lawrence's late poetry in wider contexts. The resulting methodology aims to combine an empirical selection procedure in which intertexts are chosen according to key triggers or signposts within Lawrence-text, with an awareness that such selection is arbitrary, constituting an inevitable retrospective ordering.

Chapters 2-7 each focus on a specific text, area or genre in which significant intertextual assimilation is identified. In chapters 2 and 3, four crucial poetic precursors - Keats, Shelley, Swinburne and Whitman - are discussed, both in relation to Lawrence's blatant allusions, and in terms of the insidious 'weaving' of precursive text into Last Poems. Chapter 4, emphasising that intertextuality should be recognised as spanning genre divisions, focuses on the significance of the pre-Socratic fragments published in John Burnet's Early Greek Philosophy. Chapter 5, also foregrounding prose intertexts, discusses three relevant anthropological works: E. B. Tylor's Primitive Culture, James Frazer's The Golden Bough and Gilbert Murray's Five Stages of Greek Religion, in relation to the poems advocating a conscious 'return' to different modes of writing and living. In Chapter 6 the term 'intra-textuality' (self-borrowing) is introduced, with Sketches of Etruscan Places as the focus. Lawrence's writing (in addition to his wide reading) on the Etruscan civilisation is seen to underlie fundamental mythological aspects of Last Poems. Intra-textuality remains the focus of Chapter 7, which discusses Apocalypse (the only major work written by Lawrence after Last Poems) as well as numerous related intertexts, in order to illuminate Lawrence's use of key apocalyptic symbols in the late poetry.

The concluding chapter considers whether or not the posthumously imposed title Last Poems is appropriate, and whether this 'body' of verse can be treated justifiably as a summation of Lawrence's life and/or art. The short prologues to the 1930 edition of Birds, Beasts and Flowers, and the prose poem 'Fire', are brought into play as texts which succeed Last Poems, taking Lawrence's (freeverse) poetry writing in new directions. My interrogation of the concept of 'fastness' provokes a consideration of the implications of creative immortality and the possibility of different kinds of renewal, or 'fresh starts'.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens spores to survived in different preparation temperature (25, 35, and 70 ° C for B. cereus and 25, 45, 70oC for C. perfringens ) and modified storage condition (with 50 and 75% humidity; opened, closed and opened twice a day during period of observation) of powdered milk  formula.  The spores of B. cereus ATCC 13061 and C. perfringens CP-1 artificially  contaminated to the milk formula. Results showed that B. cereus and C. perfringens spores were germinated and growth in reconstituted milk formula.  Bacteria population increased ≥1 log within 3 hours at room temperature (28-29oC).  The spores of both bacteria survived from dry condition of powdered milk formula, like when aw of the formulas increased cause of storage condition.


Context: A suitable representation of Safety-Critical Systems (SCS) requirements is crucial to avoid misunderstandings in safety requirements and issues in safety specification. However, current general requirements specification languages do not fully support the particularities of specifying SCS. Objective: In this paper, our goal is to identify and propose a set of important features that should be provided by requirements languages to support an early safety requirements specification. Moreover, we aim to compare the ability of the four most used Goal-Oriented Requirements Engineering (GORE) languages (i*, KAOS, GRL, NFR-Framework) in supporting the proposed features. Method: We first established a conceptual foundation and a conceptual model based on the literature, challenges elicited in previous works, and demands of safety standards at the requirements level that practitioners must satisfy in order to certify their systems. Results: We proposed a set of 15 features that requirements languages should provide to an early safety requirements specification. Regarding the comparison of GORE languages, in summary, all surveyed languages lacks explicit modeling constructs to express how hazards can occur in the system, the accidents, their impact and how they can mitigated. Conclusions: The conceptual foundation, conceptual model, and the set of features is a novelty. Finally, the features can be used to propose new requirements languages for SCS or to define extensions for the ones already available.


This research presents a design of a thermal deformation errors compensation system for CNC machine tools which can compensate thermal deformation of Z-axis during the working time. The thermal deformation errors compensation system includes three instruments: displacement tester, temperature tester and thermal errors compensator. Displacement and temperature testers have been designed in the early researches, and the thermal errors compensator is designed in this research. The compensation process includes two parts, modeling part and compensation part. Modeling part focuses on making a model of thermal deformation, and compensation part focuses on using the model to compensate the thermal deformation of Z-axis during the working time.


The widespread occurrence of big sagebrush can be attributed to many adaptive features. Big sagebrush plays an essential role in its communities by providing wildlife habitat, modifying local environmental conditions, and facilitating the reestablishment of native herbs. Currently, however, many sagebrush steppe communities are highly fragmented. As a result, restoring big sagebrush is considered a priority in the conservation and rehabilitation of sagebrush steppe ecosystems. Wyoming big sagebrush can often be difficult to establish, because many environmental factors act to restrict its emergence and persistence. On fire rehabilitation projects in Idaho, Wyoming big sagebrush seed is typically aerially broadcast over the soil surface. This method has had some success; however, several alternative seeding treatments, such as cultipacking, have resulted in the establishment and persistence of Wyoming big sagebrush. In addition, transplanting bareroot and containerized stock may be useful for restoring shrub stands in critical areas.


Once the determination has been made that the patient's fears are not psychiatrically related, the dentist has the initial responsibility of evaluating the degree of anxiety present and attempting to relate this to a method of alleviating it. The most frequently used methods are behavioral and consist of talking to the patient, explaining the procedure clearly, reassuring the patient, and accurately estimating the degree of discomfort that may be associated with the treatment. Prescribing adequate pain control methods suited to the patient's needs come next. It is not appropriate to shoehorn each patient into a preset method of treatment. If one is not skilled in advance forms of anxiety and pain control, the kindest service is to refer the patient to another dentist who may be better equipped. This is a far better practice than to make extravagant claims about one's capability with conscious sedation, nitrous oxide analgesia, and so forth. Patient's confidence in your ability is constantly tested against the treatment they receive and the success of that treatment.


Elasmobranch fossils recovered from the Fishburne Formation (lower Eocene/Ypresian) of Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA, include species from four genera of sharks and six genera of rays. Of particular interest was the recovery of multiple isolated teeth from a new genus and species of the cownosed ray family Rhinopteridae, which is the focus of this study. The unique crown morphology separates this genus and species from Rhinoptera. Eorhinoptera grabdai, gen. et sp. nov., is represented by small, bar-shaped teeth in the shape of greatly elongated hexagons. These teeth are the isolated elements of a dental plate. The holotype, with 12 wide root lobes, is the most elongated in the sample being 1 cm long and 1.5 mm wide, indicating an origin in the central region of the plate. Paratypes are less elongated, have 4–8 root lobes and are from more lateral rows. The crown is smooth and has a distinctly convex occlusal surface. Eorhinoptera is only the second genus of cow-nosed ray. Its distinctive crown morphology may have allowed it to exploit different kinds of prey than those favoured by rays that lacked convex tooth crowns.


Forty-five patients admitted to Philadelphia General Hospital after having attempted suicide were studied using the Beck Depression Inventory (omitting the suicidal ideation item) as the measure of depression, it was found that 80% of the patients attempting suicide scored in the depressed range. Their mean depression score was significantly higher than the mean score of 394 psychiatric inpatient controls. There was no significant difference between the depression scores of attempters admitted to medical and surgical wards and the scores of those admitted to the psychiatric wards. The patient's wish to die was measured by the suicidal intent scale. A significant correlation between the depth of depression and the degree of suicidal intent was found. Statistical analysis indicated that this correlation was not a function of age.


There is some doubt as to whether naevus pilus is identical with naevus-on-naevus or lentiginous naevus en mottes. The former could be classified together with Becker's naevus among the clinically progressive types of epidermal naevi, whereas the latter could be a truly melanocytic naevus of special expression which, for some authors, might become malignant. Seven cases of naevus-on-naevus with different sizes and locations are reported. In 3 cases the naevus was associated with other pathologies: pigmented sclerotic and kyphoscoliosis, verrucoid epidermal naevus, tuberous angioma and underlying muscular hypertrophy. In every case the diagnosis was confirmed by histological examination. An invasive malignant melanoma on superficial extensive melanoma coexisted with a retiform intradermal naevus pilosus. The hypothesis of complex neuro-ectodermic dysplasia and the histogenesis of malignant melanoma developed upon a naevus-on-naevus are discussed.


