ABSTRACT Rearranged during transfection (RET) fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 1% of lung adenocarcinoma. Although small molecule agents with RET kinase inhibitory activity such as alectinib, vandetanib, and cabozantinib have been clinically evaluated in RET-fusion–positive NSCLC, an effective monotherapy regimen has not been established. We explored agents to use in combination with alectinib to enhance the antitumor effect of alectinib against RET-fusion cells. Cell proliferation under co-treatment with alectinib plus each of six chemotherapeutic agents or six molecularly targeted agents was evaluated in vitro. The combination effect was analyzed by IC50 isobologram and combination index using LC-2/ad and Ba/F3-KIF5B-RET cells. The in vivo combination effect was investigated in a Ba/F3-KIF5B-RET xenograft model. The phosphorylation levels of proteins regulating proliferation were measured by immunoblotting. Palbociclib, a CDK4/6 inhibitor, showed the greatest synergy against LC-2/ad cells in the isobologram analysis and combination index. This synergistic effect was also observed against Ba/F3-KIF5B-RET cells. Another CDK4/6 inhibitor, abemaciclib, also showed a synergistic effect. In vivo, the combination of alectinib plus palbociclib showed a more enhanced antitumor effect than each single agent in a mouse xenograft model with transplanted Ba/F3-KIF5B-RET cells. This combination suppressed the phosphorylation of S6 and Rb more intensely than did either single agent in both LC-2/ad and Ba/F3-KIF5B-RET cell lines, both in vitro and in vivo. Combination therapy with alectinib plus the CDK4/6 inhibitor enhanced the antitumor effect against RET-fusion–positive cells in vitro and in vivo.


This essay brackets the history of the modern subject between the moment of its formation in the seventeenth century and that of its postmodern demise in the latter part of the century just past. These brackets also mark two ages of the plague: bubonic in the first, and (among others, present and pending) the "plague" of AIDS in the second. Can we understand the relation between these two histories as more than a chronological coincidence? Personhood—whether regarded as the integrity of a somatic body or as a function of that body's incorporation in the political or natural order of things—is put under special pressure by the crisis of plague. Furthermore, recognizing an affinity between the construction and deconstruction of the modern subject on the one hand, and plague times on the other reveals the prehistory of our own posthumanist engagement with epidemic disease. This essay thus addresses the subject of the plague "subject" then and now. Finally, the essay frames the plague subject in terms of biopolitical theory while arguing that the historical claims of biopolitics must be adjusted to account for the history of the plague.


Packing density method of mix design of concrete is a new method to design different types of concrete. The mix design obtained from the packing density method has suitable workability, maximum packing density, and minimum voids ratio. The geometrical characteristics like shape, size, and proportion of fine aggregate and coarse aggregate affect packing density. The objective of this research is to study the mix design of concrete using a packing density method. In this work large number of trail to decide the proportion of aggregate for that optimum bulk density and packing density calculated for different varying proportion of 20 mm: 12.5 mm coarse aggregate (i.e. 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 65:35, 60:40 and 50:50) and for varying proportion coarse aggregate : fine aggregate (i.e. 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 55:45 and 50:50). To finalize the mix design using packing density method also varies the percentage of excess cement paste (i.e. 5%, 7%, 9%, 10%, 11% and 12%). Tests were performed for the properties of fresh concrete like Workability test (Slump cone) and hard concrete like Compressive strength, split- tensile strength, Pull-out test and rebound hammer tests were determined at 7, 14 and 28 days. The obtained results for the above-mentioned test using packing density method are satisfying the standard results.


