A 4-year-old child, who is very interested and precocious in mathematics, was interviewed doing mathematical tasks in order to find out how advanced can a 4-year-old child be? His mathematical knowledge and ability are very high. Danny was able to count objects and add them, memorizing many of the addition facts. He was able to check if numbers are even or odd. He solved a variety of challenging addition, subtraction and multiplication problems. He could read and write large numbers in hundreds and thousands and could add large numbers. Analysis was done on the kind of problems the child was able to solve, their level of difficulty and the solution strategies the child used in light of what children usually do to solve these problems in ages 5-8 (Carpenter et al., 1999). Danny also showed creativity, including inventing problems for himself to solve and finding mathematical situations in his environment to attend to. An analysis was done on the creative components of his solutions and problem posing using the literature on creativity and creativity in mathematics learning (Leikin & Pitta-Pantazi, 2013). Interview with his mother showed that she supports Danny's mathematical development by being responsive to his initiations and allowing him to explore his ideas autonomously. Her support was discussed in light of different support patterns of parents and what kind of support is especially beneficial to the child and encourages creativity (Leder, 1992). I discuss implications for education with an emphasis on what kindergarten and school can do to promote problem solving and creativity in mathematics.


SUMMARY We wish to present a method to quantify the value modifying effects when comparing animal farms. To achieve our objective, multi-variable statistical methods were needed. We used a principal component analysis to originate three separate principal components from nine variables that determine the value of farms. A cluster analysis was carried out in order to classify farms as poor, average and excellent. The question may arise as to which principal components and which variables determine this classification. After pointing out the significance of variables and principal components in determining the quality of farms, we analysed the relationships between principal components and market prices. Some farms did not show the expected results by the discriminant analysis, so we supposed that the third principal component plays a great role in calculating prices. To prove this supposition, we applied the logistic regression method. This method shows how great a role the principal components play in classifying farms on the basis of price categories.


Context. As a special case of astrophysical MHD shock waves, the solar wind termination shock is typically treated using the MHD jump conditions as they have been determined by Rankine and Hugoniot. A kinetic analysis becomes necessary for both a more detailed view of the governing processes and a deeper understanding of the plasma behaviour. Aims. In the case of a parallel shock, only an electric field can be considered as the main process decelerating the solar wind ions. This field leads to a strong acceleration for the electrons due to the other sign of their charge and the much lower mass of the electrons than of the ions. This situation enforces a two-stream instability, which is considered to be compensated by wave-particle interactions with electrostatic plasma waves. Methods. The kinetic approach leads to an equation in Fokker-Planck form, which can be solved by using It¯ o's calculus for stochastic differential equations. Results. These two processes (electric field and wave-particle interaction) yield a decelerated subsonic solar wind on the downstream side of the termination shock, showing some new features in the ion distribution function, such as a double-hump structure and a comparatively large number of reflected ions. Within these considerations, we estimate of the spatial size of the shock region.


The maintenance of polygenic variation through a balance between mutation and stabilizing selection can be approximated in two ways. In the 'Gaussian' approximation, a normal distribution of allelic effects is assumed at each locus. In the 'House of Cards' approximation, the effect of new mutations is assumed to be large compared with the spread of the existing distribution. These approximations were developed to describe models where alleles may have a continuous range of effects. However, previous analyses of models with only two alleles have predicted an equilibrium variance equal to that given by the 'House of Cards' approximation. These analyses of biallelic models have assumed that, at equilibrium, the population mean is at the optimum. Here, it is shown that many stable equilibria may coexist, each giving a slight deviation from the optimum. Though the variance is given by the 'House of Cards' approximation when the mean is at the optimum, it increases towards a value of the same order as that given by the 'Gaussian' approximation when the mean deviates from the optimum. Thus, the equilibrium variance cannot be predicted by any simple model, but depends on the previous history of the population.


In a nanoscopic thin film of a strong topological insulator (TI) the Coulomb interaction in the channel that exchanges the two electrons with the same chirality in two different planes of the slab takes advantage of the minus sign resulting from such "exchange" and gives rise to a bound state between the positive-energy states in one surface and the negative-energy states in the opposite surface. Therefore particle and hole pairs in the undoped Dirac cone of the TI thin film form an inter-surface spin-singlet state that lies below the continuum of free particle-hole pairs. This mode is similar to the excitons of semiconductors, albeit formed between the electron and hole pairs from two different two-dimensional surfaces. For low momenta the dispersion relation characterizing this collective mode is linear. Experimental comparison of two slabs with different thicknesses can capture the exponential dependence of the present effect on the slab thickness.


The stability of discrete-time adaptive controllers when the process delay is unknown is studied. Conditions for stability and instability are derived based on the analysis of the homogeneous part of the linear time-varying difference equation describing the behavior of the parameter estimates. First, using a Lyapunov approach, it is shown that for slow adaptation the inclusion of a leakage [1] and a new normalization factor in the estimation law (2), (8) allows us to preserve stability when the delay is overestimated. Second, we prove that, when the delay is underestimated and no leakage is used, the parameters obtained with a projection estimator grow unbounded for sufficiently high adaptation gains.


Electrospinning is a simple and highly versatile method for generating ultrathin fibers (mainly polymers) with diameters ranging from a few micrometres to tens of nanometres. This technique has attracted tremendous recent interest in both academia and industry, owing to its unique ability to produce ultrafine fibers of different materials in various fibrous assemblies. Electrospinning is a process that uses an electric potential to overcome the surface tension of a solution to produce an ultra-fine jet, which elongates, thins and solidifies as it travels through the electric field to a collector.. In this research, we studied the effect of conditions of the cabin "specifically humidity" on the diameter of nanofibers manufactured by electrospinning. We used Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymeric solution with weight concentration of 10%, voltage 20 kv, under different values of relative humidity. Fiber morphology and fiber diameter were determined using scanning electron microscope, and measuring the fiber diameter by using image j program. It was found that the diameter of the fibers increased with increasing the relative humidity within our studying area .


B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) has been recently identified as a new inhibitory receptor of the CD28 superfamily, with similarities to cytotoxic T lymphocyte activation antigen (CTLA)-4 and programmed death (PD)-1. Engagement of BTLA on T lymphocytes can profoundly reduce the T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated activation. In this study, we generated four monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human BTLA. Using the produced mAb 8H9, the BTLA molecule was found to distinctly express on many subgroups of immunocytes and show a regulatory expression, which was in accordance with its unique ligand herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM) in the process of T cell activation. In addition, the expression of BTLA was increased in the CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells of pleural fluid in lung cancer patients. Furthermore, we showed that the BTLA-induced negative signals could be triggered by mAb 7D7. Cross-linking of BTLA with mAb 7D7 suppressed T lymphocyte proliferation, downregulated the expression of T cell activation marker CD25, and inhibited the production of interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, and IL-10.


This paper presents a mathematical model of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant. In this study, operating of CHP which produce electricity and heat that is developed for transferring efficient energy at the same system are discussed. Generated electricity control is examined by acquiring mathematical model of selected system Industrial cogeneration system that is modelled is connected to auxiliary devices. Such systems either sell electricity to a utility or buy electricity from the utility. Auxiliary devices connected to cogeneration systems include a compressor, combustion chamber and gas turbine used in conjunction with a Heat Recovery Steam Generator(HRSG) connected to the exhaust path


Most of the world's jute is produced within the predominantly rice-growing areas of India and Pakistan. Rice is grown as the staple food crop, while jute is the principal cash crop of the farmers of the jute belt. In Pakistan, acreage under jute normally accounts for 6 per cent of the total sown area in the jutegrowing districts, while rice acreage extends to more than 80 per cent of the total. In the jute-growing districts of the Indian Union, although the proportion of the total sown land under rice is lower than in East Pakistan, rice acreage is normally 15 to 20 times as extensive as the total jute acreage. The scope for variation in jute cultivation is, therefore, potentially large in both lndia and Pakistan.


As steam power plants continue to move towards higher operating temperatures in order to improve efficiency, materials exposed to the working fluid are subjected to accelerated degradations in the forms of surface oxidation and reduced mechanical properties. In this study, the oxidation behavior of two cobalt base alloys, CoCrMoSi (T14) and CoCrNiMoSi (T19), was evaluated in superheated steam (SHS, 0.1MPa) at 800 °C for up to 500 hours. After the exposure, both T14 and T19 alloys experienced weight gain caused by oxidation. Visual observation and SEM surface analysis revealed that T19 had greater extent of surface oxide spallation than that seen on T14. From the cross-sectional evaluation, however, a thin, adherent oxide layer was found to have formed on T19. T14 in fact had suffered from excessive internal oxidation and the surface oxide was uneven. Based on the results obtained so far, it is believed that the finer Laves phase combined with greater amount of Cr in alloy T19 have enabled the formation of a protective oxide layer and thus reduced the extent of internal oxidation. Due to the extensive oxidation ingress along the large Laves phase, it is concluded that T14 is not suitable for applications in SHS at 800 °C.


