The crustal segment Volgo-Uralia is the least known part of the East European Craton. Its crystalline crust is hidden beneath a thick Neoproterozoic to Phanerozoic cover but disclosed by thousands of drill holes. In conjunction with the recent "Tatseis" reflection seismic profile, we conducted the first isotopic study of the Bakaly granitoid block in eastern Volgo-Uralia, which represents a subsurface section of the layered upper-middle crust. The study included whole-rock Sm-Nd and ion-probe zircon U-Th-Pb (SIMS) and Lu-Hf (LA-ICPMS) analyses of granitoids from seven drill cores. The Bakaly block was also targeted because its rocks have never been subjected to granulite facies metamorphism, making it possible to date pristine, pre-metamorphic zircon. Our study showed that the four principal suites of granitoids in the Bakaly block are different in age, each corresponding to a particular stage of Archean crustal evolution between 3.3 and 2.6 Ga. The Tashliar monzonitic suite, belonging to an alkaline series yielded zircon ages of 3.3 and 3.2 Ga, which are the oldest ages yet found in Volgo-Uralia. The εHf(T) values of the dated zircon and the εNd(T) values of their host rocks indicate that a Paleo- to Eoarchean protolith with model TDM ages up to 3.8 Ga had been involved in the formation of the Tashliar melts. Three Neoarchean rock suites, one comprising quartz dioritic and tonalitic gneisses (the Bak 1), another K-rich granodiorites, granites and migmatites (the Bak 2), and the third monzonitic granitoids (the Aktanysh suite) were formed sequentially between 2.72 and 2.60 Ga. The 2.72 Ga Bak 1 suite is chemically diverse. It includes granitoids of the TTG type related to slab/subduction melts as well as rocks formed by the re-melting of older crust with whole-rock Nd TDM and Hf TDM model ages of 3.4 to 3.2 Ga. The 2.69 to 2.65 Ga Bak 2 suite was probably associated with a major collisional event, which defined the stacked structure of the Archean crust in Volgo-Uralia and its seismic layering. Our data suggest that the Bak 2 melts originated partly from juvenile sources with εHf(T) zircon values up to +4.8, as well as mixed crustal and juvenile mantle materials. Some crustal contamination of the melts appears to have occurred as evidenced by incorporated xenocrystic zircon. The chemical compositions of Bak 2 granitoids from the different plutons, their zircon εHf values, and the Hf- and Nd TDM ages all mirror a heterogeneous, collisional, crustal structure. During post-collisional extension at 2.6 Ga, the intrusion of Aktanysh monzonitic granitoids took place. These rocks also bear evidence of a long crustal pre-history with Nd and Hf TDM model ages of 3.3 to 3.5 Ga. The Aktanysh rocks are coeval with the Tuymazy gabbro-norite-anorthosite intrusions, which are widely distributed along post-collisional shear zones in the Bakaly block. They could have provided the heat necessary to melt the crust at this stage. Altogether, the isotopic evidence suggests several episodes of crustal growth and recycling possibly reaching back to 3.6 and 3.8 Ga. Metamorphic zircon rims show that the Archean crust in the Bakaly block were subjected to several tectonothermal overprints in the Paleoproterozoic between 2.4 and 1.9 Ga ago.


Dr. Walter McAfee surmounted the racism endemic to twentieth-century America and made unique and enduring contributions to the scientific community during his 42 years working as a government scientist in Monmouth County, New Jersey, to include critical contributions to Project Diana, which allowed man's first "contact" with the moon in 1946. He also made time to quietly battle injustice, and teach and mentor a new generation of innovators and leaders as a professor at Monmouth College (now University) in West Long Branch, a trustee at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, and an organizer of enrichment programs for high school students. While the communities to which he contributed so much have memorialized him in different ways, the general public knows too little about his accomplishments. We must ensure that the stories of diverse pioneers like Walter McAfee are not excluded from our understanding of the history of the Garden State.


This guide provides teaching curriculum, literature, and organizations as resources to support the LGBTQ community in the K-12 school environment.


Most educational and training organizations today use some type of learning management system (LMS) to make course material available. Learning management system users want easy and fast access to learning materials. LMS access is typically provided through an online interface or a mobile application, both of which require the use of touch and sight on a computer or device. The last decade has brought considerable progress in voice technology, making the use of voice-enabled devices more common. Since both technology and usage are continuing to grow, voice interfaces will become even more important for modern applications. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a voice user interface for a learning management system: specifically, an Amazon Alexa skill for Moodle. The research thoroughly outlines the process of developing an Alexa skill for Moodle. An Alexa skill integration with Moodle will allow users to more quickly and conveniently access information from the LMS. Immediate benefits of the project include providing site announcements to all users, course announcements to students and teachers, and overall course grades and upcoming due dates to students. In the future, the application may be expanded to implement instructor capabilities and additional course content for students.


ZnO is a potential candidate for photodetection utilizing the pyroelectric effect. Here, a self-biased and translucent photodetector with the configuration of Cu4 O3 /ZnO/FTO/Glass is designed and fabricated. In addition, the pyroelectric effect is effectively harvested using indium tin oxide (ITO), silver nanowires (AgNWs), and a blend of AgNWs-coated ITO as the transparent selective contact electrode. The improved rise times are observed from 1400 µs (bare condition; without the selective electrode) to 69, 60, 7 µs, and fall times from 720 µs (bare condition) to 80, 70, 10 µs for corresponding ITO, AgNWs, and AgNWs-coated ITO contact electrodes, respectively. Similarly, the responsivity and detectivity are enhanced by about 4.39 × 107 and 5.27 × 105 %, respectively. An energy band diagram is proposed to explain the underlying working mechanism based on the workfunction of the ITO (4.7 eV) and AgNWs (4.57 eV) as measured by Kelvin probe force microscopy, which confirms the formation of type-II band alignment resulting in the efficient transport of photogenerated charge carriers. The functional use of the transparent selective contact electrode can effectively harness the pyro-phototronic effect for next-generation transparent and flexible optoelectronic applications.


Nanotechnologies, that is the technologies of the billionth of a meter dimensional range, have revolutionized the interest of the scientific world and have created the real breakthrough in medicine both from a diagnostic and therapeutic point of view. Nanotechnology is no longer a mirage in medicine, but the most current projection of a present that must only be consolidated and brought to the verification of results.

In fact, nanotechnology is currently offering interesting practical contributions both for the fight against cancer at a diagnostic and therapeutic level and for the enhancement of all antibiotic therapies already known by tackling in a decisive and unequivocal way the widely debated issue about bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Antiviral therapies and the production of monoclonal antibodies with nanotechnology is still the most current avant-garde.

Today, more than ever, the need for prophylaxis from pandemic viruses places the nanotechnological approach fundamental both for the study of viral particles and for the introduction of nanoparticles capable of realizing the prerequisites for a suitable and adequate immune response for prophylaxis.


A bacteriological and parasitological study of the white sea bream, Diplodus sargus L., was conducted as this species is a potential candidate for aquaculture in Mediterranean countries. The study comprised fish reared in commercial cages (2 farms) located in different geographical localities, as well as fish reared experimentally in cages located in a natural enclosed lagoon. Fish were examined in the fresh state by means of smears from all internal and external organs and by histology. Microbiology was also performed at all sites. Mortality was low (12%) at farm 1 (Argolida), while at farm 2 (Korinth) and the lagoon it reached 32% and 42%, respectively. Microbial infections were low in prevalence and these concerned Vibrio anguillarum, V. alginoliticus and Pseudomonas sp. The parasitic fauna comprised external Monogenea, Digenea and internal Myxosporida. Monogenea were present throughout the year at all locations, but at low intensity. Three species of Myxosporida were recorded in this study: Myxobolus sp. in the kidneys, Kudoa sp. in the musculature and Enteromyxum leei in the intestine. Nephrocalcinosis was found in all sampled fish and this was suspected to be related to Myxobolus sp. infections. The study showed that D. sargus reared under captive conditions is prone to several parasitic and bacterial infections. Amongst them the most important in terms of pathology were the myxosporeans (Myxobolus sp. and Kudoa sp). These may play a role in the mortality observed, thus making this fish culture questionable in terms of cost effectiveness.


An experimental setup for the measurement of the nonstationary intensity fluctuations during the turn-on transient of semiconductor lasers is presented. Measurements are carried out and compared with simulations, which are based on rate equations with Langevin fluctuation functions. Good agreement between theory and measurements is found, and it is confirmed that the nonstationary intensity noise can be interpreted as timing jitter. >


Introduction: The risk of exposure to infections during surgery is partly mitigated by gloving. However, perforation can reduce the effectiveness of gloving as a barrier to exposure. This study aimed at investigating the frequency of surgical glove perforation and factors predictive of these in our oral and maxillofacial surgical practice. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out at the National Hospital and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria. Consenting patients requiring oral surgical interventions were consecutively recruited into the study. Similarly, surgeons and their assistants who consented to the study were also enlisted in the study. At the end of every surgical procedure, gloves used by the surgeons and the assistants were tested for perforation. Variables investigated included the rate of perforations, the influence of the type of gloving, single versus double gloving, type of anaesthesia, and duration of surgery on rates. Results: At a minimum of three operators per procedure, a total of 154 participants were involved in the study and 895 gloves were used. The number of glove perforations was 117(13.1%) with 82 (70.1%) involving the surgeons. There were 58/117 (49.6%) cases of perforation involving the dominant hand. Forefinger glove perforation accounted for 62 (52.9%) cases. Wire-related perforations were 72 (61.5%). Overall, nine cases of percutaneous injury were recorded. Duration of operation and double gloving were the predictive factors for perforations. Conclusion: Risk of sharps injury was relatively high due to the high incidence of glove perforation.


