Oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios indicate that unusual rocks at the upper contact of the Archean Fiskenaesset Anorthosite Complex at Fiskenaesset Harbor (southwest Greenland) are the products of hydrothermal alteration by seawater at the time of anorthosite intrusion. Subsequent granulite-facies metamorphism of these Ca-poor and Al- and Mg-rich rocks produced sapphirine- and kornerupine-bearing assemblages. Because large amounts of surface waters cannot penetrate to depths of 30 km during granulite-facies metamorphism, the isotopic signature of the contact rocks must have been obtained prior to regional metamorphism. The stable isotope and geochemical characteristics of the contact rocks support a model of shallow emplacement into Archean ocean crust for the Fiskenaesset Anorthosite Complex. 45 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.


Questions around 'the body' are central to social theory. Our changing understanding of the body now challenges the ways we conceive power, ideology, subjectivity and social and cultural process. The Body: the key concepts highlights and analyses the debates which make the body central to current sociological, psychological, cultural and feminist thinking. Today, questions around the body are intrinsic to a wide range of debates - from technological developments in media and communications, to socio-cultural questions around representation, performance, class, race, gender and sexuality, to the more 'physical' concerns of health and illness, sleep, diet and eating disorders, body parts and the senses. The Body: the key concepts is the ideal introduction for any student seeking a concise and up-to-date analysis of the complex and influential debates around the body in contemporary culture.

'In accomplishing the important task of mapping where the body presently is in the field, Lisa Blackman also points the way forward in her explorations of embodiment as a multiplicity of networks, connections, operations and potentialities. A contribution that will be welcomed by those new to the area as well as by more established body scholars.' Chris Shilling, University of Kent 'A Comprehensive, incisive and sophisticated overview of the field. Highly recommended'. Tim Lawrence, University of East London


We compare two cases of innovation in public services in Brazil and Romania, aiming to illustrate the connection between innovation, modernization, and path-dependence. One case is the Brazilian Pathway School Program, and the second is the Romanian School Bus Program. Both countries experienced periods of transition, which we considered fruitful for historical analysis. We based our investigation on two comparative case studies, using secondary data and employing document analysis and previous researches' reports. While Brazilian Pathway School Program proved to be a successful story of designing a centralized policy, Romania walked in the opposite direction, from a centralized state, under the communist rule, to a polity where innovation occurs at the intersection between local community and central government. In Romania, it would be difficult to perceive the contingencies of local engagement in a country where civil liberty was suspended for 42 years. In Brazil, the inquiry was connected to the atypical federation, where the subnational states developed an extraordinary economic and budgetary dependence on the Union.


As one of the leading agricultural research organisations in Europe, INRA counts the construction of the European Research Area and improving its attractiveness to young researchers among its top priorities. INRA was the first French research organisation to receive the "HR Excellence in Research" label awarded by the European Commission.


Formulation of Generalized Electron Balance (GEB) according to Approach II to GEB, based on linear combination f12 = 2∙f(O) – f(H) of elemental balances: f(H) for H and f(O) for O, is illustrated on the titration of NaBr + H2SO4 (as titrand, D) with Ce(SO4)2 + H2SO4 solution (as titrant, T), according to GATES/GEB principles. Some fundamental advantages inherent in linear combination of f12 with other elemental/core balances are indicated. The prior information on oxidation numbers of all elements participating the redox system is not needed. The multipliers needed to obtain the simpler form of the balance resulting from the linear combination are equal to oxidation numbers of the elements participating the related system. This way, the f12 provides the criterion distinguishing between nonredox and redox systems. The f12 is linearly independent on other balances in a redox system, or linearly dependent in non-redox systems; the D and T are considered here as non-redox subsystems of the D+T redox system. All available physicochemical knowledge related to the D+T system can be involved in the iterative computer program used for calculation purposes.


A microcomputer-efficient algorithm to study the parasitic capacitances associated with high-density single-level interconnections on GaAs-based VLSI is presented and a student-oriented program called PCSIGV is discussed. The algorithm uses the method of moments in conjunction with a Green's function appropriate to the geometry of the interconnections. Results include the fringing fields as well as the effects of shielding due to the presence of the neighboring interconnection lines. PCSIGV has been used to study the dependence of the ground and coupling interconnections capacitances on various interconnection parameters. >


Measurements of the hygroscopic properties of sub-micrometer atmospheric aerosol particles were performed with hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analysers (H-TDMA) at 5 sites in the subtropical north-eastern Atlantic during the second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) from 16 June to 25 July 1997. Four of the sites were in the marine boundary layer and one was, at least occasionally, in the lower free troposphere. The hygroscopic diameter growth factors of individual aerosol particles in the dry particle diameter range 10−440 nm were generally measured for changes in relative humidity (RH) from <10% to 90%. In the marine boundary layer, growth factors at 90% RH were dependent on location, air mass type and particle size. The data was dominated by a unimodal growth distribution of more-hygroscopic particles, although a bimodal growth distribution including less-hygroscopic particles was observed at times, most often in the more polluted air masses. In clean marine air masses the more-hygroscopic growth factors ranged from about 1.6 to 1.8 with a consistent increase in growth factor with increasing particle size. There was also a tendency toward higher growth factors as sodium to sulphate molar ratio increased with increasing sea-salt contribution at higher wind speeds. During outbreaks of European pollution in the ACE-2 region, the growth factors of the largest particles were reduced, but only slightly. Growth factors at all sizes in both clean and polluted air masses were markedly lower at the Sagres, Portugal site due to more proximate continental influences. The frequency of occurrence of less-hygroscopic particles with a growth factor of ca. 1.15 was greatest during polluted conditions at Sagres. The free tropospheric 50 nm particles were predominately less-hygroscopic, with an intermediate growth factor of 1.4, but more-hygroscopic particles with growth factors of about 1.6 were also frequent. While these particles probably originate from within the marine boundary layer, the less-hygroscopic particles are probably more characteristic of lower free tropospheric air masses. For those occasions when measurements were made at 90% and an intermediate 60% or 70% RH, the growth factor G(RH) of the more-hygroscopic particles could be modelled empirically by a power law expression. For the ubiquitous more-hygroscopic particles, the expressions G(RH)=(1-RH/100)-0.210 for 50 nm Aitken mode particles and G(RH)=(1-RH/100)-0.233 for 166 nm accumulation mode particles are recommended for clean marine air masses in the north-eastern Atlantic within the range 0


This paper presents a baseline model that illustrates the implications of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for excluded nations. The model shows that MRAs can harm third country exports because of a trade-diversion effect. We use highly disaggregated trade data from developed and developing nations to test whether or not MRAs have a negative effect on exports from excluded nations. In particular, we focus on the impact of a North-North MRA on the South. We find empirical evidence in support of the model; the MRA between the EU and the USA has harmed exports from Canada and the group of developing countries included in the study. JEL Classification: F13, O12


The study of communication in a network setting has gained increasing popularity in recent years. While audience effects on aggressive interactions have been studied extensively, male–female interactions have often been overlooked. In addition, little is known about how reproductive status affects the nature of audience effects. Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, are a popular subject for communication network studies, but male–female interactions have not been explored in this setting. In this study, pairs of male and female Betta were presented with a male, female or no audience to determine whether the presence of an audience alters the behaviour of the interactants. Within these three audience types, there were four reproductive status conditions with receptivity indicated by nest presence for males and reproductive barring for females. It was predicted that male–female interactions would be affected by the presence of an audience, especially when both interactants are receptive as has been found in male–male interactions in this species. The results suggest that presence of an audience and reproductive status act in combination to influence male–female interactions, but only in interactant-directed behaviours. Not all behaviours were equally affected by these factors. For example, while tail beats to the other interact were greatest when a female audience was present and both the interactants were receptive, this was not true for gill flaring. This study is among the first investigations into audience effects on male–female interactions including the first in Betta and suggests that courtship as well as aggression should be explored in a network setting.


To characterize the decrease in ductility caused by an induced stress concentration as a function of various levels of cold work and heat treatment, Nitinol medical guide wires with a .004″ diameter were tested using both a standard, straight tensile test and a modified, bent tensile test. The ratio of the two break loads (bent:straight) for identically processed samples was used as a proxy for measuring the ductility of the guide wires: the higher the ratio, the more ductile the sample. The average break load ratio as a function of increased cold work, decreased from 1.27 to 0.91 for the heat treated samples, and decreased from 1.28 to 1.13 for the non-heat treated samples. The heat treated wires had lower break load ratios - a difference of 0.105 on average - compared to the similarly cold worked, non-heat treated wires. The magnitude of the decrease in break load ratio between heat treated and non-heat treated wires is dependent on the level of cold work; there was a difference of 0.01 for the lowest level of cold work, and a difference of 0.22 for the highest level of cold work. The decrease in break load - and ductility by proxy - from increased cold work and heat exposure is caused by the suppression of the austenite-martensite phase transformation as a result of these processes.


Fever of unknown origin has been defined as axillary temperature higher than 37.8oC on several occasions, persisting without diagnosis for at least 3 weeks in spite of at least 1 week's investigation in hospital. Lately, the definition has been modified and extended to reflect evolutionary changes in clinical practice. In response to this new evolving environment, cases of fever of unknown origin are currently classified as: classic, nosocomial, in neutropenia, and human immunodeficiency virus-related. The objective of our review was to try and define and to update the information on the subject.