The results of an investigation into the synthesis and optimisation of a novel photocatalytic thin film for use within a photochemical diode to produce hydrogen by water splitting are reported in this thesis. Initially, thin films of titanium dioxide were synthesised and applied to a range of substrates by a sol-gel dip-coating process. Metal nanoparticles were then introduced into the titanium dioxide films to alter the electronic properties of the photocatalytic thin film, allowing the film to harvest a greater proportion of the energy available in sunlight. The effect of thickness on the rate of photocatalytic dye degradation was compared to the effect of thickness on the photo-assisted evolution of oxygen and hydrogen within sacrificial systems1. It was found that the addition of metal nanoparticles enhanced the rate of both photocatalytic dye degradation and gas evolution using sacrificial solutions. Studies into the effect of varying photocatalytic thin film thickness showed that while the rate of photocatalytic dye degradation increased with increasing film thickness, the rate of evolution of both oxygen and hydrogen occurred within a specific thickness range. This observation was attributed to the fact that the two processes occur via very different mechanisms, the rate of one (dye degradation) relying simple on the amount of photocatalyst available for photoexcitation, and the rate of the other dependent on the correspondence of the thickness of the photochemical diode to the mobility of the photogenerated electron created. Following these initial investigations, various optimisation techniques were tested, such as the application of a noble metal undercoat on the substrate before a photocatalytic thin film is applied on top of this sputtered layer of noble metal. It was determined that the presence of a light layer of sputtered noble metal on the substrate prior to the application of the photocatalytic thin film enhanced the rate of hydrogen and oxygen evolution from sacrificial solutions. Dye degradation tests were not carried out beyond the initial investigative stages, as the aim of the project was ultimately to most efficiently produce hydrogen from water. It had already been established that dye degradation occurs via a very different mechanism to that of gas evolution from water splitting, therefore all further samples were tested for gas evolution alone. Following the investigation into the effect of a sputtered noble metal undercoat, the results of rates of photo-assisted gas evolution of photocatalytic thin films deposited onto substrates with different methods of surface roughening were studied. The rate of photo-assisted gas evolution for photocatalytic thin films deposited onto differently physically modified substrates are compared. Substrates with an increasing surface area are also tested in the same way. It was found that roughening the surface of the substrate prior to the deposition of a thin film enhanced the rates of hydrogen and oxygen evolution, although it was not conclusively proven whether this was due to an increase in the surface area of the substrate and consequent increase in the area of photocatalyst-substrate interface, or whether the enhancement was due to a better contact between substrate and photocatalyst as a result of the removal of any dirt or oxidised substrate material present on the surface of the substrate. Further studies into the effect of combining the effect of the application of a noble metal undercoat layer with the effect of surface roughening of a substrate before the application of a photocatalytic thin film were carried out, in order to determine whether combining two different methods of enhancement will have a multiplied enhancement of the rate of photocatalytic activity. It was found that by combining methods of chemical and physical modification of the substrate prior to the deposition of a photocatalytic thin film, the rate of hydrogen and oxygen evolution achieved was more enhanced than the rates achieved by either of the two previous methods of modification alone. Finally, the idea of extending the reach of the substrate further into the photocatalytic thin film was investigated, and the effect of the incorporation of a conductive network of metal fragments within the photocatalytic thin film on the rate of photo-assisted gas evolution was observed. Fine steel and bronze filings were added to the sols before deposition onto the substrates. While the rate of hydrogen and oxygen evolution was greater than for films with no metal filings present, the enhancement factor was not as great as that observed with previous physical and chemical modification methods.


Abstract A diel vertical migration (DVM) pattern of Norwegian spring spawning herring (Clupea harengus) larvae was investigated during 19 and 20 April 2009. Factors influencing DVM included physical and biological properties of the water column. Data on larvae, prey and predators were collected with a depth-stratified multisampling device, inshore of Sklinna bank, close to the Norwegian coast, while light conditions were calculated using a Matlab® algorithm. A type I DVM pattern (i.e. deep during daytime, shallow at night) was observed for herring larvae, mainly occurring above the thermocline. No size-dependent differences were observed for larval vertical positioning. The highest overlap in depth distribution with their main prey was observed during daytime, when larvae were distributed deeper in the water column. From acoustics and macroplankton trawl data, a type I DVM was also observed for krill, although their concentrations were relatively low in the area. Cumulative predator–prey overlap plots suggest that krill most likely forage on copepods and smaller organisms. During the day, larvae concentrate near the thermocline to feed, while they move towards the surface at dusk, possibly to use the remaining light to continuing feeding. During the night, when light levels were too low to feed, larvae spread out in the water column above the thermocline. This migration pattern reduces the overlap between larvae and potential predators such as krill, which also move higher up during nighttime. It is suggested that the pattern of herring larvae DVM is a behavioural response to active pursuit of prey.