Abstract. The PEACETIME cruise (May–June 2017) was a basin-scale survey covering the Provencal, Algerian, Tyrrhenian, and Ionian basins during the post-spring bloom period and was dedicated to tracking the impact of Saharan dust deposition events on the Mediterranean Sea pelagic ecosystem. Two such events occurred during this period, and the cruise strategy allowed for the study of the initial phase of the ecosystem response to one dust event in the Algerian Basin (during 5 d at the so-called "FAST long-duration station") as well as the study of a latter response to another dust event in the Tyrrhenian Basin (by sampling from 5 to 12 d after the deposition). This paper documents the structural and functional patterns of the zooplankton component during this survey, including their responses to these two dust events. The mesozooplankton were sampled at 12 stations using nets with two different mesh sizes (100 and 200 µm) that were mounted on a Bongo frame for vertical hauls within the depth layer from 0 to 300 m. The Algerian and Tyrrhenian basins were found to be quite similar in terms of hydrological and biological variables, which clearly differentiated them from the northern Provencal Basin and the eastern Ionian Basin. In general, total mesozooplankton showed reduced variations in abundance and biomass values over the whole area, with a noticeable contribution from the small size fraction (<500 µm) of up to 50 % with respect to abundance and 25 % with respect to biomass. This small size fraction makes a significant contribution (15 %–21 %) to the mesozooplankton fluxes (carbon demand, grazing pressure, respiration, and excretion), which is estimated using allometric relationships to the mesozooplankton size spectrum at all stations. The taxonomic structure was dominated by copepods, mainly cyclopoid and calanoid copepods, and was completed by appendicularians, ostracods, and chaetognaths. Zooplankton taxa assemblages, analyzed using multivariate analysis and rank frequency diagrams, slightly differed between basins, which is in agreement with recently proposed Mediterranean regional patterns. However, the strongest changes in the zooplankton community were linked to the abovementioned dust deposition events. A synoptic analysis of the two dust events observed in the Tyrrhenian and Algerian basins, based on the rank frequency diagrams and a derived index proposed by Mouillot and Lepretre (2000), delivered a conceptual model of a virtual time series of the zooplankton community responses after a dust deposition event. The initial phase before the deposition event (state 0) was dominated by small-sized cells consumed by their typical zooplankton filter feeders (small copepods and appendicularians). The disturbed phase during the first 5 d following the deposition event (state 1) then induced a strong increase in filter feeders and grazers of larger cells as well as the progressive attraction of carnivorous species, leading to a sharp increase in the zooplankton distribution index. Afterward, this index progressively decreased from day 5 to day 12 following the event, highlighting a diversification of the community (state 2). A 3-week delay was estimated for the index to return to its initial value, potentially indicating the recovery time of a Mediterranean zooplankton community after a dust event. To our knowledge, PEACETIME is the first in situ study that has allowed for the observation of mesozooplankton responses before and soon after natural Saharan dust depositions. The change in the rank frequency diagrams of the zooplankton taxonomic structure is an interesting tool to highlight short-term responses of zooplankton to episodic dust deposition events. Obviously dust-stimulated pelagic productivity impacts up to mesozooplankton in terms of strong but short changes in taxa assemblages and trophic structure, with potential implications for oligotrophic systems such as the Mediterranean Sea.


As the share of small ruminant meat, especially sheep, in the demand and consumption of meat in general grows, information about consumer expenditure behaviour and demand parameters for live sheep will be valuable for several interest groups in the sheep industry. Using the Heckman two-stage approach, this study shows that sheep prices and household income, as well as socio-demographic factors, including household size and composition, significantly affect the likelihood of buying live sheep and expenditures on live sheep. Projections of live sheep demand and supply in Addis Ababa in 2010 and 2020 show that sheep producers in Addis Ababa alone will be able to meet up to only 27% of the demand.


In the 1980s, Eisenberg et al. demonstrated that the development of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing contrast-enhanced examination may be prevented by intravenous administration of physiological saline during the examination (1,2). Trivedi et al. conducted a randomized prospective trial to assess the role of saline hydration on the development of CIN (3). A total of 53 patients with normal renal function who were going to undergo nonemergency cardiac catheterization were randomized to a group of patients receiving normal saline intravenously or a group of patients allowed unrestricted oral fluids. CIN developed in 1 of the 27 patients (3.7%) receiving saline infusion and 9 of the 26 patients (34.6%) with unrestricted oral fluids (P=0.005), indicating that saline hydration significantly decreases the incidence of CIN. According to these findings, it is recommended that patients receive intravenous solutions such as physiological saline prior to contrast exposure to prevent CIN. However, clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this prophylactic hydration treatment in protecting renal function has not been adequately studied in the population targeted by the guidelines, against a group receiving no prophylaxis.


Lactobacillus strains isolated from the colonic mucosa of healthy individuals (355) and Lactic Acid Bacteria isolated from fermentation of ecologically cultured rye (180) were screened from binding of porcine mucin, expression of cell surface hydrophobicity and binding of collagen, fibronectin, fibrinogen, vitronectin and heparin. Seven strains (L. plantarum, L. paracasei ssp. paracasei, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and pediococcus pentosaceus) were then selected for further studies. These strains all tolerated exposure to 20 % bile for 1 hr and pH 2,5 for 2 hrs, i.e. they have properties enabling them to survive transport through the gastrointestinal (GI) tact to the colon. All strains could utilise inulin or amylopectin as a sole carbon source during in vitro culture. Three strains produced beta-galactosidase, which has been proposed to alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance. They produced antimicrobial substance(s) with activity against the homologous strain and other gram-positive bacteria. Exposure of Lactoacillus strains to pH 5 for 1 hr induced de novo production of several proteins, five of which cross-reacted with strass proteins. This may protect other surface proteins and adhesins during transport through the GI-tract. Four LAB strains studied transcribed NF-kB to the nucleus of microphage U 937. This induced induction of pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-8) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) by L. paracasei ssp.paracasei F19, L. plantarum 2592 and Pediococcus pentosaceus 16:1(10 up to 7 cell, 24 hrs) produced antioxidants, equivalent to 100 ug vitamin C. Since the availability of antioxidants decreases rostrally in the GI-tract production of antioxidants by colonic bacteria provides a beneficial effect in scavenging free radicals. The selected seven strains have been shown to survive transport to the colonic mucosa, and to have properties which makes them attractive candidates for use as probiotics.


Plant root angle determines the vertical and horizontal distribution of roots in the soil layer, which further influences the acquisition of phosphorus (P) in topsoil. Large genetic variability for the lateral root angle (root angle) was observed in a linkage mapping population (BnaTNDH population) and an association panel of Brassica napus whether at a low P (LP) or at an optimal P (OP). At LP, the average root angle of both populations became smaller. Nine quantitative trait loci (QTLs) at LP and three QTLs at OP for the root angle and five QTLs for the relative root angle (RRA) were identified by the linkage mapping analysis in the BnaTNDH population. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) revealed 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with the root angle at LP (LPRA). The interval of a QTL for LPRA on A06 (qLPRA-A06c) overlapped with the confidence region of the leading SNP (Bn-A06-p14439400) significantly associated with LPRA. In addition, a QTL cluster on chromosome C01 associated with the root angle and the primary root length (PRL) in the "pouch and wick" high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) system, the root P concentration in the agar system, and the seed yield in the field was identified in the BnaTNDH population at LP. A total of 87 genes on A06 and 192 genes on C01 were identified within the confidence interval, and 14 genes related to auxin asymmetric redistribution and root developmental process were predicted to be candidate genes. The identification and functional analyses of these genes affecting LPRA are of benefit to the cultivar selection with optimal root system architecture (RSA) under P deficiency in Brassica napus.


Many people are affected by a wide range of neuromuscular disorders, many of which can be improved through the use of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) rehabilitative cycling. Recent improvements in nonlinear, Lyapunov-based FES muscle control with motor assistance in unstimulated regions of the cycle-crank rotation have led to a reduction in muscle fatigue, allowing rehabilitation time to be extended. Studies in rehabilitation have shown that the addition of coordinated movement between the upper limbs and lower limbs can have a positive effect on neural plasticity leading to faster restoration of walking in those who have some neurological disorders. In this paper, to implement coordinated motion during rehabilitation, a strongly coupled bilateral telerobotic system is developed between a hand-cycle system driven by the participant's volitional efforts and a split-crank leg-cycle system driven by the switched application of FES with motor assistance. A variable operator is applied to the leg-cycle's motor input during the FES stimulation regions to provide assistance as required. Lyapunov-based analysis methods are used on the combined leg and hand-cycle system to prove global exponential stability. Analysis further proves that all switched system inputs are bounded, thus the states of the telerobotic master (i.e., hand-cycle system) are bounded, therefore, the telerobotic system is stable.