New catalog of the Mosses of Japan prepared by Dr. Zennoske Iwatsuki (2004) is revised. This revised catalog lists all names of genera and species of mosses described or reported from Japan, based on literature available to the author up to the end of January 2016. The catalog is now comprised of 1270 species of mosses belonging to 342 genera. These taxa are listed in alphabetical order. Each valid epithet is followed by author citation, literature, distributional area in Japan, and Japanese name.


Modern politics in Western democracies is to a large extent characterized by political pragmatism, a position where feasible, incremental, and more or less technocratic improvements of the status quo are advocated. While such a position has some advantages, i.e. safeguarding against false ideologies and bad radical reforms as well as more populist policies, this paper argues that there are limits to pragmatism in "welfare-enhancing" institutional change. Pragmatism cannot deal with situations where a whole interpretative framework needs to be changed in order to achieve beneficial institutional change. The status quo may be highly inefficient and still cannot be improved by marginal adjustments due to outdated or false mental frameworks, special interests and institutional lock-in. In such situations an ideological shift may be a prerequisite for higher efficiency and welfare. A position that may combine the strengths in each of the perspectives may be called "principled pragmatism".


Within the debate about developing countries export competitiveness the increasing importance of food safety and quality standards especially in OECD countries appeals to be one of the major sources of concern. The paper analyses the trade performance of 73 developing countries within the context of stricter SPS measures. The analysis concentrates on the meat and fruit / vegetable sectors as especially high value product sectors are determined by standards. The periods under consideration are 1993- 1995, as a period before the implementation of the SPS Agreement and 2002- 2004, as a period after the implementation. A cluster analysis groups the countries according to the variables "ratio" and "difference" of the export value to OECD countries including the possibility to explore trade performance regarding to the absolute level of change and relative dynamics. Subsequently, interconnections with EU and US border rejections as well as with STDF (Standards and Trade Development Facility) investment are explored. For the results three major findings should be underlined: e) The group of developing countries shows as well in total as in relative terms a very heterogeneous picture of their export development and there is no linear relation between total export value and direction of development. ee) Ten groups were identified in the cluster analysis, like e.g. small winners, large winners, small losers, large losers. eee) Most large exporters increased their market share, but very successful groups were also found among small exporters, especially in the fruit / vegetable market. eeee) Both, border rejections as well as STDF investments did not reflect a particular structure related to market share development of individual countries.


When the molten surface of the earth solidified over 4 X 10(9) years ago the quantity of phosphorus to be contained in the storehouse of the new planet had already been resolved. The phosphorus was locked in an igneous lithosphere as orthophosphate. With the advent of the first primitive rainstorms the slow endless process of liberating the phosphorus from the igneous rock strata had begun. It required about 3 X 10(9) years for this process to supply enough soluble phosphates for the seas of the earth to become saturated with respect to apatites. Today slightly more than half of the phosphate is contained in sedimentary deposits. The established phosphorus cycles of the earth were almost independent of the activities of mankind for more than 4 X 10(9) years. Only in the past 200 years has the influence been worthy of consideration and as late as the 1960s too few reliable data were available for us to assess the status of our activities on the natural cycles. Today a reasonably clear picture is emerging.


Due to its ability to learn and generalize from data and the nonlinear processing nature, neural networks are very suitable for modeling in multidimensional nonlinear problems, in the case of microwave design. In this paper, in order to confirm this fact, a brief review of neural network applications in different areas of microwave engineering is shown. Also, novel concepts, which incorporate microwave empirical knowledge for more efficient neural network modeling, are presented.


Engine performance and emissions of a six-stroke Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) engine with wide range of Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) control were numerically investigated at low engine load conditions. For the simulations, an in-house 3-D CFD code with high fidelity physical sub-models was used and the combustion and emissions kinetics were computed using a reduced kinetics mechanism for a 14-component gasoline surrogate fuel. Double injections were employed to effectively form the local fuel/air mixtures with optimal reactivity. Several valve timing and duration variations through the CVVD control were considered under both positive valve overlap (PVO) and negative valve overlap (NVO) conditions. Effects of intake-valve re-breathing between the first expansion and the second compression strokes were also investigated.
 Close attention was paid to understand the effects of two additional strokes of the engine cycle on the thermal and chemical conditions of charge mixtures that alter ignition, combustion and energy recovery processes. Double injections were found to be necessary to effectively utilize the additional two strokes for the combustion of overly mixed lean charge mixtures during the second power stroke (PS2). It was found that combustion phasing in both power strokes is effectively controlled by the intake valve closure (IVC) timing since it affects the effective compression ratio. Engine operation under NVO condition with fixed exhaust valve opening (EVO) and IVC timings tends to advance the ignition timing of the first power stroke (PS1) but has minimal effect on the ignition timing of PS2. Re-breathing was found to be an effective way to control the ignition timing in PS2 at a slight expense of the combustion efficiency.
 The operation of a six-stroke GCI engine could be successfully simulated and the operability range of the engine could be substantially extended by employing the CVVD technique. In addition, the control of valve timings could successfully control the thermodynamic and compositional conditions of in-cylinder mixtures that enable to control the combustion phasing.


The following essay takes its cue from the importance that Soemmerring attributes to the sense of hearing in the Uber das Organ der Seele (1796), a text published with a comment by Kant. First, I point out that the idea of a primacy of the sense of hearing is shared by Soemmerring with Heinse, a famous writer of the time (and by Heinse with Herder). Second, I compare these ideas with Kant's growing interest for the close connection between the sense of hearing, language and thought, giving due attention to his theses on deafness. Finally, I propose the hypothesis that not a late and tacit agreement with Herder, but Soemmerring's statement that hearing is the most important of our senses, might be the reason for the strengthening of Kant's conviction that "thinking is speaking and the latter is hearing", testified by the Opus Postumum


The task objective concerned in this paper is to preserve the natural attributes of a photograph and only enhance its aesthetic perceptual feeling. The paper proposed to select reference portrait paintings based on depth for example-based photograph rendering to improve its aesthetic appeal. Hence, the rendered photograph acquires the aesthetic style as informed by the selected reference paintings. The depth attributes are based on the notions of foreground/background or figure/non-figure relationship. The analysis on portrait paintings suggests that the natural attributes can be measured by the lightness/saturation/hue distributions or contrasts within and between foreground and background. By segmenting the photograph and paintings based on the depth information, and computing the intra layer distributions and inter layer contrasts as the features for the similarity measurement, references are then selected from the top ranked paintings. Some rendering examples are presented in this paper for evaluating the performance of the selection method.


COVID-19 has imposed mandatory lockdowns in many countries including India. However, since the lockdown has been imposed, attention is being focused on its economic repercussions and on providing food and shelter to poor and migrants. But the pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities and created challenges at other fronts too. More specifically, women's lack of autonomy in the patriarchal homes is further getting reduces when today, `homes' which are no longer merely seen as comfort zones, but during the lockdown, homes are evolving as spaces where people are working from home and earning their livelihoods, children are attending classes and other activities are being coordinated. Violence in such homes against women and children is rising during the lockdown. Women and children trapped within homes with the perpetrators of violence are facing severe abuse. In order to combat the situation and to make homes as safe zones, special measures are required. The government needs to declare domestic violence as `essential services' and must take steps to provide immediate relief to women and children. In the long term, the need is to address entrenched structural discrimination in order to ensure gender equality within homes. Lockdowns may be interpreted in different ways. One is to lockdown our collective imaginations and allow the pre-existing stereotypical gender notions to continue and reiterate, or it could be, to isolate the world from the patriarchal notions and to reimagine a violence free gender just world.


OBJECTIVE
To assess effects of iron supplementation, 66 mg elemental iron daily as ferrous fumarate, on iron status markers during normal pregnancies.

METHODS
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 119 women (62 iron-, 57 placebo -treated) and their newborns. Hemoglobin (Hb), serum (S)-ferritin, S-transferrin saturation percentage (TSAT) and S-erythropoietin (S-EPO) were measured at 14-18, 24-27 weeks of gestation, prepartum, 1 and 8 weeks postpartum.

RESULT
From 24-27 weeks gestation to 8 weeks postpartum, the iron group had higher Hb, S-ferritin and TSAT than the placebo group; prepartum, 11% had iron deficiency (ID) and 0% iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in the iron group, vs 60% and 18% in the placebo group; 8 weeks postpartum 1.6% in the iron group had ID and 1.6% IDA vs 14% and 7% in the placebo group. S-EPO levels in the iron group were lower than in the placebo group (p <  0.001). Mothers prepartum S-EPO values were correlated to newborns cord S-EPO values (p <  0.001). Newborns to iron treated mothers had higher cord S-ferritin levels than those to placebo treated mothers (p = 0.02). Newborn girls had higher cord S-ferritin levels than boys (p <  0.01). There was no impact of iron supplementation on the length of gestation, placental weight, or newborns birth weight. Birth weight was correlated only with mothers' body weight, length of gestation and placental weight.

