Mutations in LRRK2 have been established as a common genetic cause of Parkinson's
disease (PD). Variation in gene expression of PARK loci has previously been
demonstrated in PD pathogenesis, although it has not been described in detail for
LRRK2 expression in the human brain. This study further elucidates the role of
LRRK2 in development of PD by describing an investigation into the role of LRRK2
genetics and expression in the human brain.
The G2019S mutation is a common LRRK2 mutation that exhibits a clinical and
pathological phenotype indistinguishable from idiopathic PD. Thus, the study of
G2019S mutation is a recurrent theme. The frequency of G2019S was estimated in
unaffected subjects that lived or shared a cultural heritage to the predicted founding
populations of the mutation, and was found not to be common in these populations.
Morphological analysis revealed a ubiquitous expression for LRRK2 mRNA and
protein in the human brain. In-situ hybridisation data suggests that LRRK2 mRNA is
present as a low copy number mRNA in the human brain. A semi-quantitative
analysis of LRRK2 immunohistochemistry revealed extensive regional variation in
the LRRK2 protein levels, although the weakest immunoreactivity was consistently
identified in the nigrostriatal dopamine region. No difference was observed in the
morphological localisation of LRRK2 mRNA and protein in unaffected, IPD or
G2019S positive PD subjects.
Dysregulation of LRRK2 mRNA expression and the effects of cis- acting genetic
variation on these levels were demonstrated. A widespread decrease of LRRK2
mRNA was observed in IPD and G2019S positive PD subjects in comparison to
unaffected controls. Furthermore, non-coding genetic variation was also
demonstrated to have an effect on the LRRK2 transcriptional activity in PD subjects.
Collectively, these findings suggest that LRRK2 has an important physiological role,
and a dysregulation in its levels could affect auxiliary mechanisms that contribute to
PD pathogenesis. This data also supports the possibility of a shared mechanism
contributing to the identical phenotype of IPD and G2019S linked PD.


Zinc Selenide which show a potential application in electronic devices such as photovoltaic devices, light emitting devices and photodetector has been synthesized through a hydrothermal method. It has been found that the hydrothermal reaction conducted at 180 °C for 32 hours is optimum to produce NCr ZnSe, while the hydrothermal reaction at 150 °C for 8 hours is optimum for ZnSe QDs. Formation of ZnSe in nanocrystal (NCr) and quantum dots (QDs) using different source and different concentration ratio has been study in detail to optimize the production condition. The concentration effect of the precursor (ZnCl2/ Zn(O2CCH3)2(H2O)2) which varied from 0.25:1, 0.5:1, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 until 4:1 has been explained in terms of its structured, morphology, composition and the optical behavior. The structural, morphology, compositional and optical properties of the nanocrystal and quantum dots were study using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), UV-Vis NIR Spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Photoluminescence (PL). The difference of NCr and QDs of ZnSe has been explored in detail through their structural properties, particle size, absorption and optical band gap (Eg) also emission peak. For NCr, the particle size is around 0.08 μm to 15.7 μm for both precursor (ZnCl2/ Zn(O2CCH3)2(H2O)2). The system structure is cubic structure (ZnCl2) and sphere structure (Zn(O2CCH3)2(H2O)2). While for QDs, the particle size is around 6.2 nm to 49.1 nm (ZnCl2/ Zn(O2CCH3)2(H2O)2) and the structure system is cubic and sphere structure. All this will affect and show the difference of optical behavior between NCr and QDs and it is related to the quantum confinement effect especially for the QDs samples. The absorption peak is at 460 nm, while the Egvalue at 2.60 eV and emission peak is at 486 nm (blue region). The result is for NCr while for QDs, the absorption peak around 313 nm to 317 nm with Eg value is around 3.60 eV to 3.80 eV with emission peak at range 450 nm to 490 nm. The optical behavior will show the difference between NCr and QDs sample, when the size is smaller the color emitted light will shift from red to blue shift while the optical band gap (Eg) will increase. So, it has found that the optical behavior is strongly affected by the morphological behavior of the nanocrystal and quantum dots


The Mediterranean region has been one of the most intensely studied segments of the Alpine-Himalayan chain. Geological and geophysical studies have shown that the region represents a mosaic of microcontinental and ophiolitic terranes, resulting from a sequence of strike-slip and closure movements between the African and Eurasian margins of the Tethyan Ocean. Numerous early palaeomagnetic investigations suggested that many of these terranes underwent important tectonic rotations with respect to the major continents, e.g. the Iberian peninsula (Van der Voo 1969), Sardinia and Corsica (Westphal 1977), the Ionian Islands (Laj et al. 1982), and the Troodos ophiolite (Moores & Vine 1971). These rotations occur in a variety of geological settings, ranging from those active during oceanic crustal genesis to those associated with the late stages of continental deformation. More recent palaeo-magnetic studies have provided an increasingly detailed picture of rotational deformation from the Atlantic margin to eastern Turkey. Tectonic rotations are now recognized on all scales from that of microplates down to individual thrust sheets. The papers contained in this volume, cover the full range of tectonic, magnetostratigraphic and archaeomagnetic problems currently being addressed in the region. Together they form a comprehensive review of an exciting and challenging field of research. To increase the usefulness of the volume to non-palaeomagnetists, a full glossary of palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic terms is provided. Since the tectonic evolution of the Mediterranean Tethyan belt has been controlled by the relative motion history of the African and Eurasian plates, this introduction begins with a brief examination


Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a critical consideration in airtight buildings that depend on mechanical ventilation, such as those constructed to the Passivhaus standard. While previous reviews of IAQ on Passivhaus-certified buildings foccused on offices, this study examines residential buildings. A summary of data collection methods and pollutant concentrations is presented, followed by a critical discussion of the impact of Passivhaus design strategies on IAQ. This review indicates that IAQ in Passivhaus-certified dwellings is generally better than in conventional homes, but both occupant behaviour and pollution from outdoor sources play a significant role in indoor concentrations. Moreover, there are differences in data collection and reporting methods. Many of the available studies depend on short-term IAQ monitoring of less than two weeks, making it difficult to determine the longer impact of housing design on IAQ and occupants' well-being. There is also a lack of studies from non-European countries. Future research should focus on investigating associations between IAQ and Passivhaus design strategies in hot and humid climates, where evidence is particularly lacking. Further effort is also required to investigate potential links between occupant's perception of IAQ and physical exposure to indoor pollution. Finally, the lack of homogeneous monitoring and reporting methods for IAQ studies needs to be addressed.


Background Highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) is associated with improved health outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS. Successful long-term treatment of HIV/AIDS requires near-perfect adherence to HAART. Constant monitoring of adherence to HAART and evaluation of related adverse events are two essential aspects for optimal management of patients with HIV. Purpose To monitor adherence to antiretroviral treatment and adverse events of the outpatients of an HIV referral centre (department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna). Materials and Methods The pharmacist was introduced in the department of Clinical Infectious Diseases in order to distribute the antiretroviral drugs and give information on the proper storage, use and possible interactions associated with the treatment. The pharmacist gives out an adherence questionnaire (10 questions about adherence, co-administered drugs and adverse events) to each patient to complete and return during the following visit. This information was entered into a database (Access) and the adherence to treatment and incidence of adverse events was calculated. Results We analysed the adherence questionnaires of 659 patients, 74% of whom reported 100% adherence to treatment. Co-administered medicines may lead to poorer HAART adherence: patients taking polypharmacy showed medium-low adherence to treatment. Adherence was found to correlate inversely with the daily pill burden. In terms of adverse effects, we developed a pharmacovigilance system, reporting 15 adverse drug reactions, 27% of which were rated severe. We analysed physical changes, gastrointestinal disorders and neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with the following regimens: efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir, emtricitabine/tenofovir + atazanavir/ritonavir, efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir, emtricitabine/tenofovir + atazanavir/ritonavir, emtricitabine/tenofovir + darunavir/ritonavir, abacavir/lamivudine + emtricitabine/tenofovir + darunavir/ritonavir, abacavir/lamivudine + atazanavir/ritonavir, abacavir/lamivudine + darunavir/ritonavir. Our results showed that the regimens with darunavir correlated with a lower incidence of side effects and perception of physical changes. Conclusions The physician-pharmacist collaboration is an important support in monitoring adherence and adverse events related to HAART and contributes significantly to the optimal management of patients with HIV infection. No conflict of interest.


Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTLs) play a central role in immune responses against intracellular pathogens and cancer. Cytotoxic responses are induced by the formation of the immunologic synapse after the recognition of the peptide-major histocompatibility complex by the T-cell receptor. Synapse formation is associated dramatic reorganization of both microtubules and filamentous actin (F-actin) within the T-cell. This promotes the directional secretion of toxic perforin and granzymes into the intercellular space, enhancing both the potency and the specificity of targeT-cell killing. We have previously demonstrated that force exertion by CTLs at the immunologic synapse was strongly correlated with the cytotoxic potential. Indeed, force exertion enhances cytotoxicity by increasing membrane tension on the target cell, which in turn promotes the pore-forming activity of secreted perforin. This correlation between applied force and biochemical responses, which we referr to as mechanopotentiation, raised the prospect that CTLs might use three-dimensional structures at the immunologic synapse to coordinate force exertion and lytic granules secretion. In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying mechanopotentiation in CTLs using a combination of three-dimensional micropatterned stimulatory substrates and high-resolution imaging. Our results revealed that CTLs couple lytic granule release with the formation of highly dynamic F-actin rich protrusions. These protrusions, which are generated by the Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASP) and the Arp2/3 actin nucleation complex, are required for coordinating force exertion with cytolytic secretion allowing efficient killing. Our results provide insight into how cells organize mechanical output and emphasize the importance of studying complex, communicative interfaces in three dimensions. Citation Format: Fella Tamzalit, Mitchell S. Wang, Weiyang Jin, Vitaly Boyko, John M. Heddleston, Charles T. Black, Lance C. Kam, Morgan Huse. WASP-dependent actin protrusions mechanically potentiate killing by cytotoxic T-cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; Sept 30-Oct 3, 2018; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2019;7(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B190.