In the last years, the wireless body area network (WBAN) research has grown considerably and the idea to apply WBAN to the medical and healthcare issues could materialize. A possible WBAN could exploit the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band, clustered around 2.4 GHz. The ISM band is just used by other communication systems and non-communication systems. These systems transmit signals, defined aggregate interference, that could hinder the WBAN communications. In this thesis, the ISM band is investigated in order to understand if the amount of interference is too high to allow implementation of a new WBAN or if the coexistence between WBAN and the other systems is still possible. The ISM band analyses are carried out using data collected in real-life measurements, in environments where a patient monitored by a WBAN could usually stay. Data was collected in an office and a home environments, situated in Florence, Italy, in "San Giuseppe" hospital located in Empoli, Italy and in Oulu University Hospital, situated in Oulu, Finland. In each location, data are collected during a week using a spectrum analyzer (SA). The information measured by the SA is the power, expressed in dBm. In this work, a spectrum occupancy evaluation (SOE) has been developed to analyze the occupancy percentage of every frequency channel of the ISM band. The occupancy value is determined by a threshold, which divides the interference samples from the noise samples. In this work, the occupancy is evaluated using both a fixed threshold and a dynamic threshold, which value directly depends on the samples' values. The results achieved using fixed and dynamic thresholds are discussed and compared. In addition, a time domain analysis has been carried out in order to know the amplitude, the time distribution and the size of the interference contributions. The time domain results allow to predict the interference behavior, making possible the extraction of a statistical interference modelling. The final results of the analyses depend strongly on the measurement location, the time and the measurement equipment. However, in most cases, the occupancy value is below 10%. Hence, the amount of interference is not so high as to prevent the implementation of a new WBAN or to determine an added smartness to the WBAN.


As a result of globalization and increased interconnectivity, it is easier than ever before to travel to different corners of the earth. This phenomenon has also made individuals more aware of the impact that their actions have elsewhere in the world. This global consciousness is causing a shift in the dominant paradigm. Voluntourism is a growing industry that is attempting to bridge the gap between a strictly commercial enterprise, such as travelling, and a more charitable venture, volunteering. These new enterprises are in the midst of transforming a sector in search of an identity and for that reason it is incredibly important to understand who they are, what they do and how they are perceived. This paper examines the phenomenon of voluntourism with the use of a case study of participants on a six week voluntourism program arranged by the organisation Operation Groundswell. It makes use of before and after surveys of participants to assess their ex-ante expectations of the experience and compare them to ex-post assessment of the venture. This case study takes the study of voluntourism a step further by examining through participant observation, the role of the managing organisation outside of simply a facilitator. The influence of the organisation on the expectations and assessments of its participants is highlighted to better understand the new sector identity being created as a result of the emergence of such enterprises. The results of this study indicate that while an individual may be inspired by one group of motivations more than any other, they evaluate their experience on the basis of elements of all three categories. In order for a voluntourism excursion to be considered a success it must provide the opportunity for altruism, personal/social development and professional development. Additionally, this study's multi-method approach demonstrated the need to contextualise survey information when comparing ex-ante expectation and ex-post assessment in order to account for the influence that events that cannot be captured by a survey have on responses. A final conclusion reached in this paper is that Operation Groundswell had a very large impact on its participants' experience. The organisation helped to shape motivations in the provision of reading material prior to the trip departure date and shaped the experience of the trip through daily discussions and meetings in addition to organising accommodation, meals and volunteer activities. While the results from this study do not have statistical significance because the number of participants studied was too small, they propose a new way of thinking about this new middle between strictly-business corporations and pure charities. Moving forward, it is important to understand the influence that these organisations have in creating a new identity and shifting the dominant paradigm as they continue to gain popularity and notoriety around the world.


The gene encoding the murine calcitonin receptor (mCTR) was isolated, and the exon/intron structure was determined. Analysis of transcripts revealed novel cDNA sequences, new alternative exon splicing in the 5′-untranslated region, and three putative promoters (P1, P2, and P3). The longest transcription unit is greater than 67 kilobase pairs, and the location of introns within the coding region of the mCTR gene (exons E3–E14) are identical to those of the porcine and human CTR genes. We have identified novel cDNA sequences that form three new exons as well as others that add 512 base pairs to the 5′ side of the previously published cDNA, thereby extending exon E1 to 682 base pairs. Two of these novel exons are upstream of exon E2 and form a tripartite exon E2 (E2a, E2b, and E2c) in which E2a is utilized by promoter P2 with variable splicing of E2b. The third new exon (E3b′) lies between E3a and E3b and is utilized by promoter P3. Analysis of mCTR mRNAs has revealed that the three alternative promoters give rise to at least seven mCTR isoforms in the 5′ region of the gene and generate 5′-untranslated regions of very different lengths. Analysis by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction shows that promoters P1 and P2 are utilized in osteoclasts, brain, and kidney, whereas promoter P3 appears to be osteoclast-specific. Using transiently transfected reporter constructs, promoter P2 has activity in both a murine kidney cell line (MDCT209) and a chicken osteoclast-like cell line (HD-11EM), whereas promoter P3 is active only in the osteoclast-like cell line. These transfection data confirm the osteoclast specificity of promoter P3 and provide the first evidence that the CTR gene is regulated in a tissue-specific manner by alternative promoter utilization.


Abstract Comparable early Mesoproterozoic tectonic histories resulted in the formation of 1.71–1.62 Ga Labradorian and 1.75–1.55 Ga Gothian crust in Laurentia and Baltica respectively, along a postulated contiguous margin. New U-Pb geochronology in southwest Sweden has constrained the timing of three consecutive stages of the Gothian Orogeny. Calc-alkaline magmatism, presumably related to subduction, occurred as late as 1587 ± 3 Ma, indicating convergence and consumption of oceanic crust until this time. These magmas intruded terranes of previously accreted arcs, thus providing a minimum age for their juxtaposition and accretion. The age of the latest stage of Gothian migmatization is constrained between 1555 ± 2 and 1553 ± 2 Ma, synchronous with the transition from ductile to brittle conditions at the presently exposed erosional level. This transition permitted the emplacement of a suite of mafic-felsic 1555–53 Ma intrusions during an extensional regime that may have coincided with the post-deformational collapse of the Gothian Orogen. These age refinements in southwest Sweden indicate that the final stage of the Gothian Orogeny in Baltica occurred considerably later than that of the Labradorian Orogeny in Laurentia. The preservation of Gothian-aged titanite from southwest Sweden indicates that post-Gothian metamorphism, including that of Sveconorwegian-Grenvillian age, was not penetrative in this region.


The Cordilleran thrust belt of northwestern Montana (United States) has received much less attention than its counterparts in the western interior of USA and Canada. The structure of the thrust belt in this region is well preserved and has not been strongly overprinted by Cenozoic extension, providing an opportunity to reconstruct its geometry and to relate it to the foreland basin system. The thrust belt in this region consists of a frontal part of highly deformed Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleocene sedimentary rocks, and a western region dominated by a >15-km-thick succession of Proterozoic Belt Supergroup strata underlain by faults of the Lewis thrust system. The frontal part can be subdivided into the foothills and the Sawtooth Range. At the surface, the foothills show deformed Mesozoic and Paleocene rocks; at depth, refl ection seismic data indicate numerous thrust faults carrying Paleozoic strata. The Sawtooth Range, south from the Lewis thrust salient, is defi ned by steeply dipping imbricate thrusts that detach at the basal Cambrian stratigraphic level. The Sawtooth Range plunges northward beneath the Lewis thrust salient and diverges into a pair of independent thrust systems that form the Flathead and Waterton duplexes in Canada. The relatively minor internal deformation in the western part of the thrust belt resulted from the great rheological strength of the Belt Supergroup rocks and initial high taper of the preorogenic stratigraphic wedge. A new ~145-km-long balanced cross section indicates ~135 km of shortening, a value similar to that in the southern part of the Canadian thrust belt. Previous work and new conventional and isotopic provenance data from the foreland basin and U-Pb ages from crosscutting intrusive rocks establish a preliminary kinematic model for this segment of the Cordilleran thrust belt. The emerging pattern is a relatively simple forelandward progression of thrusting events. Most shortening in the Lewis thrust system, Sawtooth Range, and foothills occurred roughly between mid-Campanian and Early Eocene time (ca. 75‐52 Ma), yielding a shortening rate of ~5.9 mm/yr. This pattern differs from the pattern of shortening in the better known Sevier thrust belt to the south, where regional far-traveled Proterozoic quartzitebearing thrust sheets were mainly active during Early Cretaceous time. From Middle Eocene to Early Miocene time, this sector of the Cordillera collapsed, generating a number of extensional depocenters.


This paper describes the design and implementations of a single phase high voltage DC power supply at 15 kV output. This explain the detail description of the simulation, design, development and implementation of the hardware work to build a high voltage DC power supply in the laboratory and its simulation works done by using PSpice software. The designed DC power supply it can be used in industrial applications. Simulation and experimental results are presented in terms of performance and implementation.


To guarantee quality of service (QoS), the requirements of video transmission, such as delay and cell loss rate (CLR), are very stringent. These constraints are difficult to meet if high network utilization is desired. In this paper, dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms, in which scene change identification is incorporated, are proposed to improve the bandwidth utilization. The bandwidth allocated for each scene is based on the maximum and mean bandwidth of the scene. When a scene change is identified, a new negotiation process is triggered, and the bandwidth is reallocated.


In this second of two volumes on the "Gospel According to Luke", beginning with chapter 10, Joseph A. Fitzmyer builds on the exhaustive introduction, definitive new translation, and extensive notes and commentary presented in his first volume. Fitzmyer brings to the task his mastery of ancient and modern languages, his encyclopedic knowledge of the sources, and his intimate acquaintance with the questions and issues raised by the third "Synoptic Gospel".In "joining the spirit to the letter" and scholarship to faith, this two-volume commentary on "Luke" has, as the "Journal of Biblical Literature" predicted, "rapidly and deservedly become the standard work on Luke." "Luke's" unique literary and linguistic features, its relation to the other "Gospels" and the book of "Acts", and its distinctive theological slant are discussed in detail by the author. The Jesus of "Luke's Gospel" speaks to the Greco-Roman world of first-century Christians, giving the followers of Jesus a reason for remaining faithful. Fitzmyer's exposition of "Luke" helps modern-day Christians hear the Good News afresh and understand it like never before.