CONCLUSION
Iron supplementation had a "positive" impact on iron status and Hb both during pregnancy and postpartum, with a low frequency of ID/IDA and also a "positive" influence on newborns iron status.


The prevalence of cholelithiasis (gallstones or previous cholecystectomy) was evaluated in a series of 500 cirrhotic patients from Northern Italy (329 males and 171 females, mean age 58 +/- 11 (SD) yr and 61 +/- 10 yr, respectively). Cirrhosis was related to chronic alcohol abuse in 180 cases, non-A non-B (NANB) hepatitis in 160, hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 94 (including 38 with concomitant alcohol abuse), idiopathic hemochromatosis in 44, and miscellaneous causes in the remaining 22 (including 15 with primary biliary cirrhosis). One hundred and sixteen patients (23.2%) had gallstones, and 31 others (6.2%) had previously undergone cholecystectomy, with an overall prevalence of cholelithiasis of 29.4%. The frequency was similar in both sexes (91/329 males, 27.7% vs. 56/171 females, 32.7%; p = NS), showed a slight increase with age, and differed significantly according to etiology (p less than 0.05), with the highest prevalence in the miscellaneous group and the alcoholics (36.4% and 33.3%, respectively). No significant difference was found in the prevalence of cholelithiasis according to Child's A, B, or C class.


A dead fish is propelled upstream when its flexible body resonates with oncoming vortices formed in the wake of a bluff cylinder, despite being well outside the suction region of the cylinder. Within this passive propulsion mode, the body of the fish extracts sufficient energy from the oncoming vortices to develop thrust to overcome its own drag. In a similar turbulent wake and at roughly the same distance behind a bluff cylinder, a passively mounted high-aspect-ratio foil is also shown to propel itself upstream employing a similar flow energy extraction mechanism. In this case, mechanical energy is extracted from the flow at the same time that thrust is produced. These results prove experimentally that, under proper conditions, a body can follow at a distance or even catch up to another upstream body without expending any energy of its own. This observation is also significant in the development of low-drag energy harvesting devices, and in the energetics of fish dwelling in flowing water and swimming behind wake-forming obstacles.


Plasmid DNA expressing the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of an avian Chlamydia psittaci serovar A strain, has been tested for its ability to raise an immune response and induce protection against challenge with the same serovar. A combined parenteral (intramuscular injection) and mucosal route (DNA drops administered to the nares) of DNA inoculation was compared to gene gun-based immunization. The gene gun delivery of pcDNA1/MOMP as well as the intramuscular-intranasal DNA delivery primed both T-helper and B-cell memory although rMOMP-expressing cells did not induce high antibody responses. Evidence for the priming of the memory was provided by the fact that the pcDNA1/MOMP inoculations raised antibodies belonging to the IgG and not IgM isotype. However, in response to challenge only 5 out of 15 vaccinated turkeys showed four fold increases in serum IgG after challenge. By contrast, evidence for the priming of T-cell memory in response to challenge was found in all vaccinated turkeys as shown by the significantly heightened proliferative responses of peripheral blood lymphocytes following vaccination. Both immunization methods produced similar serological and lymphocyte proliferative responses. Notwithstanding the immunization method, a significant level of protection was observed in all pcDNA1/MOMP immunized turkeys. The efficacy of MOMP-based DNA vaccination as a means of preventing severe clinical signs, lesions and chlamydia excretion in a turkey model of Chlamydia psittaci infection was demonstrated.


The Mre11 nuclease is involved in early responses to DNA damage, often mediated by its role in DNA end processing. MRE11 mutations and aberrant expression are associated with carcinogenesis and cancer treatment outcomes. While, in recent years, progress has been made in understanding the role of Mre11 nuclease activities in DNA double-strand break repair, their role during replication has remained elusive. The nucleoside analog gemcitabine, widely used in cancer therapy, acts as a replication chain terminator; for a cell to survive treatment, gemcitabine needs to be removed from replicating DNA. Activities responsible for this removal have, so far, not been identified. We show that Mre11 3' to 5' exonuclease activity removes gemcitabine from nascent DNA during replication. This contributes to replication progression and gemcitabine resistance. We thus uncovered a replication-supporting role for Mre11 exonuclease activity, which is distinct from its previously reported detrimental role in uncontrolled resection in recombination-deficient cells.


The Cape Verde Archipelago is a volcanic intraplate system that comprises one of
the most active ocean island volcanoes (Fogo) in the world. Like many other ocean
islands the Cape Verde Archipelago has produced highly explosive eruptions but
despite their importance in assessing potential future hazards only few previous
volcanological studies have focused on these eruptions.
This study has been conducted to investigate the Pleistocene to Holocene highly
explosive volcanic activity at the Cape Verde Archipelago. In this context eruption
frequencies of the various eruptive centers, the compositional evolution of the
erupted magmas, and their pre-eruptive storage conditions and eruption triggers are
studied. To address these topics I combined results from marine tephrostratigraphic
investigations, using sediment gravity cores recovered during the RV METEOR cruise
M80/3, with stratigraphic field work on Santo Antao, Fogo and Brava. These islands
are hosting the youngest volcanism in the archipelago. Further I used various
chronological approaches to establish the first detailed tephrostratigraphic
framework for the Cape Verde Archipelago covering the last ~220 kyr. It comprises
54 highly explosive eruptions from four volcanic centers at the southwestern and
northwestern part of the Archipelago.

Forty-three highly explosive eruptions of sub-Plinian to Plinian dimensions from
Fogo are identified in the marine record within the last 155 kyr. These are entirely
of mafic magma compositions documenting impressively that such very hazardous
volcanic activity is by no means limited to evolved magma compositions. The longterm
average frequency of one eruption every 3,000 years has increased to one
eruption every 2,000 years over the last 30 kyr. The occurrence of such large
eruptions needs to be considered for future hazard assessment. Another very
hazardous event, the huge flank collapse of Fogo island of hitherto unknown age,
can be dated to 117 ka by the marine tephra record.
The largest known phonolitic eruptions of the Cape Verdes produced the tephras of
the Cao Grande Formation on Santo Antao. Two previously recorded tephras
originated from a basanitic and a nephelinitic magmatic suite, respectively. My new
fieldwork identified two more tephra units associated to the Cao Grande Formation.
I showed that the four large eruptions, in total, alternatingly originated from the
basanitic and a nephelinitic system. Mineral thermobarometric calculations
constrain the coexistence of the magma systems very close to each other below the
island. Both magmatic systems contemporaneously evolved to highly differentiated
phonolitic compositions but remained isolated from each other; only one of the
tephras contains evidence for magma from the nephelinitic suite having been
admixed to the basanite-suite reservoir. This mixing probably triggered the eruption
of this tephra since the resident magma was still water-undersaturated. Two other
tephras, however, derive from evolved magmas that had reached water saturation in
their reservoirs making gas-overpressure the likely eruption trigger.
Plenty phonolitic explosive eruptions took place on Brava as evidenced by numerous
tephra deposits on the island, however, within the last 155 kyr only one eruption
succeeded to create a widespread ash deposit covering the surrounding ocean floor.
As no traces of the caldera forming eruption and the caldera filling ignimbrites were
identified in the marine cores, these events most likely took place before 155 ka.
Two young widespread tephra layers from the Cadamosto seamount were identified
in the marine record. Contrary to the lava rocks typically recovered by dredging,
these tephras show that highly explosive phonolitic submarine eruptions generated
at >1400 m water depths are an important part of the seamount evolution.
In conclusion the presented tephrostratigraphic record provides the first evidence
of frequent highly explosive volcanic eruptions from varying volcanic complexes at
the Cape Verde Archipelago during the past 220 ka. The detailed study of the Cao
Grande Formation provides insights of magma chamber and eruption evolution at
one of these complexes that may be typical also for future evolved explosive
eruptions on Santo Antao. The manuscripts presented in this study provide
essential results to assess potential hazards from future eruptions.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
To investigate the surgical outcomes and efficacy of modified uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (mod UPPP) and Coblation channelling of the tongue (CCT) as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

METHODS
Adult patients with simple snoring or obstructive sleep apnea were treated with combined modified UPPP, bilateral tonsillectomy, and CCT (N = 48). Full polysomnography was performed preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. Postoperative clinical assessment, sleep questionnaires, and patient demographics including body mass index were compared to preoperative data. All polysomnograms were re-scored to AASM recommended criteria by 2 sleep professionals.