This paper presents MAUI, a system that enables fine-grained energy-aware offload of mobile code to the infrastructure. Previous approaches to these problems either relied heavily on programmer support to partition an application, or they were coarse-grained requiring full process (or full VM) migration. MAUI uses the benefits of a managed code environment to offer the best of both worlds: it supports fine-grained code offload to maximize energy savings with minimal burden on the programmer. MAUI decides at run-time which methods should be remotely executed, driven by an optimization engine that achieves the best energy savings possible under the mobile device's current connectivity constrains. In our evaluation, we show that MAUI enables: 1) a resource-intensive face recognition application that consumes an order of magnitude less energy, 2) a latency-sensitive arcade game application that doubles its refresh rate, and 3) a voice-based language translation application that bypasses the limitations of the smartphone environment by executing unsupported components remotely.


Abstract. As one of the first transcontinental polities that led to widespread anthropogenic modification of the environment, the influence of the Roman Empire on European climate has been studied for more than 20 years. Recent advances in our understanding of past land use and aerosol–climate interactions make it valuable to revisit the way humans may have affected the climate of the Roman era. Here we estimate the effect of humans on some climate variables in the Roman Empire at its apogee, focusing on the impact of anthropogenic land cover and aerosol emissions. For this we combined existing land use scenarios with novel estimates (low, medium, high) of aerosol emissions from fuel combustion and burning of agricultural land. Aerosol emissions from agricultural burning were greater than those from fuel consumption but of the same order of magnitude. Using the global aerosol-enabled climate model ECHAM-HAM-SALSA, we conducted simulations with fixed sea-surface temperatures to gain a first impression about the possible climate impact of anthropogenic land cover and aerosols in the Roman Empire. While land use effects induced a regional warming for one of the reconstructions caused by decreases in turbulent flux, aerosol emissions enhanced the cooling effect of clouds and thus led to a cooling in the Roman Empire. Quantifying the anthropogenic influence on climate is, however, challenging since our model likely overestimates aerosol-effective radiative forcing and prescribes the sea-surface temperatures.


This paper discusses digital filters for moving-target indicator (MTI) radars. The digital MTI filter, implemented with video storage and cancellation, avoids the shortcomings of traditional analog filter sgstems and offers several important advantages, including freedom in the choice of the interpulse period. Several digital filter systems are described in detail.


It is accepted doctrine that Congress specifically delegated to federal courts broad power to create federal common-law rights and obligations under employee benefit plans. Courts claim that in creating such rights and obligations they are merely filling gaps in ERISA. Sometimes they are. At other times, however, the only gap is between ERISA as it is written and ERISA as the courts wish it had been written.This article examines the different uses of federal common law relating to employee benefit plans. It argues that courts have an important, but limited, role in creating a federal common law of ERISA.


PREMISE OF THE STUDY
Microcachrys tetragona (Podocarpaceae), endemic to the mountains of Tasmania, represents the only remaining taxon of one of the world's most ancient and widely distributed conifer lineages. Remarkably, however, despite its ∼150 Myr heritage, our understanding of the fossil history of this lineage is based almost entirely on the pollen record. Fossils of Microcachrys are especially important in light of recent molecular phylogenetic and dating evidence. This evidence dates the Microcachrys lineage to the Mesozoic and does not support the traditional placement of Microcachrys as sister to the southeastern Australian genus Pherosphaera.

METHODS
We undertook comparative studies of the foliage architecture, cuticle, and paleoecology of newly discovered fossils from the Oligo-Miocene of New Zealand and M. tetragona and discussed the importance of Microcachrys in the context of Podocarpaceae phylogeny.

KEY RESULTS
The fossils represent the oldest and first extra-Australian macrofossils of Microcachrys and are described as the new foliage species M. novae-zelandiae. These fossils confirm that the distinctive opposite decussate phyllotaxy of the genus is at least as old as the Oligo-Miocene and contribute to evidence that Microcachrys plants were sometimes important components of oligotrophic swampy habitats.

CONCLUSIONS
Leaf fossils of Microcachrys closely comparable with the only extant species confirm that this lineage had a much wider past distribution. The fossil record and recent molecular phylogenetic studies, including that of Microcachrys, also serve to emphasize the important status of Tasmania as a refugium for seed plant lineages.


The jump-noise is a nonhomogeneous Poisson process which models thermal effects in magnetization dynamics, with special applications in low temperature escape rate phenomena. In this work, we develop improved numerical methods for Monte Carlo simulation of the jump-noise dynamics and validate the method by comparing the stationary distribution obtained empirically against the Boltzmann distribution. In accordance with the Neel-Brown theory, the jump-noise dynamics display an exponential relaxation toward equilibrium with a characteristic reversal time, which we extract for nanomagnets with uniaxial and cubic anisotropy. We relate the jump-noise dynamics to the equivalent Landau-Lifshitz dynamics up to second order correction for a general energy landscape and obtain the analogous Neel-Brown theory's solution of the reversal time. We find that the reversal time of jump-noise dynamics is characterized by Neel-Brown theory's solution at the energy saddle point for small noise. For large noise, the magnetization reversal due to jump-noise dynamics phenomenologically represents macroscopic tunneling of magnetization.The jump-noise is a nonhomogeneous Poisson process which models thermal effects in magnetization dynamics, with special applications in low temperature escape rate phenomena. In this work, we develop improved numerical methods for Monte Carlo simulation of the jump-noise dynamics and validate the method by comparing the stationary distribution obtained empirically against the Boltzmann distribution. In accordance with the Neel-Brown theory, the jump-noise dynamics display an exponential relaxation toward equilibrium with a characteristic reversal time, which we extract for nanomagnets with uniaxial and cubic anisotropy. We relate the jump-noise dynamics to the equivalent Landau-Lifshitz dynamics up to second order correction for a general energy landscape and obtain the analogous Neel-Brown theory's solution of the reversal time. We find that the reversal time of jump-noise dynamics is characterized by Neel...


We reconstruct F(R) gravity models with exponential and power-law forms of the scale factor in which bounce cosmology can be realized. We explore the stability of the reconstructed models with analyzing the perturbations from the background solutions. Furthermore, we study an F(R) gravity model with a sum of exponentials form of the scale factor, where the bounce in the early universe as well as the late-time cosmic acceleration can be realized in a unified manner. As a result, we build a second order polynomial type model in terms of R and show that it could be stable. Moreover, when the scale factor is expressed by an exponential form, we derive F(R) gravity models of a polynomial type in case of the non-zero spatial curvature and that of a generic type in that of the zero spatial curvature. In addition, for an exponential form of the scale factor, an F(R) bigravity model realizing the bouncing behavior is reconstructed. It is found that in both the physical and reference metrics the bouncing phenomenon can occur, although in general the contraction and expansion rates are different each other.


EPA Awards Grants to Assist Small Public Water Systems The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, has put the spotlight on municipal water quality and safety. Recognizing that water problems can also affect small towns and rural areas, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $12.7 million in grants to help improve the quality of small public water and wastewater systems (http://1.usa.gov/1Q9h6sb). Almost all of the 157 000 public water systems in the country—97%—serve fewer than 10 000 people, according to the EPA, and of those, about 80% serve fewer than 500 people. Small public water systems often have limited budgets, old infrastructure, and high staff turnover, noted the EPA, all of which make it challenging to meet federal and state safe drinking water standards. The EPA gave about one-third of the grant, $4 million, to the National Rural Water Association and Rural Community Assistance Partnership to help small public water systems comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The law, passed in 1974 and amended in 1994, established drinking water safety and quality standards, including maximum permissible levels of contaminants (http://1.usa.gov/1LpZnW4). The EPA also awarded $1.8 million to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to improve water system financial and administrative performance, $1.2 million to the National Rural Water Association to improve wastewater system operation performance, and $1.7 million to the Rural Community Assistance Partnership to educate owners of private drinking wells about the importance of water quality.


Quality assurance (QA) is the total process whereby the quality of laboratory reports can be guaranteed. The term quality control covers that part of QA, which primarily concerns the control of errors in the performance of tests and verification of test results. All materials, equipment and procedures must be adequately controlled. Culture media must be tested for sterility and performance. Each laboratory must have standard operating procedures (SOPs). QA of pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical stages of microbiological procedures should be incorporated in SOPs. The laboratory must be well lit with dust-free air-conditioned environment. Environmental conditions should be monitored. Supervisory and technical personnel should be well qualified. The laboratory should participate in external and internal quality assurance schemes.


Original title: Ouderen in verpleeghuizen en verzorgingshuizen

For centuries, there have been institutions where the most vulnerable and oldest members of society could go for shelter, food and care. In modern Dutch society, these institutions take the form of nursing and residential care homes. However, this is a sector where a great deal has changed in recent years. Many care homes have closed, and those that remain are merging with nursing homes. In addition, Dutch government policy is aimed at enabling older persons to continue living independently in their own home for as long as possible. Partly as a result of this, nowadays it is primarily those with the greatest care needs who are cared for in institutions facilities.