There is an urgent need for new materials to treat bacterial infections. In order to improve antibacterial delivery, an anti‐infective nanomaterial is developed that utilizes two strategies for localization: i) a biodegradable nanoparticle carrier to localize therapeutics within the tissue, and ii) a novel tandem peptide cargo to localize payload to bacterial membranes. First, a library of antibacterial peptides is screened that combines a membrane‐localizing peptide with a toxic peptide cargo and discovers a tandem peptide that displays synergy between the two domains and is able to kill Pseudomonas aeruginosa at sub‐micromolar concentrations. To apply this material to the lung, the tandem peptide is loaded into porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs). Charged peptide payloads are loaded into the pores of the pSiNP at ≈30% mass loading and ≈90% loading efficiency using phosphonate surface chemistry. When delivered to the lungs of mice, this anti‐infective nanomaterial exhibits improved safety profiles over free peptides. Moreover, treatment of a lung infection of P. aeruginosa results in a large reduction in bacterial numbers and markedly improves survival compared to untreated mice. Collectively, this study presents the selection of a bifunctional peptide‐based anti‐infective agent and its delivery via biodegradable nanoparticles for application to an animal model of lung infection.


Switch and crossing (S&C) dynamic loads are investigated through the use of field experimentation in the UK and analysis of the collected data. A design of experiments was set up from a previous investigation into the failure statistics, using delay data and failure understanding from the infrastructure owner. Strains, velocity and acceleration are measured on a selection of S&C, focusing on mid-speed switches due to their industrial relevance, high delay and rectification costs. The analysis of the data includes peak-to-peak values, and frequency content of the dynamic loading.


Naïve pluripotency is a transient state during mammalian development that can be recapitulated indefinitely in vitro by inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK/Erk) signalling and activation of STAT and Wnt pathways. How Erk is inhibited in vivo to promote naïve pluripotency remains largely unknown. By combining live cell imaging and quantitative proteomics we found that FGF2, a known Erk activator and pro-differentiation cue, induces instead long-term Erk inhibition in both ES cells and mouse embryos. We show that Erk inhibition results from a FGF2-induced incoherent feedforward loop. Importantly, we see that FGF2 induces up-regulation of naïve pluripotency factors, down-regulation of DNA methylation by suppression of de novo DNA methylases thereby helping maintain naïve pluripotency. We show that FGF2 is expressed maternally and propose that integration of signals from the embryo's niche may contribute to the generation of embryonic lineages with the right cell proportions. We suggest that feedforward regulation may play a role driving transient, reversible developmental transitions.


As part of DARPA Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO) Software for Distributed Robotics (SDR) Program, Sandia National Laboratories has developed analysis and control software for coordinating tens to thousands of autonomous cooperative robotic agents (primarily unmanned ground vehicles) performing military operations such as reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition; countermine and explosive ordnance disposal; force protection and physical security; and logistics support. Due to the nature of these applications, the control techniques must be distributed, and they must not rely on high bandwidth communication between agents. At the same time, a single soldier must easily direct these large-scale systems. Finally, the control techniques must be provably convergent so as not to cause undo harm to civilians. In this project, provably convergent, moderate communication bandwidth, distributed control algorithms have been developed that can be regulated by a single soldier. We have simulated in great detail the control of low numbers of vehicles (up to 20) navigating throughout a building, and we have simulated in lesser detail the control of larger numbers of vehicles (up to 1000) trying to locate several targets in a large outdoor facility. Finally, we have experimentally validated the resulting control algorithms on smaller numbers of autonomous vehicles.


The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique is widely used to identify and quantify the separate contributions of group differences in measurable characteristics, such as education, experience, marital status, and geographical differences to racial and gender gaps in outcomes. The technique cannot be used directly, however, if the outcome is binary and the coefficients are from a logit or probit model. I describe a relatively simple method of performing a decomposition that uses estimates from a logit or probit model. Expanding on the original application of the technique in Fairlie (1999), I provide a more thorough discussion of how to apply the technique, an analysis of the sensitivity of the decomposition estimates to different parameters, and the calculation of standard errors.


Cellular anatomy and expression of glycine decarboxylase (GDC) protein were studied during leaf development of the C3-C4 intermediate species Moricandia arvensis. Leaf anatomy was initially C3-like and the number and profile area of mitochondria in the bundle-sheath cells were the same as those in adjacent mesophyll cells. Between a leaf length of 6 and 12 mm there was a bundle-sheath-specific, 4-fold increase in the number of mitochondrial profiles, followed by a doubling of their individual profile areas as the leaves expanded further. Subunits of GDC were present in whole-leaf extracts before the anatomical development of bundle-sheath cells. Whereas the GDC H-protein content of leaves increased steadily throughout development, the increase in GDC P-protein was synchronous with the development of mitochondria in the bundle sheath. The P-protein was confined to bundle-sheath mitochondria throughout leaf development, and its content in individual mitochondria increased before the anatomical development of the bundle sheath. Anatomical and biochemical attributes of the C3-C4 character were present in the cotyledons and sepals but not in other photosynthetic organs/tissues. In leaves and cotyledons that developed in the dark, the expression of the P-protein and the organellar development were reduced but the bundle-sheath cell specificity was retained.


University students have been barraged with service learning opportunities both as course required and as volunteer opportunities in recent years. Currently, many universities now require students to participate in engaged learning as a graduation requirement. Situated in Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, this study examines the effects service learning has on students teaching self-efficacy when required to participate in an activity (course connected), compared to when they chose to volunteer in service learning projects. As instructors of preservice teachers it is our commitment to prepare these students to their maximum potential. Identifying best practices for teacher preparation is an overarching goal of this study. A pre/post survey examined students' self-perceptions for each service opportunity in regards to their perceived teaching self-efficacy. Results indicate that students' self-efficacy improved when service learning was connected or imbedded in the context of learning and connected to a specific course. These findings indicate course connected service learning has a greater impact on preservice teachers' perceptions of their ability to be effective future classroom teachers. Therefore course connected service learning can be viewed as a best practice in preservice teaching instruction


A clinically malignant tongue ulcer in a 63-year-old White man was proved by histological examination and culture to be due to Blastomyces dermatitidis. In addition, pulmonary lesions caused by B. dermatitidis were found at autopsy.


Microseismic monitoring involves placing geophones on the rock surfaces of a mine to record seismic activity. Classification of microseismic mine data can be used to predict seismic events in a mine to mitigate mining hazards, such as roof falls, where properly bolting and bracing the roof is often an insufficient method of preventing weak roofs from destabilizing. In this study, six months of recorded acoustic waveforms from microseismic monitoring in a Pennsylvania limestone mine were analyzed using classification techniques to predict roof falls. Fuzzy classification using features selected for computational ease was applied on the mine data. Both large roof fall events could be predicted using a Roof Fall Index (RFI) metric calculated from the results of the fuzzy classification. RFI was successfully used to resolve the two significant roof fall events and predicted both events by at least 15 hours before visual signs of the roof falls were evident.


Rhodococcus fascians is a gram-positive phytopathogen that induces differentiated galls, known as leafy galls, on a wide variety of plants employing virulence genes located on a linear plasmid. The pathogenic strategy consists in the production of a mixture of six synergistically acting cytokinins that overwhelm the plant's homeostatic mechanisms, ensuring the activation of a signaling cascade that targets the plant cell cycle and directs the newly formed cells to differentiate into shoot meristems. The shoots that are formed upon infection remain immature and never convert to source tissues resulting in the establishment of a nutrient sink that is a niche for the epiphytic and endophytic R. fascians subpopulations. Niche formation is accompanied by modifications of the transcriptome, metabolome, physiology, and morphology of both host and pathogen. Here, we review a decade of research and set the outlines of the molecular basis of the leafy gall syndrome.


Even though Nepal is situated between two of the fastest growing economies in the world, India and China, they still lag behind. With the worldwide change towards renewable energy, growing power demand and the vast hydropower potential in Nepal, the country possess an opportunity that can help the them thrive forward. That is why Kathmandu University developed the Turbine Testing Laboratory with support from Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Norad, among others. The laboratory is up and running, but still lack a lot of equipment to follow the IEC 60193 [1] standard. The first objective of this thesis was to analyze the laboratories at NTNU and KU, in addition to examine the procedures of model testing on Francis turbines in accordance to IEC 60193 [1]. Considerable time has especially been used to understand the sensor and acquisition system at NTNU to further recommend a similar set-up for the laboratory at KU. The main objective of the thesis was to make a full scale logging program in LabVIEW for the Francis test rig at KU. To carry out this task, the program used at NTNU was tested and analyzed first. Since staff and students at KU may reprogram the logging program in the future, much effort has been made to make the program easy to understand, yet have advanced functions. A user manual has been made for the new logging program and programming procedures are described thoroughly in the report.


This study examines the adoption of new technologies within organizations, The significance of this research is to broaden the understanding of technology adoption within organizations by focusing on adoption at the individual level, The key research question that is examined is: "what factors contribute to the adoption of new technology by individuals within firms?" A model is presented to distinguish adopters from nonadopters based on four sets of constructs: (1) the characteristics of the individual; (2) individual's perception of group characteristics; (3) individual's perception of company characteristics; and (4) individual's perception of technology. Unlike previous studies that focus only on top management in firms, this study examines adoption at the level of middle managers, engineers and technical personnel, i.e., those individuals who are more likely to actually use this technology in the workplace. The study links previously studied elements of adoption and diffusion of innovations to the specific case of a relatively recent innovation for organizations, As an example, an empirical examination of adoption of object-oriented technology (OT) in software companies is conducted. This technology is a software development technique that uses pretested and routine methods or "objects" to design, construct and assemble software programs. It is a new way of thinking about software based on abstraction that exists in the real world. The results of this study show that individual characteristics, perception of group characteristics and company characteristics are significantly related to OT adoption, but the individual's perception of the technology is not. The proposed model predicts adopters of new technology, such as OT, with 86% accuracy, The results suggest the factors that top management need to focus on in order to facilitate new technology adoption in firms.