Fourteen samples of the Valga-10 drill core, south Estonia, from the lower Jelgava Formation (middle Pirgu Regional Stage, Upper Katian) to the lowermost Õhne Formation (lowermost Juuru Regional Stage, Lower Rhuddanian) were investigated for acritarchs. The section is biostratigraphically and chemostratigraphically well constrained; it comprises the rugata, taugourdeaui and scabra chitinozoan zones, the ordovicicus and giradeauensis conodont zones and the Hirnantian Isotopic Carbon Excursion (HICE). The good preservation allowed the identification of three prasinophyte phycomata and 52 acritarch species including the four new species Evittia porkuniensis, Helosphaeridium tongiorgii, Nexosarium leherissei and ?Veryhachium bulliferum. One new combination is proposed: Poikilofusa obliquipunctata (Uutela & Tynni 1991) comb. nov. Comparison with contemporaneaous palynofloras shows that eastern Laurentia and Baltica share a high number of species during the latest Katian—Hirnantian. Some of these species show a potential for future improvement of biostratigraphical correlation between the uppermost Katian— Hirnantian strata of low to mid-latitude carbonate platforms in eastern Laurentia and Baltica. Conversely, significant taxonomic differences exist between the assemblage studied and typical Gondwanan palynofloras. These results suggest that the Laurentian/Baltic and Gonwanan phytoplanktonic palaeoprovinces existed during latest Ordovician times. Published data reveal similar distribution pattern for chitinozoans and graptolites during the Hirnantian. A bathymetric ridge rise associated with the opening of the Rheic Ocean, coupled with the Hirnantian glacially-driven sea-level fall might have prevented water mass exchange and mixing/migration of phytoplankton between Gondwana and Laurentia/Baltica, thus being at the origin of the observed acritarch bioprovincialism. Additionally, distribution and diversity patterns of acritarchs are compared to those of other microfossils in the Valga-10 section. Near the base of the Hirnantian (Porkuni Regional Stage), benthic organisms (ostracods and scolecodonts) and phytoplankton (acritarchs) show increasing diversity with appearances of new taxa and new morphologies. Planktonic (chitinozoans) and nektonic (conodonts) organisms show a different pattern, with a decline in diversity during the earliest Hirnantian and a marked increase in the later part of the stage. Two alternative hyptotheses are proposed to explain these differences in diversification patterns: (1) the development of a shallower, proximal environment in the locality studied during the Hirnantian glaciation may have been more favourable to the diversification of benthonic organisms; (2) the planktonic and nektonic organisms suffered the effects of glaciation more than benthonic ones.


Traditionally social sciences are interested in structuring people in multiple groups based on their individual preferences. This paper suggests an approach to this problem in the framework of a non-cooperative game theory. Definition of a suggested finite game includes a family of nested simultaneous non-cooperative finite games with intra- and inter-coalition externalities. In this family, games differ by the size of maximum coalition, partitions and by coalition structure formation rules. A result of every game consists of partition of players into coalitions and a payoff profile for every player. Every game in the family has an equilibrium in mixed strategies with possibly more than one coalition. The results of the game differ from those conventionally discussed in cooperative game theory, e.g. the Shapley value, strong Nash, coalition-proof equilibrium, core, kernel, nucleolus. We discuss the following applications of the new game: cooperation as an allocation in one coalition, Bayesian games, stochastic games and construction of a non-cooperative criterion of coalition structure stability for studying focal points.


Objectives: Functional neuroimaging has shown that the absence of externally observable signs of consciousness and cognition in severely brain-injured patients does not necessarily indicate the true absence of such abilities. However, relative to traumatic brain injury, nontraumatic injury is known to be associated with a reduced likelihood of regaining overtly measurable levels of consciousness. We investigated the relationships between etiology and both overt and covert cognitive abilities in a group of patients in the minimally conscious state (MCS). Methods: Twenty-three MCS patients (15 traumatic and 8 nontraumatic) completed a motor imagery EEG task in which they were required to imagine movements of their right-hand and toes to command. When successfully performed, these imagined movements appear as distinct sensorimotor modulations, which can be used to determine the presence of reliable command-following. The utility of this task has been demonstrated previously in a group of vegetative state patients. Results: Consistent and robust responses to command were observed in the EEG of 22% of the MCS patients (5 of 23). Etiology had a significant impact on the ability to successfully complete this task, with 33% of traumatic patients (5 of 15) returning positive EEG outcomes compared with none of the nontraumatic patients (0 of 8). Conclusions: The overt behavioral signs of awareness (measured with the Coma Recovery Scale–Revised) exhibited by nontraumatic MCS patients appear to be an accurate reflection of their covert cognitive abilities. In contrast, one-third of a group of traumatically injured patients in the MCS possess a range of high-level cognitive faculties that are not evident from their overt behavior.


Background: Metabolic syndrome has been associated with increased morbidity following surgical procedures, yet its impact in acute orthopaedic trauma remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of metabolic syndrome on in-hospital (1) complications, (2) length of stay, and (3) nonroutine discharge in patients sustaining an isolated ankle fracture. Methods: Using the National Health Discharge Survey (NHDS) database for the years 2001 through 2007, an estimated 669 841 patients with isolated ankle fractures treated operatively were identified and separated into groups with and without metabolic syndrome. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was performed for each of the outcome variables. Results: Metabolic syndrome was an independent risk factor for increased nonroutine discharge (OR = 1.8) and the development of in-hospital complications (OR = 2.1). The presence of metabolic syndrome was not an independent risk factor for prolonged hospital stay. Conclusion: Patients with metabolic syndrome sustaining an isolated ankle fracture are at increased risk for in-hospital complications and a less rapid return of independent functional mobility, as evidenced by the higher need for posthospitalization care. Level of Evidence: Level III, epidemiologic study.


Purpose: To evaluate prognosis of patients with esophageal carcinoma undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy, and help determine appropriate therapeutic strategies. Methods: We retrospectively studied 16 patients (15 men and one woman; median age 66.5 years) with esophageal carcinoma, who underwent curative resection of pulmonary metastases. Clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results: In all, 11 patients underwent wedge resection, three segmentectomy, and two lobectomies. The average operating time and blood loss were 147 min and 103 mL, respectively. There were no perioperative deaths or severe complications. Five-year overall survival rate was 40.2% and 2-year disease-free survival rate was 35.2%. All recurrences occurred within 2 years. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that absence of adjuvant chemotherapy after therapy for esophageal carcinoma was a significant predictor of poor prognosis and recurrence, respectively (p <0.05). The prognosis of seven patients who underwent esophagectomy with adjuvant chemotherapy was better than that of the other nine patients (p = 0.0166). Conclusion: Pulmonary metastasectomy in patients with esophageal carcinoma was only one choice of multimodal treatment, and perioperative chemotherapy was important for long-term survival after pulmonary metastasectomy. Pulmonary metastasectomy was effective in patients undergoing esophagectomy with adjuvant chemotherapy.


Twenty-six patients with venous insufficiency and 15 normal controls were studied by local skin pathological and ultrastructure changes. Transcutaneous oxygen tension (Tcpo2) and tPA, PAI of venous blood were measured. Biopsies from the ulcerating and liposclerosis area showed pericapillary fibrins. The patients with severe venous disease resulting in liposclerosis or ulceration of the goiter area had Tcpo2 levels lower than the controls and patients with venous insufficiency but no skin changes. The more serious the skin changes in patients with venous insufficiency, the lower the fibrinolysis activity. We conclude that extravascular deposition of fibrins in patients with venous disease which block the diffusion and exchanges of oxygen between the blood and tissue is an important factor in the development of venous ulcerations. The decrease of fibrinolysis activity led to the decrease of removing pericapillary fibrins deposition, combined with extravascular fibrin caused venous ulceration.


Ecological research during winter has historically been a low priority in northeastern North America, an oversight that stems from the commonly accepted notion that there is little biological activity when temperatures drop below freezing. However, recent research has shown that winter can be an especially important period for ecological processes, providing evidence that "dormant season" is a misnomer. Uncertainties about the effects of climate change on ecosystems are highlighting the need for a more thorough understanding of winter ecology. The failure to collect winter data in northeastern North America has meant that researchers are ill-equipped to make predictions about how ecosystems will respond to future climate change. A more focused, integrative ecological winter monitoring and research effort will enable us to better prepare for, and respond to, future climate change.


The MAOI antidepressant drug phenelzine has a molecular structure closely related to drugs known to be acetylated, specifically isoniazid. Acetylator phenotype is genetically determined and shows wide variation between different ethnic groups. Acetylator phenotype could be a major factor as a determinant of response to phenelzine therapy and the findings from three studies are discussed. The implications for other (non-psychotropic) drug therapy are briefly referred to.


The elasto-flexible wing morphing is an advanced methodology to achieve higher lift-to-drag (L/D) ratio for the subsonic wing configurations at the given flow conditions. The present article describes mechanisms of continuous morphing of a swept back wing for achieving effective delay in the critical Mach number ( M cr ) distribution over the wing surface with higher L/D ratio. Firstly, typical wing sweep angles of a Jet transport airplane ranging from 25 0 to 32 0 are considered for the present investigation towards sweep morphing. Then, the planform morphing is done by increasing the value of mean aerodynamic chord by 2.5% to 7.5% from its base line value. A novel computational simulation technique is utilized to observe the value of M cr over the wing at each 0.5% incremental chord values. The computational fluid dynamic analysis of a 3-D doubly tapered wing model is done at 0 0 angle of attack and free stream Mach number about 0.85. A NACA 6-series supercritical airfoil is selected for the wing design that resembles the wing configuration of an A300-B4 airplane. The outcome of the investigation has revealed reduced drag benefits near the transonic regime through the two way wing morphing strategy and the results are presented with applications.


Sensory curation theory (Harrison et al., 2019) holds that media devices can help users maintain sensory regulation in dysregulating environments, and that one of the reasons children may become attached to their media devices is the devices' capacity to modify environmental sensory input to support the child's sensory comfort. Media sensory curation is the process of selecting and rejecting media content, devices, settings, peripherals, and environments to balance sensory input across modalities, especially those engaged with audiovisual media: sight, sound, and touch. Parents ( N = 1543) of 3-17-year-olds selected one child and completed measures of child media sensory curation and child sensory diagnosis (chiefly autism, ADHD, and sensory processing disorder, n = 99) and described their most challenging media conflict with that child. Media sensory curation was higher and conflict more frequent and severe among diagnosed children, but diagnosis played a protective role in logistic regression analyses predicting the presence of moderate to severe conflict. This suggests that parents of children with highly selective sensory media preferences but no sensory-relevant diagnosis may be less patient with their child's media selectivity than parents of diagnosed children, who may understand their child's selectivity through the lens of the child's diagnosis. In families with moderate to severe media conflict, parents of both diagnosed and undiagnosed children appeared to locate the source of the problem within the child.