In 'Older persons in nursing and care homes' we look at the older population of nursing and care homes and investigate a number of key aspects of their life situation. The data used for this study were collected between April 2015 and April 2016. The questions addressed in this study are: Why did residents of nursing and care homes move to the institution? What is their health status? How often do they still have contact with their friends and family? Do they receive assistance from them with daily activities, in addition to that which they receive from professionals?
This report presents a general picture of all residential nursing and care homes in the Netherlands. The report Happy in a nursing home? (Gelukkig in een verpleeghuis?) investigates the experiences and opinions of residents with regards to the quality of their lives and the care they receive. The data for this report were collected by means of interviews with residents who were capable of answering the questions personally.


Quantification of silver-stained nucleolar organiser regions (AgNORs) in paraffin sections may provide clues about the proliferation and differentiation in normal and neoplastic tissues. The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether AgNOR quantification could provide useful data about proliferation in the different segments of the normal human colorectal crypt. Samples of histologically 'normal' large intestine (n = 8) were obtained from colorectal cancer resections at a distance of > 5 cm from the tumour margins and were routinely processed for paraffin embedding using strictly standardised procedures. Sections were cut and stained with a one-stage silver colloid impregnation technique. The longitudinally sectioned crypts were divided into proliferative (P), intermediate (I) and surface (S) segments using strict criteria. Clearly defined AgNORs, which appeared as black dots within the nuclear profile, were quantified from each segment for volume density (Vv) and number per unit area (NA) estimates using traditional point-counting techniques. A 1-way analysis of variance followed by Scheffe's test indicated significant progressive reductions of AgNOR Vv and NA from P to S segments. Our data suggest that both volume and frequency of AgNORs may be related to cellular proliferation since both parameters are highest in the P segment. The further exploitation of stereological tools in conjunction with AgNOR staining may be valuable in assessing normal differentiation and proliferation patterns and in predicting the biological behaviour of neoplastic tissues in which increased proliferation is a feature.


We propose a new information sharing system, named ``BisNet'', which automatically gathers information about the bookmarks stored in users' web browsers and helps the users exchange URIs of possibly interesting web pages with others who have similar interest with them. Being different from other typical agent services that gather and provide information according to pre-registered user profiles, BisNet is expected to share more relevant information because of its use of web browser bookmarks that are actively selected and ordered by many humans. To enhance the relevance of information being shared, we developed a novel algorithm for directory evaluation. This algorithm only looks at the local referential structure between bookmark directories and URIs and calculates for each directory the ``order index'' that represents how well its content URIs are put in order with a focus on specific areas of interest. Then each directory receives new URIs from other related directories with large order indexes. The repetition of such URI exchanges makes the whole directory-URI networks dynamically form directory groups according to the commonness of the URIs they refer to. Our method is unique in that it pays no attention to the actual contents of web pages, and thus is much simpler and faster than other methods based on the result of content analysis. We carried out a field trial that involved 45 people who used a prototype version of BisNet clients. The result indicated that the relevance of shared URIs positively correlated with the ``order index'' of surrounding related directories, demonstrating the effectiveness of the method we proposed.


Faculty of Ayurveda, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi is organizing World Congress of Ayurveda BHU-2019 (WCABHU-2019) on March 14 to 16, 2019, where the delegates from different countries from fields of Ayurveda, Modern Medicine, social sciences and basic sciences are expected to participate. The focal theme of WCABHU-2019 is to Develop evidence based Ayurvedic medicines and procedures. It will bring the latest improvements in fast-moving areas of health care, covering all aspects of theory, research and application to develop new potential outcome in health care, early diagnosis, awareness for preventive measures and combined therapy by psychosomatic modulation and medicine. This will give an opportunity to interact with experts from nursing, nutritionists and yogic practices along with basic biological-scientists and doctors of Allopathic system of medicine. Besides the medicines, the role of life style, diet, mental-health, spirituality and procedures in health care will be discussed. All the proposed sessions will accommodate literary, basic and clinical researches in form of guest lectures, panel discussions, oral and poster presentations. The scientific programme has been designed to encourage translational research for expanding the horizon of knowledge in medical biology to develop new drugs, better procedures, sound understanding of pathogenesis, novel targets for therapy and many more aspects towards holistic approach of health management. It is aimed to cover the basic concepts of Ayurveda, Allopathy, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy, Naturopathy along with Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM), Tibeten medicine and Campo medicine of Japan to develop a strong base with common terminology. It will showcase various aspect of Health care, Wellness, Industrial inputs, plants cultivation, Life style products, with an aim to bring awareness and also to educate for better business opportunities which is in association with People's Foundation.

Special Associated Event
Further, A student oriented Associated Event namely 'AYUSH PRAGYA' is also being organized at the same time Besides Science, we shall also take care about the tourism and spiritual aspect of participants. Ayushpragya, being a programme being organized by the students and for the students to culture their hidden talents in every field of their personality. Ayurveda colleges cfrom varrious parts of countries are welcome to participate.


The selection of an available natural alternative to replace harmful artificial refrigerants depends on the application, which defines the system boundaries and the operation range. In the last ten years, CO2 was introduced as a semi ideal refrigerant due to its environmentally friendly and good performance characteristics. In some applications the unique thermophysical and performance properties of CO2 match the boundary conditions of the system and make it very close to be the ideal working fluid for that specific application.Since the rediscovery of CO2 as a refrigerant [Lorentzen, 1990], the studies focussed on finding the possible applications of CO2 according to its properties. Commercial refrigeration accounts for almost 17% of worldwide refrigerants consumption, 11% is the percentage in cold storage applications, 28% in total (135576 tons/year) [DOE/AFEAS, 1991]. CO2 as a phase changing secondary refrigerant was studied and applied successfully in Sweden in the applications of supermarkets and cold stores. By the year 2000, 40 plants are running with capacities ranging from 10 to 280 kW; the refrigerants used in the machine room are NH3, R404, and Care50 (ethane/propane). Two and single-stage plants are used for chilling and freezing needs within the supermarkets.This study present the basics of technologies applied in these specific applications and the main results obtained compared to the old systems with artificial refrigerants.Installation and running costs, of the systems and the technical problems appearing during the installation of the CO2 systems are discussed. Another important issue discussed in this study is the possibility of converting the old plants to CO2 secondary systems.The operation and the analysis of the existing plants proved that CO2 could be successfully used as an alternative for the artificial refrigerants within the application of refrigeration in supermarkets. In addition to the obvious environmental advantages by using such systems, an extra economical achievement was observed during the installation and running of the plants.


Most managers struggle to decide whether a micro-management or a "hands-off" management approach is best. The resolution to this challenge is what I call "engaged management." An engaged manager creates an environment in which his or her people self-mange and self-motivate. And the best leaders create an environment in which people take responsibility for their own performance and take the initiative to manage their own performance.


In the Latin American context, shaped by rapid urbanization, high inequalities and the weakness of labor institutions, issues related to the structure of the labor market and the effect of relational intermediation on job performance appear fundamental. This thesis aims to describe the structure of employment and analyzes the effects of social networks on the quality of employment and the performance of workers in Bogota's labor market (Colombia). This work adopts a multidisciplinary research approach based on a socioeconomic and institutionalist framework. In the first part, a theoretical and analytical reflection is conducted through the notion of quality of employment, to overcome the classical typologies commonly used in developing countries. From this perspective, quality of employment can be seen as a new performance indicator grasped through the prism of the labor market segmentation theory, making possible to consider the rationales and the differential effects produced by the use of social networks. Subsequently, based on quantitative data from the household survey (GEIH, 2013) supplemented by information collected through focus groups, the multidimensional, econometric and comprehensive exploratory analysis allows to empirically verify that: (i.) quality of employment reflects a strongly polarized structure of the labor market in Bogota, (ii.) the use of social networks is associated differently with the quality of employment of workers according to their segment ; opposing necessity networks (for the vulnerable segment) and opportunity networks (for the protected segment). Based on the theories of the embeddedness and the sociology of networks, the second part of this thesis proposes to explore the dimensions, configurations and mechanisms of different types of social networks to get a job. Using original data on egocentric networks collected from a specific mixed survey system deployed in Bogota between 2016 and 2018, the empirical results from multidimensional and econometric analyzes and, the application of quantified narratives method demonstrate that: (i.) the combination of an extended potential network and a cohesive active network increases
the search time but also the probability of finding a satisfactory job, (ii.) the strength of ties appears contextualized and negatively correlated with income but positively with its evolution between the last and the current job, (iii.) during the actors' labor market trajectories, the necessary resources for changing job and the relationships to access them are clearly differentiated by the type of evolution (incremental or radical).


The hot deformation behaviors of a high strength low alloy steel have been studied using the processing map technique, which is based on the variations of efficiency of power dissipation with forming temperatures and strain rates. The results show that: (1) The average grain size of the deformed alloy steel increases with the increase of forming temperatures and decreases with the increase of strain rates. (2) The efficiency of power dissipation increases as the forming temperature is increased. However, the efficiency of power dissipation changes with strain rates in the form of bulgy parabola, and the maximum value exists at the strain rate of 0.1 . (3) A domain for reasonable dynamic recrystallization (DRX) exists in the temperature range of (1050–1150) and strain rate range of (0.01–3) , with its peak efficiency of 32% at about 1140 °C and 0.23 , which are the optimum hot working parameters for the studied high strength low alloy steel.