Higher level of education is associated with better cognitive performance and lower risk of developing dementia. However, the effect of education on cognitive performance varies across different cognitive domains and in different populations. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between education and performance of different cognitive domains among healthy Malay adults. A total of 53 individuals aged 29 to 77 years participated in a battery of neurophysiological tests consisting of Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, digit span, visual reproduction and digit symbol speed test (DSST). Blood test was performed for each participant to obtain their biochemical profile. Educational level was divided into level 1 (PMR), level 2 (SPM), level 3 (STPM), level 4 (Diploma) and level 5 (Degree). Simple linear regression indicated that years of education was positively associated with scores of delayed visual reproduction (b=1.348, p=0.002) and DSST (b=3.257, p=0.012). However, scores of all the tests were not significantly different among different levels of education after controlling for age, gender and blood test profile by ANCOVA. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that MMSE score was associated with red cell distribution width (b=-0.628, p=0.005), age (b=-0.119, p<0.001) and there was interaction between high density lipoprotein (HDL) with age (b=0.047, p<001). MoCA score was associated with age (b=-0.121, p<0.001), gender (male compared to female, b=1.870, p=0.020) and HDL (b=1.681, p=0.047). Age was associated with backward digit span (b=-0098, p<0.001) and immediate visual reproduction (b=-0.348, p<0.001), resp. Delayed visual reproduction was associated with age (b=-0.323, p<0.001) and potassium level (b=-4.471, p=0.016). DSST was associated with age (b=-0.911, p<0.001) and alanine aminotransferase (b=-0.754, p=0.002). The lack of association between educational level and cognitive performance after adjusting for confounders in this study maybe due to multiple factors influencing cognitive performance and further studies with a larger sample size are needed to further identify the factors involved.


Neuroanatomic phenotypes are often assessed using volumetric analysis. Although powerful and versatile, this approach is limited in that it is unable to quantify changes in shape, to describe how regions are interrelated, or to determine whether changes in size are global or local. Statistical shape analysis using coordinate data from biologically relevant landmarks is the preferred method for testing these aspects of phenotype. To date, approximately fifty landmarks have been used to study brain shape. Of the studies that have used landmark-based statistical shape analysis of the brain, most have not published protocols for landmark identification or the results of reliability studies on these landmarks. The primary aims of this study were two-fold: (1) to collaboratively develop detailed data collection protocols for a set of brain landmarks, and (2) to complete an intra- and inter-observer validation study of the set of landmarks. Detailed protocols were developed for 29 cortical and subcortical landmarks using a sample of 10 boys aged 12 years old. Average intra-observer error for the final set of landmarks was 1.9 mm with a range of 0.72 mm–5.6 mm. Average inter-observer error was 1.1 mm with a range of 0.40 mm–3.4 mm. This study successfully establishes landmark protocols with a minimal level of error that can be used by other researchers in the assessment of neuroanatomic phenotypes.


In the Darwin region of Northern Australia, the Brown Honeyeater nests in mangals (mangrove communities). woodlands and urban areas. Based on observations of 75 nests whose laying date could be estimated, the breeding season extends from April to September, a pattern that is consistent across years and habitats. Nests are usually built in shrubs and low twiggy growth of small trees, with a median nest height of 1.1 metre above the ground. The modal clutch size was 2, with a mean of 1.84, a small clutch size for such a small species (10 g), even by Australian standards. Both the incubation and nestling periods were approximately 13 to 13.5 days, slightly shorter than the 14 days previously reported. Females alone build, incubate and brood, but both sexes feed the young. Nest success was estimated to be 42 per cent, with most egg or nestling failures being the result of predation of the entire nest contents, or of flooding. Ten mangal nests were flooded by sea water during spring high tides. The period between full lunar cycle spring tide sequences (29-30 days) is slightly less then the time it takes a Brown Honeyeater to build a nest, lay and incubate the eggs, and fledge the young. As a consequence, all nests built in mangals below about 7.4 metres Chart Datum would have been flooded. In mangals, Brown Honeyeaters may therefore only nest successfully in landward zones that are on higher ground and are thus subject to less deep inundation. At least three mangrove endemic bird species are also obligate shrub-nesters, so preservation of landward mangrove zones may be critical for the conservation of mangrove bird communities.


This paper presents an application-oriented theoretical platform and a new model, providing adequate approaches to solving boundary-spanning challenges for regional growth, strengthening competitiveness, sustainability and development of building conservation. Research on such a comprehensive collaboration scheme demands the use of hybrid methodologies and boundary-spanning, trans-disciplinary and multidimensional theories. The objective of this paper is to present state-of-art for analyzing the trading zone. Each separate sector or industry has its own objectives as well as its own resources, needs, policies, networks and regulations, but also its own vocabulary and mindset. A generic model is developed where the trading zone is defined as an active arena or a field of force corresponding to the actors' various policies, values, facts and resources.


Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie is the chosen book for the 2016 WSU Reads. This guide provides more information on the WSU Reads program, the book, and related topics, materials, and initiatives.


Counseling has traditionally focused on four forces: psychodynamics, behaviorism, humanism, and multiculturalism, but spirituality is becoming the fifth force (Sandhu, as cited in Stanard, Sandhu, & Painter, 2000). To speak about spirituality is to speak about an individual's value system and it is evident that a client's values enter into counseling. Concerns about client values, beliefs and attitudes have long been considered a central part of the rehabilitation process (Patterson, 1959; Jenkins, Patterson & Szymanski, 1992; Wright, 1983) and western Christian religious practices are arguably at the core of early rehabilitation philosophy (Kilpatrick & McCullough, 1999; Patterson, 1960; Rubin & Roessler, 1995). Traditionally rehabilitation practice articulates the importance of addressing a client's values, beliefs and attitudes, therefore examining how rehabilitation counseling integrates spirituality as a central theme is important. However, incorporating spirituality into rehabilitation counselor training programs may create conflict for counselor educators and counselors because of differing views of the importance of spirituality and even differing perceptions on the nature of spirituality. Spirituality and Religion: The Eternal Conundrum Any professional literature search on the topic of spirituality will bring up hundreds of articles and nearly as many definitions of spirituality. In addition to helping professions such as medicine, occupational therapy, counseling and social work, professional journals from engineering, business, and athletic training fields address the issue of incorporating spirituality into their respective disciplines as well. A common theme found in many articles is the problem of distinguishing spirituality from religion (Stanard et al., 2000). Most authors assert spirituality is usually confused with religion, but Benjamin and Looby (1998) differentiate the two in terms of universality; religion may of may not be universal, but spirituality is universal. They acknowledge spirituality as "alive" both in and out of a religious context. In order to recognize the value differences between clients and counselors, four types of helping orientations to spiritual and religious natures have been identified: rejectionism, exclusivism, constructivism, and pluralism (Zinnbauer & Pargament, 2000). Rejectionism denies the existence of God or heaven and spiritual supporters. Exclusivism is a belief in the ontological proof of religious or spiritual aspects of existence. Constructivism denies absolute religious or spiritual reality, but believes individuals construct their own reality. Finally, pluralism affirms absolute religious or spiritual reality and allows for a variety of interpretations toward that reality (Zinnbauer & Pargament, 2000). While each of these methods differ slightly in their approach, they all combine spirituality with religion. Spirituality can be expressed as an internal component of an individual's perception of reality, whereas religion is its external manifestation with practices and rituals shared with like-minded people (Hodge, 2000). Spirituality can be defined as: A relationship with a Transcendent Being that fosters a sense of meaning, purpose, and mission in life. In turn, this relationship produces salutary change, such as an increased sense of altruistic love, which has a discernible effect upon one's relationship to creation, self, others, and the Most High (p.219). Religion and spirituality may sometimes be used interchangeably. Occasionally the unique characteristics of each may mesh together creating similarities, however, they are two distinct concepts (Hodge, 2000). Adams et al., (2000) suggest that common threads exist to weave together the fabric of spirituality. "They include a sense of meaning and purpose in life, connectedness to self, the environment, or a higher power, and a belief in a life force (p. …


A collocation method based on the Bernstein polynomials defined on the interval is developed for approximate solutions of the Fredholm-Volterra integrodifferential equation (FVIDE) in the most general form. This method is reduced to linear FVIDE via the collocation points and quasilinearization technique. Some numerical examples are also given to demonstrate the applicability, accuracy, and efficiency of the proposed method.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Heart failure is a complex syndrome in which abnormal heart function results in clinical symptoms and signs of low cardiac output and/or pulmonary or systemic congestion. Heart failure is common among long-term care residents, and is associated with significant morbidity and acute care utilisation. Heart failure guidelines endorse standard therapies, yet long-term care residents are less likely to receive recommended treatments. The objective of this study is to understand the perceptions and potential role of unregulated care providers in contributing to better heart failure management among long-term care residents.

DESIGN
Focus group interviews.

METHODS
This qualitative study employed focus groups to explore perceptions from 24 unregulated care providers in three Ontario, Canada long-term care homes, about barriers to the optimal management of heart failure.