A method of ultramicroanalysis of dansyl-aminoacids is worked out and used for studying the primary structure of tirosin-containing F1 histone peptide isolated from calf thymus nitriated unfractionated F1 histone. The peptide is shown to be common for all the histone subfractions. The analysis of amino acid composition and C-terminal sequency using carboxypeptidase Y has shown that the peptide structure is identical to the amino acid sequence of the respective peptide from the subfraction 3 of rabbit thymus F1 histone, in the latter glycine being substituted with alanine.


&NA; Date Presented 3/31/2017 Falls are a quality measure under national value‐based care initiatives. Thus, this session will present results from a mixed‐methods study examining the alignment between best practices and rehabilitation patient documentation to inform future quality initiatives and documentation refinement. Primary Author and Speaker: Natalie Leland Contributing Authors: Carin Wong, Jenny Martinez, Brenda Fagan, Kate Wilber, Debra Saliba, Neeraj Sood


Climate changes are happening globally and throughout Russia which influence on the hydrological regime of the rivers of Transbaikalie. Here the flow of rivers in the summer is strongly influenced by precipitation. Important factors in the formation of runoff are also evaporation and potential evaporation. Increasing of the average temperature could occur through a change in potential evaporation and affect on the flow during the warm season, which had led to this analysis. The bases of this study are the materials of standard meteorological observations at a fixed observation network of Transbaikal Department on Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. The data on temperature and relative humidity to calculate the potentialevaporation were taken from 1951 to 2010.We used the methods of statistical analysis. Trends were calculated by the method of least squares. Consistency changes studied characteristics were assessed by the use of correlation analysis. Cyclicity was detected by constructing integral-difference curves, and with the help of spectral and wavelet analysis. To assess the significance of the spectral density calculated from the sample data, the criterion c-square was used. Assessment of trends and correlation coefficients significance was performed by using Student'ststatistic at the 5 % significance level. Spectral analysis in this article was carried out by using the software package «Statistica». For continuous wavelet transform Morlet wavelet was used. The analysis was performed by using the software package «Matlab».The conclusions that the long-term fluctuations are characterized by cyclical potential evaporation and have poor correlation within the basin are made. Trends in long-term changes in the potential evaporation of the Transbaikal region are positive and significant. Potential evaporation affects the formation of river flow during the warm season (May-September)


The events of September 11, 2001 were responsible for physically and psychologically devastating the lives of millions of people directly or indirectly, exhibiting aggression, sorrow and trauma. The aftermath of the incident brought Muslim immigrants to a precarious position where the name became synonymous with terrorism. Muslim immigrants in the US and other countries became vulnerable to the outcome of this tragic experience. Consequent upon this overwhelming life experience, numerous studies including fictional creations have been undertaken to analyze the psychological effects of September 11 and the identity crisis in its aftermath. The present study was conducted to present and illustrate the concept of psychological trauma and self-transformation of female immigrants in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. The analysis is based on Shaila Abdullah's novel Saffron Dreams (2009) focusing on the complex process of traumatic healing. The study concludes that the novel does not only portray the traumatic encounters of immigrants but also showcases the process of healing and overcoming traumatic distress of those directly involved in the tragedy of 9/11.


A series of secondary ammonium monocarboxylate salts have been prepared by reacting variously substituted cinnamic acids and benzoic acids with dibenzylamine. Gelation tests reveal that 19 salts (9 cinnamates and 10 benzoates) are moderate to good gelators of various organic fluids, including commercial fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel. Structure−property correlation studies based on single-crystal structures of 18 salts indicate that the one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network is indeed important for gelation. The conformational flexibility of the dibenzyl cation and various intra- and internetwork C−H···π and C−H···O interactions appear to be responsible for the stabilization of the one-dimensional network in these salts. The gel fibrils in the xerogel state for 8 salts also adopt a 1D hydrogen-bonded network, as revealed by detailed X-ray powder diffraction studies, further supporting the importance of the one-dimensional network in the gelation process.