The design of adaptive sensitivity CCD image sensor is described. The sensitivity of each pixel is individually controlled (by changing its exposure time) to assure that it is operating in the linear range of the CCD response, and not in the cut-off saturation regions. Thus, even though an individual CCD sensor is limited in its dynamic range, the whole CCD array has a much wider dynamic range. The idea is based on the biological retina principle of operation, enabling the imager to capture details in both the light and dark areas of high-contrast scenes, as in the human eye.


Global and regional climate models are reported to have inherent bias in simulating the observed climatology of a region. This bias of climate models is the major source of uncertainties in climate change impact assessments. Therefore, use of bias corrected simulated climate data is important. In this study, the bias corrected climate data for 30 years' period (1976-2005) from selected common fourGCMs and RCMs for six Indian locations are compared with the respective observed data of India Meteorological Department. The analysis indicated that the RCMs performance is much better than GCMs after bias correction for minimum and maximum temperatures. Also, RCMs performance is better than GCMs in simulating extreme temperatures. However, the selected RCMs and GCMs are found to either over estimate or under estimate the rainfall despite bias correction and also overestimated the rainfall extremes for selected Indian locations. Based on the overall performance of four models for the six locations, it was found that the GFDL_ESM2M and NORESM1-M RCMs performed comparatively better than CSIRO and IPSL models. After bias correction, the RCMs could represent the observed climatology better than the GCMs. And these RCMs viz., GFDL_ESM2M and NORESM1-M can be usedindividually after bias correction in the climate change assessment studies for the selected regions.


The ability to hydrolyze keratin, a rigid and strongly cross-linked protein in the waste of poultry feather and sheep wool, has made keratinase production by microorganisms highly important to the biotechnological industry. A proteindegrading bacterium (C4) was isolated from compost. Based on morphology and biochemical tests, along with 16S rRNA sequencing, the isolated C4 was tentatively identified as Bacillus sp. C4 (2008). The proteolytic activity of the Bacillus sp. C4 strain was broadly specific; it degraded keratinous and non-keratinous proteins to different degrees. Pea pods as substrate generated the highest protease production, followed by soybean meal and sheep wool. Notwithstanding, using wool keratin as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen yielded the highest level of soluble proteins. Furthermore, the C4 bacterium grew well, and produced a significant level of keratinase when using wool and feather as substrates. Supplementing the medium with yeast extract and peptone shortened the time required for feather degradation, but delayed the onset of the wool keratin hydrolysis with two days. The predominant amino acids released in feather hydrolysate were tyrosine, phenylalanine, and histidine. In contrast, the wool lysate was rich in aspartic acid, methionine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, and lysine. Results established that utilizing the C4 strain for keratin degradation in waste management holds considerable potential.


Abstract. Optical frequency combs, a revolutionary light source characterized by discrete and equally spaced frequencies, are usually regarded as a cornerstone for advanced frequency metrology, precision spectroscopy, high-speed communication, distance ranging, molecule detection, and many others. Due to the rapid development of micro/nanofabrication technology, breakthroughs in the quality factor of microresonators enable ultrahigh energy buildup inside cavities, which gives birth to microcavity-based frequency combs. In particular, the full coherent spectrum of the soliton microcomb (SMC) provides a route to low-noise ultrashort pulses with a repetition rate over two orders of magnitude higher than that of traditional mode-locking approaches. This enables lower power consumption and cost for a wide range of applications. This review summarizes recent achievements in SMCs, including the basic theory and physical model, as well as experimental techniques for single-soliton generation and various extraordinary soliton states (soliton crystals, Stokes solitons, breathers, molecules, cavity solitons, and dark solitons), with a perspective on their potential applications and remaining challenges.


Since the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2), accident in 1979 which led to the meltdown of about one half of the reactor core and to limited releases of radioactive materials to the environment, an important international effort has been made on severe accident research. The present work aims to investigate the behaviour of a Small Modular Reactor during severe accident conditions. In order to perform these analyses, a SMR has been studied for the European reference severe accident analysis code ASTEC, developed by IRSN and GRS. In the thesis will be described in detail the IRIS Small Modular Reactor; the reference reactor chosen to develop the ASTEC input deck. The IRIS model was developed in the framework of a research collaboration with the IRSN development team. In the thesis will be described systematically the creation of the ASTEC IRIS input deck: the nodalization scheme adopted, the solution used to simulate the passive safety systems and the strong interaction between the reactor vessel and the containment. The ASTEC SMR model will be tested against the RELAP-GOTHIC coupled code model, with respect to a Design Basis Accident, to evaluate the capability of the ASTEC code on reproducing correctly the behaviour of the nuclear system. Once the model has been validated, a severe accident scenario will be simulated and the obtained results along with the nuclear system response will be analysed.


Traditional object-oriented design methods deal with the functional aspects of systems, but they do not address quality of service (QoS) aspects, such as reliability, availability, performance, security, and timing. However, deciding which QoS properties should be provided by individual system components is an important part of the design process. Diierent decisions are likely to result in diierent component implementations and system structures. Thus, decisions about component-level QoS should commonly be made at design time, before the implementation is begun. Since these decisions are an important part of the design process, they should be captured as part of the design. We propose a general Quality-of-Service speciication language, which we call QML. In this paper we show how QML can be used to capture QoS properties as part of designs. In addition, we extend UML, the de-facto standard object-oriented modeling language, to support the concepts of QML. QML is designed to integrate with object-oriented features, such as interfaces, classes, and inheritance. In particular, it allows speciication of QoS properties through reenement of existing QoS speciications. Although we exemplify the use of QML to specify QoS properties within the categories of reliability and performance, QML can be used for speciication within any QoS category|QoS categories are user-deened types in QML. Sometimes, QoS characteristics and requirements change dynamically due to changing user preferences, or changes in the environment. For such situations static speciication is insuucient. To allow for dynamic systems that change and evolve over time, we provide a QoS speciication run-time representation. This representation enables systems to create, manipulate, and exchange QoS information, and thereby negotiate and adapt to changing QoS requirements and conditions.


Abstract The Historia Sancti Ludgeri, edited by Morné Bezuidenhout, appeared recently as part of the Historia series of the Cantus Planus Group of the International Musicological Society. Manuscript Grey 4.b.5, a composite breviary and antiphonal that is at present in the Grey Collection in Cape Town, contains the complete rhymed office for the feast of St Liudger, who was bishop of Münster in Westphalia from 805 to 809, making it possible to determine the provenance of the manuscript as Münster. With Ms Grey 4.b.5 as a starting point, Bezuidenhout edits the full Historia Sancti Ludgeri with reference to a wide array of manuscripts and prints that include the entire corpus of chants. The comparison of many sources containing the Historia Sancti Ludgeri contributes towards an understanding of the transmission and dating of chant and office style.


Theoretical approaches to stigmatization have highlighted distinct psychological mechanisms underlying distinct instances of stigmatization. Some stigmas are based on inferences of substandard psychological character (e.g., individuals deemed untrustworthy), whereas others are based on perceptions of substandard physical appearance (e.g., individuals with physical deformities). These inferences and perceptions are associated with specific cognitive and motivational processes, which have implications for understanding specific instances of stigmatization. Recent theoretical approaches and empirical findings suggest that obesity stigma involves both inferences of substandard psychological character and perceptions of substandard physical appearance. We provide a review of the relevant evidence and discuss directions for future research.


The fetus-first mentality advocates that pregnant women and women who could become pregnant should put the needs and well-being of their fetuses before their own. As this Article will illustrate, this popular public perception has pervaded criminal law, impacting responses to women deemed to be the "irresponsible" pregnant woman and so the "bad" mother. The Article considers cases from Alabama and Indiana in the United States and from England in the United Kingdom, providing clear evidence that concerns about the behavior of pregnant women now hang heavily over criminal justice responses to women who experience a negative pregnancy outcome or who are perceived to have behaved in a way that could result in a negative outcome. This Article provides a new approach by bringing together a critical assessment of fetal protection laws with theories of motherhood ideologies and analyzing how such ideologies have resulted in legal developments not only in the US, where the fetus has been granted legal recognition in most states, but also in England and Wales, where the fetus continues to have no legal personality. The Article will conclude that the application of the fetusfirst mentality within criminal law has resulted in dangerous legal developments that challenge women's rights, while doing little to protect fetuses. ∗ Lecturer in Criminology, University of Plymouth. My thanks go to the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the Consortium for the Humanities and the Arts South-East England, who funded and supported this research. I would also like to thank Dr. Karen Brennan, Professor Jackie Turton, and Professor Pete Fussey for feedback and comments on previous drafts of this Article. 150 michigan jo urn al o f g ender & la w [Vol. 27:149


Introduction In 2008 BSPGHAN guidelines for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) were published. The South-West of England paediatricians have developed a regional clinical network whereby children, suspected of having IBD travel to Bristol for full diagnostic work-up. Post diagnosis care is provided by paediatricians at the local hospital with advice from Bristol and a joint three monthly out-patient clinic in Swindon. Children with very severe disease or needing surgery are dealt with by Bristol team. Effectiveness of this model was audited and found to be improved after the introduction of BSPGHAN guidelines Aim This pilot study aimed to assess parent and patient views regarding quality of service provided within Swindon/Bristol regional network. Subjects and methods Thirteen children aged <16 years diagnosed with IBD between 2010–2011, managed by shared care services. A telephone questionnaire survey designed with 12 questions and a free commentssection. Questions included length of time to diagnosis, information sharing, satisfaction with services and preferences re further follow-up care. Results 9/13(69%) responded to telephone survey, 3/13(23%) had moved out of area and 1/13(8%) could not be contacted by telephone. Of 9 patients, 4 had Crohn's disease, 3 Ulcerative colitis and 2 Indeterminate colitis. 4/9(45%) parents felt their concerns were adequately addressed initially at Swindon whereas all parents were satisfied with services provided at Bristol for diagnostic work up. 6/9(67%) parents felt they were satisfied with the expertise available locally for post-diagnosis management. However 8/9(89%) parents were happy with follow-up care by the joint care services at Swindon. Conclusion This single centre pilot demonstrated that joint care provided by this model not only leads to care more concordant with BSPGHAN guidelines but is appreciated and valued by parents. There is scope for further improvements. This pilot study provides a template for ensuring and improving parent/patient involvement and stisfaction; there are plans to modify the questionnaire taking into account any suggestions for improvements and roll it out over the whole SW shared care IBD network soon.