BIO-INSPIRED LEARNING AND HARDWARE ACCELERATION WITH EMERGING MEMORIES by Shruti R. Kulkarni Machine Learning has permeated many aspects of engineering, ranging from the Internet of Things (IoT) applications to big data analytics. While computing resources available to implement these algorithms have become more powerful, both in terms of the complexity of problems that can be solved and the overall computing speed, the huge energy costs involved remains a significant challenge. The human brain, which has evolved over millions of years, is widely accepted as the most efficient control and cognitive processing platform. Neuro-biological studies have established that information processing in the human brain relies on impulse like signals emitted by neurons called action potentials. Motivated by these facts, the Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs), which are a bio-plausible version of neural networks have been proposed as an alternative computing paradigm where the timing of spikes generated by artificial neurons is central to its learning and inference capabilities. This dissertation demonstrates the computational power of the SNNs using conventional CMOS and emerging nanoscale hardware platforms. The first half of this dissertation presents an SNN architecture which is trained using a supervised spike-based learning algorithm for the handwritten digit classification problem. This network achieves an accuracy of 98.17% on the MNIST test data-set, with about 4× fewer parameters compared to the state-of-the-art neural networks achieving over 99% accuracy. In addition, a scheme for parallelizing and speeding up the SNN simulation on a GPU platform is presented. The second half of this dissertation presents an optimal hardware design for accelerating SNN inference and training with SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) and nanoscale non-volatile memory (NVM) crossbar arrays. Three prominent NVM devices are studied for realizing hardware accelerators for SNNs: Phase Change Memory (PCM), Spin Transfer Torque RAM (STT-RAM) and Resistive RAM (RRAM). The analysis shows that a spike-based inference engine with crossbar arrays of STT-RAM bit-cells is 2× and 5× more efficient compared to PCM and RRAM memories, respectively. Furthermore, the STT-RAM design has nearly 6× higher throughput per unit Watt per unit area than that of an equivalent SRAM-based (Static Random Access Memory) design. A hardware accelerator with on-chip learning on an STT-RAM memory array is also designed, requiring 16 bits of floating-point synaptic weight precision to reach the baseline SNN algorithmic performance on the MNIST dataset. The complete design with STT-RAM crossbar array achieves nearly 20× higher throughput per unit Watt per unit mm than an equivalent design with SRAM memory. In summary, this work demonstrates the potential of spike-based neuromorphic computing algorithms and its efficient realization in hardware based on conventional CMOS as well as emerging technologies. The schemes presented here can be further extended to design spike-based systems that can be ubiquitously deployed for energy and memory constrained edge computing applications. BIO-INSPIRED LEARNING AND HARDWARE ACCELERATION WITH EMERGING MEMORIES by Shruti R. Kulkarni A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology – Newark in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering Helen and John C. Hartmann Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering


It seems agreed that κερδαίνω in the sense of 'to win over an unbeliever to one's faith' (I Cor. 9.19–22, I Pet. 3.1) or 'to win back a sinner to the way of life required by his and your faith' (Matt. 18.15) is an echter terminus technicus der Missions-sprache; by which is meant, apparently, that there is no precedent for this sense of the word in either Hellenistic or Rabbinic language. I wish to suggest that this view is not correct; and that the use of κερδαίνω in the passages in question, while conceivably reflecting a specifically Christian trend, is in the main determined by the Rabbinic vocabulary.


We here report two mm-wave amplifiers employing strong global negative feedback to provide very low intermodulation distortion, using a 500 nm InP DHBT technology. The amplifiers, similar to operational amplifiers, use simple-Miller compensation and have 25 to 35 GHz feedback loop bandwidths. The large loop transmission at 2 GHz provides a large reduction of closed-loop distortion at this frequency. The first amplifier, designed for lowest IM3 distortion at this technology node, showed 35 GHz bandwidth, 13.8 dB (S21) gain, with 1005 mW dissipation - where 53.2 dBm OIP3 and 10 dB NF are observed at f1, f2 = 1.950, 1.975 GHz. It is unconditionally stable from DC to 15 GHz. The second amplifier improves upon noise figure through less-strong feedback and minimal input padding resistance, showing 25.8 GHz bandwidth, 19.8 dB (S21) gain, with 956 mW dissipation - where 51.4 dBm OIP3 and 6 dB NF are observed at f1, f2 = 1.950, 1.975 GHz. It is unconditionally stable from DC to 8 GHz. These results represent a ~ 1.4 x bandwidth increase for an op-amp employing simple-Miller compensation, as well as ~ 2.0 and 1.4 x betterment in OIP3/Pdc ratio at fs = 2-3 GHz, compared to state-of-the-art. We address considerations important to the application of negative feedback to mm-, microwave amplifiers, including the effects of interface impedances on stability, the effect of feedback upon return losses and noise figure, and the effect of frequency compensation and of feedback topology on closed-loop distortion.


Although run-time language composition is common, it normally takes the form of a crude Foreign Function Interface (FFI). While useful, such compositions tend to be coarse-grained and slow. In this paper we introduce a novel fine-grained syntactic composition of PHP and Python which allows users to embed each language inside the other, including referencing variables across languages. This composition raises novel design and implementation challenges. We show that good solutions can be found to the design challenges; and that the resulting implementation imposes an acceptable performance overhead of, at most, 2.6x.


May a business man support a left wing political party? To answer this question, the author defines left as the political ideology that accepts to risk social order in name of social justice. If this is done moderately, if the political party adopts a center-left position, there will be no inconsistency. In modern democracies, political parties on the left and on the right fight for the support of the ideological center, and tend to converge to it. What to say on that question in the case of Brazil? Here, as in Latin America, moderate left-wing political parties often win elections but seldom govern. This paradox is explained by the conservative character of Latin American elites. Latin America is formed of dependent countries striving in a highly competitive world where national strategies are required to grow. In principle, one would expect that the left would be a national left, but since the "dependency theory" declared that a national bourgeoisie was impossible in Latin America, an alliance between progressive business men and the left became more difficult but, also, the left and the intellectuals tended to become dependent or cosmopolitan.


Background &objectives: Due to the increasing number of elderly population in recent years and considering oral health is an integral part of public health, the aim of the present study is the evaluation of oral health of elderly referring to Khatam ol Anbia clinic in Yazd in 2014. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 251 patients aged over 60 were selected randomly. Demographic characteristics, condition of teeth and periodontium were recorded. Data were analyzed using SPSS.16, Mann-Whitney test, Chi-Square test and Kruskal€ Wallis. Results: Among 251 elderly patients studied, 74 patients were (29.5%) men and 177 (70.5%) women with a mean age of 76.39 9.98 (age range 61 to 102 years). Mean DMFT was 26.693.18 (8 to 28). There was no statistical relationship between DMFT index and demographic variables except age. There were statistical relationships between CPITN, sex (p=0.000), smoking (p=0.009) and age (p=0.000). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that elderly patients are not in a good condition by the aspect of dental and periodontal status, so it is important to arrange more educational and therapeutic programs for this group.


Architecture is design in spatial context. The only current methods for representing context involve designing in a heavyweight computer-aided design system, using a full model of existing buildings and landscape, or sketching on a panoramic photo. The former is too cumbersome; the latter is too restrictive in viewpoint and in the handling of occlusions and topography. We introduce a novel approach to presenting context such that it is an integral component in a lightweight conceptual design system. We represent sites through a fusion of data available from different sources. We derive a site model from geographic elevation data, on-site point-to-point distance measurements, and images of the site. To acquire and process the data, we use publicly available data sources, multidimensional scaling techniques and refinements of recent bundle adjustment techniques. We offer a suite of interactive tools to acquire, process, and combine the data into a lightweight stroke and image-billboard representation. We create multiple and linked pop-ups derived from images, forming a lightweight representation of a three-dimensional environment. We implemented our techniques in a stroke-based conceptual design system we call Insitu. We developed our work through continuous interaction with professional designers. We present designs created with our new techniques integrated in a conceptual design system.


Abstract:Given a homogeneous ideal in a polynomial ring over $\Bbb{C}$, we adapt the construction of Newton-Okounkov bodies to obtain a convex subset of Euclidean space such that a suitable integral over this set computes the {\it Segre zeta function\/} of the ideal. That is, we extract the numerical information of the Segre class of a subscheme of projective space from an associated (unbounded) Newton-Okounkov convex set. The result generalizes to arbitrary subschemes of projective space the numerical form of a previously known result for monomial schemes.


Electrochemical machining (ECM) has inaugurated itself as one of the major other possible way to conventional methods for machining hard materials and complicated outlines not having the residual stresses and tool wear. Electrochemical machining has vast application in automotive, Aircraft, petroleum, aerospace, textile, medical and electronic industries. Studies on Material Removal Rate (MRR) are of extremely important in ECM, since it is one of the factors to be Determined in the process decisions. So the aim of present work is to investigate the metal removal rate, over-cut diameter and surface roughness of EN19 alloy steel of diameter 13cm as work piece by using hexagonal shaped Brass electrode and brine solution as electrolyte by using Taguchi approach, then optimizing to find best setting of process variables for higher MRR, lower surface roughness and over-cut. Three parameters were chosen as process variables are: voltage, tool Feed rate and Electrolyte concentration.