Ceramic coating is a very popular technology for improving the properties of structural materials. A titanium nitride (TiN) coating is a typical example and has been widely applied to cutting tools, electronic devices and many other fields utilizing its superior physical properties. This paper sought to produce a graded TiN coating on a Ti substrate by combining Supersonic Free-Jet PVD (SFJ-PVD) with a reactive plasma-metal reaction technique. The authors have developed SFJ-PVD as a new coating method in which a coating film is formed by depositing nanoparticles with very high velocity onto a substrate. SFJ-PVD can provide a high deposition rate and thick film coating. Gradually changing the nitrogen flow rate during deposition produces a graded TiN coating, in which composition changes gradually from pure Ti to TiN. A monolithic TiN coating is also produced with SFJ-PVD. XRD analysis of the graded TiN detected peaks for Ti, Ti2N and TiN, while only a TiN peak is observed in the monolithic TiN coating. EPMA analysis of a graded coating reveals a gradual compositional change from pure Ti to TiN. Few pores or cracks are observed in a graded TiN or in a monolithic TiN formed under the optimized conditions of SFJ-PVD.


The current urban design process is top-down, i.e., generally the urban designers or planners design the urban environment and at a later stage the community may have some involvement. There are serious criticisms of this process as it may not touch the "ground" level community, and therefore, there is a serious risk these projects will fail to create sustainable environments. Accordingly, in order to overcome the drawbacks of the current top-down process, researches have discussed implementing a bottom-up process in order to deliver sustainable urban designs. In the meantime the current top-down urban design process may have features which may positively affect for the creation of sustainable urban designs. Accordingly, this research paper discusses the critical success factors of the current top down urban design process which supports for a creation of a new potential urban design process framework. The research methodology adopted for this research is case study re-search reinforced by grounded theory where the researcher has evaluated a live urban design project process in North-West England. The evaluation has resulted deriving seven critical success factors. The "leadership" of the process has been identified as one of the major critical success factors among the other critical success factors.


This Essay proposes a private standards and certification system to induce media firms to provide more complete and accurate information. The Essay argues that this new private governance system is a viable response to the channelized flow of information that is exacerbating political polarization in the United States. Specifically, the Essay proposes development of a new private fairness doctrine to replace the standard repealed by the Federal Communications Commission in 1987. A broad-based, multi-stakeholder organization could develop and implement this private fairness doctrine, and the certification process could harness market and social pressure to influence the practices of traditional and new media firms. A growing literature demonstrates how private governance initiatives can perform the functions of government in the environmental, labor, gun control, animal welfare, fair trade, and other areas. The Essay argues that private governance initiatives such as the new private fairness doctrine also can bolster the social checks and balances that support the processes of democratic governance. Any intervention into the flow of information creates risks, but so does inaction, and the private fairness doctrine holds out the possibility of improving the information available for public discourse while limiting the risks of government intervention. In the long term, the concept of private governance also can stimulate creative thinking on interventions to improve other core democratic processes, including campaign finance, voting, ballot security, and others.


When a rubber O-ring was used as a sealing material of a pressure vessel for high-pressure hydrogen gas such as 70MPa, which is the hydrogen pressure for fuel cell electric systems, the O-ring was extruded from the pressure vessel due to an increase in volume by gas absorption, and consequently cracks initiated in the previous study. Therefore, it is important to clarify the influence of hydrogen pressure on the increase in volume and mechanical properties in order to design the rubber O-ring for high-pressure hydrogen gas. From this viewpoint, unfilled and carbon black-filled sulfur-vulcanized NBR composites were exposed to hydrogen gas at a maximum pressure of 100MPa ; then, the influence of hydrogen exposure on volume increase and tensile properties of the composites was investigated. The residual hydrogen content which was measured 35 min after decompression increased with an increase in the hydrogen pressures ranging from 0.7 to 100MPa for the unfilled composite (NF) and the filled composite (CB). In contrast, the volume of NF and CB was hardly changed less than 10MPa, and the increase in volume by gas absorption was observed more than 10MPa. The elastic modulus of NF and CB decreased with an increase in volume, and this tendency can be successfully explained in term of the decrease in the crosslink density and elongation by volume increase. Although the tensile strength of NF hardly depended on the volume of specimen, the tensile strength of CB clearly decreased with an increase in volume. This is considered to be because a boundary structure between carbon black and rubber matrix was changed by hydrogen exposure.


The purpose of these studies was to examine the relationship between perceptions of exercise-related changes (i.e., perceived mastery and physical change) and certainty with regard to the self-as-exerciser. It was hypothesized that seeing "change" would be associated with more favorable levels of exercise self-certainty and behavior relative to "no change." Online surveys were repeatedly administered across 4 months (Study 1) and 4 weeks (Study 2) to 196 university students (M(age) = 20.17), and 250 community dwellers (M(age) = 38.44), respectively. Data were analyzed via latent variable modeling procedures. Consistent with hypotheses, latent classes (i.e., subgroups) reflecting interindividual differences in levels and trajectories of perceived change were associated with distinct patterns of self-certainty and exercise behavior. The findings suggest that adults who experience mastery of skills and physiological changes also have greater self-certainty and exercise more regularly than those who do not see progress or feel as certain of their exercise identity.


A reverse flow is created in front of an object placed in a uniform air stream that originates from behind the object. Gaseous contaminants may then be transported into the breathing zone of a worker from sources located within the reverse flow region. This should be taken into consideration when local ventilation systems are designed. The objective of this study was to characterize the reverse flow zone created in front of a worker in a uniform flow of air,using both experimental data and numerical simulation. Experiments were carried out by moving a point contaminant source on a table placed in front of the worker, and by measuring the contaminant concentration at nose level in front of the worker. The experimentally estimated length of the reverse flow region was smallest (0.5-1.0 m) with a nominal freestream velocity of 0.1 m/s, and similar (1.1-1.4 m) with nominal freestream velocities of 0.3 and 0.5 m/s.


In this study, the seasonal development of the North American monsoon system (NAMS), as simulated by a mesoscale model during a 22-yr simulation from 1980 through 2001, is assessed. Comparison between model simulations and observations shows that the model simulation reproduces the precipitation, skin temperature, and wind field patterns in the seasonal development (May–July) of the NAMS reasonably well and that the mesoscale features and spatial heterogeneity of the NAMS are described correctly. The onset of the monsoon in the central and southern Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) in Mexico occurs on 20 June, about 2 weeks earlier than the onset in Sonora, Mexico (6 July), the Sonoran Desert, and central Arizona and New Mexico (8 July). The temperature in Mexico is highest after the onset of the monsoon and then decreases with the increasing monsoon rainfall. However, the temperature in the Sonoran Desert and central Arizona and New Mexico is highest just prior to the onset of the monsoon, and high temperatures may then persist throughout July. The lower-level (700 hPa) zonal wind field reverses from westerly to easterly over the central and southern SMO just before the onset of rain in these regions; this is associated with the abrupt northward movement of the subtropical high over this region. The progression of the subtropical high into central Arizona and New Mexico results in a local reduction in the westerly flow, and although the southwesterly flow weakens, atmospheric moisture is still mainly from the Gulf of California and the eastern Pacific Ocean.


Recently, an efficient coding tool named adaptive interpolation filtering (AIF) has been proposed to hybrid video coding scheme. By introducing Wiener filter into the fractional-pixel interpolation procedure, AIF can reduce the inter-prediction error and improve coding efficiency significantly. However, the training-based Wiener filter mechanism brings AIF an inherent multi-pass encoding structure, which imposes big burdens on the encoder in terms of huge computational complexity and memory access. In this paper, we propose a single-pass-based localized adaptive interpolation filtering (SPL-AIF) algorithm for video coding, which can reduce the complexity of AIF dramatically without sacrifice of its outstanding coding performance. The proposed SPL-AIF algorithm is based on the observation that there is a high correlation among optimal interpolation filters of consecutive frames, and different regions in a frame often possess different statistical characteristics. Accordingly, the proposed algorithm can be designed including two major parts. First, a competitive filter set which includes the optimal interpolation filters of several previous frames as well as the fixed H.264/AVC interpolation filters is built up for the coding of the current frame. Then a rate-distortion optimization criterion is used to select the best one at macroblock (MB) level. In order to reduce overhead, a predictive coding method is used to compress the filter signaling flag for each MB. Experimental results show that, by using the proposed algorithm, the encoding complexity can be reduced significantly while the average coding gain in Bjöntegaard distortion bit-rate reduction can be improved about 1% compared with the multi-pass AIF. The proposed method has been adopted into the Video Coding Expert Group Key Technology Area software.


Elastic data stream processing enables applications to query and analyze streams of real time data. This is commonly facilitated by processing the flow of the data streams using a collection of stream processing operators which are placed in the cloud. However, the cloud follows a centralized approach which is prone to high latency delay. For avoiding this delay, we leverage on the fog computing paradigm which extends the cloud to the edge of the network.In order to design a stream processing solution for the fog, we first formulate an optimization problem for the placement of stream processing operators, which is tailored to fog computing environments. Then, we build a plugin (for stream processing frameworks) which solves the optimization problem periodically in order to support the dynamic resources of the fog. We evaluate this approach by performing experiments on an OpenStack testbed. The results show that our plugin reduces the response time and the cost by 31.5% and 8.8% respectively, compared to optimizing the placement of operators only upon initialization.