Long haulage road transport consumes considerable amounts of energy in today's world. Predictive control strategies based on digital maps can significantly lower the portion being wasted in traditional cruise control operated highway driving. Such control strategies rely on high quality stored road grade information. This paper describes a newly developed method to estimate the road grade using sensors commonly found on standard heavy duty vehicles. The method utilizes a piecewise linear road model derived from highway design methodologies. The estimation method has been implemented and evaluated experimentally, and is shown to give better results compared to an existing method.


Abstract The genus Cratogeomys, particularly members of the Cratogeomys gymnurus species group, account for much of the high species diversity of pocket gophers in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Recent molecular studies of this species group have shown strong discordance between genetically defined clades and current species taxonomy. Accordingly, we investigated relationships among the 5 species in the C. gymnurus species group using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, chromosomes, and morphological characters. Although quantitative morphometrics provided little discrimination among species or clades within this group, the molecular data sets were consistent in identifying 5 allopatric clades, none of which corresponded to any of the 5 currently recognized species. Four of these 5 genetically defined clades lack clear diagnosability, and so are grouped into the single polytypic species, C. fumosus. The fifth clade is diagnosable based on multiple characters, including nuclear genotype, chromosomal diploid number, parasite fauna, and qualitative morphological characters. Accordingly, we resurrect Merriam's (1895) species planiceps to represent members of this clade, which occurs in the Volcán de Toluca and Valle de Bravo regions of central Mexico. Based on the observation that differences in diploid number usually signal reproductive isolation between populations of pocket gophers, we hypothesize that C. fumosus and C. planiceps are reproductively incompatible. We provide synonymies and descriptions for these 2 species, along with a key to this species group, which is now called the C. fumosus species group.


We are entering the era of high-precision and high-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanets. Such observations herald the need for robust self-consistent spectral models of exoplanetary atmospheres to investigate intricate atmospheric processes and to make observable predictions. Spectral models of plane-parallel exoplanetary atmospheres exist, mostly adapted from other astrophysical applications, with different levels of sophistication and accuracy. There is a growing need for a new generation of models custom-built for exoplanets and incorporating state-of-the-art numerical methods and opacities. The present work is a step in this direction. Here we introduce GENESIS, a plane-parallel, self-consistent, line-by-line exoplanetary atmospheric modelling code which includes (a) formal solution of radiative transfer using the Feautrier method, (b) radiative-convective equilibrium with temperature correction based on the Rybicki linearisation scheme, (c) latest absorption cross sections, and (d) internal flux and external irradiation, under the assumptions of hydrostatic equilibrium, local thermodynamic equilibrium and thermochemical equilibrium. We demonstrate the code here with cloud-free models of giant exoplanetary atmospheres over a range of equilibrium temperatures, metallicities, C/O ratios and spanning non-irradiated and irradiated planets, with and without thermal inversions. We provide the community with theoretical emergent spectra and pressure-temperature profiles over this range, along with those for several known hot Jupiters. The code can generate self-consistent spectra at high resolution and has the potential to be integrated into general circulation and non-equilibrium chemistry models as it is optimised for efficiency and convergence. GENESIS paves the way for high-fidelity remote sensing of exoplanetary atmospheres at high resolution with current and upcoming observations.


We describe an adaptive algorithm that uses a subspace method for separating cochannel time-division multiple-access (TDMA) signals impinging on an antenna array. A frame synchronization algorithm is initially employed to identify the cochannel scenario. The adaptive algorithm uses a subspace decomposition of the array signals to constrain the beamformer weights for the signal of interest to be in a specific subspace. This subspace corresponds to the orthogonal complement of the subspace spanned by the direction vectors of the interferers. A follow-on linear equalizer removes the intersymbol interference (ISI) introduced by the transmit filter.


This research tested the hypothesis that the responding of high, but not low, prejudice White Americans would vary as a function of manipulations of powerful people's attention to subordinate strengths that facilitate goal strivings versus weaknesses that block goals. To examine this possibility, White participants were assigned to leader roles and an interaction with a low power Black 'employee' was staged. Consistent with predictions, findings revealed that high prejudice White participants who were attentive to subordinate strengths and goal strivings versus subordinate weaknesses and blocked goals, evaluated and treated a Black employee more positively. The responding of low prejudice participants did not, however, vary as a function of attention to strengths and goal facilitation versus weaknesses and blocked goals. Findings suggest that stereotypes of the groups to which low power people belong influence powerful people's judgment and behavior when stereotypes are endorsed by powerful people and match powerful people's goals. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


MultiProcessor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoC) are the core of nowadays and next
generation computing platforms. Their relevance in the global market continuously
increase, occupying an important role both in everydaylife products (e.g.
smartphones, tablets, laptops, cars) and in strategical market sectors as aviation,
defense, robotics, medicine. Despite of the incredible performance improvements
in the recent years processors manufacturers have had to deal with issues, commonly
called "Walls", that have hindered the processors development. After the
famous "Power Wall", that limited the maximum frequency of a single core and
marked the birth of the modern multiprocessors system-on-chip, the "Thermal
Wall" and the "Utilization Wall" are the actual key limiter for performance improvements.
The former concerns the damaging effects of the high temperature
on the chip caused by the large power densities dissipation, whereas the second
refers to the impossibility of fully exploiting the computing power of the processor
due to the limitations on power and temperature budgets. In this thesis we
faced these challenges by developing efficient and reliable solutions able to maximize
performance while limiting the maximum temperature below a fixed critical
threshold and saving energy. This has been possible by exploiting the Model Predictive
Controller (MPC) paradigm that solves an optimization problem subject
to constraints in order to find the optimal control decisions for the future interval.
A fully-distributedMPC-based thermal controller with a far lower complexity
respect to a centralized one has been developed. The control feasibility and interesting
properties for the simplification of the control design has been proved
by studying a partial differential equation thermal model. Finally, the controller
has been efficiently included in more complex control schemes able to minimize
energy consumption and deal with mixed-criticalities tasks


A method has been devised to accomplish contrast-invariant pattern recognition using multiple circular harmonic components. In addition to detecting targets with various contrasts in the presence of high-contrast objects, the method is shift- and rotation-invariant. A vector f is formed from the autocorrelation values for each member of a set of circular harmonic components corresponding to the target of interest. The unit vector f/f is a feature vector whose direction characterizes the target. Target detection is accomplished by comparing the corresponding cross-correlation unit vector to the vector f/f. Experimental results are shown.


Bronchiectasis is characterised by hypersecretion and impaired clearance of mucus. A 400-mg dose of inhaled mannitol improves mucus clearance however, the effect of other doses is unknown. A total of 14 patients, aged 63.3±5.7 yrs, were studied on five visits. Mucus clearance at baseline and with mannitol (160, 320 and 480 mg) was measured using technetium-99m-sulphur colloid and imaging with a gamma camera over 45 min, followed by a further 30 min involving 100 voluntary coughs. A control study assessed the effect of cough provoked by mannitol during the intervention. Whole right lung clearance over 45 min was 4.7±1.2 and 10.6±2.6% on baseline and control days, respectively, and increased to 16.7±4.2, 22.8±4.2 and 31±4.7% with 160, 320 and 480 mg mannitol, respectively. Clearance over 45 min with 480 mg mannitol was greater than clearance with 320 and 160 mg. Total clearance over 75 min, after mannitol administration and voluntary coughs, was 36.1±5.5, 40.9±5.6 and 46.0±5.2% with 160, 320 and 480 mg mannitol, respectively, all significantly different from baseline (24.1±6.0%) and control (13.1±3.0%). Total clearance over 75 min with 480 mg mannitol was greater compared with 160 mg. In conclusion, mucus clearance increases with increasing doses of mannitol and can be further increased by cough in patients with bronchiectasis.