Result shows that
1) Among 3 factors feed rate is effecting MRR most then comes voltage and at last electrolyte concentration.
2) For surface roughness, feed rate effects it most then concentration and at last voltage.
3) Tool feed rate effects most to over cut at second rank is voltage and at third rank is concentration which affects most to over-cut.
4) In optimizing the quality loss function, it is found that experiment run no 5 is most optimal i.e. voltage=10V, tool feed rate= 0.4 mm/min and electrolyte concentration =22.03g/l for maximizing MRR and minimizing both over-cut and surface roughness.


Abstract The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines , is one of the most destructive pathogens of soybeans. SCN is an obligate and sedentary parasite that transforms host plant root cells into an elaborate permanent feeding site, a syncytium. Formation and maintenance of a viable syncytium is an absolute requirement for nematode growth and reproduction. In turn, sensing pathogen attack, plants activate defence responses and may trigger programmed cell death at the sites of infection. For successful parasitism, H. glycines must suppress these host defence responses to establish and maintain viable syncytia. Similar to other pathogens, H. glycines engages in these molecular interactions with its host via effector proteins. The goal of this study was to conduct a comprehensive screen to identify H. glycines effectors that interfere with plant immune responses. We used Nicotiana benthamiana plants infected by Pseudomonas syringae and Pseudomonas fluorescens strains. Using these pathosystems, we screened 51 H. glycines effectors to identify candidates that could inhibit effector ‐ triggered immunity (ETI) and/or pathogen ‐ associated molecular pattern (PAMP) ‐ triggered immunity (PTI). We identified three effectors as ETI suppressors and seven effectors as PTI suppressors. We also assessed expression modulation of plant immune marker genes as a function of these suppressors. Abstract The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines , is one of the most destructive pathogens of soybeans. SCN is an obligate and sedentary parasite that transforms host plant root cells into an elaborate permanent feeding site, a syncytium. Formation and maintenance of a viable syncytium is an absolute requirement for nematode growth and reproduction. In turn, sensing pathogen attack, plants activate defence responses and may trigger programmed cell death at the sites of infection. For successful parasitism, H. glycines must suppress these host defence responses to establish and maintain viable syncytia. Similar to other pathogens, H. glycines engages in these molecular interactions with its host via effector proteins. The goal of this study was to conduct a comprehensive screen to identify H. glycines effectors that interfere with plant immune responses. We used Nicotiana benthamiana plants infected by Pseudomonas syringae and Pseudomonas fluorescens strains. Using these pathosys-tems, we screened 51 H. glycines effectors to identify candidates that could inhibit effector-triggered immunity (ETI) and/or pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI). We identified three effectors as ETI suppressors and seven effectors as PTI suppressors. We also assessed expression modulation of plant immune marker genes as a function of these suppressors.


Studying the physical and mechanical properties of agricultural products has been the subject of criticism and discussion for many years already and has attracted the attention of many researchers. The physical and mechanical properties of agriculture products are the most important parameters in the design of agricultural machinery sorting systems, transmissions, processing and packaging systems. The potato is one of the most important agricultural products as a food resource. The aim of this research is to investigate the physical properties and mechanical behaviour of the potato due to its importance and the current inadequate information about it. In this research, some of the physical and mechanical properties of the potato were measured in standard conditions. The length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter and arithmetical diameter, sphericity, surface area, aspect ratio, mass, volume, bulk density and the  projected mean area were included in the physical properties. The mechanical properties of the potato were determined by using a universal testing machine (MRT-5; Santam, Germany) with a uniaxial compression test. Then, the mechanical properties were measured with four repetitions. The physical properties of the potato such as length, width, thickness, mass, volume and geometric mean diameter had a direct relationship, while the density had an inverse relation to the size. The result of the mechanical properties of the sample, such as vertical stress, elasticity module, deformation energy, fracture force and deformation were obtained respectively as 0.34 MPa, 3.09 MPa, 892.02 J, 8.80 N and 207.22 mm. The comparison of the potato's real volume with the standard shapes showed that the potato's shape is similar to an oval due to the largest determination coefficient (R2 = 0.86). The results of this research can be used for the design and optimisation of the processing equipment, as well as the transporting, sorting and packing of the potato crop.


The terms 'open' and 'openness' are widely used across the current higher education environment particularly in the areas of repository services and scholarly communications. Openaccess licensing and open-source licensing are two prevalent manifestations of open culture within higher education research environments. As theoretical ideals, open-licensing models aim at openness and academic freedom. But operating as they do within the context of global neoliberalism, to what extent are these models constructed by, sustained by, and co-opted by neoliberalism? In this paper, we interrogate the use of open-licensing within scholarly communications and within the larger societal context of neoliberalism. Through synthesis of various sources, we will examine how open access licensing models have been constrained by neoliberal or otherwise corporate agendas, how open access and open scholarship have been reframed within discourses of compliance, how open-source software models and software are co-opted by politico-economic forces [1], and how the language of 'openness' is widely misused in higher education and repository services circles to drive agendas that run counter to actually increasing openness. We will finish by suggesting ways to resist this trend and use open-licensing models to resist neoliberal agendas in open scholarship.


Small-scale embedded generation projects rated below 16A per phase are being integrated
into low-voltage distribution networks in ever increasing numbers. Seen from the
network operator's perspective as little more than negative load, the commissioning of
such generators is subject to compliance with the Fit and Forget connection requirements
of ENA Engineering Recommendation G83/1. This thesis has sought to quantify the
electromagnetic switching transient implications of integrating very large volumes of
embedded generation into the UK's low-voltage supply networks.
Laboratory testing of a converter-interfaced PV source has been undertaken to
characterise typical switching transient waveshapes, and equivalent representative source
models have been constructed in EMTP-ATP. A detailed frequency-dependent travelling
wave equivalent of the DNO-approved Generic UK LV Distribution network model
has been developed and, by means of extensive statistical simulation studies, used
to quantify the cumulative impact of geographically localised generators switching in
response to common network conditions.
It is found that the magnitude of generator-induced voltage and current transients
is dependent on the number of concurrently switched generators, and on their relative
locations within the network. A theoretical maximum overvoltage of 1.72pu is predicted
at customer nodes remote from the LV transformer terminals, for a scenario in which
all households have installed embedded generation. Latent diversity in switch pole
closing and inrush inception times is found to reduce predicted peak transient voltages
to around 25-40% of their theoretical maxima.


PURPOSE
To create an accurate map of the distribution of radiation dose deposition in healthy and target tissues during radionuclide therapy.

METHODS
Serial quantitative SPECT∕CT images were acquired at 4, 24, and 72 h for 28 (177)Lu-octreotate peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) administrations in 17 patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors. Deformable image registration was combined with an in-house programming algorithm to interpolate pharmacokinetic uptake and clearance at a voxel level. The resultant cumulated activity image series are comprised of values representing the total number of decays within each voxel's volume. For PRRT, cumulated activity was translated to absorbed dose based on Monte Carlo-determined voxel S-values at a combination of long and short ranges. These dosimetric image sets were compared for mean radiation absorbed dose to at-risk organs using a conventional MIRD protocol (OLINDA 1.1).

RESULTS
Absorbed dose values to solid organs (liver, kidneys, and spleen) were within 10% using both techniques. Dose estimates to marrow were greater using the voxelized protocol, attributed to the software incorporating crossfire effect from nearby tumor volumes.

CONCLUSIONS
The technique presented offers an efficient, automated tool for PRRT dosimetry based on serial post-therapy imaging. Following retrospective analysis, this method of high-resolution dosimetry may allow physicians to prescribe activity based on required dose to tumor volume or radiation limits to healthy tissue in individual patients.


Honokiol and magnolol, important anxiolytic and anti-cancer agents, have been produced in cell-suspension cultures of the endangered Mexican plant Magnolia dealbata Zucc. In vitro cultures of the plant were established, and the accumulation of honokiol and magnolol in callus and cell-suspension cultures was measured. Leaf samples were the best explants for callus establishment and metabolite production, and Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1 mg/L 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 1 mg/L kinetin yielded 2.3 mg/g of honokiol and 5.9 mg/g of magnolol. Bacterial and fungal contamination was inhibited with a multiple-step tissue sterilization procedure. Oxidation was inhibited with 1 g/L activated charcoal. Cell-suspension batch cultures derived from friable callus obtained from leaves of this species were grown for 30 days in shaker flasks containing Murashige and Skoog medium. Throughout the growth cycle, honokiol and magnolol levels, fresh and dry weight, and sucrose uptake were determined. The effects of carbon source concentration on biomass accumulation and the synthesis of bioactive compounds were studied. By using 3 mL of inocula supplemented with 3% (w/v) sucrose, maximum yields of honokiol (8.1 mg/g) and magnolol (13.4 mg/g) were obtained after 25 days. These yields were 300% and 382%, respectively, of the yields of honokiol and magnolol obtained from field-grown plants.


Human extended pluripotent stem (EPS) cells have shown great applicative potentials in basic and translational research. One prerequisite for the wide applications of EPS cells is the development of a xeno-free culture system for maintain these cells in vitro. Here we report a protocol for culturing and generating human EPS cells using a chemically defined and xeno-free culture system.