RESULTS
Three overarching concepts emerged characterising unregulated care providers' experiences in caring for residents with heart failure in long-term care: (1) the complexity of providing heart failure care in a long-term care setting, (2) striving for resident-centred decision making and (3) unregulated care providers role enactment nested within an interprofessional team in long-term care. These concepts reflect the complex interplay between individual unregulated care providers and residents, and heart failure-related, socio-cultural and organisational factors that influence heart failure care processes in the long-term care system.

CONCLUSIONS
Optimising the management of heart failure in long-term care is contingent on greater engagement of unregulated care providers as active partners in the interprofessional care team. Interventions to improve heart failure management in long-term care must ensure that appropriate education is provided to all long-term care staff, including unregulated care providers, and in a manner that fosters greater and more effective interprofessional collaboration.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Active and collaborative engagement unregulated care providers has the potential to improve the management of heart failure in long-term care residents.


Objectives: To measure the daily hour prevalence of informal computer and video games use among Idaho youth, and to examine the association between usage hours and selected psychological variables, including feelings of hopelessness, suicidal ideation, and past suicide attempts. Methods: Data analyses was performed on responses obtained via anonymous questionnaires from a sample of school children ages 12-18 (n=1,678) who completed the 2011 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey at randomly selected schools in Idaho. Results: Analysis showed that males were more likely to report three or more hours of screen time per day, while a higher percentage of females than males reported experiencing psychological distress. Females engaging in three or more hours of daily screen time were more likely than boys to have in the past 12 months engaged in intentional self-harm behaviors, reported suicidal ideation or feelings of sadness or to have planned suicide. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the inverse relationship between screen time and mental health. The data suggest that excessive recreational computer or video game use among females almost doubles the odds of significant mental health problems. Future research is needed to clarify the nature of these associations.


Discharge information was obtained from pediatric ward logbooks of the Centre Hospitalier Regional de Bouake from 1982 to 1992. While number of children admitted per month and discharge diagnosis remained relatively stable throughout the period, the proportion of children who left the hospital against medical advice increased by nearly 5 times during the 11-year period to over 12% of all pediatric admissions. The proportion of discharges against medical advice decreased to 10% of all pediatric admissions after institution of a programme to provide essential drugs at cost to patients (previously only available from private pharmacies). Most children who were taken from the hospital left within the first two days of hospitalization. The admission diagnoses of these children suggest that most had serious, life-threatening illness and that they left the hospital prior to having received adequate treatment. The increase in pediatric ward discharge against medical advice occurred simultaneously with serious budgetary shortfalls in the hospital resulting in inadequacy of medicines and basic equipment. Hospital staff suspected that most of the discharges against medical advice were caused by families being unable to afford the purchase of medicines and supplies necessary for inpatient treatment. It is suggested that widespread policies of decreasing funding for basic curative services in public hospitals may be associated with a substantial increase in preventable child mortality.


The stiffness of the train's rubber joint at the primary suspension system has a crucial influence on the operation stability and curve-passing performance. As traditional rubber joint only provides unadjustable parameters, they cannot meet the conflicting stiffness requirements when the train is running at high speed on straight track and passing through the curve track. To solve this problem, this paper proposed a new rubber joint with fail-safe characteristics based on magnetorheological elastomer (MRE). The joint stiffness is controlled by a hybrid magnetic field generated by permanent magnets and electromagnets. With this hybrid magnetic field, the initial stiffness of the MRE joint can be designed to be hard so as to suppress the hunting motions and vibrations of wheelsets and thus keep the trains' high-speed stability; furthermore, the stiffness can decrease by energizing the electromagnets when passing through a curve track. With this characteristic, the joint can guarantee the safety of the train at high operation speed even when the joint control system fails. The prototype of the MRE joint was fabricated and assembled. Stiffness controllability of the MRE joint was tested using a Material Testing Systems machine. The result reveals that the stiffness of this MRE joint can be controlled effectively. According to the testing results, a new phenomenological model was built to predict the joint's dynamic performance. Then this established model was integrated into dynamic models of trains to numerically evaluate the new joint's influence on the train's stability and trafficability. The evaluation result shows that the proposed MRE joint is fully effective on providing controllable stiffness to satisfy the conflicting stiffness requirement with fail-safe characteristics.


The geotechnical test can't be applied to sand as the original sample is difficulty to collected by drilling, so the cohesive strength C of sand can't be acquired in geotechnical test. Generally speaking, according to the Mohr–Coulomb law, C=0. From the numerical point of view, when the slope angle is greater than the internal friction angle, the global stability of slop can't meet the requirements of standard. However, that's not the case in fact. In practice, the slope angle can be determined by means of analogy. Although successful experiences have obtained, there still exist some potential hazards. In this paper, we have made some studies on the cohesive strength of sand based on the control of instability of a deep foundation in Xiang'an District, Xiamen, China.


We investigate various models of thermal convection in a fluid saturated porous medium of both Darcy and Brinkman types. The linear instability and global (unconditional) nonlinear stability thresholds are analysed. Analytical solutions and numerical solutions are obtained by employing the $D^2$ Chebyshev tau and compound matrix techniques, and we investigate the effect that the inertia term and other physical parameters have on the stability of the system. The thesis is split into two parts. In PartI we consider a coupled model of thermal convection in a fluid saturated porous material and theories of viscous fluid motion
which allows heat to travel as a wave. This is discussed in the first three chapters.

In Chapter 2 the instability mechanism is investigated in complete detail and it is shown that stationary convection is likely to prevail under normal terrestrial conditions, but if the thermal relaxation time is sufficiently large there is a possible parameter range which allows for oscillatory convection. However, the presence of the Guyer-Krumhansl terms has the effect of damping the oscillatory convection and returning the instability mechanism to one of stationary convection.

In Chapter 3 the constitutive equation for the heat flux is
governed by a couple of the Guyer-Krumhansl equations and the Cattaneo-Fox law. In particular, we study the effects of the Guyer-Krumhansl terms on oscillatory convection. It is found that for a certain range of the Guyer-Krumhansl coefficient stationary convection occurs while changing the range results in oscillatory convection. Numerical results quantify this effect.

The thermal instability in a Brinkman porous medium incorporating fluid inertia for both free--free and fixed--fixed boundaries is considered in Chapter 4. We have incorporated the Cattaneo--Christov theory in the onstitutive equation for the heat flux. For fixed surfaces, the results are generated by using the $D^2$ Chebyshev tau method. The results reveal that employing the Cattaneo--Christov theory has a pronounced effect in determining the convection instability threshold.

Part II concerns the effect of an anisotropic permeability on thermal instability in the modelling problems of thermal
convection of Darcy type with and without the inclusion of an inertia term, which represented the last three chapters.

In Chapter 5 we allow a non-zero inertia term and also allow the permeability to be an anisotropic tensor. For particular numerical results we consider the case when the vertical component of the permeability tensor is variable. Linear instability results are calculated numerically and it is proved that the nonlinear energy stability bound is the same as the linear one. We perform the linear instability and nonlinear stability analysis, in the case
where the inertial term vanishes, to investigate the effect of anisotropy with rotation on the stability thresholds in Chapter 6, showing that the nonlinear critical Rayleigh numbers coincide with those of the linear analysis. The results reveal that the inclusion of the inertial term for this model can play an important role on the onset of convection in Chapter 7.


For the design of classic computers the parallel programming concept is used to abstract HW/SW interfaces during high level specification of application software. The software is then adapted to existing multiprocessor platforms using a low level software layer that implements the programming model. Unlike classic computers, the design of heterogeneous MPSoC includes also building the processors and other kind of hardware components required to execute the software. In this case, the programming model hides both hardware and software refinements. This paper deals with parallel programming models to abstract both hardware and software interfaces in the case of heterogeneous MPSoC design. Different abstraction levels are needed. For the long term, the use of higher level programming models open new vistas for optimization and architecture exploration like CPU/RTOS tradeoffs


We give an algorithm to find vertical essential tori in small Seifert fiber spaces with infinite fundamental group. This implies that there are algorithms to decide whether a 3-manifold is a Seifert fiber space.


Purpose: To analyze the clinical presentations, risk factors, and management outcomes in patients presenting with dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON). Methods: This is a retrospective, single-center study carried out on consecutive patients presenting with DON over a period of 4 years (2013–2016). The VISA classification was used at the first visit and subsequent follow-ups. The diagnosis was based on optic nerve function tests and imaging features. Demographic profiles, clinical features, risk factors, and management outcomes were analyzed. Results: Thirty-seven eyes of 26 patients diagnosed with DON were included in the study. A significant male preponderance was noted (20, 76.92%). Twenty patients (76.9%, P = 0.011) had hyperthyroidism, and 15 (57.69%, P = 0.02) were smokers. Decreased visual acuity was noted in 28 eyes (75.6%). Abnormal color vision and relative afferent pupillary defects were seen in 24 (64.86%) eyes, and visual field defects were seen in 30 (81.01%) eyes. The visual evoked potential (VEP) showed a reduced amplitude in 30 (96.77%, P = 0.001) of 31 eyes and delayed latency in 20 (64.51%, P = 0.0289) eyes. Twenty-six (70.27%) patients were treated with intravenous methyl prednisolone (IVMP) alone, whereas 11 (29.72%) needed surgical decompression. The overall best-corrected visual acuity improved by 0.2 l logMARunits. There was no statistically significant difference in outcome between medically and surgically treated groups. Four patients developed recurrent DON, and all of them were diabetics. Conclusion: Male gender, hyperthyroid state, and smoking are risk factors for developing DON. VEP, apical crowding, and optic nerve compression are sensitive indicators for diagnosing DON. Diabetics may have a more defiant course and are prone to develop recurrent DON.