Kosovo does not have a bond market which would enable companies, people and other economic agents to have access to it, that would have been a substitute for the companies to get other sources of funds beside banking sector. The Kosovo economy has only one source of institutional money injected into the economy and that is the banking industry. Bringing back the money of Kosovo Pension and Saving Trust (KPST) to Kosovo would have been a huge injection for the economy to raise GDP and lower unemployment. Since the companies in Kosovo contain a lot of asymmetric information within their financial statements, clearing the way for KPST how to allocate their investments in Kosovo would be through alleviating asymmetric information. The paper stands on the general concepts of the asymmetric information and how to alleviate it within the financial market and particularly within the bond market. The other part of the paper concentrates on theoretical framework how to eliminate asymmetric information for the companies who want to get funding from KPST. Therefore, it is necessary to have healthy banks and better environment to have a sound bond market. On the other hand, bond market may increase the health of banks by enhancing market competition.


This dissertation originated out of a research interest in the role of
moral-reasoning development in different types of crime. However,
as this interest developed, it became apparent that the evidence that
moral-reasoning development is differentially involved in different
types of crime was a) somewhat weak and b) did not apply to all types
of crime. In addition, as part of the developmental work for this
dissertation, it was decided to re-analyze a previous Taiwanese study
by the author. This reanalysis substantially supported what the
previous research literature had indicated in terms of the, at best,
modest role of moral-reasoning development in different types of
crime. Furthermore, it was found that when the data were analysed
ignoring the conventional moral norms that previous research had
employed, there was evidence that question content had a role in
differentiating different types of crime. This is at variance with
structural approaches to moral-reasoning development. Taken
together, these findings steered the development of this dissertation
in the direction of social cognitive theories of deviant behaviour for
which the research evidence is fairly compelling. Consequently, the
dissertation moved from structural models of moral reasoning
development to socio-cognitive explanations of why some offenders
demonstrate a clear pattern of specialization in particular types of
crime.
This research aimed to assess different social cognitions about
offending and moral reasoning ability and used them to predict
characteristic types of offending. The participants were four hundreds
and thirty two male (adult=302, juvenile= 130) prisoners
incarcerated in seven correctional facilities in Taiwan. Based on the
offenders' self-reported crime histories, crime specialism indexes
(CSI) were calculated to represent offenders' crime propensities in
drug abuse, theft, sexual and violent offending for each of
respondents. Twenty-three of these respondents were questioned
using semi-structural interviews. The qualitative aspect of the
research was informed by interpretative phenomenological analysis
(IPA). In addition to moral reasoning competence measured by
Gibbs's SRM-SF, five additional social cognitions were investigated
including 1) normative beliefs, 2) crime cognitive beliefs, 3) moral
domain placement, 4) crime episode judgments, and 5)
criminal-identity.
It was hypothesized that different cognitive representations predict
decisions about types of offences committed. Research questions
were, 1) What are the relationships between moral reasoning ability
in overall, individual moral value, age, crime episode judgments, and
CSIs? a) Juvenile offenders operated at immature moral reasoning
level, while adults predominantly exhibited at mature stages. b) No
significant correlations emerged between sociomoral reflection moral
score (SRMS) and CS Is, except a positive relationship found with the
juvenile sexual CS!. c) Comparatively arrested development was
found in both age offenders' property & law and legal/justice than the
rest of three moral values. d) Except one in the juvenile drug taking
(SRMS), and two in life and legal justice, as well as one significant
correlations showed in the adult legal justice in sexual offending
context, there was no relationship found between the trend of
responses towards crime episode questions and moral reasoning
ability. 2) What are the relationships between offenders' crime
perceptions, evaluations and CS Is? a) Only drug CSI correlated
positively with the criminal identity, while negative relationships were
found with theft and sexual CSIs. b) A self approval tendency in
normative beliefs was found in all but the juvenile sexual CSIs. c) A
self endorsement tendency was observed in cognitive beliefs scale in
the adult group. d) Findings indicated that there were two differences
in the adult drug and theft CSIs, with those offenders thinking drug
taking and stealing behaviour as personal discretions being higher in
these two acts CSIs than those regarded these two crimes as moral
domains, respectively. 3) Is it possible to predict CSIs from
sociocognitive factors considered? Multiple-regressions indicated that
content-oriented cognitive appraisals predicted types of criminal
behaviour, while structural variables did not, with two exceptions. In
the case of adult violence CSI two moral reasoning level indicators
accounted for some additional variance. In the case of juvenile
violence, SRMS accounted for some additional variance. But in this
latter case, a higher level of moral reasoning was associated with
greater specialisation in violence. In the qualitative research
questions, research question 4) What are the relationships between
offenders' crime perceptions, evaluations and offending behaviour?
Interviewees tended to approve their own behaviour more,
particularly when compared with other crime patterns. Most of
interviewees showed appreciations of Gibbs's mature moral reasoning
forms. This seems to contradict with what they had done to others.
Despite the meanings behind laws were recognised they largely based
their justifications on heteronymous moral thinking. 5) How do
offenders' explain the above conflicts, if any? Drug abusers tended to
see there was more consistent than conflict, For example, it is a
personal prerogative issue. Although theft and violent offenders
admitted conflicts present, the former group tended to justify with
reasons, such as if they do not harm other physically, stealing is not
that bad behaviour, while the latter indicated they only use violence
under threatening or legitimate circumstances. Although relatively
little information was elicited from sexual offender interviewees on
this issue, conflicts were expressed by them.
In summary, a self-serving yet other-blaming tendency was observed
in cognitive evaluations both in qualitative and qualitative data. The
more intensive an offender's involvement in a specific type of crime
the more likely were they to evaluate this type of crime more
positively, legitimately and less moral concerns involved then any of
the other crime types. Moral reasoning may simply accommodate to
offenders' progressively firm crime social cognitions. Based on the
research findings, a crime cognitive whirlpool model was proposed.
This is an idea that offenders are being pulled down (socio-cognitively
strapped) to crimes. The model illustrates how a differential
relationship between content and structural social knowledge
develops for specific crime commitment. Future research should
explore in greater depth the specificity and versatility of social
cognitive reasoning in this context. Also, the factors which intervene
between beliefs about what is good and good behaviour need to be
understood better.