Body size is one of the most commonly measured traits in ecology and evolution because it covaries with environmental (e.g., temperature, latitude, degree of population isolation) and life-history (e.g., metabolic rate, generation time) traits. However, the driving mechanisms of body size variation in the distant geological past are poorly known and complicated by partial specimen recovery, limited population-level sampling, and the use of linear measurements as proxies for three-dimensional volumetric-size data. How much information are we missing by using approximate metrics of body size? Here we examine this question in an evolving lineage of planktonic foraminifera. We measure test diameter and surface area of over 500 individuals of the species Globoconella puncticulata using two-dimensional images. These results are compared with measurements of test volume of the same individuals as measured by a recently developed high-throughput method for analysing three-dimensional morphometrics as well as high-resolution three-dimensional computed tomography scanning. Our results show that even in a lineage showing substantial morphological change, a cross-sectional test area can provide a consistent proxy for body volume. Approximating body volume with one-dimensional (linear) size measurements is more problematic as it systematically over- and underestimates the smallest and largest tests, respectively. In our study, shape (here measured as shell-aspect ratio) only explained marginally more variation when included in the regressions. The use of 3D light microscopy introduces a small degree of scatter in the data, but the number of individuals necessary to detect trends in body size with sufficient statistical power is comparable to the sample size required for other traits. These results imply that even in an evolving lineage undergoing substantial morphological change, cross-sectional area can provide a consistent proxy for body size.


This biography lifts the study of Gramsci away from the sterile debate about whether he was or was not a Leninist and offers a fully integrated account of the life and work of one of the great figures of international Marxism.


OBJECTIVE
This study was intended to investigate the perception of tanning bed use among college students.

DESIGN
A 15-question survey was given to young adults regarding tanning perceptions.

SETTING
Rochester Community College in Rochester, Minnesota.

PARTICIPANTS
Forty-four respondents between 18 and 51 years of age.

MEASUREMENTS
Data was collected via a self-reported questionnaire.

RESULTS
In this study, 50 percent of participants were not educated on the risks of melanoma, and 68 percent were not interested in receiving information on melanoma and completing a follow-up survey. More specifically, 63 percent versus 89 percent of participants with no tanning bed versus some tanning bed use did not want information regarding melanoma, respectively. This study also shows that more tanning bed users believe tanning helps prevent burning than non-tanning bed users. Fifty-seven percent of the 35 participants who had never used a tanning bed thought that they never prevent sunburn, while only 11 percent of the nine participants who had used a tanning bed in the past thought that they never prevent sunburn, which was statistically significant.


Special prefabricated connections and pyramid-shaped column heads are important innovations in steel structural forms. These connections have been proposed for accurate assembly and prompt implementation. In this study, the interactions between the two parts of connections have been investigated. For this purpose, the pyramid-shaped part is modeled in the ABAQUS software with different dimensions and under cyclic loads according to ATC-24 code. For verification of the software outputs, the outputs of the software have been compared to the experimental results. The results show that all specimens can bear a 0.01 radian rotation in the linear region and at least 0.06 radian rotation without a reduction in the tolerated force. These results demonstrate that the connection has a high rotational capacity and may be classified in the special moment frames. Maximum energy absorption capacity occurs in the specimen whose pyramid-shaped part is placed on the flange of the lower column and a box section is also placed on the flange of the upper column. Beams without lateral support show 42 percent reduction in connection resistance compared with un-rotated beams due to rotation.


This meta-analysis is an update of Storm, Tressoldi, and Di Risio (2012); a meta-analysis on forced-choice ESP studies (1987 to 2010), which use targets such as card symbols, pictures, and letters. We formed two datasets: New Studies #1 (studies that included actual hit rates) and New Studies #2 (Reaction Time ['RT'] Studies; which are studies that measured only reaction time, not hits, as indicators of psi responses). New Studies #1: For the period 2011 to 2022, a homogeneous dataset of 38 studies yielded a mean effect size (ES) of 0.02 (Stouffer Z = 5.55, p = 1.43 × 10–8). New Studies #2 ('RT' Studies): For the same period, a homogeneous dataset of 23 studies yielded a weaker mean ES of 0.01 (Stouffer Z = 5.50, p = 1.90 × 10–8). The two databases were combined. In this dataset, telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition studies were not significantly different from each other. Nor were target types. We updated the forced-choice database by combining our revised original database with the new studies to form a homogeneous database (N = 141): mean effect size (ES) of 0.02 (Stouffer Z = 8.52, p < 10-16). Effects did not vary between investigators or laboratories, and we found a near-significant incline in ES values over a 36-year period (i.e., no evidence of a decline). These results confirm that the forced-choice design adequately tests extra-sensory perception (ESP). We compare the overall results with those obtained in other domains, focusing on 'selected' participants (meditators, psychics, psi-test experienced) and 'unselected' (i.e., untrained, naïve) participants.


In this study, the authors analyzed data from Uniform Crime Reports and from rape crisis centers in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Although absolute numbers of sexual victimization cases reported to rape crisis centers were higher in urban counties, rates of sexual victimization were higher in rural counties, particularly those with above median proportions of female officeholders in the county. Subsequent analyses indicated this effect was not related to the provision of victim services but could be related to a better educated population being more likely to use such services. In terms of reporting to the police, urban counties and counties with higher levels of assaults by strangers had higher rates of reporting to the police, although these effects were somewhat qualified by an interaction of the two variables. Additional analyses suggest that whether the county is urban or rural is related to the amount of funding allocated to victim services programs.


Feedlots in Australia have long been associated with odour, and as such, in the early
1990's research was carried out in order to better understand the processes driving the
odour generation. Since that time, many practices have been identified as contributing
to the odour problem, and feedlot management has changed to minimise the odour
emissions. This has resulted in a distinct lack of odour emissions data relating to
'modern' feedlots.
Feedlot pad surfaces represent the largest odour emitting source, however, after a rain-
fall event, the odour emissions from the effluent ponds increase to a point where it may
exceed that of the feedlot pad surface. Despite this, there has been little Australian
research carried out to determine and predict the odour emissions from feedlot ponds
after an inflow event.
This project set out to develop a model to predict the odour emission rate from the
effluent ponds at a feedlot after a significant inflow. Odour samples were collected every
few days for a period of time after an inflow at two commercial feedlots in Southern
Queensland and Northern New South Wales, and assessed to determine the odour
emission rate. The collected data displayed a similar pattern of odour emission to that
measured in the early 1990's, reported by Casey et al (1997). At both feedlots, the
odour emission rate from the primary holding pond rose quickly to a peak (454 and 578
ou/s.m2) within 5 - 8 days, and then declined steadily back to 'normal' levels within
25 - 30 days.
A model was developed to reproduce the pattern of odour emissions from the primary
holding pond at each feedlot. The model is a two-stage empirical algorithm, and is dependent on the inflow ratio, the 24 hour average ambient temperature experienced
during the days of the rainfall event and the number of days since the first day of the
rain event. A parameter named 'Peak Day' defines the two stages of the model, and
is read from a table developed from the measured temperature data. It is known that
the pond condition does impact the odour emission rate (Hobbs et al, 1999); however
the current body of research is not conclusive, and not enough pond condition data
was collected during the course of the project to permit this model to include pond
condition parameters as input.
The model was tested with a number of hypothetical scenarios, and was also validated
using the data collected by Casey et al (1997). The model was shown to be reasonably
robust to moderate changes in parameter values, but failed to accurately reproduce
the odour emission patterns measured in the earlier work. This was attributed to the
different management practices of feedlots between the two data sets, and the simplistic
nature of the model developed.
The limited number of odour emissions data sets and supporting data meant that a
comprehensive model could not be developed.


Background: Family studies of dystonia may be limited in part by small family size and incomplete ascertainment of dystonia in geographically dispersed families. Further, prevalence estimates of dystonia are believed to be underestimates, as most studies are clinic-based and many individuals do not present to a physician or are misdiagnosed. As a low-cost highly sensitive screening tool is needed to improve case detection for genetic and epidemiologic studies, the authors developed the Beth Israel Dystonia Screen (BIDS), a computer-assisted telephone interview. Objective: To evaluate the validity and utility of a computer-assisted telephone interview in screening for cervical dystonia. Methods: The BIDS was administered and videotaped neurologic examinations performed on 193 individuals from 16 families with cervical and cranial dystonia. With use of a final rating of definite dystonia, as determined by video review of a systematic neurologic evaluation, as the gold standard, the predictive value of a subset of questions from the BIDS was assessed. Results: A positive response to at least two of five screening questions had a sensitivity for cervical dystonia of 100% and a specificity of 92%. With use of a positive response to three or more questions, definite dystonia was determined with 81% sensitivity and 97% specificity. Conclusions: The Beth Israel Dystonia Screen (BIDS) identifies cervical dystonia with excellent sensitivity and specificity in a family-based sample. The authors recommend the BIDS for family studies, but cross-validation in a population sample is advisable before applying this method to epidemiologic studies.


In our experiment, four sub-populations of parasite-free
juvenile fish (European bitterling, Rhodeus amarus) tested for
susceptibility to infection of sympatric and allopatric
parasites: fish originating from Kyjovka River (Danube basin),
fish originating from Elbe River (Elbe basin), 2 hybrid
subpopulations. Sub-populations of juvenile fish were put
separately into the experimental cages installed in a side
channel of the Kyjovka River and were exposed to their
sympatric and allopatric parasites. Trend of the highest
parasite abundance was found in allopatric host sub-population
which might be explained by a low adaptation to specific
parasite species. Parasite infection rate in hybrid
sub-populations was found to be comparable or lower than in
pure sympatric host sub-population. Also the lowest mortality
was recorded in one of the hybrid sub-populations, suggesting
better characteristics in survival and immune defence of these
fish.


Photonic crystals are periodic structures that offers the possibility to control the propagation of light.The revised plane wave method has been implemented in order to compute band structures for photonic crystals. The main advantage of the revised plane wave method is that it can handle lossless dispersive materials. This can not be done with a conventional plane wave method. The computational challenge is comparable to the conventional plane wave method.Band structures have been calculated for a square lattice of cylinders with different parameters. Both dispersive and non-dispersive materials have been studied as well as the influence of a surface roughness.A small surface roughness does not affect the band structure, whereas larger inhomogeneities affect the higher bands by lowering their frequencies.