Backscatter coefficient estimated from ERS-2 SAR sensor can effectively be used to derive soil moisture state of a river catchment which is of great importance from hydrological point of view. However, the backscatter coefficient is highly affected by a number of factors such as topography, vegetation density, and variations in small-scale surface roughness. Analysing the effect of these factors to eliminate their effect on backscatter coefficient for accurately estimating the soil moisture is the main focus of the present study. ERS-2 SAR image of date 28th July 2003 (i.e., autumn season) was utilised for carrying out the study in a typical river catchment in India. Incidence angle based model was used to account the effects due to topography. The effects of vegetation on backscatter coefficient were minimised by using the semi-empirical water cloud model. Four agricultural crops and grassland compose the set of vegetation classes in the study area. A comparative study between three important parameters that describe vegetation in terms of their bulk characteristics (e.g., leaf area index; LAI, plant water content; PWC and crop height 'h') was carried out to identify a vegetation descriptor that had the maximum influence on backscatter coefficient. The effect of three canopy descriptors namely LAI, PWC and h were assessed on individual basis by proposing three separate models used in the water cloud model so as to simplify the model, that could use a single canopy descriptor instead of two or more as used in many other studies. Results indicated that the backscatter coefficient obtained from the model using LAI showed stronger relationship with the observed volumetric soil moisture with high R2 values. A nonlinear least square method (LSM) was implemented to estimate volumetric soil moisture. A significantly high correlation was obtained between the retrieved soil moisture and the observed soil moisture with high R2 values of the order of 0.95 to 0.97 and low rmse values for almost all the vegetation classes and barren land. Subsequently, soil moisture map of the study area was generated from the SAR image.


Characterization of genetic mutations at the molecular level allows for the development of perfect genetic markers and rapid assays to detect those markers, which enables breeders to directly select for desired alleles and accelerate the breeding process. The objectives of this study were to identify genetic lesions found in the GmFAD3A gene in the low linolenic acid soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] line PI 361088B, which contains a fan allele, and to develop rapid molecular marker assays that distinguish between the wild-type and PI 361088B alleles. The entire genomic sequence of the GmFAD3A gene was determined for PI 361088B. Two thymine nucleotides are inserted into a run of four thymines from nucleotide position 307 to 310 of the GmFAD3A coding sequence, resulting in a frameshift and the introduction of a premature stop codon at nucleotide 328. Two molecular marker assays were developed that rely on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifi cation of the region of interest followed by restriction endonuclease digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis or melting curve analysis. A third assay is an allele-specifi c PCR-based assay that does not require any endonuclease step and requires only melting curve analysis. In conclusion, the low linolenic acid soybean line PI 361088B contains a coding mutation in GmFAD3A; this allele can easily be distinguished from the corresponding wild-type allele using any of three rapid molecular marker assays that were developed. USDA-ARS, Plant Genetics Research Unit, 110 Waters Hall, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. Mention of a trademark, vendor, or proprietary product does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the USDA and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that may also be suitable. Received 11 Dec. 2006. *Corresponding author (firstname.lastname@example.com).


Don't miss The Pharos Gate, the final volume in the Griffin & Sabine story. Published simultaneously with the 25th-anniversary edition of Griffin & Sabine, the book finally shares what happened to the lovers. Sabine I was sure I understood. Yet you were not here when I returned and there was no sign that you ever had been here.... Today comes your card saying you were in this house for three days after my return. I am bewildered. I need you badly. Griffin In this volume of the phenomenal, best-selling quartet begun with Griffin & Sabine and continued in Sabine's Notebook, the mystery of the two artists deepens, their questions grow more urgent. New obstacles (including a sinister intruder) test the tenacity of their passion, and in each letter or postcard, painting and prose are even more richly intertwined. With over 50 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and one million copies in print, the first three volumes of this unique quartet have captured the imagination of readers and reviewers across the country."


With a view to transcending purely philanthropic or political approaches to disaster relief overlooking the entitlement of victims of a catastrophe to be assisted, this article analyses humanitarian assistance from a human rights perspective. Humanitarian aid operations are presented as the result of the interaction between the human rights of people affected by disasters and the corresponding governmental obligations. A distinction is made between the current scenario of disaster relief in which the relevant rights are the ones to life, food, health and medical services, water, adequate housing and clothing, and a prospective regime in which a human right to receive humanitarian assistance is recognized by the international community. The juxtaposition of the two regimes highlights the differences in the levels of protection they afford. It also proves that, in both cases, the adoption of a human rights-based approach safeguards affected people by empowering them to challenge governmental decisions to refuse international aid and by placing under international scrutiny the measures taken by sovereign States to protect their populations in the aftermath of catastrophes.


Technological advancements have improved virtually every aspect of dentistry in recent decades, from implants to digital x-rays, from orthodontics to bone grafting. The way most of us communicate with our patients, however, has remained essentially unchanged throughout the better part of the last century. Yet patient communication is a significant business driver for our practices—it's at least as important, arguably more so, than the high-tech procedures we all perform on a daily basis. Generic isn't good enough


Shadows of moving objects often obstruct robust visual tracking. We propose an HMM-based segmentation method which classifies in real time each pixel or region into three categories: shadows, foreground, and background objects. In the case of traffic monitoring movies, the effectiveness of the proposed method has been proven through experimental results.


Objective To examine the match injury profile of professional rugby union players by individual playing position. Design 4-season prospective cohort design. Setting 14 English Premiership clubs. Participants 899 professional players. Main outcome measure Incidence of match injury (recorded as the number of injuries/1000 player-hours of match exposure), severity of injury (recorded as the number of days of absence) and days of absence due to injury per 1000 player-hours of match exposure. Assessment of risk factors Injury diagnosis and individual playing position during a match. Results 2484 injuries were reported. While there were no significant differences in the total days of absence as a result of injury between different positions in the forwards and the backs, there were a number of significant differences in injury profile for players in individual playing positions. Although three common body locations caused a high proportion of days of absence due to match injury for forwards (shoulder, knee, ankle/heel) and backs (shoulder, hamstring, knee), there were significant differences in injury profile between individual positions. Conclusions The results clearly demonstrate the need for individual position-specific injury-prevention programmes in rugby union. When devising such programmes, a player's previous injury history should also be taken into account.


In lactating rats fed on a cafeteria diet (chow plus palatable high-energy foods) the decreased glucose uptake and lipogenesis in vitro in acini correlated with the depressed mammary-gland lipogenesis in vivo. Insulin in vitro restored the rate of glucose uptake and its conversion to lipid to values approaching those for acini from rats fed on the chow diet alone.


Bushmeat is a major source of protein and income in tropical regions but is often over-harvested. A better monitoring of bushmeat stocks could help achieve sustainability. We used a combination of simulations and transect survey data collected from blue duikers (Philantomba monticola) in the Lomako wildlife reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to investigate the use of transect-based distance sampling to monitor bushmeat stocks. The comparison of dung piles and direct observations of duikers evidenced that animals avoided both the transects in the absence of observers, and the observers themselves. This type of behavioural response appeared common in a literature survey. It causes a negative bias in the estimates of population densities from the standard distance sampling methodology. This negative bias would lead to over-pessimistic predictions of population viability, especially if the behavioural response is more intense in the locations where the animals are hunted. In turn, this would lead to excessively conservative management recommendations. To correct for the effect of the behavioural response of the animals to either the transects or the observers, we recommend recording both the forward and perpendicular distances to the observers (2D distance sampling), not just the perpendicular distance. We also recommend multiple-observer protocols. As a cautionary note, we also demonstrate a scenario where the intensity of the behavioural response is too high to reliably estimate the abundance of the population. As a perspective, we outline the general principles of a local stakeholder-based program combining distance sampling with less intensive types of ecological indicators to monitor wildlife populations.


The core is a well-known and fundamental notion of stability in games intended to model coalition formation such as hedonic games. The fact that the number of deviating agents (that have to coordinate themselves) can be arbitrarily high, and the fact that agents may benefit only by a tiny amount from their deviation (while they could incur in a cost for deviating), suggest that the core is not able to suitably model many practical scenarios in large and highly distributed multi-agent systems. For this reason, we consider relaxed core stable outcomes where the notion of permissible deviations is modified along two orthogonal directions: the former takes into account the size of the deviating coalition, and the latter the amount of utility gain for each member of the deviating coalition. These changes result in two different notions of stability, namely, the q-size core and k-improvement core. We investigate these concepts of stability in fractional hedonic games, that is a well-known subclass of hedonic games for which core stable outcomes are not guaranteed to exist and it is computationally hard to decide nonemptiness of the core. Interestingly, the considered relaxed notions of core also possess the appealing property of recovering, in some notable cases, the convergence, the existence and the possibility of computing stable solutions in polynomial time.