Room acoustic design and electroacoustic system integration are paramount to the performance, and therefore effectiveness, of teleconferencing facilities. Some key elements that need to be considered during the design and implementation stages are (a) the effects of room acoustics on transmitted, received, and in‐room speech communications; (b) the effect of transmission bandwidth on intelligibility and audio quality in the teleconference suite; (c) the naturalness of interaction over a telephone network; (d) the impact of acoustic and electroacoustic devices in a visual communications medium; (e) room ambient noise and potential noise sources. These elements are examined in light of the recent design, implementation, and operation of 12 teleconference (audio and video) suites. Details of design choices and acoustic measurements of these teleconference suites will be presented.


Contamination of ballast not only adversely affects the track stability but also impedes the track drainage. While the use of polyurethane in ballast enhances the track stability due to polyurethane bond between the aggregates, but it may reduce the permeability of ballast. In this context, the drainage characteristics of the polyurethane-stabilized and unstabilized ballast under fresh and coal fouled conditions were assessed by using large-scale permeability apparatus. The test results highlighted that the hydraulic conductivity of ballast (k) decreased slightly from 43 mm/s to 37 mm/s upon polyurethane treatment. However, the coal fines have drastically decreased the value of k for both stabilized and unstabilized ballast. For unstabilized ballast, as the fouling content (Pf) is increased from 0 to 21.2%, the value of k reduced from 43 to 0.18 mm/s. The relative hydraulic conductivity ratio (kcb/kfb), computed as the fraction of hydraulic conductivity of clean ballast to that of fouled ballast was found to increase from 1 (one) to 29 and 239 as fouling content increased from 0 to 4.24% and 21.2%, respectively. Moreover, tortuosity (T) defined as the ratio of the actual flow path length to the length of porous sample increased from 1.59 in case of clean ballast to 1.98 due to fouling (Pf:21.2%). The corresponding values of T upon polyurethane stabilization increases to 1.64 and 2.08, respectively. In addition, a nonlinear empirical relationship was established between the k and T of ballast.


Observations covered 66 healthy six-year old children of a childrens' home. The actual alimentation of the children was studied according to tabulated values for one year and 112 apportionoments. In the rations of actual nutrition a disturbed correlation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates was noted. Seasonal variations of the salival lysozyme activity were revealed against the background of the actual alimentation. The lowest antimicrobial activity of the lysozyme was recorded in the winter and spring seasons of the year. The low lysozyme activity of the saliva in spring may be explained by deficiency of the animal protein in the ration. In winter time added to the insufficient content of the animal protein were features specific for the day's routine, typical of this season. An addition of the animal protein to the actual nutritional rations of the children, in the form of eggs and nonfat dry milk and a correction of the proteins, fats and carbohydrates proportions in the rations led to a statistically significant rise in the lysozyme activity in the saliva of children during all the months of observation.


The left-lateral strike-slip Adiyaman fault is located in eastern Turkey within the plate boundary deformation zone between Arabia and Anatolia. The Adiyaman fault is a major splay from the East Anatolian Fault (EAF), one of the most important tectonic structures in the Eastern Mediterranean region. These faults are consequence of the collision between the Arabian and Anatolian plates and the resulting westward tectonic escape of Anatolia. Although the EAF has been intensively studied since its discovery in the late 1960s, little is known about the Adiyaman fault and its tectonic activity. In this study, we extract geomorphic indices including mountain-front sinuosity (Smf), valley floor width-to-height ratio (Vf), stream length-gradient (SL), catchment Asymmetry Factor (AF) and hypsometric integrals and curves (HI and HC) to evaluate the relative tectonic activity of the Adiyaman fault. These three geomorphic indices (AF, HI, and HC) are averaged to define an index for Relative Tectonic Activity (RTA) that allows the Adiyaman fault to be divided into categories of low, moderate and high RTA. The results confirm that the Adiyaman fault is an active fault with high to moderate Quaternary tectonic activity. However, this fault is of minor importance on accommodating plate boundary deformation, as evidenced by the recent crustal motions determined by GPS studies. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to note that the Adiyaman fault still poses a significant seismic hazard for the region despite its relatively moderate tectonic activity.


AbstractClinical guidelines for the management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors Treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) has been revolutioned by the recently discovered molecular mechanism respon-sible for the oncogenesis of this disease. In addition, due to the rapid progress at molecular and clinical level observed in the last few years, there is a need to review the current state of the art in order to delineate appropriate guidelines for the optimal management of these tumors.A panel of experts from several specialities, including medical oncology, surgery, pathology, molecular biology and imaging, were invited to participate in a meeting to present and discuss a number of pre-selected questions, and to achieve a consensus according to the categories of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the Standard Options Recommandations (SOR) of the French Federation of Cancer Centers.Generally, consensus points were from categories 2A of the NCCN and B2 of the SOR. Conventional histologic examination with immunohistochemistry for CD117, CD34, SMA, S-100 and desmin is considered standard. Molecular analysis for the identifi cation of KIT and PDGFRA mutation may be indicated in CD117-negative GIST. Complete tumor resection with negative margins is the optimal surgical treatment. Adjuvant imatinib should be considered an experimental approach. Neoadjuvant imatinib is also experimental, although its use may be justifi ed in unresectable or marginally resectable GIST. Imatinib should be started in metastatic or recurrent disease, and should be continued until progressive disease or drug intolerance. In these cases, sunitinib can be used. The optimal criteria for the assessment and monitoring of GIST undergoing imatinib therapy are not well known, but they should include reduction in tumor size and disease stabilization, as well as reduction of tumor density on CT scan and metabolic activity on PET scan.Key words:


This paper provides details for and commentary on two semester-long point-sharing activities I include in my Sustainable Development class, an undergraduate-level course cross-listed in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. In a course that deals with finding solutions to the issue of resource scarcity, both absolute scarcity and distributional inequity, I ask students to think about the possibilities for significant cultural shifts in values and norms rather than only technological fixes and "green consumerism." Using class points as a resource, these activities challenge students to consider making sacrifices of time for future generations of students and to work together to conserve a communal pool of points. Combined with ethnographic case studies of the diversity of resource management strategies in the world, putting alternative ways of thinking about resource use into practice helps "decolonize our imaginaries," making neoliberal ideology and its effects on our values and behaviors more visible and open to critical reflection.


Natural disaster recovery is a critical issue in rural Japan, yet repairing infrastructure, stabilising landscapes, and aiding those displaced is exceedingly expensive. Restoration of disaster affected landscapes mainly focuses on infrastructure repair, with less attention to socio-ecological activities pre- and post-disaster. The absence of integrated socio-ecological perspectives to disaster restoration creates missed opportunities for approaches more sensitive to local needs and resources. Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) frameworks attempt to bridge social and natural sciences with the effect that interactions between human and natural systems can emerge that might not be apparent by studying them separately. However, application of CHANS frameworks in the context of natural disaster recovery in rural Japan is limited, and more consideration of the challenges is needed. The aim of this paper is to describe the design of a CHANS project and summarize lessons learned in applying this complex framework. The CHANS project comprised four graduate student projects investigating different topics related to landslide recovery and future disaster vulnerability after the Northern Kyushu Heavy Rainfall in July 2012 event in rural Japan. For lessons learned, we suggest CHANS projects to be designed as a nested hierarchy of research questions, aims, objectives, and hypotheses to enable deeper synthesis at a higher level. Despite limitations in the design of our CHANS project, triangulation of data enabled us to conclude meaningful findings. When faced with limited resources, it is impossible to design a complex study accounting for all relevant factors, but a CHANS approach can enable integrated socio-ecological insights and foster innovative solutions for improving resource management and cost-effectiveness of disaster recovery plans.


Background With an estimated backlog of 4,000,000 patients worldwide, cleft lip and cleft palate remain a stark example of the global burden of surgical disease. The need for a new paradigm in global surgery has been increasingly recognized by governments, funding agencies, and professionals to exponentially expand care while emphasizing safety and quality. This three-part article examines the evolution of the Operation Smile Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Center (GCCCC) as an innovative model for sustainable cleft care in the developing world. Methods The GCCCC is the result of a unique public-private partnership between government, charity, and private enterprise. In 2009, Operation Smile, the Government of Assam, the National Rural Health Mission, and the Tata Group joined together to work towards the common goal of creating a center of excellence in cleft care for the region. Results This partnership combined expertise in medical care and training, organizational structure and management, local health care infrastructure, and finance. A state-of-the-art surgical facility was constructed in Guwahati, Assam which includes a modern integrated operating suite with an open layout, advanced surgical equipment, sophisticated anesthesia and monitoring capabilities, central medical gases, and sterilization facilities. Conclusion The combination of established leaders and dreamers from different arenas combined to create a synergy of ambitions, resources, and compassion that became the backbone of success in Guwahati.


ABSTRACTThe number of workers potentially exposed to nanoparticles (NPs) in industrial processes is constantly increasing, even though the toxicological effects of these compounds have not yet been fully characterized. The hazards associated with this exposure can be assessed most relevantly by toxicology studies involving inhalation of nanoaerosols by animals.
In this paper, we describe and characterize an aerosol generated in a nose-only exposure system used to study the respiratory effects of NPs in rat; this system was designed to meet the most stringent requirements for animal testing in terms of protection of operators against risks associated with NPs and biohazards and to comply with the OECD guidelines for chemical testing.
The inhalation facility was fully validated by exposing Fisher 344 rats to TiO2 P25 aerosols at 10 mg m–3. Aerosol monitoring and in-depth characterization were ensured by real-time devices (condensation particle counter, optical particle sizer, scanning mobility particle sizer, aerodynamic particle sizer and electrical low pressure impactor) and samples taken for off-line analyses (gravimetric analysis, mass size distribution from cascade impactor, TEM observations).
The test atmosphere was stable in terms of concentrations and distributions (mass or number) between different inhalation towers on a given day and between days (intra-experiment), as well as between inhalation campaigns (between experiments). In terms of the respiratory deposition profile, preliminary results after exposure for one month indicate that this system is relevant, and should therefore be appropriate for in vivo inhalation toxicity studies.