We discuss a fine-tuning of rather generic three dimensional higher-curvature gravity actions that leads to gauge symmetry enhancement at the linearized level via partial masslessness. Requiring this gauge symmetry to be present also non-linearly reduces such actions to conformal Chern–Simons gravity. We perform a canonical analysis of this theory and construct the gauge generators and associated charges. We provide and classify admissible boundary conditions. The boundary conditions on the conformal equivalence class of the metric render one chirality of the partially massless Weyl gravitons normalizable and the remaining one non-normalizable. There are three choices — trivial, fixed or free — for the Weyl factors of the bulk metric and of the boundary metric. This proliferation of boundary conditions leads to various physically distinct scenarios of holography that we study in detail, extending considerably the discussion initiated in Ref. [1]. In particular, the dual CFT may contain an additional scalar field with or without background charge, depending on the choices above.


In this paper, an effective recycling process from spent LIBs has been developed. The aluminum residual commonly exists in hydrometallurgy, and also aluminum is considered as a resultant additive in LIB modification, therefore, the tolerability of aluminum was studied in this work. Li[(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)1−xAlx]O2 (0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.05) cathode materials were regenerated from spent ternary LIBs. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical measurements were carried out to characterize the performances of all of the samples. XRD and XPS results indicate that Mn and Ni are possibly replaced by Al. When x ≤ 0.03, the initial discharge capacity is up to 170 mA h g−1 at 0.05C between 2.5 and 4.5 V, and more than 100 mA h g−1 at 2C. The results showed that the existence of aluminum of up to x = 0.03 has no significant impact on the cathode materials of Li[(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)1−xAlx]O2, and the content surpasses the conventional limitations.


This paper examines the transformative potential of two contemporary Colombian artworks on society. The question is interesting in light of the internal conflict and a recent increased activity in the art market in Colombia. Two installations created by Colombian artists are contrasted in order to approach the question. Doris Salcedo's Plegaria muda (2008-2010) and Ludmila Ferrari's Cultus (2007-2015) provide an interesting basis for comparison because the two artworks differ with respect to their involvement with art institutions. The installations are juxtaposed along different dimensions: how they encourage connections amongst citizens and transcend their immediate publics by linking different audiences, as well as how they restructure space so as to introduce a different set of norms.


Abstract. The ocean plays an important role in modulating the mass balance of the polar ice sheets by interacting with the ice shelves in Antarctica and with the marine-terminating outlet glaciers in Greenland. Given that the flux of warm water onto the continental shelf and into the sub-ice cavities is steered by complex bathymetry, a detailed topography data set is an essential ingredient for models that address ice–ocean interaction. We followed the spirit of the global RTopo-1 data set and compiled consistent maps of global ocean bathymetry, upper and lower ice surface topographies, and global surface height on a spherical grid with now 30 arcsec grid spacing. For this new data set, called RTopo-2, we used the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO_2014) as the backbone and added the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean version 3 (IBCAOv3) and the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) version 1. While RTopo-1 primarily aimed at a good and consistent representation of the Antarctic ice sheet, ice shelves, and sub-ice cavities, RTopo-2 now also contains ice topographies of the Greenland ice sheet and outlet glaciers. In particular, we aimed at a good representation of the fjord and shelf bathymetry surrounding the Greenland continent. We modified data from earlier gridded products in the areas of Petermann Glacier, Hagen Brae, and Sermilik Fjord, assuming that sub-ice and fjord bathymetries roughly follow plausible Last Glacial Maximum ice flow patterns. For the continental shelf off Northeast Greenland and the floating ice tongue of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier at about 79° N, we incorporated a high-resolution digital bathymetry model considering original multibeam survey data for the region. Radar data for surface topographies of the floating ice tongues of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier and Zachariae Isstrom have been obtained from the data centres of Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Operation Icebridge (NASA/NSF), and Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). For the Antarctic ice sheet/ice shelves, RTopo-2 largely relies on the Bedmap-2 product but applies corrections for the geometry of Getz, Abbot, and Fimbul ice shelf cavities. The data set is available in full and in regional subsets in NetCDF format from the PANGAEA database at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.856844 .


The mechanism of surface water remediation in a natural wetland that is receiving heavy metal-rich acidic mine drainage was investigated. Selective sequential extraction was useful to derive the mechanisms of heavy metal removal in the wetland. In the upstream portion of the wetland, dissolved Fe was removed mainly as oxide-bounded mineral phases, such as hydroxides. These are important for the subsequent removal of other heavy metals. Other ion-exchangeable and carbonate-bounded heavy metals are also observed in the upstream, associated with Fe oxides. Organic matter and Fe–Mn oxides in the upstream remove Cu and Zn ions from the drainage, respectively. In the middle of portion of the wetland the removal of heavy metal ions in relatively low concentrations occurs by the emergent vegetation. Greater clay abundance and higher microbial activity of sulfate reducing bacteria in the downstream parts achieved low-level removal of metals. Multi-cell wetlands are recommended for the treatment of acidic metal bearing surface water drainage, if sufficient land area and expenses are available to construct.


The Management-by-Objectives (MBO) approach is wide spread, but has been challenged to demonstrate its consistent, positive effect on organizations' performance. The OPTIMAL MBO is a revised formula, proposed for vitalizing the original MBO approach. It includes some additional components related to business strategy, financial performance, and incentives, as well as some tune-ups to existing components, and aims at wining executive support. The OPTIMAL MBO stands for its integrated set of components, namely: (O) Objectives, Outside-in; (P) Profitability (budget) related goals; (T) Target Setting; (I) Incentives & Influence; (M) Measurement; (A) Agreement, Accountability, Appraisal, Appreciation; and (L) Leadership Support. Empirical testing of impact on operational and financial performance is called for.


Background: Despite significant advances in targeted therapy, HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remains incurable. Ideal treatment includes pertuzumab and trastuzumab in combination with a taxane in the first line setting, followed by ado-trastuzumab emtansine on progression. Optimal treatment regimens in the third and greater line of therapy are not defined, but continued anti-HER2 therapy is recommended. Margetuximab is a Fc-modified monoclonal antibody to HER2 that recognizes the same epitope on HER2 as does trastuzumab, with similar affinity. Margetuximab demonstrates increased affinity to the activating CD16A Fc-receptor found on NK cells and macrophages and decreased affinity to the inhibitory CD32B receptor compared to trastuzumab. In vitro studies showed enhanced antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity compared to trastuzumab. In a Phase 1 dose escalation and expansion trial, margetuximab showed single agent clinical activity against HER2+ tumors in patients previously treated with trastuzumab and other anti-HER2 agents. Methods: SOPHIA is a randomized, prospective study testing the hypothesis that margetuximab plus chemotherapy (CTX) is more effective than trastuzumab plus CTX in patients previously treated for HER2+ MBC. Sequential primary endpoints are centrally assessed progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The study size of 530 patients is determined to have 80% power to detect a hazard ratio for OS of 0.75. Secondary endpoints are investigator assessed PFS and centrally assessed overall response rate. Eligibility includes prior treatment with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and ado-trastuzumab emtansine; no more than 3 prior lines of therapy in the metastatic setting; prior demonstration of HER2+ status at a local reference laboratory; and absence of active brain metastases. Eligible patients are randomized 1:1 to receive CTX (physician9s choice: capecitabine, eribulin, gemcitabine or vinorelbine) plus either margetuximab or trastuzumab until disease progression or toxicity. Antibody may be continued after stopping CTX in patients with responding or stable disease. Progress to date: The trial was initiated July 2015 and is ongoing in the US and Europe with planned expansion to Korea and Israel. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02492711; Eudract 2015-000380-13. Citation Format: Rugo HS, Pegram MD, Gradishar WJ, Cortes J, Curigliano G, Hong S, Wigginton JM, Lechleider RJ, Cardoso F. SOPHIA: A phase 3, randomized study of margetuximab plus chemotherapy vs trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT1-02-07.


Artificial Intelligence (AI) is considered one of the most advanced sciences which currently utilized by the designers to improve human life through their novelties. In recent decades, many researchers have been focused on studying the impact of information technology and software implementation in product design processes. Moreover, the technology of art+9ificial intelligence and the designer responsibility in the application of this technology have been illustrated. The drought of Arab Library's from such researches encourages researchers to explore the impact of machine learning concept on the future of industrial design. In this work, a brief summary of artificial intelligence and machine learning concepts are presented. On the other hand, their relationship with the design's future is discussed. Survey and questionnaire methods are exploited to collect a set of expectations for future life and product shapes as well as the anticipation of the role of the designer and the shape of the process of learning and teaching design. Finally, the expected future risks that may be resulted from the immersion of machine learning science in the individual life is investigated. Research Problem: The problem of research lies in the scarcity researches in the field of the impact of machine learning concept on the industrial design future. As the principle of standardization completely disappears in design and the principle of customization diminish, products personalization will be take place. Consequently, the style and the way of designing and manufacturing products will be affected. No doubt that, user experience is absolutely essential factor to guarantee brand survival, which makes artificial intelligence the main engine for personalizing the products of industrial design. Research Objectives  Analysis the impact of the machine learning concept on the design future in light of the technology of artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as its role in the full shift towards the design of personalized products. Artificial intelligence makes the product a partner in decision-making and not only to interact with the user as in interactive products in its contemporary image. Research Methodology : Inductive approach and Deductive approach,  qualitative approach and the quantitative approach,  Major Results: Artificial intelligence and machine learning help to predict user behavior and design useful insights to improve user experience.  Machine learning is the backbone of UX design because it is a very powerful source of real information which is a fruitful addition to the design of smarter products. Interaction with users is at the heart of the development cycle.  It is expected that in the next 10 years' machine learning will become the norm responsible for the data used by the designers of the user's products and user experiences, ultimately making the end-user experience better.