The use of antipsychotics to treat behavioral problems in dementia is common but controversial. This thesis aims to increase the knowledge about the prevalence and the effectiveness of antipsychotics among patients with dementia in Dutch long term care facilities (LTCFs), and to increase the knowledge of cardiovascular adverse effects. We assessed differences in the prevalence of antipsychotic use among patients with dementia in different LTCFs in the Netherlands, using the VU University Resident Assessment Instrument Database (VURAI-DB), which contains functional, cognitive and behavioral items of patients residing in LTCFs, and facility-level resident satisfaction surveys from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). We found a remarkable large variability in antipsychotic drug use (5%-52%), which could not be fully explained by differences in the prevalence of behavioral symptoms between the facilities. Facilities with a high prevalence of antipsychotic use were associated with average to below average satisfaction with staff, personal care and choice of activities. Facilities with a high prevalence of antipsychotic use were often large and located in an urban area. The available scientific evidence demonstrates that the effectiveness of antipsychotics is limited, and cannot explain the high prevalence of antipsychotic use. Therefore, we assessed the reasons why experienced elderly care physicians prescribe antipsychotics, and asked them about their expectations of the intended effects and side effects. The interviewed elderly care physicians expected that almost half of their patients with dementia and behavioral problems benefit from antipsychotics. Serious side effects are thought to occur only sporadically. We described the course of behavioral problems in patients with dementia during treatment with antipsychotics, using the VURAI-DB. The severity of behavioral problems increased in most patients, with only one in six patients improving. Although we do not know how this increase would have been without treatment, these results indicate that the effect is limited. The use of antipsychotics in patients with dementia has been associated with an increased mortality. We examined three possible cardiovascular complications of antipsychotic use in elderly patents witch may contribute to this increased mortality. These studies were conducted using the PHARMO database. This database contains information from public pharmacies that are linked to hospital discharge data. Exposure to antipsychotics was associated with an increased risk of cerebrovascular adverse events compared to nonusers (odds ratio [OR] 1.7). A novel finding was the strong temporal relationship; the OR for use less than one week was 9.9. We examined the risk of venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in elderly patients taking antipsychotics. We found no relationship between antipsychotics and the risk of venous thromboembolism. Antipsychotic use has been associated with an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. We therefore looked at the risk of acute coronary syndrome in elderly antipsychotic users. We found a reduced risk of hospitalization for ACS in elderly patients who use antipsychotics. Further research is needed to determine whether there is a true cardioprotective effect of antipsychotics or the results are biased by a low referral rate among elderly antipsychotic drug users with acute myocardial infarction.


This paper reviews the New Public Management literature on the effects of the creation and ongoing operations of agencies across European public sectors. It finds that the bulk of evidence concerns internal effects on processes/activities of agency creation and management and little evidence on outputs and outcomes. The article identifies a number of patterns across the sample and finds positive effects on improved processes and an orientation toward results and service users' needs. Similarly, it finds improvements in transparency and accountability across various countries, but evidence in these areas is less clear. It finds that 46% of the studies included in the sample identified concerns about fragmentation, coordination or organizational stability and shows that unintended consequences are an important part of the evaluation of the effects of agencification. The paper argues that the picture of the effects of agencies is nuanced and discusses possible factors that can tip the balance for or against the success of the agency model.


Problem statement: Demotivation is a relatively new issue in the field of second/foreign Language (L2) learning motivation. Recognizing and removing barriers can have a marked effect on motivation and attention to learning in general and ESL/EFL learning in particular. Demotivating factors are essential factors which negatively influence the learner's attitudes and behaviors and hence lead to undesired learning outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effective factors on demotivation for English language learning among a group of Iranian university students. Approach: To begin, 260 university students (150 males and 110 females) were selected through the multi-stage sampling method. Students completed the Persian version of the Demotivation Questionnaire for English Language Learning (DQELL). The principal component analysis was used to compute the DQELL's factorial validity and the multivariate analysis of variance was performed to compare more motivated and less motivated learners based on demotivation factors. Results: Through the principal axis factor analysis, five demotivation factors were extracted: (a) lack of perceived individual competence, (b) lack of intrinsic motivation, (c) inappropriate characteristics of teachers' teaching methods and course contents, (d) inadequate university facilities and (e) focus on difficult grammar. The results of multivariate analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences between the two groups for two factors (lack of perceived individual competence and lack of intrinsic motivation) while there were no statistically significant differences for the other three demotivating factors (inappropriate characteristics of teachers' teaching methods and course contents, inadequate university facilities and focus on difficult grammar). Conclusion: These findings suggest that internal forces cannot be ignored as demotivating factors when studying them among Iranian students.


Training in sports is a blend of physical and cognitive training. Processes of Attention and concentrations are even more important for contact team sports like football and basketball where the objects of attention are constantly moving, and mental strategies need to be revised according to new incoming information. This study explores the impact of regular sports training in the cognitive functioning of football and basketball players. In a between groups design, purposive sampling was done to include players of the university team and a control group, and standard neuropsychological tests were conducted on them. The results of statistical analysis show that there is no significant difference in the performance of the players and non-players in each of the cognitive functions. The findings of the study contradict previous literature and provide scope for future research on cognitive training methods, and the possibility of studying cognitive functions and excellence in performance.


Abstract Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) is the modulation scheme being employed in the uplink of Long Term Evolution (LTE) and will also be employed in the upcoming fourth generation (4G) system LTE Advanced. The main advantage of using SC-FDMA in the uplink in opposite to the traditional orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM) is its lower sensitivity to nonlinear amplification. Nevertheless, the strict requirements of 4G systems suggest that techniques to reduce sensitivity even further should be introduced. In this paper, we evaluate the effect of nonlinearities in SC-FDMA and present an iterative receiver scheme to reduce the error probability of SC-FDMA systems undergoing nonlinear amplification. The technique consists in successive estimation and compensation of both the nonlinear distortion and the non-constant attenuation and rotation introduced by the transmitter high power amplifier (HPA). Simulation results expressed by the bit error rate (BER), the error vector magnitude (EVM) and the total degradation (TD) show that the proposed iterative receiver provides a significant performance improvement.


Several studies have aimed to compare the early and late survival rates and the related factors in patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Among such factors are age, gender, arrhythmia, stroke, serum procalcitonin level, number and type of grafts, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), addiction, ejection fraction, transfusion of blood products, and the kind of technique (off-pump versus on-pump). Controversies surround early and late survival and some of the associated factors in patients undergoing CABG. Therefore, it appears vital to compare the early and late survival chances and the related factors after CABG.


textabstractAbstract: This paper explores evaluation strategies to gauge the impact of a novel instructional design on international community participation online. This is done by conceptualizing and devising indicators for measuring "engagement" online amongst marginalized adult communities worldwide. In doing so, a review of online evaluation literature is conducted. In comparing dialogue sessions based on an ongoing traditional model to the new instructional approach, various challenges are faced in "measuring" asynchronous discussion. While the initial findings of marginal increase in engagement with the adapted instructional approach is not sufficient to prove that the new model works, this paper demonstrates various strategies/ challenges in evaluating dialectic engagement.


This study reviews literature on the use of Social Media (SM) in emergency response operations while identifying gaps in this research stream that need attention from Information Systems (IS) researchers. The research is grounded in past works and attempts to build on research on the application of SM in emergencies. It focuses on understanding the role of SM in the prevention, management and response to emergencies. The review contains a detailed literature exposition of IS and disasters journals. The appraisal of such research stream led the review to focus on the concept of digital volunteerism as an offshoot of crowdsourcing initiatives. Findings from the review reveal that previous studies overlooked the interfacing challenges between formal and traditional aid agencies on one hand and digital humanitarians on the other. Consequently, we identify gaps in the extant literature and propose areas of interest for future research.


Abstract This article identifies the essential differences between public and private adjudication and their implications for the legitimacy and efficiency of dispute resolution institutions, as well as the rule of law. Public adjudication comes at a significant cost for the taxpayers but helps secure a consistent body of case law, promotes public policy goals, and allows third parties to know the rules of conduct in advance to prevent undesirable activities. This article shows that procedural rules of these institutions (regardless of whether the procedure is called adjudication or arbitration) differ when it comes to the appointment of adjudicators, their professional background, and how long they serve. Public and private institutions consistently follow different approaches to transparency and confidentiality of proceedings, the application of primarily substantive rules or principles to resolve disagreements, and the extent to which decisions can be reviewed internally or externally. By examining the procedural rules and practices of selected institutions, the article asserts three main claims. First, the choice of public or private adjudication is likely to lead to different procedural outcomes, including the cost of the process and the duration. Second, the legitimacy of any dispute resolution system must rest on both procedural and substantive aspects, while in reality these two are often viewed in isolation. Finally, the article shows how institutions could learn from each other to become more efficient and strengthen their legitimacy.


The transcriptional organization of the gene cluster encoding the F1845 fimbrial adhesin of a diarrhoea‐associated Escherichia coli was investigated. Genes daaA to daaE were determined to constitute a single transcriptional unit under the control of the daaA promoter. The nucleotide sequence of daaA and that of an upstream open reading frame encoded on the opposite strand, designated daaF, were determined to share limited homology with the papB and papi genes of the P fimbrial adhesin, respectively. The 5′ termini of the daaF and daaABCDE transcripts were mapped by primer extension and nuclease protection analyses. The promoters for these transcripts were associated with potential regulatory sequences including two consensus leucine‐responsive regulatory protein (Lrp)‐binding sites which contained differentially methylated GATC sequences, a cAMP‐CRP‐binding site, and an integration host factor (IHF)‐binding site. Expression of the daa locus was determined to be dependent on Lrp, subject to catabolite repression, and dependent on IHF.