In early stages, Parkinson disease typically begins with asymmetric or unilateral motor symptoms due to combinations of mild bradykinesia, rigidity, and tremor. In most cases, with progression, signs of more generalized bradykinesia appear, which include facial masking, reduced voice volume, and slowing of activities of daily living. In more advanced Parkinson disease, other disabling manifestations may follow, such as impaired balance, gait freezing, falls, speech disturbance, and cognitive impairment. Levodopa is the most effective medical treatment for Parkinson disease. However, motor complications uniquely related to levodopa treatment may emerge that may be difficult to manage. These include fluctuating levodopa responses and involuntary movements and postures known as dyskinesia and dystonia. Medication adjustments are usually effective, but in some cases surgical intervention with deep brain stimulation becomes necessary to alleviate motor complications. The case of Mr L, a man with an 11-year history of Parkinson disease, illustrates these emerging motor complications and the manner in which they may be managed both medically and surgically.


High temperature corrosion via chlorine is a key factor in the degradation of boiler tubes in waste-to-energy (WTE) plants. Corrosion rates are particularly high in the superheater where material temperatures may exceed 450°C and where carbon or low alloy steels may be used. Although increasing sulfur, in the form of SO2, in WTE flue gas has been shown in previous works to have potential for decreasing the corrosion of these materials, the inhibitive effect is not well understood.This work investigated the corrosion of SA178A, a low carbon steel alloy (0.07 wt% C), and NSSER-4, a stainless steel (17.3Cr-13.1Ni-2.5 Si-Fe), via exposure under various well-defined environments, SO2:HCl ratios between 1:8 to 2:1 (HCl fixed at 800 ppm), 8% O2, 12% CO2, 0 and 15% H2O, N2 (balance) at 500°C in a horizontal tube furnace for 50 hours. Additional coupon testing was performed on NSSER-4 after application of 4 mg/cm2 ± 10% NaCl or Na2SO4 at 500 and 700°C for 24 hours to assess the impact of higher SO2 in the against both deposit and gaseous corrosion. Specimen preparation and corrosion assessment followed ASTM method G1-03.Experiments demonstrated little to no trends in corrosion rates at SO2:HCl ratios between 1:8–2:1 under mixed gas environment. However corrosion reduction was observed when SO2:HCl was increased from a reference condition of 1:8 to greater than 1.4:1 in tests with NaCl present, which was also not observed under dry conditions. These results suggest that one possible explanation for the reduction of boiler materials corrosion rate with higher concentrations of SO2 may be largely attributed to the conversion of metal chlorides to sulfates.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


A protein, molecular weight 70,000 that inhibits pancreatic lipase has been isolated from soybean seeds. Inhibition is not reversed by colipase unless bile salts are added to the assay system. Inhibitory properties of the purified protein are very similar to those of serum albumin or alpha-lactoglobulin. It has been confirmed that, during intestinal lipolysis of dietary fats, bile salts play an essential role for the activation of the lipase-colipase system in the presence of inhibitory proteins. The purified soybean lipase inhibitory protein was shown to be highly surface-active and able to penetrate monomolecular films of various glycerides and phospholipids at high surface pressure. Inhibition of pancreatic lipase by proteins is related to their capacity to interact with lipids and to modify the quality of the substrate-water interface. The protein isolated from soybeans inhibits pancreatic and Rh. delemar lipase in contrast to the Rh. arrhizus enzyme.


OBJECT
During recent years, several biomarkers have been introduced for use in the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The primary objective of this investigation was to determine if S100B (or S100 calcium-binding protein B) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) serum concentrations can effectively be used to discriminate between symptomatic and asymptomatic children with minor head trauma.

METHODS
The authors conducted a prospective clinical study that involved patients age 6 months to 15 years who had sustained minor head trauma. Children with concomitant extracranial injuries were excluded. Blood samples were obtained within 6 hours of injury to measure S100B and NSE levels in serum. The authors defined 2 diagnostic groups: a mild TBI group (patients with Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] scores of 13-15) in whom there were clinical signs of concussion (short loss of consciousness, amnesia, nausea, vomiting, somnolence, headache, dizziness, or impaired vision) and a head contusion group (patients with a GCS score of 15) in whom symptoms were absent. Both S100B and NSE concentrations were compared between the 2 groups. Secondary end points were defined as follows: correlation of S100B/NSE and a) the presence of scalp lacerations, b) GCS score, c) age, and d) correlation between S100B and NSE.

RESULTS
One hundred forty-eight patients were enrolled (53 in the contusion group, 95 in the mild TBI group). After adjusting for differences in age and time of injury to blood sample withdrawal, there was no significant difference in S100B or NSE between patients in the 2 groups. Scalp lacerations and GCS score had no affect on posttraumatic S100B or NSE concentrations. The correlation between S100B and NSE was significant. Both markers showed a significant negative correlation with age.

CONCLUSIONS
The authors demonstrated that S100B and NSE do not discriminate between symptomatic and asymptomatic children with minor head injury. There seem to be limitations in marker sensitivity when investigating pediatric patients with mild TBI.


This paper presents the details of a simulation based study performed to investigate the BER performance degradation (sensitivity) of OFDM systems due to time synchronization error at the demodulator. It is shown that an OFDM system incorporating a cyclic prefix (CP) has an asymmetric effect on the received constellation with synchronization error away from CP introducing intersymbol interference (ISI), while that towards the CP introducing only a phase error. We approximate the time synchronization error by a Gaussian distributed random variable, in order to evaluate the BER sensitivity of OFDM systems to timing error. The BER performance was evaluated for an AWGN channel and a multipath fading channel in terms of the synchronization error variance. The results of this investigation will be useful in developing time synchronization algorithms in OFDM systems to achieve a particular BER performance target for a given channel condition.


: Plans to send humans to Mars dictate revision of the whole crew medical support system. Autonomy of the mission will extend crew responsibilities for all dimensions of medical support. The article compares and contrasts medical support of crews on orbital and interplanetary missions, and considers the place and functionality of medical informational technologies in a mission to Mars.


Accurate and efficient analysis of multivariate spatio-temporal data is critical in climatology, geology, and sociology applications. Existing models usually assume simple inter-dependence among variables, space, and time, and are computationally expensive. We propose a unified low rank tensor learning framework for multivariate spatio-temporal analysis, which can conveniently incorporate different properties in spatio-temporal data, such as spatial clustering and shared structure among variables. We demonstrate how the general framework can be applied to cokriging and forecasting tasks, and develop an efficient greedy algorithm to solve the resulting optimization problem with convergence guarantee. We conduct experiments on both synthetic datasets and real application datasets to demonstrate that our method is not only significantly faster than existing methods but also achieves lower estimation error.


This study was conducted to evaluate the treatment performance of the system using peroxy radical/ozone reaction for refractory organic compounds removal in aqueous solution. The effect of initial humic acid concentration was conducted under the conditions of humic acid concentration 10 mg/L, 30 mg/L, 50 mg/L and 100 mg/L. Reaction rate constant (k) in 30 mg/L of humic acid concentration was higher than that of humic acid concentration 10 mg/L, 50 mg/L amd 100 mg/L. However, it decreased over the range of 30 mg/L of humic acid concentration due to the action of internal filter of humic acid itself. Reaction rate constant (k) in the initial 20 minute of reaction time was accelerated by decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT). This may be ascribed to increase the reaction time between peroxy radical and ozone. pH is a key for both ozone stability and TiO2 surface property in aqueous solution. Reaction rate constant (k) of acid solution on pH variation was smaller compared to that of neutral or basic circumstances because ozone decomposes easily into hydroxyl radicals in neutral or basic solution. At reaction rate constant (k) for humic acid degradation in each unit process, peroxy radical/ozone combined system was higher than that of ozone only due to the effective production of hydroxyl radical. An obvious difference between ozone and peroxy radical/ozone is the consequence of hydroxyl radical produced by the reaction of ozone molecules and peroxy radicals.


published data on the diversity, life history, ecology, and status of freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs was reviewed in the context of anthropogenic threats and principles of conservation biology. at least 171 species of elasmobranch, representing 68 genera and 34 families, are recorded from fresh or estuarine waters. of these, over half are marginal in estuaries, less than one-tenth are euryhaline, and one-fifth are obligate in fresh water. obligate freshwater elasmobranchs are dominated by myliobatoid stingrays, of which two-thirds are potamotrygonids endemic to atlantic drainages of south america. freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs adhere to strongly k-selected life histories and feed at high trophic levels, similar to those of their marine relatives. however, freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs are also subject to habitat constraints, notably more limited volume and physicochemical variability than the ocean, that may render them more vulnerable than marine elasmobranchs to the effects of human activities. the greatest diversity and abundance of freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs occur in tropical countries with enormous and rapidly increasing human populations, notably south america, west africa, and south-east asia. knowledge of the biology, distribution, ecology, and status of freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs is frustrated by unresolved taxonomic problems, which are briefly summarized. to clarify selected issues in the conservation of freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs, special attention is given to sharks of the genus glyphis, pristids, and potamotrygonids. to foster live release when possible as well as prevent discard of specimens and loss of data, an illustrated key to differentiate carcharhinus from glyphis sharks is provided. obligate freshwater elasmobranchs with limited geographic ranges are deemed most vulnerable to extinction, but euryhaline elasmobranchs that require access to the sea to breed are also at significant risk. based on the foregoing data and principles of conservation biology, suggested action plans for the conservation of freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs and the conservation of freshwater habitats are provided.