RESULTS
The preoperative AHI (median and interquartile range) of 23.1 (10.4 to 36.6) was lowered to a postoperative AHI of 5.6 (1.9 to 10.4) (p < 0.05). The Epworth Sleepiness Scale score fell from 10.5 (5.5 to 13.5) to 5.0 (3.09 to 9.5) (p < 0.05). Morbidity of the surgery was low, with no long-term complications recorded.

CONCLUSIONS
Modified UPPP combined with CCT is a highly efficacious intervention for OSA with minimal morbidity. It should be considered for individuals who fail or are intolerant of CPAP or other medical devices.


This study aimed to assess factors that determine changes in river water level in a relatively large forested catchment. Analysis of official river flow data for the Aya-minami River in Miyazaki, Japan, revealed a significant reduction for several years after 1970 and a prolonged reduction over 36 years in 95-day flow, 185-day flow, and 275-day flow; the climatic factors and changes in water use during this period had not contributed to this reduction. Forests cover approximately 90% of the 5,884 ha catchment area, and an analysis of tree ages showed that the clear-cut in the 1960s and 1970s most probably resulted in an elevated flow level around 1970, and that the tree growth thereafter have reduced discharges from the forest area. No statistically significant reduction trend was observed in the 355-day flow. Discharges from broad-leaved forests during periods of less precipitation tended to be higher than that of coniferous forests in small catchments, though we could not confirm that larger discharges from broad-leaved forests replenish the 355-day flow of the Aya-minami River.


Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most prevalent ENT‐tumour in Indonesia. We investigated the primary diagnostic value of Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) DNA load and mRNA detection in noninvasive nasopharyngeal (NP) brushings, obtained prospectively from consecutive Indonesian ENT‐patients with suspected NPC (N = 106) and controls. A subsequent routine NP biopsy was taken for pathological examination and EBER‐RISH, yielding 85 confirmed NPC and 21 non‐NPC tumour patients. EBV DNA and human DNA load were quantified by real‐time PCR. NP brushings from NPC patients contained extremely high EBV DNA loads compared to the 88 non‐NPC controls (p < 0.0001). Using mean EBV DNA load in controls plus 3 SD as cut‐off value, specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values were 98, 90, 97 and 91%, respectively. Epstein‐Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) and the carcinoma‐specific BARF1 mRNA were detected by nucleic acid sequence based amplification and found in 86 and 74% of NP brushings, confirming NPC tumour cell presence. EBV RNA positivity was even higher in fresh samples stored at −80°C until RNA expression analyses (88% for both EBNA1 and BARF1). EBV RNA‐negative NP brushings from proven NPC cases had the lowest EBV DNA loads, indicating erroneous sampling. No EBV mRNA was detected in NP brushings from healthy donors and non‐NPC patients. In conclusion, EBV DNA load measurement combined with detection of BARF1 mRNA in simple NP brushings allows noninvasive NPC diagnosis. It reflects carcinoma‐specific EBV involvement at the anatomical site of tumour development and reduces the need for invasive biopsies. This procedure may be useful for confirmatory diagnosis in large serological NPC screening programs and has potential as prognostic tool. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The epidemiological study of the incidence of stomatologic diseases was conducted in 1030 reserve officers. The high level of stomatologic diseases among them was detected. The high incidence of diseases is characterized by the following indices: dental caries constitutes 100% with its intensity 14.15 +/- 0.22, parodontium diseases--92.87% (gingivitis--17.66%, parodontitis of mild and moderate degree--12.9%, of severe degree--62.30%), oral mucosa injuries--0.49%, not carious dental injuries--32.14%. 40.29% pensioners of RF Defense Ministry required prosthetics and 55.73%--oral sanitation. The results obtained could be used in scientific substantiation of medical standards, which are necessary for providing the reserve officers with dispensary method (active call) and development of recommendations to improve the staff structure of military medical-and-prophylactic institutions and subdivisions of stomatologic profile.


We report the results of a joint theoretical and experimental investigation into the copolymerisation of acrylamides and acrylates with α-olefins in free-radical processes. The transition-state structures of models for free-radical homo- and copolymerisation involving acrylamide, methylacrylamide, methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, and ethylene have been determined using density functional theory. The reaction energies and barrier heights comport with the experimentally observed properties, including the prevalence of monomer alternation, the realised stereospecificity, and the reaction yield. Continuum solvation models have been applied to determine the sensitivity of the relative energies to the bulk solvent properties. Experimentally, a Lewis acid catalyst is demonstrated to increase the incorporation of nonpolar 1-alkenes in copolymerisations with polar acrylamides and acrylates. In the presence of the Lewis acid, scandium (III) trifluoromethanesulfonate, the copolymerisation of 1-hexene and acrylamide results in an 8.5 mol % incorporation, up from 3.9 mol % in the absence of the Lewis acid. Computations incorporating Mg2+ as a model Lewis acid elucidate the mechanism of this catalysis. In the addition of methacrylate to a methyl methacrylate radical terminated polymer, the Lewis acid binds to the carbonyls on both promoting isotactic addition, while for the addition of an alkene to the same polymer, the Lewis acid binds to the polymer, reducing the barrier for alkenyl addition inductively by withdrawing electron density. We have demonstrated the ability of computational studies to aid experimentalists in the synthesis of new copolymers with desired properties.


OBJECTIVES
This study examined the association between chronic medication exposure and 5-year dental caries increment among older people, using a theoretical model whereby xerogenic medication is thought to lead to increased caries by either (i) chronically lowering salivary flow, thus reducing salivary buffering of plaque acids, or (ii) producing the symptoms of dry mouth, leading to symptomatic relief through the use of cariogenic drinks and foodstuffs.

METHODS
Data were obtained from participants remaining at the 5-year follow-up phase of a cohort study of community-dwelling South Australians aged 60 +. Medication information was available at baseline and at 5 years, enabling only those medications taken on both occasions to be included in the analyses. Dental examinations were conducted at baseline and 5 years, and a reversal-adjusted 5-year caries increment was computed. Multivariate modelling was used to control the effects of potential confounders.

RESULTS
Of the original sample, 528 (62.3%) remained after 5 years, with those remaining tending to be younger, healthier and less medicated than those lost to follow-up. Five-year coronal caries incidence was 66.9%. The adjusted coronal caries increment (AdjCI) was higher among males and among those taking a beta-blocker or an antiasthma drug for the previous 5 years. The 5-year incidence of root surface caries was 59.3%. A lower root surface AdjCI was associated with taking daily aspirin. Of the medications shown in earlier analyses to predict dry mouth, only the antiasthma drugs were associated with higher caries experience, and they had predicted more severe xerostomia symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS
This study offers no strong evidence for a medication-caries relationship, as only one of the observed medication-caries associations was explicable in terms of the theoretical model. However, it should be acknowledged that older people taking antiasthma drugs may be at higher risk of coronal caries, possibly through measures taken for the symptomatic relief of dry mouth.


Stationary random functions have been successfully applied in geostatistical applications for several decades. In some instances, the assumption of a homogeneous spatial dependence structure across the entire domain of interest proves untenable. A useful approach for modelling and estimating non-stationary spatial dependence structure is considered. This consists of transforming a non-stationary random field to a stationary and isotropic one via a bijective bi-continuous deformation of the index space. So far, this approach has been sucessfully applied in the context of data from several independent realizations of a random field. In this communication, we propose an approach for non-stationary geostatistical modelling using space deformation in the context of a single realization with possibly irregularly spaced data. The estimation method is based on a non-stationary variogram estimator which serves as dissimilarity measure between two locations in the geographical space. The proposed procedure combines aspects of kernel smoothing, non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and thin-plate spline radial basis functions to transform the original non-stationary random field onto a new deformed space where it is stationary and isotropic. Standard techniques for prediction and simulation can be applied in the deformed space. The predicted and simulated results are then mapped back into the original space. On a simulated data, the method is able to retrieve the true deformation. A comparison scheme of ordinary kriging under stationary and non-stationary assumptions demonstrates that the proposed approach has better prediction performance on both simulated and real datasets. Finally, we also show that the method provides a tool for the exploratory analysis of non-stationarity.