Terminalia catappa Linn (Combretaceae ) is a species indigenous to the East Indies and Oceania, and commonly used for afforestation throughout the Brazilian coast . Popularlyknown as Amendoeira, Amendoeira-da-Praia, Amendoeira-da-India, Cuca, GuardaSol, Castanheira da India, Castanhola e Chapeu-de-Sol. Previous studies have reported that the leaves of T. catappa have antiulcer activity with phenolic compounds , especially gallic acid as the main responsible for such therapeutic activity . This study aimed to develop extraction process and phytochemical evaluation of leaves have fallen from the trees T. catappa. These samples were collected on the beachfront in Santos and subsequently underwent the extraction process , each of the fractions analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) . The results show that the fraction of Ethyl Acetate (AcOH ) shows the presence of Gallic Acid . Such data are considered as of great importance, since such daily fallen leaves are all shaped as discarded waste. With such data, it has been proposed as the use of these leaves for further study and may in future serve as treatment antiulcerogenic through Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the National Health System ( SUS ) .


Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78)/BiP is amultifunctional proteinwhich plays amajor role in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein processing, protein quality control, maintaining ER homeostasis, and controlling cell signaling and viability. Previously, using a transgene-induced mammary tumor model, we showed that Grp78 heterozygosity impeded cancer growth through suppression of tumor cell proliferation and promotion of apoptosis and the Grp78þ/ mice exhibited dramatic reduction (70%) in the microvessel density (MVD) of the endogenous mammary tumors, while having no effect on the MVD of normal organs. This observation suggests that GRP78 may critically regulate the function of the host vasculature within the tumor microenvironment. In this article, we interrogated the role of GRP78 in the tumormicroenvironment. Inmouse tumormodels in which wild-type (WT), syngeneic mammary tumor cells were injected into the host, we showed that Grp78þ/ mice suppressed tumor growth and angiogenesis during the early phase but not during the late phase of tumor growth. Growth of metastatic lesions of WT, syngeneic melanoma cells in the Grp78þ/ mice was potently suppressed. We created conditional heterozygous knockout of GRP78 in the host endothelial cells and showed severe reduction of tumor angiogenesis and metastatic growth, with minimal effect on normal tissue MVD. Furthermore, knockdown of GRP78 expression in immortalized human endothelial cells showed that GRP78 is a criticalmediator of angiogenesis by regulating cell proliferation, survival, andmigration. Our findings suggest that concomitant use of current chemotherapeutic agents and novel therapies against GRP78 may offer a powerful dual approach to arrest cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. Cancer Res; 71(8); 2848–57. 2011 AACR.


Machine learning (ML) models that learn and predict properties of computer programs are increasingly being adopted and deployed. These models have demonstrated success in applications such as auto-completing code, summarizing large programs, and detecting bugs and malware in programs. In this work, we investigate principled ways to adversarially perturb a computer program to fool such learned models, and thus determine their adversarial robustness. We use program obfuscations, which have conventionally been used to avoid attempts at reverse engineering programs, as adversarial perturbations. These perturbations modify programs in ways that do not alter their functionality but can be crafted to deceive an ML model when making a decision. We provide a general formulation for an adversarial program that allows applying multiple obfuscation transformations to a program in any language. We develop first-order optimization algorithms to efficiently determine two key aspects -- which parts of the program to transform, and what transformations to use. We show that it is important to optimize both these aspects to generate the best adversarially perturbed program. Due to the discrete nature of this problem, we also propose using randomized smoothing to improve the attack loss landscape to ease optimization. We evaluate our work on Python and Java programs on the problem of program summarization. We show that our best attack proposal achieves a $52\%$ improvement over a state-of-the-art attack generation approach for programs trained on a seq2seq model. We further show that our formulation is better at training models that are robust to adversarial attacks.


This paper explores the relationship between goals, materials and competences in the practice of everyday design. Appropriations and creative uses of design artifacts are often reported in terms of outcomes and goals; however, we observe a gap in understanding how materials, tools, and competences are also involved in these processes. We conduct a multiple case study of three groups of everyday designers: families, hobbyist jewelers, and steampunk enthusiasts. We provide a description of the aspects of meaning, materials, and competences, as well as how they are interrelated, for each case. Our findings show that amongst these three aspects of the practice of everyday designers, it is the meaning of the practice that acts as the strongest motivator for practitioners. Materials, tools, and competences are hence largely determined accordingly. The implications of this study propose ways to design for practices with different types of meaning: foundational, aesthetic, and aspirational goals.


ABSTRACT There is general agreement in the research literature that youth in juvenile justice facilities are more likely to experience mental health disorders than their general population peers. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the methodological characteristics and effectiveness of mental health interventions delivered in juvenile justice settings on symptoms associated with internalizing disorders. The 11 studies included in the current review incorporated pretest-posttest research designs and were conducted with juveniles in secure facilities that reported outcome measures of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, or internalizing disorders. Meta-analytic findings indicate mixed results for interventions affecting internalizing symptoms and varying results between studies implementing an experimental design compared to those using a single group non-experimental design. Additionally, no studies examined how interventions could be incorporated into daily activities in juvenile justice facilities, such as school and classroom activities. Lastly, the limited number of studies included in the current review indicates a continued need for further experimental research on the effectiveness of mental health interventions delivered to youth in juvenile justice facilities.


Tourism has played a major role in Lebanon since its peak period of 1930-1974; sometimes subsiding as a result of war and conflict, but always rebounding at least to some extent. Lebanon's touristic appeal includes its geographic location between the East and the West, its varied landscape (beaches and mountains), its hospitable and diverse population, and its well loved cuisine. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the nature of regional and community based initiatives within the interrelated sectors of food and wine tourism in postwar Lebanon. Data was collected in January 2011 through personal interviews with experts in the field. Findings revealed a need for greater support of the food and wine industry, as it has proven to be a sustainable alternative to traditional touristic development strategies. The researcher found that initiatives such as those referred to in this study are beneficial to the country as a whole and to the strengthening of the traditional tourism sector partly because of the opportunity they provide for diversification. Establishing and promoting a strong network of sustainable minded food and wine initiatives with a similar set of goals and objectives across the country will help spread the benefits of tourism to areas and groups typically not reached by its financial and cultural benefits. This will also lessen the strain on currently marketed, overly concentrated areas and will create for a more sustainable, more multidimensional, more interesting, and less destructible/vulnerable industry on the whole.


ETF investors love to talk about fees. After all, the expense ratios charged by ETFs are often fractions of those for competing mutual funds. But expense ratios are just one part of the true cost of investing in ETFs. Brokerage commissions and spreads also play an important role. Brokerage commissions are obvious-they are the money you pay your broker to execute a stock trade. Spreads, however, are a dirty little secret. Until recently, there was no publicly available data on ETF spreads, and for the most part, investors ignore spreads when choosing between ETFs and other investment options. They do so at their peril, however, as spreads can represent a substantial extra expense for certain ETFs. Hougan explores how spreads work in the ETF industry; how big they are for different funds; and what makes one ETF have larger spreads than another.


Western societies over the past seven decades have generally
experienced a strong demographic growth and a steady increase in the quality of life. With the new millennium, new technologies have allowed more and more reports (and hence divergence) intersubjective. On the positive sign on the aforementioned indices are in fact accompanied the rise of conflicts especially in the civil sector, especially in Italy. Even the increase in breaking load pending before
the Italian courts in 2010 came to fruition a substantial revolution in the procedures for resolving disputes. The present work consists of the seven chapters, the first introduces the subject of dispute, the development of techniques, the landing of the same in Italy with
Legislative Decree 28/2010. The second chapter focuses on the conclusion of the mediation, the agreement friendly, the verbal agreement. The third chapter highlights the differences and similarities between the mediation and arbitration, civil procedure, transaction, store assessment. The fourth chapter deals with problems
of interpretation with reference to some of the terminology used by the decree. The fifth chapter explores some aspects not regulated by legislative decree, with particular reference to the effects of friendly agreements with reference to third parties. The sixth chapter
addresses the challenges of disability friendly. The seventh
ineffectiveness legal problems.


As a new long-span space system, the prestressed arch-supported reticulate shell structure performs the advantages of reticulated shell and prestressed structure. The construction process, large span/depth ratio and small critical load of long-span space structure, can lead to obvious stress excess of tensile steel, especially when prestressed arches are used in truss arch and reticulated shell combined structure. However, no research was conducted on how the residual stress in the steel affects the structure stability. Thus, the dynamic behavior of some actual structure is simulated numerically through modal analysis by ANSYS in this paper. The results show that, for prestressed arch-supported reticulate shell structure, the vibration frequency increases with the whole stiffness, and the prestress can improve obviously the buckling ultimate load. There is great difference in vibration modes for different structure styles. This kind of hybrid structure conducts good whole performance, and may be used widely in the near future.


This study proposes a combined framework of multicriteria decision methods to describe, prioritize, and group the quality attributes related to the user experience of augmented reality applications. The attributes were identified based on studies of high-impact repositories. A hierarchy of the identified attributes was built through the multicriteria decision methods Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and DEMATEL. Additionally, a statistical analysis of clusters was developed to determine the most relevant attributes and apply these results in academic and industrial contexts. The main contribution of this study was the categorization of user-experience quality attributes in augmented reality applications, as well as the grouping proposal. Usability, Satisfaction, Stimulation, Engagement, and Aesthetics were found to be among the most relevant attributes. After carrying out the multivariate analysis, two clusters were found with the largest grouping of attributes, oriented to security, representation, social interaction, aesthetics, ergonomics of the application, and its relationship with the user's emotions. In conclusion, the combination of the three methods helped to identify the importance of the attributes in training processes. The holistic and detailed vision of the causal, impact, and similarity relationships between the 87 attributes analyzed were also considered. This framework will allow the generation of a baseline for the use of multicriteria methods in research into relevant aspects of Augmented Reality.