Corporate governance is hotly debated in Malaysia and elsewhere in the Asian-Pacific region. The reason for this is that several of the problems that Asian-Pacific countries faced during the crisis of 1997-1999 are blamed on weak corporate governance structures. In this study we examine the determinants of Board compensation in Malaysian companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange over the period 1989 to 2000. Our objective is to examine whether corporate governance affects the relationship between performance and remuneration. We find evidence of a statistically significant positive relationship between Board remuneration and sales turnover and a statistically significant negative relationship between Board remuneration and ownership concentration. However, the relationship between Board remuneration and firm performance is ambiguous, while there is no evidence of a significant relationship between Board remuneration and sector performance.


This paper studies the problem of embedding very large information networks into low-dimensional vector spaces, which is useful in many tasks such as visualization, node classification, and link prediction. Most existing graph embedding methods do not scale for real world information networks which usually contain millions of nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel network embedding method called the ``LINE,'' which is suitable for arbitrary types of information networks: undirected, directed, and/or weighted. The method optimizes a carefully designed objective function that preserves both the local and global network structures. An edge-sampling algorithm is proposed that addresses the limitation of the classical stochastic gradient descent and improves both the effectiveness and the efficiency of the inference. Empirical experiments prove the effectiveness of the LINE on a variety of real-world information networks, including language networks, social networks, and citation networks. The algorithm is very efficient, which is able to learn the embedding of a network with millions of vertices and billions of edges in a few hours on a typical single machine. The source code of the LINE is available online\footnote{\url{https://github.com/tangjianpku/LINE}}.


Road collisions are complex events that are influenced by a combination of factors, including driver behaviour, environmental condition (e.g., icy and wet roads), road geometry, roadside elements, vehicle speed, tire deficiencies, traffic, and pavement condition. While the influence of some of these factors has been studied extensively for decades, the influence of pavement condition on road safety is relatively under-researched. This research investigated the influence of pavement surface condition on road safety by developing statistical models that correlate pavement surface condition and collisions. This research also examined the possibility to integrate skid resistance into pavement management by investigating the correlations between skid resistance, pavement distress, and operational conditions of the roads.
This study was limited to rural arterial and freeways of the Ontario asphalt pavement road network. Data of pavement condition, operational condition, and collision was obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation for 6879 kilometers across 37 provincial rural highways for the period of 2012 to 2014. Pavement condition data was collected at network level with an automatic road analyzer road and included information about roughness, rutting, cracking, and macrotexture. Skid resistance data was collected with a locked wheel tester. The collected data was combined into a spatial data model, also known as a vector-based geographic information system.
The results of the investigation using regression analysis showed that pavement friction is affected by traffic, pavement age, and pavement distress. Skid resistance decreased with the increase of traffic and increased with the increase of pavement distress. Macrotexture increased with the increase of traffic and pavement distress.
The influence of pavement condition on road safety using statistical analysis and regression models indicated that collisions were lower for pavements in fair condition and greater for pavements in poor and good condition. Pavement texture also showed to be an important factor for collision classes that demanded satisfactory levels of macrotexture and pavement friction. In particular, greater levels of macrotexture contributed to a reduction in sideswipe and wet surface collisions.


In the current study, 5-FU-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), di-block poly lactide-co-caprolactone (PLCL) and tri-block poly L-lactide-co-caprolactone-co-glycolide (PLCLG). The influence of these polymers on the particle sizes, morphology, drug loading, and in vitro drug release was investigated. The anticancer activity was assessed utilizing MTT assay in three human cancer cell lines of different tissue origin; brain (Daoy), liver (HepG2), and colorectal (HT29) using suitable negative and positive controls. The prepared NPs showed a uniform spherical shape with an average size range of 193.5± 6.3 to 303.5± 3.3 nm with negative zeta potential. The entrapment efficiency achieved with F4-F6 (block copolymer NPs) was 78-79% and significantly higher compared with F1 PLGA (31%) and F2; PCL (37%). An initial rapid 5-FU release followed by a slow release ranging from 35% to 81% after 72 h was observed. All the prepared NPs formulations showed enhancement in the cytotoxicity of 5-FU towards all the three cancer cell lines. Generally, block copolymer NPs (F4-F6) showed higher % cell death over PLGA (F1) and PCL (F2) NPs after 48 and 72 h incubation in the case of HepG2 and HT-29. The incorporation of PEG with the tri-block (F6) caused a significant increase in the cytotoxicity of NPs in all of the three cancer cell lines. Block copolymer-based NPs can be considered as promising carriers for enhancing the efficacy of 5-FU in cancer therapy.


Following leakage which developed within the furnace of a horizontal multi-tubular type boiler, examination revealed a series of cracks adjacent to the stiffening rings in the first plain furnace ring. The fire-side surface of the sample was coated with a layer of oxide scale. Microscopical examination of sections through the cracks showed them to be filled with oxide and to be of the multi-branched type, having blunt terminations. The general nature of the cracks was characteristic of cracking from thermal or corrosion fatigue, as results from the operation of varying stresses in an oxidizing or corrosive environment. The cracking in this particular case was due principally to the inordinately large gap between the components. Additionally, several of the sealing welds of the tubes to the back tube plate were cracked in a radial manner, and it would appear that in addition, abnormal thermal conditions may well have been experienced intermittently in service.


Coastal tourist nursing is intended for coastal tourists related to the risk of accidents that may occur during the coastal activity. The risk of accidents in tourists can occur due to bad weather, lack of rescue equipment, and the limited ability of the coast guard to perform first aid and emergency treatment. This study described the relationship between coastal tourist nursing with the prevention of injuries and the first aid of coastal accidents, as well as the working procedures and obstacles that might occur during the rescue. The research was conducted by the qualitative method through in-depth interviews with respondents consisting of tourists, Balawista, and health workers. The data is analyzed with qualitative descriptive analysis. The interview generates 14 themes related to activities on coastal such as the duties of Balawista, warning signs, means of communication, improvement of ability, accident cases, accident treatment, referral of cases, needs of infrastructure facilities, human resources needs, health care needs, infrastructure factors, human factors, situation factors, and how to cope with the problem. Those themes can be used as a reflection in following up the safety service efforts to coastal tourists.


This paper examines if, when, and to what extent U.S. minor party labels influence individual opinions over a range of political issues. Based on data from an experimental study, we reach three general conclusions. First, as cues, party labels are more likely to influence opinions over complex issues. Second, familiarity with and trust in a party condition cue acceptance. Third, as a whole, minor party labels act as effective cues less consistently than major parties. This finding, we suggest, indicates that there exists some threshold level of familiarity and trust that minor parties must reach in the mass public in order to be effective cues. This research is valuable because it extends current work on party labels as heuristic devices and more general work on cues; our findings are additionally important given recent trends in public opinion data, which indicate that the U.S. public is becoming more accepting of minor parties as permanent features of the political system.


Reusable architectures, like frameworks or product lines, can improve the efficiency of software development. In this paper, methods from the areas of software engineering, domain engineering, software architectures and tool-supported implementation are combined and integrated to successfully build reusable architectures. Special emphasis is placed on process issues and on modeling. Software product line architectures form the reusable base of similar systems, and thus a system family. This architecture is developed in an evolutionary process while using existing systems and reusable components, so-called COTS systems. Within this process, the family's reusable core is specified by the integrated domain analysis methods. The implementation of the product line architecture is done with reusable frameworks. These frameworks are automatically instantiated by means of a method and a tool based on extended collaborations. The description of variants of the reusable architectures and the automatic instantiation technique are based on UML.


Pineal N-acetyltransferase (NAT) is activated by increased sympathetic activity or by administration of isoproterenol. These experiments examined the effects of fetal alcohol exposure on the pharmacological induction of NAT activity in rats. Fetal alcohol exposure resulted in a significant reduction of NAT activity compared to that in rats whose mothers received a nutritionally controlled liquid diet or a laboratory chow diet during gestation. Stimulation of NAT activity in vitro by forskolin, which directly stimulates adenylate cyclase, also was significantly less in pineal glands from fetal alcohol exposed rats when compared with pineal NAT activity from rats exposed to the control diets during gestation. The results suggest that the effects of fetal alcohol exposure is not limited to the beta-adrenergic receptor at the cell membrane, but that exposure to alcohol in utero may result in more general effects on intracellular mechanisms involved in pineal NAT enzyme synthesis or activity.


Background: Dexmedetomidine is an α-2 adrenoreceptor agonist with sedative, analgesic and anxiolytic properties. Since its release in the US market in late 1999, it has gained remarkable attention in the adult, pediatric and geriatric populations, predominantly because of its minimal respiratory depression. However, beyond its well-known properties, dexmedetomidine has recently been investigated for its potential in many other clinical scenarios, including neuroprotection, cardioprotection and renoprotection, with promising results. Objective: This review provides an outline of the current use of dexmedetomidine in adult and pediatric populations in several clinical settings, including operating room, intensive care unit, postsurgical patients and patients who need sedation and/or analgesia for invasive and noninvasive procedures. Our objectives were to examine the most up-to-date clinical evidence, describe the magnitude of effects, and shed some light on potential future applications. Methods: Published, peer-reviewed studies, including preclinical data, were included in this review article. Results/conclusions: Dexmedetomidine is a novel agent with a wide safety margin and excellent sedative and moderate analgesic properties. Though its broadest use is currently in surgical and nonsurgical intensive care unit patients, dexmedetomidine appears to have promising future applications in the areas of neuroprotection, cardioprotection and renoprotection.