Red meat consumption is associated with endogenous metabolic generation of mutagenic N-nitroso compounds (NOC) and may be implicated in causation of colorectal cancer. Assessment of a biologically relevant dose of NOCs is hampered by imperfect understanding of NOC interactions with other dietary components. This study tests the hypothesis that NOC effects upon mutational biomarkers in mouse colon may be modulated by a non-genotoxic diet-related compound. N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) and undegraded lambda carrageenan (lambdaCgN) were selected as test chemicals, representing a NOC and a non-genotoxic agent, respectively. Study end-points included (i) DNA adduct formation and (ii) metallothionein (MT) crypt restricted immunopositivity indices (MTCRII) which are considered representative of crypt stem cell mutations. Frequency and size of MT immunopositive foci as well as total number of MT immunopositive crypts were assessed. Biologically effective doses of MNU and lambdaCgN were determined in model validation studies and the agents were then tested alone and in combination. Continuous lambdaCgN treatment for 10 weeks induced significantly greater colonic mucosal injury than a drinking water control. In combined treatment regimens, lambdaCgN treatment did not significantly affect MNU-induced DNA adduct formation. However, combinations of lambdaCgN with MNU significantly increased MTCRII in excess of those induced by MNU alone. Recurrent or continuous lambdaCgN regimens had greater interactive effects with MNU upon MTCRII than short-term lambdaCgN treatment. This study has shown that exposure to a non-genotoxic diet-related compound (lambdaCgN) modulates the effective NOC dosimetry for induction of MT crypt restricted immunopositivity.


ABSTRACT The author's biomorphic presentations of proteins are intended to promote the understanding of protein structure by analogy with living organisms. The understanding of a protein's structure is necessary to the understanding of its function. The analogies discussed in this paper can be used to understand the structure-function relationship; they convey the structural and functional information aesthetically. The biomorphic representation of proteins based on their topology may be used to classify proteins as well as to study their structure-function relationships.


A man making a fruit cake called Rosca de Reyes (called King's Cake or Three Kings Bread in English) places plastic dolls in the dough before baking it.

There are many traditions associated with Rosca de Reyes, but it is often baked for special occasions. It is usually shaped like a wreath and contains fruit and a plastic or ceramic baby Jesus doll.


Objective: Renogram using 99m Tc DTPA ( Technetium diethylene-triamine-pentaacetic acid) with diuretic challenge provides important functional data to assist in the diagnosis and management of suspected renal diseases. Renogram is a routinely performed study at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Rajshahi. This is a referral institute of northern part of the country. The objective of this study was to see the pattern of renogram findings in INMAS, Rajshahi. Patients and Methods: A total 98 patients underwent renogram using Tc99m-DTPA with diuretic challenge from July 2015 to June 2016 were included in this study and a retrospective observation study was done. A total 98 (male to female ratio 1: 0.75) with a mean age 38.6 ± 18.5 years (age range 02 months to 80 years) patients data were analyzed. Some additional imaging and biochemical tests were available at the time of renography eg. Ultrasonography of renal system and serum creatinine level in all cases, X-ray of KUB (kidney-ureter-bladder) region in 44 cases, IVU (intravenous urogram) in 38 cases and urinary routine and microscopic examination in 32 cases only were done. Results: Renogram findings showed obstructive renal disease in single or both kidneys in 57.14% cases, non-obstructive abnormalities in single or both kidneys in 28.57% cases and normal study in 14.29% cases. Conclusion: In this study a variety of renographic diagnosis was observed, most common was obstructive renal disease in 57.14% cases and non-obstructive abnormalities in 28.57% cases. Bangladesh J. Nuclear Med. 19(2): 116-119, July 2016


Currently, most of implanted medical devices are using inductive coupling for communication, which leads to difficulty in transmitting medical data records for several meters range. In order for the implanted device is able to be used in longer range transmission, the device is wirelessly transmitted in the form of electromagnetic signals. This initiates us to study on a patient home monitoring system, in which the external devices such as portable equipments will provide a benefit for healthcare provider in accessing the important patient medical information via a networked connection. Because of this reason, an electrically small antenna for implantable devices is very essential components in monitoring systems to provide wirelessly communication between a patient and an access point. In this paper, a helical folded dipole antenna for an implantable device is proposed for wireless patient monitoring system. The implanted device is assumed to be applied by a syringe injection allowing to the device is simply injected into the human body. The proposed antenna is operated in UHF band 924 MHz, as a band of Indonesian RFID applications. The antenna is quite small in comparison to the band operation (ka≈0.08). Sufficient electrical performances are obtained such as reflection coefficient, impedance bandwidth, radiation pattern and gain. According to the link budget analysis, the proposed antenna has adequate gain within 10m transmission range by 225 MHz bandwidth (VSWR ≤ 2).


The article contends that cybernetics has a material concept of communication, which is pertinent to construe and model organic-mechanical relations. Construction and design of the latter traditionally dwells in the domains of Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer-Interaction. Somewhat removed the real utopia of cyborgs emerged simultaneously, then quickly lost its technical significance and was later rediscovered as a concept for reflecting upon hybrid couplings in the social sciences. These three empirical forms of devising and considering organic-mechanical relations ultimately originate in cybernetics, its intimate connection to communication and its specific relation to matter. However, cybernetics has been criticized to be a mere control regime and an immaterial science of regulation. The Agential Realism of Karen Barad is thus deployed to render these reductions unwarranted and to display the lost material and subversive dimension of cybernetics. The cybernetic concept of communication then turns out to be the discursive-material event per se. Finally, a methodology is sketched that frames organic-mechanical hybrids as support relations within communication processes.


The ontogeny of the structural and functional characteristics of insulin receptors is determined by examining insulin binding, subunit structure, autophosphorylation, and tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity in partially purified solubilized liver receptors from fetal (∼21 days postconception), neonatal (1- and 7-day-old), and adult rats. Specific 125l-labeled insulin binding to these receptor preparations in the presence of different insulin concentrations was higher in fetal and neonatal rats compared with that in the adult rats. The electrophoretic mobilities of the α- and β-subunits on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis autoradiography were similar at different stages of development. Insulin-stimulated autophosphorylation of insulin receptors was similar in the different groups. With fixed amounts of protein, the tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity in the presence of different insulin concentrations (1 × 10−8 to 1 × 10−6 M) was significantly higher in the fetal and neonatal rats than in adult rats. However, when expressed as a function of insulin-binding activity, the insulin-stimulated tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity in fetal and neonatal rats appears to be similar to that in adult rats because of decreased insulin binding in the latter group. These results demonstrate the structural and functional similarities of hepatic insulin receptors in fetal, neonatal, and adult rats. The relative differences in insulin-mediated biological functions in fetal and adult rat livers as reported previously are due to alterations ina step(s) distal to activation of insulin-receptor kinase.


Arranging micro-structured equipment to plants whole production processes can be realized with maximum efficiency in tightest space. Unit operations are thereby represented as individual functional modules in shape of micro devices. In a multi unit operation plant a correspondingly large number of manipulable variables have to be coordinated. Due to the design of micro-scaled devices plants form sophisticated systems, while for a fully optimized control still no common satisfying solutions exist. A system of modular, discontinuous phase contacting, micro rectification consists of unit operations heating, cooling, mixing and separating. Heat exchangers, mixers and cyclones for phase separation can be arranged to a counter-current rectification system with maximum mass-transfer efficiency every unit. Operating an electrical heated evaporator for modular rectification purposes a strong coupling of mass flow with the vapor fraction and the outlet temperature can be observed [4]. Operating at a predefined state for mass flow, temperature and vapor fraction may only be possible with difficulties using traditional methods of linear control technology. For dynamic optimization of the multivariable micro-structured evaporator principle of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) was generically formulated in C++ and implemented to LABVIEW 7. Every discrete time step an objective function is generated from nonlinear process models in the form of grouped NARX-polynomials. Optimal sequences of control actions for plant operation are evolved. The resulting constrained cost function is non-convex making detection of relative local optimum a difficult task. This obstacle can be gone around using heuristic optimization algorithm in combination with traditional techniques. Based on experimental results it was demonstrated that NMPC keeps the coupled variables mass flow and temperature energy saving with minimal control activity in the entire two-phase region on their set-points.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


To solve job-shop production scheduling problem, we presented a new hybrid optimum arithmetic of using genetic algorithm and MAS(multi-agent system) composite-spring-net. Introduced the structure and model of genetic algorithm, illuminated the basic principle of spring-net arithmetic. By the experiment proving, the hybrid application of GA and sping-net arithmetic can make favorable effect on solving the problems of job-shop schedule.


This study examined the relationship between ethical work climates (EWCs) and supplier selection decisions (SSD), and the moderating roles of party politics and personal values on this relationship. A total of 600 senior level personnel from 40 Nigerian public sector organizations were surveyed. Results show that both high and low levels of external political pressures significantly reduce the perception that organisational SSDs are ruled-based and pro-social in nature. Furthermore, regardless of the level of perception of instrumental personal values by employees, instrumental ethical climates significantly determine SSDs; principled/cosmopolitan climate and benevolent/cosmopolitan climate only become significant perceptible determinants when there is less room for the accommodation of personal goals during SSD processes. We conclude that the EWC dimensions do really reflect the Nigerian public sector SSD outcomes. Important implications for theory and practice are also presented.