Among the best books ever written about men in combat, The Killing Zone tells the story of the platoon of Delta One-six, capturing what it meant to face lethal danger, to follow orders, and to search for the conviction and then the hope that this war was worth the sacrifice. The book includes a new chapter on what happened to the platoon members when they came home.


The main objective of this paper is to understand the principles and theories behind the operation of the equipment, and its architecture. The advantages and limitations of the scanning a coustic microscope are also investigated by imaging a set of samples. The principle of operation of a scanning acoustic microscope is producing magnified acoustic images of the surface or interior of a solid by passing high-frequency focused acoustic pulses through the material and displaying the received signal in the image form as shades of grey. The significant advantage to be gained in using scanning acoustic microscope for producing images are the ability of acoustic waves to penetrate opaque material and the distinctive origin of contrast in the mechanical properties of the specimen. Three sets of samples are observed under the scanning acoustic microscope and they are Vickers hardness indention samples, quenched samples and porosity samples. It is found that results obtained for the samples are subjected to the overall ability of the equipment used. The operating frequency was one of the most significant limiting factors in this work, as the resolution obtained was not as high as would be favourable. However, satisfactory images with distinctive contrast were still achieved. One of the advantages of using scanning acoustic microscope, which is the sub-surface imaging ability, is also revealed. Finally, the operating software of the equipment is also an important aspect that should be given proper consideration.


This work is contextualized in research in modeling and simulation of infection spread within a community or population, with the objective to provide a public health and policy tool in assessing the dynamics of infection spread and the qualitative impacts of public health interventions. This work uses the integration of real data sources into an Agent Based Model (ABM) to simulate respiratory infection spread within a small municipality. Novelty is derived in that the data sources are not necessarily obvious within ABM infection spread models. The ABM is a spatial-temporal model inclusive of behavioral and interaction patterns between individual agents on a real topography. The agent behaviours (movements and interactions) are fed by census / demographic data, integrated with real data from a telecommunication service provider (cellular records) and person-person contact data obtained via a custom 3G Smartphone application that logs Bluetooth connectivity between devices. Each source provides data of varying type and granularity, thereby enhancing the robustness of the model. The work demonstrates opportunities in data mining and fusion that can be used by policy and decision makers. The data become real-world inputs into individual SIR disease spread models and variants, thereby building credible and non-intrusive models to qualitatively simulate and assess public health interventions at the population level.


[Introduction] Setting the Mood Sex is typically seen as special, thrilling and transcendent — or, alternatively, as a menacing force with the power to upset social order and diminish us to beasts. In the horror genre, representations of sex are often expressed through the imagery of BDSM (Bondage, Domination, Sadomasochism), and are aligned with monsters, torture and scary settings. The reality of the BDSM subculture is disfigured by mainstream horror films, which demonize BDSM and use it as a portable method of garnering screams.

Horror as a genre allows audiences to flirt with danger, while reinforcing boundaries between pathological non-normal sexuality and protected and privileged normal sexuality. BDSM has gained considerable scholarly attention in the last two decades within and beyond sociology, particularly in the areas of sexual deviance, identity disclosure and development, stigma management (Bezreh, Pitagora, Simula), and more recently, BDSM's diffusion into the mainstream culture (Weiss, Scott). Further, research has examined how popular culture perpetuates misconceptions about BDSM, and frames practitioners as victims of trauma, abuse, and rape (Brock, Bezreh, Rubin). This pathologization of BDSM, in part, stems from the assumption that BDSM is a mental illness, a consequence of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders's (DSM) historical conflation of psychological disorder and sadomasochism. Additionally, Western horror cinema has had a pivotal influence on popular discourses about BDSM. Less scholarship, however, has examined the relationship between horror and BDSM. This paper contributes to the scholarship on BDSM portrayals in popular culture by examining BDSM representations in two Hollywood horror films: Strangeland (1998) and Hellraiser (1987).


Developing robust and fair AI systems require datasets with comprehensive set of labels that can help ensure the validity and legitimacy of relevant measurements. Recent efforts, therefore, focus on collecting person-related datasets that have carefully selected labels, including sensitive characteristics, and consent forms in place to use those attributes for model testing and development. Responsible data collection involves several stages, including but not limited to determining use-case scenarios, selecting categories (annotations) such that the data are fit for the purpose of measuring algorithmic bias for subgroups and most importantly ensure that the selected categories/subcategories are robust to regional diversities and inclusive of as many subgroups as possible. Meta, in a continuation of our efforts to measure AI algorithmic bias and robustness (https://ai.facebook.com/blog/shedding-light-on-fairness-in-ai-with-a-new-data-set), is working on collecting a large consent-driven dataset with a comprehensive list of categories. This paper describes our proposed design of such categories and subcategories for Casual Conversations v2.


Two hundred and fifty seven individuals from 16 African and Indian andrology laboratories attended several semenology workshops from 1997 to 2013. The external quality control programme in Africa indicated the ability of participants to maintain the technology skills following a hands-on training. The pre-training sessions of the workshops indicated a total lack of knowledge how to perform a semen analysis according to the WHO manual. This was the case for morphology, motility and concentration. The results of this report underline the vital role of training as well as external quality control programmes.


: Experiments were conducted on albino rats infected with listeria or salmonelloses, and then with tularemia; differences were revealed in the duration of manifestation of nonspecific resistance associated with peculiarities of pathogenesis and immunogenesis of the background infections. One of the significant factors causing an increase of albino rats resistance to tularemia in mixed infection was activation of the immunomorphological reaction promoting accelerated development of specific immunity reactions to this infection.


A young man with a severe eruption of keratosis follicularis (Darier's disease) of long duration had failed to respond to continuous administration of vitamin A in large doses over a five year period. Seven months after adding vitamin E in a dose of 1,200 international units (IU) daily and continuing vitamin A, the eruption had improved approximately 75%. It is speculated that the striking improvement in this recalcitrant case was due to a synergistic action of vitamin E with vitamin A, previously demonstrated experimentally. If these results can be duplicated, it would suggest the advisability of the combined administration of these vitamins in those conditions where vitamin A is indicated, thus facilitating its utilization and lessening the danger of hypervitaminosis A by reducing the amounts required for a therapeutic effect.


In this article a novel approach for the estimation of wind turbine gearbox loads with the purpose of online fatigue damage monitoring is presented. The proposed method employs a Digital Twin framework and aims at continuous estimation of the dynamic states based on CMS vibration data and generator torque measurements from SCADA data. With knowledge of the dynamic states local loads at gearbox bearings are easily determined and fatigue models are be applied to track the accumulation of fatigue damage. A case study using simulation measurements from a high-fidelity gearbox model is conducted to evaluate the proposed method. Estimated loads at the considered IMS and HSS bearings show moderate to high correlation (R = 0.50–0.96) to measurements, as lower frequency internal dynamics are not fully captured. The estimated fatigue damage differs by 5–15 % from measurements.


Denial-of-Service attack is an attempt to make a system, machine or network resources unavailable to its user by blocking or denying the services. The Denial-of-Service attack is identified with the help of detection algorithm. The anomaly detection mechanism not provides the better results so the user need to implement the hybrid detection algorithm which is the combination of anomaly detection with misuse based detection. The new techniques have the advantage of reduce the false alarm rate and improve the detection rate. The detection technique use time as a parameter to detect the intrusions. Denial-of-Service attack detection system that uses Multivariate Correlation Analysis for accurate network traffic characterization by extracting the correlations between network traffic features and increase the speedup of the process.


The peculiar motion of an observer with respect to the CMB rest frame induces a deflection in the arrival direction of the observed photons (also known as CMB aberration) and a Doppler shift in the measured photon frequencies. As a consequence, aberration and Doppler effects induce non trivial correlations between the harmonic coefficients of the observed CMB temperature maps. In this paper we investigate whether these correlations generate a bias on non-Gaussianity estimators fNL. We perform this analysis simulating a large number of temperature maps with Planck-like resolution (lmax = 2000) as different realizations of the same cosmological fiducial model (WMAP7yr). We then add to these maps aberration and Doppler effects employing a modified version of the HEALPix code. We finally evaluate a generalization of the Komatsu, Spergel and Wandelt non-Gaussianity estimator for all the simulated maps, both when peculiar velocity effects have been considered and when these phenomena have been neglected. Using the value v/c = 1.23 × 10−3 for our peculiar velocity, we found that the aberration/Doppler induced non-Gaussian signal is at most of about half of the cosmic variance σ for fNL both in a full-sky and in a cut-sky experimental configuration, for local, equilateral and orthogonal estimators. We conclude therefore that when estimating fNL it is safe to ignore aberration and Doppler effects if the primordial map is already Gaussian. More work is necessary however to assess whether a map which contains non-Gaussianity can be significantly distorted by a peculiar velocity.


Until the seventeenth century, the Ottomans used fines extensively for law enforcement and employed agents to collect the fines. Fines can be costly to implement because of agency problems and corruption. To solve the problem of corruption, the Ottomans implemented a variety of mechanisms, including periodic rotation of officials, separation of adjudication from punishment, and compensation for law enforcers through a two-part scheme consisting of fines and taxes. The system underwent a significant transformation after the seventeenth century, following a period of high inflation that raised the agency cost of a fixed fine system. Imperial decentralization in the provinces and the institution of long-term taxfarming also altered the government's relationship with local law enforcement agents and reduced the effectiveness of control mechanisms. Consequently, the Ottomans relied less on fines for punishment. Using insights from the law and economics literature, we examine how the earlier mechanisms helped to combat corruption in law enforcement and why they were less effective in later periods.