In the early stages of formation of atheroma, the remodeling of the vessel wall usually prevents plaque from encroaching on the lumen, thereby masking the presence of atheroma on angiography. In contrast, grayscale intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can fully assess the extension of the disease axially and longitudinally. Thus, intravascular imaging has played a vital role in advancing our understanding of the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease, and in the development of novel cardiovascular drugs and device therapies. Intravascular imaging technology and its clinical and research applications are discussed in greater detail below.


ABSTRACT This article explores how societal actors in Somalia take part in a transnational politics of countering/preventing violent extremism (CVE/PVE) through a political sociological approach to militarisation. We argue that the transnational politics of CVE represents an extension of global militarism by some states, institutions, donors and brokers. CVE works to adapt global militarism and to reconfigure the global-local relationships that sustain it. We explore the roles and influence of local 'CVE brokers' in deradicalisation efforts in South-central Somalia. They inadvertently merge the counter-terrorism approach to Somali people, values and territory with non-military means. We show that their key practices – co-ordination, translation and alignment – advance, but also disrupt, alter and transform CVE policy objectives.


A universal transit heat transport equation was represented and all parameters for applying such a formula to drying of Radiata pine were modeled, incorporating reasonable physical conditions. In previous empirical models, the influence of drying temperature on the conviction heat transfer was ignored, though it is parentally not negligible. In this study, a multivariate regression model was developed from previous experimental data, in which both air velocity and drying temperature were taken into consideration. In addition, the models of heat diffusion properties in axial, tangential and radial directions were presented in which drying conditions and wood properties were taken into account. With those models, scenario computer simulation may be conducted to explore the drying phenomena of Radiata pine board.


The articles attempts to make readers more familiar with unconventional architectural solutions. This time around, the author writes about economical mobile homes, designed by the London-based N55 group: "The small projects of N55 could be referred to as travelling on foot. But then, doesn't each trip start with a first step? This one is taken towards water. This is so probably because, in this privatised world, waterside areas have retained the status of a common good at least to some degree. It is not accidental that, when being moored to the banks of Amsterdam or London, river boats become the homes of people who are in love with the idea of freedom. This is just the frame of mind that N55 relates to in its projects called Sputnik and Snail Shell. N55 believes in the need for free exchange of technological know-how. Construction companies and the related industry personify the unnecessary concentration of power. This is why the designers do not request fees for information to be used by the future tenants. They do not wish to protect their designs with patents in belief that this would restrict access to freedom and become yet another way of undesirable 'concentration of power'. The instructions for building the Spaceframe or the Snail Shell are accessible free of charge on the Internet. As opposed to other prefabricated homes and products, N55 designs are not for sale."


As vascular tone depression is a hallmark of septic shock, administration of norepinephrine is logical in this setting. In this article, we provide and develop the following arguments for an early use of norepinephrine-the recommended first-line vasopressor-in septic shock: (I) prevention of prolonged severe hypotension, (II) increase in cardiac output through an increase in cardiac preload and/or contractility, (III) improvement of microcirculation and tissue oxygenation, (IV) prevention of fluid overload, and (V) improvement of outcome. Presence of a low diastolic arterial pressure as a marker of depressed vascular tone can be used as a trigger to initiate norepinephrine urgently.


The magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroic materials is promising for a wide range of applications, yet manipulating magnetic ordering by electric field proves elusive to obtain and difficult to control. In this paper, we explore the prospect of controlling magnetic ordering in misfit strained bismuth ferrite (BiFeO(3), BFO) films, combining theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental characterizations. Electric field induced transformation from a tetragonal phase to a distorted rhombohedral one in strain engineered BFO films has been identified by thermodynamic analysis, and realized by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) experiment. By breaking the rotational symmetry of a tip-induced electric field as suggested by phase field simulation, the morphology of distorted rhombohedral variants has been delicately controlled and regulated. Such capabilities enable nanoscale control of magnetoelectric coupling in strain engineered BFO films that is difficult to achieve otherwise, as demonstrated by phase field simulations.


Hip and groin injuries include multiple, complex and long-standing conditions.1–3 Many treatment approaches and techniques, primarily investigated in case series (Level-4 evidence)4 for athletes with long-standing hip and groin injury, have continuously emerged and resurfaced during the last 30 years.5–9 These case series often claim to have a treatment success close to 100%, and to initiate a fast return to sport.10–15 These successful return rates, however, seldom match athletes and sports practitioners' own experience as long-standing hip and groin injuries are often extremely difficult to recover from.1–3 ,16 ,17

The lack of reliable, valid and responsive outcome measures for patients with hip and groin injuries has, in our opinion, been one of the main reasons why very few treatment advances have been made within this field.5–9 ,18 ,19 While some existing treatments (based on case series) may have promise, their success has mostly been evaluated by treatment providers (often the operating surgeon and main author), instead of being evaluated by the treatment receivers (the patients). This makes it very difficult to get a true impression of these procedures' potential effect. It is possible that patients' perceptions of the treatment success of these interventions are entirely different from those of the treatment providers.20

However, with the recent development of reliable, valid and responsive outcome scores, such as the Copenhagen Hip And Groin Outcome Score,19 ,21 it is now possible to objectively evaluate patient-reported hip and groin symptoms and function.19 Furthermore, the development of reliable clinical tests, including hip strength, squeeze tests22–26 and specific hip range of motion tests,22 ,27 makes it possible to measure  some of the clinical impairments frequently presenting in this patient group.22 ,27–30 Further research into specific strength testing positions …


A greenhouse pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of three turfgrasses: Lolium perenne, Festuca arundinacea and Trifolium repens for the phytomanagement of textile dyeing sludge. The sludge was mixed with soil at proportion of 0, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% (w/w), respectively. This experimental result showed that good responses were observed among them, improved physical and chemical properties of the textile dyeing sludge, all parameters were respectively lower than before. The chlorophyll content increased in the amount of textile dyeing sludge. Compared with the control, the total chlorophyll contents of L. perenne, F. arundinacea and T. repens increased by 50%, 97% and 42%, respectively, under the condition of 100% textile dyeing sludge. However, there has been a decrease in the root activity of L. perenne, F. arundinacea and T. repens, which are 28%, 29% and 43%, respectively.


This paper utilizes the Taguchi design method to optimize the design parameters of a light-emitting diode (LED) backlight unit for wide color gamut liquid crystal displays (LCDs). In optimizing the design, the parametric analyses consider two particular regions of the backlight unit, namely, the color-mixing zone and the extractor zone. The Taguchi experiments are configured in L9 (34 ) orthogonal arrays and are designed to evaluate the effects of the design parameters on the color-difference, optical efficiency and luminance of the unit. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results reveal that the optical efficiency and color-difference properties are determined primarily by the reflector design and the length of the color mixing zone, respectively, while the luminance to the LCD panel is affected principally by the taper angle of the optical microstructures in the extractor zone. The optimal design parameters of the color-mixing zone and extractor zone are estimated from the Taguchi S/N ratio data and the ANOVA results, and are verified via ray-tracing simulations. For an input flux of 1501 lm, the optimal design shows 0.01 of the color differences in CIE 1976 color space, 85% of the optical efficiency, and 10675 nits of luminance. Thus, the optimized backlight unit provides an ideal solution for the illumination of large-scale LCD display devices.


Solute (pollutant) and sediment transports directly relate to controlling water quality in water environment (e.g. river, estuary and reservoir). An understanding of turbulent diffusion is the key for improving water quality in rivers and estuaries. Many studies on turbulent diffusion have been carried out in open channels, compound channels and estuaries for different flow conditions in the past. This paper reviews the past research mainly carried out by the author and includes flow structures, solute concentration distributions, mixing parameters in simple open channel, compound channel, rivers and estuaries. Sediment transport rates and bedforms in meandering channel for flooding are also included.


The interest on ornamental geophytes has grown over the years due to the important impact of these crops on different market segments (cut flowers, potted plants, propagation material and use in the landscape) and their adaptability to different cultural cycles and conditions. In Italy, ornamental geophytes have known moments of notoriety followed by declines but to date the so-called "minor geophytes" have an important role in the national flower industry. Among these ones, Ranunculus has gained importance and for instance in our Region (Liguria) it is the most popular cut flower. Ranunculus is cultivated in different countries and its commercialization has an international impact with opportunity for an all-over year production. To testify this impact, the studies on Ranunculus have increased over recent years. Since the first work in seventies, the research on this crop has greatly advanced in the field of propagation, pest management and cultural practices although still challenges should be faced to achieve a good standard and high production quality. Our Institute has been working on Ranunculus for more than 30 years. The first goal for us was to point out a reliable micropropagation protocol enabling to provide the growers with cultivars for which standard production could be applied. The availability of micropropagated plant material allowed us to introduce a new product onto the market: the "Ranunculus clone" with improved agronomic performance compared to the seedling production. A production chain was then developed able to ensure a high and standard quality through insights related to the phytopathological health, the integrated pest management, the cultural practices and the production costs. This presentation deals with the most relevant results obtained in our work and is aimed at outlining the challenges which should be still faced.