The social exclusion of persons with intellectual disability is more marked in congregated than in individualised supported accommodation. Goal setting was used as a means of increasing individuals' choices and engaging support staff in personalised planning. Method People living in four different housing and support options were invited to identify up to three 'social inclusion' goals they wanted to achieve in the coming months. Nine months later, a review was undertaken to see if their goals had been attained and also to identify what had helped or hindered individuals in doing this. The goal selection was then repeated and reviewed again after a further 9 months. Results The most commonly chosen goals were around social activities with other people and over half the participants were reported to have attained at least one of their goals within 9 months, particularly those in supported living arrangements that had greater hours of individual staff support. In the second 9-month period, fewer people chose goals, although the same proportion as before were successful. The main reason given for goal attainment was the information and support provided by staff. Conclusions Goal setting seems a suitable way of promoting social inclusion as it can be tailored to the needs and aspirations of individuals, although extra efforts may be needed to implement and sustain it with staff across all accommodation options.


"What ought to be leisure in America is joyless and feverish instead of joyful and creative, and gregarious and regimented rather than individual and full of personal initiative." "Music in America is a thing for more worth working for than 'American music. " As in music, all this richness of development does not preclude logic but rather emphasizes its reach. Each essay illuminates its subject not with a spot-light but with a flood-light. The essays were written at various times and are here assembled and reprinted by permission of many magazine publishers. The musically interested public will share with the author a feeling of gratitude to these publishers for permitting these stimulating essays to become available in permanent form. WILL EARHART.


Given the urgency of the AIDS crisis, the current emphasis is on prevention of the disease. School-age children may be considered a vulnerable population at risk for future development of HIV infection. Prevention needs to involve educational programs founded on children's knowledge and beliefs about AIDS. Scant literature exists on children's cognition and affective response to AIDS. In this study, 58 school-age children were interviewed to determine their attitudes, beliefs, and emotional response to AIDS. Findings indicate that, in this sample, children had little specific knowledge of AIDS etiology, transmission, or treatment. They expressed negative emotional response to the discussion of AIDS. Health educational programs need to be designed to target children's need for accurate AIDS information that reflects their developmental stage.


INTRODUCTION: It is popularly believed that maintaining more weight on the front foot and reducing wrist action on the downswing are characteristics of a successful golf chip shot. Therefore, experienced golfers should utilize these strategies more than inexperienced golfers when performing this shot. PURPOSE: To analyze the effect of skill level on weight shift and wrist action in a golf chip shot. METHODS: Fourteen golfers (23.4 ± 5.81 yr, 1.77 ± .073 m, 72.1 ± 10.4 kg), seven inexperienced (little to no training in chipping) and seven experienced (at least 8 years of training), completed three chip shots each. Trials were performed on a force plate sampled at 200 Hz and filmed using a video camera operating at 60 Hz. Retroreflective tape was placed in eight locations and digitized in order to define wrist angle, stance width, and force plate location. Kinematic and kinetic measures were compared between groups and across three times (address, end of backswing, and ball contact) using 2x3 (group x time) mixed model ANOVA's. Independent t-tests were used to compare groups at specific instants in time when a significant interaction was found. RESULTS: A significant group x time interaction was found for wrist angle (F(1,12) = 10.46, p = 0.001) but not COP measures (F(1,12) = 0.24, p = 0.79). No difference in wrist angle between experienced and inexperience golfers was observed at address (145°±12.0°; 155°±9.11°, respectively; t12=1.754, p=0.105) but experienced golfers' wrists were more cocked than inexperienced golfers at the end of the backswing (94.9°±11.6°; 128°±18.1°; t12=4.025, p=0.002). This difference persisted through ball contact (135°±7.30°; 146°±10.0°; t12=2.418, p=0.032). Center of pressure position, expressed relative to stance width, was not significantly different between groups at any time during the swing (F(1,12) = 0.41, p=0.54). Experienced golfers did not shift their weight, defined as the difference in center of pressure position between the end of the backswing and end of follow-through, more than inexperienced golfers (0.189±0.046m; 0.247±0.114m; t12=1.26, p=0.231). CONCLUSION: Experienced golfers cocked their wrist more on the backswing and maintained that wrist cock through impact, similar to what is often used as instructions by PGA teaching professionals. Experienced golfers also maintained more weight on their front foot and therefore shifted less weight forward on the downswing. This lack of movement in the center of pressure may have increased his/her stability during the shot, which has been shown to increase accuracy.


Physical vapor deposition prepared FeCoB(100 nm)/Al2O3/FeCoB(100 nm) sandwich structures with different Al2O3 thickness (2 to 15 nm) were studied. The magnetization curves showed that the in-plane coercive field and saturation field along the easy axis decreased with increase in Al2O3 thickness. The saturation magnetization field 4 πMs for all samples is above 1.6 T. The coercive field remained below 0.5 Oe for Al2O3 thickness greater than 6 nm, approximately when the antiferromagnetic coupling switched to ferromagnetic coupling. The existence of optical modes in ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) curves confirmed antiferromagnetic coupling in samples with Al2O3 thickness below 6 nm. At 8.5 GHz, the sandwich structure with a 3 nm Al2O3 layer displayed a narrow linewidth of only 29 Oe, indicating lower magnetic loss in the sandwich structure compared to the single layer FeCoB with a thickness of 200 nm that exhibited a linewidth of 50 Oe. Also, all sandwich structures demonstrated real relative permeability of above 600 up to 1.5 GHz. The FeCoB(100 nm)/Al2O3 (3 nm)/FeCoB(100 nm) structure with low coercive field, high magnetization, and low FMR linewidth presents great potential in RF magnetic application.


This paper aims at investigating the use of sequential clustering for speaker diarization. Conventional diarization systems are based on parametric models and agglomerative clustering. In our previous work we proposed a non-parametric method based on the agglomerative information bottleneck for very fast diarization. Here we consider the combination of sequential and agglomerative clustering for avoiding local maxima of the objective function and for purification. Experiments are run on the RT06 eval data. Sequential Clustering with oracle model selection can reduce the speaker error by 10% w.r.t. agglomerative clustering. When the model selection is based on Normalized Mutual Information criterion, a relative improvement of 5% is obtained using a combination of agglomerative and sequential clustering.


Two third of our body is composed of water molecules. Regulation of water and electrolytes is indeed the most important homeostatic functions. Many diseases, such as heart failure, are associated with disturbance in fluid homeostasis. Surprisingly, water dynamics inside the brain is still largely unknown. In 2012, a new concept referred as "glymphatic system" was proposed by Nedergaard's group, where aquaporin4 (AQP4) may play an important role as well as sleep. AQP4 is mainly expressed in the central nervous system, especially in the foot processes of astrocytes; surrounding the capillary, beneath pia matter and lining the ventricles. The unique distribution of AQP4 suggest that AQP4 might play a role in brain water homeostasis. The concept of "glymphatic system" is still controversial, and needs to be clarified with new experimental data. This approach will lead to the better understanding of roles of astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases and pharmacokinetics inside the brain, and eventually will facilitate the development of new drugs for sleep or mental disorders. It has been accumulating evidence that sleep disturbance is related to several kinds of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. In addition, the number of patients with dementia are significantly increasing. It is therefore critical to understand the physiological and pathological mechanisms of brain lymphatic system from the medical and social point of views. Here I will discuss about the roles of AQP4 in neurodegenerative diseases and introduce new knowledge regarding to "glymphatic system".


Monolithic CMOS analog implementations of video systems are extremely attractive because of their low area and power requirements. Switched-capacitor circuits may advantageously replace many current digital solutions of video systems. However, special care must be used in order to handle, with standard CMOS technology, the problems related to the broadband characteristics of video systems. Moreover, two-dimensional (2D) filters require long delay lines, which are not easily implementable in the analog domain. Therefore, new design solutions must be developed, such as the architecture based on analog random-access memories for 2D video-rate switched-capacitor finite-impulse response (FIR) filters, proposed in this work. This structure can be optimized with respect to area requirements and precision requirements, because it allows the exploiting of impulse-response symmetries of linear-phase FIR fitters. The characteristics and the feasibility of the proposed design solution are demonstrated in the design of a 2D low-pass filter for picture-in-picture resizing.


Interest in children's experiences of their local environment is growing in education studies, geography and environmental psychology in response to increasing interests in children's everyday lives and personal geographies. Within international education research, those studies exploring experiences of international school education tend to explore senses of belonging, identity and notions of 'home'. However, the direct and embodied relationship expatriate children have with their local environment, and experiences of place, is a neglected field of study. The geographical context of this research in a gated compound in Qatar is significant. A growing volume of research from a variety of disciplines, notably urban planning studies, cultural geography and anthropology, have started to explore gated communities as a feature of living spaces across the world – often for wealthy nationals and expatriates in countries with more extreme inequalities in wealth distribution. However, research focusing on the experiences of (expatriate) children learning and growing up in such contexts is limited. This research explores how children living in a gated expatriate enclave in Qatar experience their local environment. With the rise in the number of gated communities and the growth of expatriate enclaves globally, this is a significant area of research with potential implications for educators and communities beyond the case study area. The findings of this research suggest that boundedness and surveillance in the gated community impact interactions with and constructions of space and place, limiting free exploration of the wider environment and, host country interaction, and creating binary constructions of insides/outsides and insiders/outsiders. The research suggests ways in which educators in similar contexts can adapt and adopt geographical theory such as 'critical thirding' to help children deconstruct physical, social and imagined boundaries in their local environment, and critically engage with and participate in place-making in their local area. Furthermore, the potential for the incorporation of place-based educational practices is examined.