Hydrological modelling is the same as developing and encoding a hydrological theory. A hydrological model is not a tool but a hypothesis. The whole discussion about the inadequacy of hydrological models we have witnessed of late, is related to the wrong concept of what a model is. Good models don't exist. Instead of looking for the "best" model, we should aim at developing better models. The process of modelling should be top-down, learning from the data while at the same time connection should be established with underlying physical theory (bottom-up). As a result of heterogeneity occurring at all scales in hydrology, there always remains a need for calibration of models. This implies that we need tailor-made and site-specific models. Only flexible models are fit for this modelling process, as opposed to most of the established software or "one-size-fits-all" models. The process of modelling requires imagination, inspiration, creativity, ingenuity, experience and skill. These are qualities that belong to the field of art. Hydrology is an art as much as it is science and engineering


Composites made from wood residues and biomasses, together with either conventional polymers such as polypropylene (PP) and their recyclate streams or with the new emerging biopolymers such as polylactic acid (PLA), were compounded and injection moulded. Mechanical properties and biodegradation analyses were undertaken. The addition of wood flour/sander dust (SD) and wood fibres (WF), to the PP, with suitable compatibilizer, increased the flexural and tensile modulus and strength, indicating a good bond between the fibres and matrix. The tensile and flexural strengths were decreased with the addition of wood fillers, additives and biomasses to a PLA biopolymer blend. Such biomasses and additives increased the biodegradation of the PLA blend, and some control over biodegradation rates was achievable.


Partition-based random search (PRS) provides a class of effective algorithms for global optimization. In each iteration of a PRS algorithm, the solution space is partitioned into subsets which are randomly sampled and evaluated. One subset is then determined to be the promising subset for further partitioning. In this paper, we propose the problem of allocating samples to each subset so that the samples are utilized most efficiently. Two types of sample allocation problems are discussed, with objectives of maximizing the probability of correctly selecting the promising subset (P{CSPS}) given a sample budget and minimizing the required sample size to achieve a satisfied level of P{CSPS}, respectively. An extreme value-based prospectiveness criterion is introduced and an asymptotically optimal solution to the two types of sample allocation problems is developed. The resulting optimal sample allocation strategy (OSAS) is an effective procedure for the existing PRS algorithms by intelligently utilizing the limited computing resources. Numerical tests confirm that OSAS is capable of increasing the P{CSPS} in each iteration and subsequently improving the performance of PRS algorithms.


The human bacterial pathogen, Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus), has been shown to modulate different parts of the innate immune response of its host, however its ability to modulate the adaptive immune response remains largely uninvestigated. Furthermore, the importance of the adaptive arm of the immune system in responding to Streptococcus pneumoniae has only recently begun to be elucidated. I therefore investigated a potentially novel pneumococcal immunomodulatory mechanism involving the effect of the pneumococcal toxin, pneumolysin, upon the cells at the heart of the adaptive immune response; the CD4 T cell.

I generated purified pneumolysin and a purified pneumolysin mutant called F433 to allow me to examine this potential effect. I found that pneumolysin inhibits in vitro antigen specific murine CD4 T cell proliferation and cytokine production and that this effect is not observed with the F433 mutant pneumolysin. Furthermore, I demonstrated that pneumolysin accomplished this inhibitory activity by inducing apoptosis of activated CD4 T cells and suggest that lipid rafts may be involved in this process since we also demonstrated that pneumolysin preferentially binds to lipid rafts. Finally I demonstrated that pneumolysin is able to inhibit the in vivo accumulation of T cells and also inhibits in vivo antibody production.

I propose that the immunomodulatory mechanism I have described may play an important role during pneumococcal infection and that this warrants further investigation. I propose that detailed in vivo studies are required to demonstrate that this mechanism functions during infection and to elucidate the effect this has upon the course of infection.


Knowledge of the beam profiles is of critical importance for interpreting data from cosmic microwave background experiments. In this paper, we present the characterization of the in-flight optical response of the WMAP satellite. The main-beam intensities have been mapped to ≤-30 dB of their peak values by observing Jupiter with the satellite in the same observing mode as for CMB observations. The beam patterns closely follow the prelaunch expectations. The full width at half-maximum is a function of frequency and ranges from 0.°82 at 23 GHz to 0.°21 at 94 GHz; however, the beams are not Gaussian. We present (a) the beam patterns for all 10 differential radiometers, showing that the patterns are substantially independent of polarization in all but the 23 GHz channel; (b) the effective symmetrized beam patterns that result from WMAP's compound spin observing pattern; (c) the effective window functions for all radiometers and the formalism for propagating the window function uncertainty; and (d) the conversion factor from point-source flux to antenna temperature. A summary of the systematic uncertainties, which currently dominate our knowledge of the beams, is also presented. The constancy of Jupiter's temperature within a frequency band is an essential check of the optical system. The tests enable us to report a calibration of Jupiter to 1%-3% accuracy relative to the CMB dipole.


Loudness matching functions for tones for persons with one shifted-threshold ear ~hearing loss and noise-shifted thresholds ! and one ear within normal limits were used to derive the presumed basilar membrane~BM! input–output ~I/O! function in a normal ear. The comparison was made by assuming that the BM I/O function for the ear with the cochlear threshold shift has a slope of one ~a linearized cochlea !. The function for the normal ear was derived from the loudness matching function based on this assumption. Comparisons were made for archival basilar membrane data @M. A. Ruggero, N. C. Rich, A. Recio, S. S. Narayan, and L. Robles, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 101, 2151–2163~1997!# for chinchilla and archival loudness matches for long-duration tones for persons with various degrees of cochlear hearing loss @F. Miskolczy-Fodor, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 32, 486– 492 ~1960!#. Comparisons were made also between BM I/O functions and ones derived from loudness matches for persons with unilateral hearing loss simulated by broadband noise. The results show a close resemblance between the basilar membrane I/O function and the function derived from loudness matches for long-duration tones, even though the comparison was between human and chinchilla data. As the degree of threshold shift increases from 40 to 80 dB, the derived BM I/O functions become shallower, with slopes for losses of 60 dB or more falling in the range of values reported for physiological data. Additional measures with short-duration tones in noise show that the slope of the loudness function and the slope of the derived basilar membrane I/O function are associated with the behavioral threshold for the tone. The results for long-duration tones suggest a correspondence between BM displacement and loudness perception in cases of recruitment, but the relation between the degree of loss and the amount of BM compression and the relation between signal duration and compression suggests that other factors, such as the neural population response, may play a role. ©1998 Acoustical Society of America. @S0001-4966 ~98!05104-2#


This study focuses on the return period evaluation for design hyetographs, which is usually estimated by adopting a univariate statistical approach. Joint Return Period (JRP) and copula-based multivariate analysis are used in this work to better define T-year synthetic rainfall patterns which can be used as input for design flood peak estimation by means of hydrological simulation involving rainfall-runoff (RR) models. Specifically, a T-year Design Hyetograph (DH) is assumed to be characterized by its peak H, at the chosen time resolution Δt, and by the total rainfall height W, cumulated on its critical duration dCri, which has been a priori fixed. As stated in technical literature, the choice of the expression for JRP depends on which event is deemed as critical for the investigated system; the most important cases are: (i) all the variables must exceed a certain magnitude to achieve critical conditions; or (ii) at least one variable must be greater than a threshold; or (iii) critical conditions are induced by all the events with a joint Cumulative Density Function (CDF) overcoming an assigned probability threshold. Once the expression for JRP was chosen, the relationship among multivariate T-year design hyetographs and T-year design flood peak was investigated for a basin located in Calabria region (southern Italy). Specifically, for the selected case study, a summary diagram was obtained as final result, which allows the main characteristics of T-year DHs to be estimated, considering both the univariate and the copula based multivariate analysis, and the associated T-year design flood peaks obtained through the simulation with a RR model.


The mechanisms for the loss of both CO2 working capacity and mass from a CdO–NaI composite were investigated to better assess the potential use of the material to facilitate the pre-combustion capture of CO2 from syngas. Fresh activated material was used to analyse sorption and desorption using a CO2–N2 mixture. Mass spectrometric analysis of the exit gas revealed the loss of elemental iodine from the system over the period, attributed to the oxidation of iodide. Thermogravimetric analysis using iodine vapour suggested the iodide loss reaction to be a partially reversible equilibrium. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the formation of a highly oxidised iodine species on the surface of the sorbent during initial calcination in both air and N2, but this compound vanished after the use of the sorbent in 25 CO2 sorption cycles. Elemental mapping showed that iodine was dislocated from the sodium, which it was considered to be originally associated to, supporting the theory of oxidation and evaporation (and possible re-deposition). Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the sorbent consisted of regular, spherical nanoparticles of approx. 250 nm diameter, which became more irregularly-shaped after CO2 sorption cycles, considered to be due to void/crack formation caused by density changes upon calcination and carbonation. In situ powder X-ray diffraction revealed an increase in crystallinity of both CdO and NaI upon heating to CO2 sorption temperature of 325 °C in N2 atmosphere, compared to room temperature. If the oxidation of the iodide promoter can be inhibited, this is likely to improve the multicyclic CO2 sorption stability of this material for future use.