Summary After World War II the communists, who took power in Poland, did not abolish the old penal code from 1932. However, the new acts on penal law were passed and they were undermining the old system and in fact creating the new one. This situation was criticized by new authorities and in 1950 works on new penal code were inaugurated. It was expected that new code will be ready in one year. However, the reality was completely different and the penal code of so called People's Poland came into force not earlier than in 1970. The works on new penal code have been going on for a very long time. The Ministry of Justice prepared first draft in 1956. It was published and consulted among specialists. The penal lawyers criticized the draft strongly and it was rejected. The rejection was connected with the new era in communist Poland after Stalin's death.


In this study, Al-Diwaniyah River within AlDiwaniyah Governorate was monitored for a set of chemical, physical, and bacteriological parameters for the assessment of water quality during January to July 2018. Water quality maps for this river were plotted to represent the change in each parameter during the study period using GIS program. Three sampling stations along the river and eighteen parameters were selected: air temperature, water temperature, turbidity, pH value, electrical conductivity (EC), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO), alkalinity, chloride, Sulfate, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium, magnesium, total hardness, lead, total coliform, and Escherichia coli bacteria. The results explained that the water temperature varied between (15-31) °C. pH values ranged between (7.4-8.2) and river water was considered as slightly alkaline with alkalinity concentrations between (124-176) mg/L. Most water of the river was very hard according to the values of hardness that varied between (384-531) mg/L. The turbidity values of the river ranged between (1.5-35.2) NTU. Electrical conductivity was between (9981380) μs/cm. Total dissolved solids and total suspended solids were their values varied between (620-932) mg/L and (2-28) mg/L respectively. It was found that among measured positive ions, calcium concentrations were higher than the magnesium concentrations, ranging between (71-175) mg/L and (21-67) mg/L respectively. On the other hand, when studying Anions, sulfate concentrations were higher than chloride concentrations with values ranging from (152-339) mg/L and (101-167) mg/L respectively. River water contained dissolved oxygen concentrations ranging (6.3-10.1) mg/L while concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand varied between (0.6-7.6) mg/L. Lead ranged in values between (0.001-0.017) mg/L. The study found that bacteriological parameters, including total coliform and E. coli, ranged between (500-1600) MPN/100ml and (30-1600) MPN/100ml respectively. In general, the parameters of Turbidity, SO4, BOD5, TC and E. coli have exceeded Iraqi standards for drinking water IQS: 417 while the rest of the parameters were within these limits. It revealed that station 2 which was located only at a short distance from the site of the wastewater treatment plant was more polluted than the other two stations. The results showed that the water of the river is neither suitable for drinking, nor suitable for swimming according to the high bacterial pollution in addition to the danger and threat to aquatic life but can be used for irrigation purposes. KeywordsWater quality assessment, GIS technique, Al-Diwaniyah Rive. How to cite this article: K.M. Hussein, S.A.F. Al-Bayati and S.A.A. Al-Bakri, "Assessing Water Quality for AlDiwaniyah River, Iraq Using GIS Technique," Engineering and Technology Journal, Vol. 37, Part A, No. 7, pp. 256-264, 2019.


ABSTRACT The trafficking, membrane localization, and lipid raft association of Ras proteins, which are crucial oncogenic mediators, dictate their isoform-specific biological responses. Accordingly, their spatiotemporal dynamics are tightly regulated. While extensively studied for H- and K-Ras, such information on N-Ras, an etiological oncogenic factor, is limited. Here, we report a novel mechanism regulating the activation-dependent spatiotemporal organization of N-Ras, its modulation by biologically relevant stimuli, and isoform-specific effects on signaling. We combined patching/immobilization of another membrane protein with fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (patch-FRAP) and FRAP beam size analysis to investigate N-Ras membrane interactions. Clustering of raft-associated proteins, either glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA-GPI) or fibronectin receptors, selectively enhanced the plasma membrane-cytoplasm exchange of N-Ras–GTP (preferentially associated with raft domains) in a cholesterol-dependent manner. Electron microscopy (EM) analysis showed N-Ras–GTP localization in cholesterol-sensitive clusters, from which it preferentially detached upon HA-GPI cross-linking. HA-GPI clustering enhanced the Golgi compartment (GC) accumulation and signaling of epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated N-Ras–GTP. Notably, the cross-linking-mediated enhancement of N-Ras–GTP exchange and GC accumulation depended strictly on depalmitoylation. We propose that the N-Ras activation pattern (e.g., by EGF) is altered by raft protein clustering, which enhances N-Ras–GTP raft localization and depalmitoylation, entailing its exchange and GC accumulation following repalmitoylation. This mechanism demonstrates a functional signaling role for the activation-dependent differential association of Ras isoforms with raft nanodomains.


In addition to dimensions and angles, technical drawings also specify the roughness of workpiece surfaces. This property is decisive for mechanical properties such as friction or flow resistance, but also for chemo-physical characteristics such as susceptibility to corrosion, wettability, or adhesion. The ISO 4288 standard and in particular the ISO 25178 standard propose various test methods for roughness, one of the most important of which is optical, three-dimensional roughness analysis using confocal microscopy. For this application report, a machine polishing process was simulated using finest grain polishing papers. The aim is to show how the Surface Roughness Analyzer – SRA, which is based on confocal microscopy, can be used to determine roughness parameters according to standard and correlate them with the grit size. In practice, such correlations can be used to check and optimize polishing processes and other surface treatment steps with regard to the roughness specifications.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with epilepsy and malformations of cortical development have a high prevalence of language deficits. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the status of the arcuate fasciculus at diffusion tractography could provide a clinically meaningful marker of language function in patients with cortical malformations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-seven patients 3–18 years of age who had DTI performed at 3T and language evaluation by a pediatric neurologist were retrospectively identified. Twenty-two age-matched children without any neurologic, language, or MR imaging abnormalities who had identical DTI performed for an indication of headache were selected as a control cohort. The arcuate fasciculi were constructed and segmented by deterministic tractography for all subjects. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients had intact language; 11 had mild-to-moderate and 5, profound language impairment. All patients with normal language and all control subjects had an identifiable left arcuate. The left arcuate was absent in 11 patients; all 11 were language-impaired. Failure to identify the left arcuate was strongly associated with some degree of language impairment (P < .001). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value for language dysfunction were 65%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The absence of the arcuate bilaterally was associated with complete failure to develop oral language (P < .015). CONCLUSIONS: Failure to identify the left arcuate fasciculus at diffusion tractography was a highly specific marker of language dysfunction in a cohort of pediatric patients with malformations of cortical development. Failure to identify the arcuate fasciculus on either side was associated with failure to develop oral language.


This new edition of a successful engineering text provides an interpretation of the more theoretical guidance given in the new suite of Eurocodes for the subject of retaining structures. The book qualifies the extensive set of guides in terms of the design of these structures and provides a clear path through the process. It still discusses structural elements individually so that expertise can be applied to any situation likely to be encountered. The modifications, such as changes to surface zones, the critical steel ratio, the maximum crack spacing (flexural and imposed strain) and edge restraint, that have been introduced into the Eurocodes are highlighted and discussed in detail.

 The new suite of Eurocodes is claimed to be the most technically advanced codes in the world; the codes were developed with the intention of making them less restrictive than existing codes. The third edition reflects this philosophy by providing more theoretical background information and discussion, with specific reference to current and previous research, helping the reader to achieve a greater understanding and a wider application of the basic design guidance as the codes intended. As such the book remains a vital tool for practising civil and structural engineers.


Though there have been studies of on-demand multipath ad hoc network routing for recent years, few of them concern with the effectiveness of result path set. This paper introduces a scheme of path measurement and on-demand multipath ad hoc network routing protocol called Predicted Multipath Routing Protocol (PMP). We proposed two criteria of path measurement. The first criterion is the Degree of Availability (DA) that is derived from predicted signal strength. The second criterion is the Estimated Path Throughput Value (ETV) that relies on the packet loss ratio of each link. Working with PMP, nodes in the network are able to build a set of robust and high performance paths so that they can use the best performance path as a primary path and the others as backup paths.


Comparative Assessment of Academic Performance in Mathematics in Abstract This study was carried out a comparative assessment of academic performance in Mathematics in urban and rural Junior Secondary Schools in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. The study uses a quasi-experimental design and the population of the study comprised 943 JSS 3 students in Apa L.G.A. of Benue State, Nigeria. Five (5) specific objectives, five (5) research questions and five null hypotheses were stated to guide the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while t-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. The sample size of the study was two hundred (200) students drawn using simple random sampling and a Mathematics Performance Test (MPT) was used as the instrument for data collection. The instrument was validated by two Mathematic Education experts, one expert test and measurement and two mathematics teachers and Kuder-Richardson 20 (KR-20) method was used to ensure the reliability of the instrument, yielding 0.85 for the entire test item, indicating a high level of internal consistency of the instrument. Based on the data collected and analyzed, the results obtained revealed that students in urban schools perform better in mathematics than students in rural schools. Also, the study revealed that female students in both urban and rural schools perform better than their male counterparts in mathematics. The poor performance of rural students could be attributed to unavailability of school facilitates, poor funding, poor quality of teachers, low access to reading materials in schools, poor medical care, inadequate teaching materials, parents low socio-economic status, poor infrastructure and lacking quality instructional material and if some of the factors can be put to check it will help improves the performance of students in rural schools. The study recommends that the government and other educational agencies should put all these factors leading to the poor performance of student in rural schools into due consideration so as to help improve rural students' academic performance in mathematics and also supervise teachers in rural schools regularly to ensure the they are carrying out their duties properly.