The actuators using shape memory alloys can work as an actuator to control or retain positioning without using sensor devices. In this work, a position control model with a biasing mechanism is produced. The produced model is controlled by resistance feedback using the method of setting off-time and can be set and retained at an arbitrary position. The effects of input current, control distance and off-time on positioning characteristics such as dynamic behavior and position stability are investigated. The results show that high input current for heating is effective for shortening the rise and settling times. However, the overshoot increases with increasing input current. When the recovery strain is below 2.5%, the rise and settling velocities increase with increasing control distance. Furthermore, the off-time affects position stability. In the case of short off-time, fine position stability is performed regardless of the values of input current and control distance.


A visceral fable about the power of fantasy, as told by the Butcher - refugee, criminal, shaman - through poetry, martial dance, and folk songs in an invented language. This interdisciplinary work opens new doors for solo performance by combining embodied abstraction with contemporary themes.

Replika Teatro, Madrid, Spain (2013)
Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (2013)
Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference (2012)
Performance Studies International Conference (2012)
Cave Arts SOAK Festival (2012)
United Solo Festival (2011)
Panoply Lab Conference of Works (2011)
Movement Research at Judson Church (2011)
Movement Research Open Performance (2011)
Medicine Show Theatre (2010)


Originalism as an approach to constitutional theory and constitutional interpretation is often associated with conservative politics. Is originalism a principled theory of constitutional interpretation, or is it merely a cover for reaching politically conservative results in court? Is originalism theoretically interesting independent of its connection to conservative politics? This essay argues that originalism is a principled theory of constitutional interpretation and not merely a rationalization for conservatism. The association of conservative politics with originalism is not accidental, however, and conservatives are often likely to find originalism to be a more normatively attractive approach to constitutional interpretation than liberals generally will. Focusing on originalist theory rather than judicial decision-making, this essay considers the ways in which originalism intersects with conservatism and the ways in which originalism might diverge from conservatism.


Coherent electron spin dynamics in 10-nm-wide InGaAs/InAlAs quantum wells is studied from 10 K to room temperature using time-resolved Kerr rotation. The spin lifetime exceeds 1 ns at 10 K and decreases with temperature. By varying the spatial overlap between pump and probe pulses, a diffusive velocity is imprinted on the measured electron spins and a spin precession in the spin-orbit field is measured. A Rashba symmetry of the spin-orbit interaction is determined. By comparing the spatial precession frequency gradient with the spin decay rate, an upper limit for the Rashba coefficients α of 2 × 10−12 eVm is estimated.


Previous reports have indicated the association of periodontal diseases with elevated levels of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to periodontally relevant bacteria. Recent results from this laboratory suggest that enzymes proteolytic for immunoglobulins are important virulence factors of several periodontal bacteria. Specifically, enzymes from Porphyromonas (Bacteroides) gingivalis culture supernatant fluid (SF) cleaved human IgG (4 subclasses), IgA1 and IgA2, IgM, IgD and IgE. Proteolytic enzymes from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans culture SF cleaved IgG, IgA and IgM. An enriched Ig proteolytic preparation from Capnocytophaga ochracea culture SF was shown to extensively cleave all 4 subclasses of human IgG. Extensive degradation of IgG and IgA in crevicular fluid samples on SDS-PAGE from periodontal disease sites of localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) patients in comparison to little degradation in healthy sites indicated the potential role the proteolytic enzymes from periodontopathogenic bacteria may play in situ. Treatment of IgG with P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans and C. ochracea SF resulted in similar patterns of degradation. LJP patients had significantly higher levels of IgG and IgA proteolytic activity in whole saliva than age-, sex-, and race-matched periodontal disease-free controls. However, not all of the proteolytic activity could be ascribed to bacterial proteases since neutrophils are also present in large numbers at diseased sites. Using similar techniques, lysates of neutrophils from healthy controls cleaved IgG, IgA and IgM. The observation of enhanced Ig cleavage activity in crevicular fluid and saliva in LJP patients suggest a role for Ig proteolytic enzymes in LJP.


Pressure ulcers or ischaemic necrosis of tissues over bony eminences due to pressure, heal very slowly. Vascularised tissues such as myocutaneous flaps are necessary to cover the ulcer and accelerate healing. This study was done to share our experience with methods of myocutaneous flaps in the treatment of pressure ulcers. We retrospectively reviewed the outcome of 20 myocutaneous flaps used for the surgical coverage of 24 pelvic pressure ulcers in 18 patients from 1997 to 2007 in the Yaounde University Hospital Centre (CHUY). The mean patient age was 46.06 years (range: 19-86years). The sex ratio was 5 men for 4 women 10 sacral ulcers were treated by gluteus maximus myocutaneous flaps, 10 trochanteric and 4 ischiatic ulcers were covered by tensor fascia lata myocutaneous flaps. The cure rate was 100%. The main complications were: infection (63.5%), serous fluid discharge (21.05%), and flap edge necrosis (31.6%). Of the 18 patients in the study: 8 were lost to follow up, 1 dead after a week from another disease. The average follows up for the remaining 9 live patients was 20.6 months (range, 1-39 months). No recurrence of pressure ulcer was observed. Myocutaneous flap transposition remains a simple, reliable, effective, safe, versatile and useful method for the coverage of large pelvic pressure ulcers. Key words : Pressure ulcer, musculo-cutaneous flap, pelvic ulcer.


Spatial interference competition is well described for many sessile marine invertebrates, but few studies have addressed interactions between neighboring sponges. We conducted transect surveys to assess interspecific interactions among sponges in coral reef habitats in Key Largo, Florida, USA. In total, 15 transect sites were surveyed at 5 reef locations with mean densities ranging from 13.0 ± 3.6 to 33.3 ± 5.9 sponges m -2 . The most abundant of over 43 sponge species observed were Amphimedon compressa, Aplysina cauliformis, Aplysina insularis, and Niphates erecta, while the least abundant were Hippospongia lachne, Ircinia campana, and Pseudaxinella lunaecharta. A nearest-neighbor technique was used to determine the degree and frequency of interactions between randomly selected sponge pairs. Overall, 40.4% of sponges occurred alone, 31.0% in proximity to, and 28.6% in contact with other sponge species. Among sponges in contact interactions, 18.7% were epibionts, 19.4% were basibionts, and a relationship could not be resolved for the remainder. Statistical analyses of the frequencies of each interaction category revealed that the ability to overgrow or resist overgrowth varied among species. For example, Aka coralliphagum, Ectyoplasia ferox, and Phorbas amaranthus occurred alone in >60% of their interactions and were never overgrown by other species with which they came into contact. In contrast, Agelas schmidti, Ircinia felix, Dysidea janiae, and Scopalina ruetzleri occurred alone in <30% of their interactions, with the first 2 species overgrown by, and the latter 2 overgrowing, most other species with which they came in contact. All contact interactions were further statistically examined, and 41 interspecific sponge pairs revealed significant overgrowth ability by 1 of the interacting species. While the over- growth ability of a species is dependent on sponge morphology, the ability to resist overgrowth is associated with the production of allelochemicals.


Government regulation of firms is associated with more negative externalities and unofficial activity across countries. In this paper I argue that this correlation mainly reflects causality going from concerns about market failures to demand for government intervention. Using trust in others as a proxy for such concerns, I first show that differences in trust explain a great deal of variation in entry regulations. Then, controlling for average trust in the regression of market failures on regulation, the latter is no longer associated with worse economic outcomes. The same result is confirmed when I exploit an alternative source of variation in regulation that is independent of trust, namely country population.


Nanoframe electrocatalysts containing only small amounts of precious metal show very high activities. [Also see Report by Chen et al.] The catalytic properties of materials depend strongly on their microscopic structure, with the atomic-level chemistry and structure directly influencing the activity and durability of the catalyst. However, these microscopic properties can be difficult to understand and control. Furthermore, most efficient catalysts contain substantial amounts of precious metals, rendering them prohibitively expensive. The search for efficient, inexpensive catalysts has, therefore, been challenging. On page 1339 of this issue, Chen et al. (1) report the synthesis of a new class of electrocatalysts built from platinum-nickel nanocrystals. Their Pt3Ni nanoframes have more than 22 times the catalytic activity of conventional platinum/carbon catalysts at 0.9 V, yet contain about 85% less precious metal.


Process-oriented companies face the dichotomy of process standardization versus process diversity. On the one hand, multinational companies try to realize returns of scale by standardization. On the other hand, markets require businesses to adapt to local needs and government regulations. As of today, there is no framework available to measure the degree of process standardization. This is both a problem for companies that want to assess their degree of standardization as well as for research that aims to investigate standardization and its connection with other concepts. In this paper, we address this research gap from the perspective of scale development. We utilize a well-acknowledged method for devising a measurement instrument to specifically and directly measure the degree of standardization in business processes. Various application scenarios and future research areas are pointed out.


This essay argues that Sweet and Sour Milk, which should be understood as both a political and literary text, "does history," which is not to say that it merely "tells" the history of postcolonial Somalia, but that it participates in a kind of historiography that is, to borrow a phrase from Edward Said, both "frankly revisionist" and "fiercely theoretical and intellectually insurrectionary." In this paper, using the theoretical work of a group of Indian historians, collected in the journal of SubalternStudies over the past two decades, I show how Nuruddin Farah's Sweet and Sour Milk uses the trope of "silence" to dramatize the potentially fruitful (and problematic) process of writing histories "from below."


Information fusion is a field that deals with merging multiple inputs to create a single output. Several fusion mechanisms are in place, but none can be easily adapted to accommodate for online learning using a simulator. This paper analyzes the concept of fuzzy mediation as a novel approach to the creation of a framework through simulations of controllers interacting with a controllable object. We propose this new algorithm as a mean to improved methods of learning through positive reinforcement, observation, and direct interaction with the object to be controlled.