Malignant melanoma is a lethal skin melanocytic neoplasm that forms metastasis to distant organs [1]. Inhibition of tumor-related angiogenesis results in decreased nutrient transport subsequently promoting tumor hypoxia [2]. Thus anti-angiogenic strategies offer real potential for future therapeutics. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have described new targets and approaches for identifying significant parameters involved in angiogenesis inhibition [3].
The aim of this study was to assess the in vivo antitumor potential of a highly diluted natural complex named M-1. M-1 composition is based on the following natural matrixes in Hahnemann decimal dilutions (dH) [4]: Aconitum napellus (20dH), Arsenicum album (18dH), Asa foetida (20dH), Calcarea carbonica (16dH), Chelidonium majus (20dH), Cinnamon (20dH), Conium maculatum (17dH), Echinacea purpurea (20dH), Gelsemium sempervirens (20dH), Ipecacuanha (13dH), Phosphorus (20dH), Rhus toxicodendron (17dH), Silicea (20dH), Sulphur (24dH), and Thuja occidentalis (19dH).
B16-F10 cells were subcutaneously injected on dorsal flank of C57BL/6 mice. After 24 hours of B16-F10 injection, M-1 treatment was administered for a period of 10 minutes with a modified inhalation chamber [5]. Subsequent treatments occurred twice a day for 14 days. After this treatment period, mice were weighed and euthanized, then solid tumors were removed, weighed and measured (all animals developed melanoma tumors). The tumors were imaged and processed for histopathology by Fontana-Masson staining. Slides were analyzed using an automated slide scanner, Mirax Scan (Carl ZeissTM). Final images were analyzed using Mirax Viewer Software (3DHISTECHTM).
Visual inspection of tumors showed an obvious decrease in tumor size (Fig. 1a-b), which was confirmed by wet weight measurement indicating tumor size to be reduced by 38%, whereas mice body weight was unaffected (Fig. 1c). When analyzed by histology, tumor area from M-1 treated mice was decreased, albeit with low significance (Fig. 1d).
 In summary, treatment with the highly diluted natural complex M-1 resulted in decrease in tumor size and weight. It is important to notice M-1 in vivo anticancer action, but more interesting is the first demonstration of a non-invasive route of therapy for cancer: the inhalation. Despite the promise of these series of experiments, further investigation on M-1 mechanism of action and its biochemical properties is necessary to develop more efficient therapies


It is well accepted that the technical, financial and environmental performance of a chemical process is largely determined during design. Therefore, the development of tools that integrate environmental considerations would enable the design of more environmentally friendly processes at a lower cost. This research investigates how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be applied at any stage in the design process to produce useful information for design, not just after the plant is operating, which is the norm for LCA. The tools have been applied to the development of a novel process (the RT7000): thermal cracking of mixed plastic waste to produce several hydrocarbon products with the potential to displace crude oil, naphtha, or refinery wax or be used as a fuel.

To allow LCA to guide the design process, a toolkit methodology was developed including comparisons of design changes, hotspot analysis, identification of key impact categories, environmental break-even analysis, and decision analysis using ternary diagrams. The results of applying these tools justified continuing with the development by confirming that the novel process is likely to be a better environmental option than landfill or incineration.

At the later stages of design, advanced tools such as process simulations become attractive and allow a more accurate estimation of material and energy flows. A simulation of the RT7000 in Aspen Plus® was developed that provided data for a wide range of feed compositions. The RT7000 continued to have lower environmental impact to incineration offering a saving equivalent to 969-1305 kgCO2/tonne plastic processed. It was also ascertained that variation in feed composition does influence environmental performance, but not enough to affect the outcomes of decision making.

The general approaches used in this work to assess the RT7000 should be applicable to the development of any new process. Benefits and insights similar to those obtained in the case study can realistically be expected when these methodologies are applied to any new processes. Therefore the results have been published in the Journal of Cleaner Production (Gear et al., 2018)


Targeted PCR amplification and high-throughput sequencing (amplicon sequencing) of 16S rRNA gene fragments is widely used to profile microbial communities. New sequencing technologies produce long reads that can span the entire 16S rRNA gene, but have substantially higher error rates that have limited their attractiveness when accuracy is important. Here we present a high-throughput amplicon sequencing methodology based on PacBio circular consensus sequencing and the DADA2 sample inference method that measures the full-length 16S rRNA gene with single-nucleotide resolution and a near-zero error rate. In two artificial mixtures of known bacterial strains our method recovered the full complement of full-length 16S sequence variants from expected community members, without residual errors. The measured abundances of intra-genomic sequence variants were in the integral ratios expected from the genuine allelic variants within a genome. E. coli strains in the mock communities were correctly classified to the O157:H7 and K12 sub-species clades from the 16S gene sequences recovered by our method. In human fecal samples, our method recovered the full complement of 16S rRNA gene variants in detected E. coli strains and showed strong technical replication. We discuss the promises and challenges of of classification based on the full complement of multi-copy marker genes such as the 16S rRNA gene. There are likely many applications beyond microbial profiling for which high-throughput amplicon sequencing of complete genes with single-nucleotide resolution will be of use.


BACKGROUND Small 14F pigtail catheters (PCs) have been shown to drain air quite well in patients with traumatic pneumothorax (PTX). But their effectiveness in draining blood in patients with traumatic hemothorax (HTX) or hemopneumothorax (HPTX) is unknown. We hypothesized that 14F PCs can drain blood as well as large-bore 32F to 40F chest tubes. We herein report our early case series experience with PCs in the management of traumatic HTX and HPTX. METHODS We prospectively collected data on all bedside-inserted PCs in patients with traumatic HTX or HPTX during a 30-month period (July 2009 through December 2011) at our Level I trauma center. We then compared our PC prospective data with our trauma registry–derived retrospective chest tube data (January 2008 through December 2010) at our center. Our primary outcome of interest was the initial drainage output. Our secondary outcomes were tube duration, insertion-related complications, and failure rate. For our statistical analysis, we used the unpaired Student's t-test, &khgr;2 test, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test; we defined significance by a value of p < 0.05. RESULTS A total of 36 patients received PCs, and 191 received chest tubes. Our PC group had a higher rate of blunt mechanism injuries than our chest tube group did (83 vs. 62%; p = 0.01). The mean initial output was similar between our PC group (560 ± 81 mL) and our chest tube group (426 ± 37 mL) (p = 0.13). In the PC group, the tube was inserted later (median, Day 1; interquartile range, Days 0–3) than the tube inserted in our chest tube group (median, Day 0; interquartile range, Days 0–0) (p < 0.001). Tube duration, rate of insertion-related complications, and failure rate were all similar. CONCLUSION In our early experience, 14F PCs seemed to drain blood as well as large-bore chest tubes based on initial drainage output and other outcomes studied. In this early phase, we were being selective in inserting PCs in only stable blunt trauma patients, and PCs were inserted at a later day from the time of the initial evaluation. In the future, we will need a larger sample size and possibly a well-designed prospective study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level V.


Supplier evaluation and selection (SES) problems have long been studied, leading to the development of a wide range of individual and hybrid models for solving them. However, the lack of widespread diffusion of existing SES models in the industry points to a need for simpler models that can systematically evaluate both qualitative and quantitative attributes of potential suppliers while enhancing the flexibility decision-makers need to account for relevant situational factors. Furthermore, empirical validations of existing models in SES have been few and far between. With a view to addressing these issues, this paper proposes an integrated solution framework that can be used to evaluate both tangible and intangible attributes of potential suppliers. The proposed framework combines three individual methods, namely the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy complex proportional assessment and fuzzy linear programming. The framework is validated through application in a Turkish textile company. The results generated using the proposed framework is compared with the actual historical data collected from the company. Additionally, a feasibility assessment is conducted on the sample supplier selection criteria employed, as well as assessment of the results generated using the proposed model.