Phenolic compounds constitute a large and diverse group of secondary metabolites derived from phenylalanine and tyrosine and are widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. They could be divided into different classes such as simple phenol, phenyl acetic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroxycinnamic acid, and other phenylpropanoids as well as condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins) and hydrolysable tannins, among others, depending on their basic carbon skeleton structure. Phenolic compounds in plant-based foods have been suggested to have a number of beneficial health effects including prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, immune disorders, neurogenerative disease and others. These properties are largely attributable to the antioxidant activity of the phenolic compounds as well as other mechanisms of action. Therefore, nutraceuticals of plant origin may evolve to be considered a vital aspect of dietary-disease preventive food components. Agri-food industries generate substantial quantities of phenolic rich by-products, which could serve as an attractive and commercially viable source of nutraceuticals. This contribution mainly summarizes the occurrence of phenolic compounds and some other bioactives in various Agri-food by-products, their bioavailability and health benefits.


Hybrid cloud-P2P content distribution ("CloudP2P") provides a promising alternative to the conventional cloud-based or peer-to-peer (P2P)-based large-scale content distribution. It addresses the potential limitations of these two conventional approaches while inheriting their advantages. A key strength of CloudP2P lies in the so-called bandwidth multiplier effect: by appropriately allocating a small portion of cloud (server) bandwidth Si to a peer swarm i (consisting of users interested in the same content) to seed the content, the users in the peer swarm - with an aggregate download bandwidth Di - can then distribute the content among themselves; we refer to the ratio Di/Si as the bandwidth multiplier (for peer swarm i). A major problem in the design of a CloudP2P content distribution system is therefore how to allocate cloud (server) bandwidth to peer swarms so as to maximize the overall bandwidth multiplier effect of the system. In this paper, using real-world measurements, we identify the key factors that affect the bandwidth multipliers of peer swarms and thus construct a fine-grained performance model for addressing the optimal bandwidth allocation problem (OBAP). Then we develop a fast-convergent iterative algorithm to solve OBAP. Both trace-driven simulations and prototype implementation confirm the efficacy of our solution.


This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of the 21 Rural Development Programs (RDPs) of the Italian regions and Autonomous provinces. A quantitative analysis of the Italian RDPs will be carried out investigating the distribution of the European Agricultural Funds for Rural Development, considering national and regional co-financing, in order to highlight the different allocation of funds between axes and measures across the regions. To support quantitative analysis a qualitative investigation, and related methodology, will be presented and applied to three Italian regions. This combined methodology allows a gathering of different aspects of rural development policy, thus to reveal the objectives pursued by the regions often hidden "between the lines" of the RDP texts.


Abstract : A test program to evaluate a new transonic axial compressor stage was conducted. The stage was designed (by Nelson Sanger of NASA Lewis) relying heavily on CFD techniques while minimizing conventional empirical design methods. The stage was installed in the NPS Transonic Compressor Test Rig and instrumented with fixed temperature and pressure probes. A new PC-based data acquisition system was commissioned and programmed for stage performance measurements. These were obtained at 50, 60, 65, 70, and 80% of the design speed before failure of the spinner retaining bolt led to the loss of the stage. The flow through the rotor was analyzed and the rotor performance predicted using a 3-dimensional viscous code (RVC3D). The predicted rotor performance agreed qualitatively and was numerically consistent with the measured stage performance.


The ability to convert feedstock chemicals into synthetically useful derivatives is a major goal in the search for more sustainable and efficient chemical processes. One limitation in the field is the inability of known catalysts to oxidize C-H bonds regioselectively. Traditional synthetic approaches require extreme temperatures and pressures to break the C-H bond; in addition to the high energy cost of these processes, each reaction yields multiple products and over-oxidation is a common problem. In contrast to these harsh reaction conditions, enzymes catalyze C-H oxidations at ambient temperature and pressure with excellent selectivity. More recently, transition metal catalysts have been developed that can oxidize C-H bonds under more mild conditions, but a key difference between enzymes and most synthetic catalysts is that while synthetic catalysts can achieve chemoselectivity based on steric and electronic factors, enzymes exhibit regioselectivity and can selectively oxidize a position on a substrate in the presence of other chemically identical positions. One problem with using enzymes as catalysts in synthetic organic chemistry is their limited substrate scope. As an alternative, water-soluble synthetic receptors with catalytic functions are an attractive target because they offer the potential to allow regioselective oxidations on a broader range of substrates.Cavitands provide an alluring scaffold for metalloenzyme mimics because they are capable of displaying four rigid coordinating motifs at defined distances around a hydrophobic cavity that acts as a size-selective recognition motif. A cavitand scaffold is presented that can be smoothly derivatized by CuAAC chemistry to incorporate ligand species at the cavitand rim. The coordination of one or more metals to the scaffold allows self-folding to form a water soluble molecular receptor, without the need for covalent introduction of solubilizing groups such as sulfates or phosphates. Furthermore the hydrophobic binding site allows the cavitands to bind appropriately sized neutral guests. In the presence of a stoichiometric oxidant, the metallocavitands can selectively oxidize unactivated C-H bonds in high yield with good turnover numbers. The catalysts are wide in scope and oxidations are performed cleanly under mild conditions without side oxidation of solvent or catalyst. The cavitands retain the catalytic metal throughout the reaction, and can be recovered from the reaction system by simple filtration. Alternatively, the metallocavitands can be mounted on an SBA-15 solid support, forming highly effective heterogeneous catalysts that can be recovered after reaction in quantitative yield and re-used more than ten times without any decrease in reactivity.


The density functional theory (DFT)+U method is an efficient and effective way to calculate the ground-state properties of strongly correlated transition metal compounds, with the effective U parameters typically determined empirically. Two ab initio methods have been developed to compute the U parameter based on either constrained DFT (CDFT) or unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) theory. Previous studies have demonstrated the success of both methods in typical open-shell materials such as FeO and NiO. In this Communication we report numerical instability issues that arise for the CDFT method when applied to closed-shell transition metals, by using ZnO and Cu2O as examples. By contrast, the UHF method behaves much more robustly for both closed- and open-shell materials, making it more suitable for treating closed-shell transition metals, as well as main group elements.


Fish passing through dams may be injured or killed despite advances in turbine design, project operations and other fish bypass systems. The six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) Sensor Fish device is an autonomous sensor package that characterizes the physical conditions and physical stresses to which fish are exposed when they pass through complex hydraulic environments. It has been used to identify the locations and operations where conditions are severe enough to injure or kill fish. During the design process, a set of governing equations of motion for the Sensor Fish was derived and simulated to understand the design implications of instrument selection and placement within the body of the device. The Sensor Fish package includes three rotation sensors, three acceleration sensors, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor with a sampling frequency of 2,000 Hz. Its housing is constructed of clear polycarbonate plastic. It is 24.5 mm in diameter and 90 mm in length and weighs about 43 g, similar to the size and density of a yearling salmon smolt. The accuracy of the pressure sensor was determined to be within 0.2 psi. In laboratory acceptance tests, the relative errors of both the linear acceleration and angular velocity measurements were determined to be less than 5%. An exposure is defined as a significant event when the acceleration reaches predefined thresholds. Based on the different characteristic of acceleration and rotation velocities, the exposure event is categorized as either a collision between the Sensor Fish and a solid structure or shear caused by turbulence. Since its development in 2005, the 6DOF Sensor Fish has been deployed successfully at many major dams in the United States.


In this work, TiO2 and TiO2-SiO2 thin films on glass substrates were prepared by the sol-gel dip coating process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to evaluate the structural and chemical properties of the films. The super-hydrophilicity was assessed by water contact angle measurement. XRD measurements confirmed the presence of polycrystalline anatase and rutile phases in the films. The water contact angle measurements showed that addition of SiO2 has a significant effect on the super-hydrophilicity of TiO2 thin films, especially if they are stored in a dark place.


Bio-ontologies are hierarchical vocabularies, which are used to annotate other data sources such as sequence and structure databases. With the wide use of ontologies their integration, design, and evolution becomes an important problem. We show how textmining on relevant text corpora can be used to identify matching ontology terms of two separate ontologies and to propose new ontology terms for a given term. We evaluate these approaches on the GeneOntology


Abstract : A numerical/analytical procedure has been developed which yields the optimum amount of reinforcement for a given hole shape in a large elastic plate under prescribed boundary stresses. This procedure is based on determining the usual two complex potentials which describe the entire stress field, constructing the strain energy density function in terms of the unknown amount of reinforcement, integrating this function around the opening boundary, and finally minimizing this integral with respect to the reinforcement. The method is first developed for a general hole shape and then demonstrated in some detail for a circular and a square-like opening. (Author)