Root sugar accumulation was studied in two grapevine varieties contrasting in tolerance to water stress. During a 10-day water withholding treatment, the drought-tolerant variety, Grenache, sustained less negative predawn and midday leaf water potentials as well as root water potential compared with the sensitive variety, Semillon. Grenache vines also maintained lower stomatal conductance and transpiration than Semillon vines throughout the drying period. In both varieties there was accumulation of sucrose in the roots and concentrations were inversely correlated to leaf and root water status. In both Grenache and Semillon, elevated root osmolality was associated with decreased soil moisture indicating that sugar accumulation may play a role in osmotic protection. Petiole xylem sap abscisic acid (ABA) concentrations increased with water deficit in both varieties and were highest for vines with the most negative root and predawn leaf water potentials. Furthermore, root sucrose concentrations were positively correlated with leaf xylem sap ABA concentrations, indicative of integration between carbohydrate metabolism and the ABA signalling system. Similar root sugar accumulation patterns between the two varieties, however, demonstrate that other factors are likely influencing the ability of the drought-tolerant variety to remain hydrated.


The causes of water inflow and sand bursting on starting shaft disaster in shield tunnel were analyzed. The analytical model that groundwater seepage from substratum of the reinforced soil to gap in shaft wall on starting shaft in shield tunnelling was established. Using the semi-confined aquifer seepage theory, a practical calculation example was given. The result shows: under the assumption that the reinforced soil was complete exclusion of water, the accidents of water inflow and sand bursting in portal part were influenced by many factors including the length of reinforced soil, groundwater level and so on. The cost and safety of starting shaft engineering had positive correlation with the length of reinforced soil. Lowering the groundwater can significantly reduce water inflow disaster. Comprehensively considered factors of safety, economy, construction period and so on, the reasonable construction parameters can be determined.


This article examines the main government policies in equity financing and capital market funding to support entrepreneurial development in Asia. It finds that the government intervention model is successful in Singapore and Taiwan but Malaysia and Thailand suffer from having redundant organizations/agencies competing on offering similar innovation financing schemes.


The emergence of quantum-gravity induced corrective terms for the probability of emission of a particle from a black hole in the Parikh–Wilczek tunneling framework is studied. It is shown, in particular, how corrections might arise from modifications of the surface gravity due to near horizon Planck-scale effects. Our derivation provides an example of the possible linking between Planck-scale departures from Lorentz invariance and the appearance of higher order quantum gravity corrections in the black-hole entropy-area relation.


Tourism has the potential to empower women, particularly in rural areas. However, little is known about whether it can have the same effect in Andean communities, mainly because the traditional social and cultural structures of those communities have limited women's ability to empower themselves through traditional economic activities. Through interviews with residents participating in agritourism development in seven communities across the Cusco and Puno regions (Peru, South America), this study examined the role of agritourism development in the empowerment of women in those communities as well as the ways in which it has changed traditional gender roles. Study findings revealed that agritourism contributes to four areas of empowerment for women: psychological, social, political, and economic. However, the culture of the Andean communities still has considerable influence on gender dynamics and may prevent women from garnering all the benefits of tourism development. Agritourism development in those communities should incorporate gender-related cultural considerations to navigate and overcome barriers, thereby allowing the maximization of empowerment benefits for women.


The publishers will keep this article on-line on the Internet (or its possible replacement network in the future) for a period of 25 years from the date of publication, barring exceptional circumstances as described separately. The on-line availability of the article implies a permanent permission for anyone to read the article on-line, to print out single copies of it, and to use it unchanged for any non-commercial research and educational purpose, including making copies for classroom use. This permission can not be revoked by subsequent transfers of copyright. All other uses of the article are conditional on the consent of the copyright owner. The publication of the article on the date stated above included also the production of a limited number of copies on paper, which were archived in Swedish university libraries like all other written works published in Sweden. The publisher has taken technical and administrative measures to assure that the on-line version of the article will be permanently accessible using the URL stated above, unchanged, and permanently equal to the archived printed copies at least until the expiration of the publication period. For additional information about the Linkk oping University Electronic Press and its procedures for publication and for assurance of document integrity, please refer to its WWW home page: Abstract We investigate the approximability of the NPO PB-complete problems Min Ones, Min Dones, Max Ones, Max Dones and Max PB 0/1 Programming. We show that, unless P = NP, these problems are not approximable within n 1?" for any " > 0 where n is the number of variables in the input. Since all of these problems are approximable within n, this lower bound is close to optimal.


In this study, the presence and concentrations of nitrosamines and their precursors  (nitrates and nitrites) in raw table eggs obtained from four layer-farms in Abeokuta,  were analysed. Nitrosamines are highly toxic and carcinogenic group of chemicals that have the potential to be formed in the body through a process called nitrosation.  Nitrates and nitrites react under acidic and /or high temperature conditions with  nitrosable substrates usually secondary amines to form several of hundreds of  N-nitroso amine compounds known. A spectrophotometric method was used to assay for nitrosamines and their precursors in eggs (n=5 from each farm), entailing separate analysis of each egg yolk and albumen. The three compounds measured, were detected in all the samples. The nitrates and nitrites levels were significantly higher in the yolk than in the albumen (P<0.05). However, there was no significant correlation observed between the levels of nitrosamines and its precursors in the eggs (P<0.05). Findings from this study reveals that nitrosamines and their precursors are present in eggs from these layer farms. These compounds can be potentially toxic, thus constituting a hazard to human and animal health. Key words : Carcinogenesis, eggs, layers, nitrates, nitrites, nitrosamines.


The field of Deep Learning has benefitted greatly by the availability of accelerators like Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and of open source deep learning frameworks which can exploit these GPUs. As the GPUs become faster, a key aspect of system design is being able to supply them data at a rate where they can be kept busy. A balanced system design is important. In this paper, we investigate these issues with experiments on a distributed deep learning system called Phalanx. Phalanx is a data parallel distributed deep learning system which exploits Caffe as its basic learning engine in the nodes. These nodes run on GPUs and uses infiniband for communication1


In the 5G era, it is expected that various services will be provided on network slices, which are virtualized network resources. A network slice has to support isolation capabilities and multi-grade performance capabilities such as ultra-low-latency and ultra-reliability due to the 5G requirements. IP and optical networks are also required to provide multi-grade property as a part of a network slice. Multi-layer SDN control is beneficial technology to realize the multi-grade network because an integrated control of IP and optical layers enables to combine network technologies across layers. It brings flexibility of service levels in terms of network performance and reliability. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a multi-grade network which provides various types of virtualized network according to user requirements. Our platform is composed of IP and optical layers and ONOS-based SDN controller. We show on-demand provisioning of a virtualized network with a provisioning tracker that presents current status of provisioning in real-time.


Land use and land-use change play an important role in global integrated assessments. However, there are still many uncertainties in the role of current and historical land use in the global carbon cycle as well as in other dimensions of global environmental change. Although databases of historical land use are frequently used in integrated assessments and climate studies, they are subject to considerable uncertainties that often are ignored. This paper examines a number of the most important uncertainties related to the process of reconstructing historical land use. We discuss the origins of different types of uncertainty and the sensitivity of land-use reconstructions to these uncertainties. The results indicate that uncertainties not only arise due to large temporal and spatial variation in historical population data, but also relate to assumptions on the relationship between population and land use. Improving empirical data to better specify and validate the assumptions about the relationship between population and land use while accounting for the spatial and temporal variation in this relationship could reduce uncertainties in the reconstructions. Such empirical evidence, needed to better parameterize reconstruction methods, could be derived from local case studies, such as those conducted in landscape ecology, environmental history, archeology and paleoecology.


To cite this article: Buran Köse, Ö., & Doğan, A. (2018). The relationship between social media addiction and self-esteem among Turkish university students. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, 6, 175−190. http://dx.doi.org/10.15805/addicta.2019.6.1.0036 1 Correspondence to: Özge Buran Köse, Psychology Department, Faculty of Economic, Administrative and Social Sciences, Nişantaşı University, Sarıyer, İstanbul Turkey. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com 2 Psychology Department, Faculty of Economic, Administrative and Social Sciences, Nişantaşı University, Sarıyer, İstanbul Turkey. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract Social media occupies more and more space in the daily lives of contemporary young adults. As online interactions have become more common than face-to-face interactions, social media has started to majorly impact individuals' ways of living, communication, language, interests, and psychology. Even though social media and internet addiction are not defined as behavioral addictions among the DSM diagnostic criteria due to lack of scientific proof, its stages (conflict, relapse, etc.) reveal themselves as behavioral addictions like shopping or gambling addictions. The aim of this study is to indicate the psychological dimensions of social media addiction in young adults, to point out their significance, and to produce scientific proofs for the literature, which are needed. In processing the data, normality tests have been applied. Women are more addicted to social media for the purposes of mood modification and being occupied. Social media addiction levels increase alongside increases in the number of Instagram followers. In addition, fake account owners and stalkers are more addicted to social media than others. Meanwhile, a moderate, negative correlation exists between self-esteem levels and social media addiction. The correlation coefficient increases for users who have more than 500 followers in the categories of relapse and conflict.


Binary extension (or Galois) fields GF(2^m) have been widely studied due to their use in several important applications, such as cryptography, error control codes and digital signal processing. These applications require efficient hardware implementations of GF(2^m) arithmetic operations, particularly multiplication, which is considered the most important and complex one. The complexity of GF(2^m) multiplication depends on the representation basis and on the defining irreducible polynomial f(y) selected for the finite field. For efficient hardware implementations, polynomial basis and irreducible trinomials or pentanomials are normally used. Any element A ∊ GF(2^m) can be represented in the polynomial basis {1,x,...,x^m-1} as A = Σm-1/i-0, a_i x^i with a_i Σ GF(2), where x is a root of the irreducible polynomial f(y) = Σ^m/_i=0^f_i y^i. Polynomial basis multiplication C = A ⋅ B requires a polynomial multiplication followed by a reduction modulo an irreducible polynomial. Mastrovito [1] proposed an efficient bit-parallel polynomial basis multiplier in which a product matrix was introduced to combine the above two steps together. A new polynomial basis multiplication method applied to irreducible trinomials was proposed in [2], where the functions S_i and T_i given by the addition of terms x_k = (a_k b_k) and z_i^j = (a_i b_j + a_j b_i), with a_i, b_i ∊ GF(2), were obtained from the decomposition of a product matrix. The addition of these functions is used for the computation of the product of two GF(2^m) elements. In [3], the above method was applied to type II irreducible pentanomials and the functions S_i and T_i were split in the form S_i = s^i_k S_i^k + ... + s^i_0 S_i^0 and T_i = t^i_k T_i^k + ... + t^i_0 T_i^0, with s^i_j, t^i_j ∊ GF(2) and k = log_2m. The terms S_i^j and T_i^j represent the sum of 2^j products a_kb_l and therefore can be implemented as a j-level complete binary tree of XOR gates. The addition in pairs of binary trees with the same depth leads to a reduction of the multiplication delay. However, splitting method imposes hard restrictions (given by the use of parenthesis in the expressions of the coordinates) for the addition of S_i^j and T_i^j terms in order to reduce the number of XOR levels. These restrictions could not be efficient for a synthesis tool in order to map that expressions into FPGA's logic blocks. If parenthesized restrictions are removed, more freedom could be given for the synthesizer to find an optimized implementation of the multiplier. In this work, efficient Xilinx FPGA implementations of GF(2^m) bit-parallel polynomial basis multipliers for irreducible trinomials are presented. Based on [2], a new general algorithm for multiplication over irreducible trinomials f(y) = y^m + y^n +1, with 1 ≤ n ≤ (m+1)/2, is proposed and the splitting method given in [3] is applied to these irreducible polynomials. Furthermore, in order to optimize the synthesis of the multipliers, a new approach for the computation of the product is used where the splitting of S_i and T_i terms is performed, but the restriction given by the addition in pairs of binary trees with the same depth has been removed. In this way, Xilinx tools are free to optimize the synthesis of the multiplier. Several GF(2^m) multipliers for different binary fields have been described in VHDL and their post-place and route implementation results in Xilinx Artix-7 have been reported. Experimental results show that the multiplier here proposed exhibits the best delay and Area×Time complexities when it is compared with similar multipliers found in the literature. Moreover, the new approach also achieves the lowest number of slices in most of the implemented multipliers.


This paper presents a general equilibrium analysis on the interactions between pension plan funding, capital structure, technology choice and the equity premium. The paper shows that economies with large funded defined pension schemes may be biased towards safe production. The pricipal results derive from the existence of borrowing and short sales constraints. In the first scenario workers are constrained in the capital market and debt is risk-free. If pension benefits are sufficiently high, then the capital market constraint may be binding. Then, leveraging the risky technology gives workers an adjustment channel through which they may undo an over-exposure to risk-free investment. This results in more risky production and a fall in the equity premium. In the second scenario workers are constrained in the capital market and debt is subject to default risk. If the level of the resulting pension plan shortfall risk is low and if pension benefits are sufficiently high, then the previous is at work. If the level of shortfall risk is high, workers hedge themselves by holding risk-free assets and the constraint in the capital market is no longer binding. Then the risky firm does not benefit from leveraging and there is more safe production in the economy.


The drop distance, times of dynamic compaction and other parameters are studied by on-site testing in order to analyse quantitatively the impact on effective reinforcement depth and radius of the red sandstone rubble soil. Large amounts of on-site test data shows that compactness standard is 93%, strong encryption range is 1.0~4.0m, the effective impact depth is 4~6m and the effective impact radius is 2.5~3.5m. At the same time, through comparison and verification the on-site testing data and numerical analysis, the relationship between times of dynamic compacting and sandstones subside is . Further more, it is revealed that dynamic compaction can restrain effectively the deformation of high fill embankment of the red sandstone rubble soil.


The present research was conducted during May 2009 to September 2010 to explore the spider fauna of FR Peshawar, FATA, Pakistan. Spiders were collected and identified. Their 23 species belonging to 15 genera and 09 families were reported. The reported families Clubionidae, Scytodidae and Sprassidae covered 4%, Araneidae, Gnaphosidae, Pholicidae and Salticidae 9%, Thomisidae 13% and Lycosidae 43% biodiversity of spiders of FATA. However, the largest spider collected was huntsman, Isopoda tuhodnigra (Barrion) with total body length 15.80±0.83 mm. Moreover, the smallest spider was wolf spider, Pardosa birmanica (Simon) with total body length 4.20±1.30 mm. Further, the daddy long leg, Crossopriza lyoni (Blackwall) has the longest legs with first leg length 49.70±3.71 mm and last leg length 41.50±3.13 mm. Furthermore, jumping spider Plexippus paykullii (Audouni) has the smallest legs with first leg length 5.8±0.83 mm and last leg 4.50±0.83 mm. However, the crab spiders, Thomisus pugilis (Stoliczka), T. spectabilis (Doleschall) and Diaea evanida (Thorell) were the most colorful species belonging to family Thomisidae. Moreover, most of the species recorded have brown and grayish in color.


Hand gesture recognition (HGR) from sequences of depth maps is a challenging computer vision task because of the low inter-class and high intra-class variability, different execution rates of each gesture, and the high articulated nature of the human hand. In this paper, a multilevel temporal sampling (MTS) method is first proposed that is based on the motion energy of keyframes of depth sequences. As a result, long, middle, and short sequences are generated that contain the relevant gesture information. The MTS results in increasing the intra-class similarity while raising the inter-class dissimilarities. The weighted depth motion map (WDMM) is then proposed to extract the spatiotemporal information from generated summarized sequences by an accumulated weighted absolute difference of consecutive frames. The histogram of gradient and local binary pattern are exploited to extract features from WDMM. The obtained results define the current state-of-the-art on three public benchmark datasets of: MSR Gesture 3D, SKIG, and MSR Action 3D, for 3D HGR. We also achieve competitive results on NTU action dataset.


Wireless Sensor Network (WSNs) are generally energy-constrained and resourceconstrained. When multiple simultaneous events occur in densely deployed WSNs, nodes near the base station can become congested, decreasing the network performance. Additionally, multiple nodes may sense an event leading to spatiallycorrelated contention, further increasing congestion. In order to mitigate the effects of congestion near the base station, an energy-efficient Media Access Control (MAC) protocol that can handle multiple simultaneous events and spatially-correlated contention is needed. Energy efficiency is important and can be achieved using duty cycles but they could degrade the network performance in terms of latency. Existing protocols either provide support for congestion near the base station or for managing spatially-correlated contention. To provide energy-efficiency while maintaining the networks performance under higher traffic load, we propose an energy-efficient congestion-aware MAC protocol. This protocol provides support for congestion near the base station and spatially-correlated contention by employing a traffic shaping approach to manage the arrival times of packets to the layers close to the base station. We implemented our protocol using the ns-2 simulator for evaluating its performance. Results show that our protocol has an improvement in the number of packets received at the base station while consuming less energy.