Objectives Our prevenient study found that Buchang Naoxintong Capsules (BNC) showed obvious increase effect on the catalytic activities of drug metabolism CYP2C19 enzyme. BNC to clopidogrel can enhance the antiplatelet effect in volunteers with the CYP2C19∗2 gene mutation. Objective To evaluate the effect of the different doses of BNC combined with dual antiplatelet (DA) therapy on platelet function and clinical outcomes in patients with CYP2C19*2 undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods A total of 240 eligible patients were enrolled and randomly divided into three groups with each consisting of 80 patients: DA group, the adjunctive small-dose BNC (SBNC) group (0.8 g, thrice per day) and adjunctive regular-dose BNC (RBNC) group (1.6 g, thrice per day). All groups received DA therapy for at least 9 months while SNDA and RNDA groups received BNC after PCI for 3 months. Platelet function was assessed at baseline and 7 d after treatment with conventional aggregometry. The adverse cardiovascular events (readmission because of unstable angina or progressive angina, acute myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death) and bleeding events were recorded. Results Baseline platelet function measurements were similar among the three groups. Compared with DA group, percent inhibitions of maximum platelet aggregation (IPAmax) 7 days after treatment were significantly greater in the SNDA and RNDA groups (31.22±15.20% or 39.91±13.45% vs 22.26±15.51%, p<0.01, respectively), IPAmax in the RNDA group were higher than those in the SNDA group (p<0.01). Incidence of adverse cardiovascular events in the SNDA and RNDA groups was lower than those in DA group (13.8% or 10.0% vs 31.2%, p<0.01, respectively), incidence of adverse cardiovascular events did not significant difference between the SNDA and RNDA groups. The bleeding events did not differ among the three groups. Conclusions Compared with DA therapy, adding BNC to DA therapy could strengthen inhibition of ADP-mediated platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner.


Corporate governance attracted attention beyond the realm of lawyers and quite specific legal rules because of the growing perception that a link existed between corporate governance and corporate performance: better governance, the hypothesis goes, yields more efficient production. The potential link between governance and institutions was given saliency by the large institutional differences between the corporate governance systems of the three most successful industrial economies: Germany's universal bank centered system; Japan's main bank/cross holdings centered system; and the United State's stock market centered system. This paper examines the hypothesized link between corporate governance and economic efficiency through two lenses that highlight the role of national institutions: path dependency and industrial organization. The goal is a clearer understanding of the role of corporate governance institutions as vehicles of adaptive efficiency.


We report on detections with the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array of the far-infrared [O iii] 88 μm line and the underlying dust continuum in two quasars in the reionization epoch, J205406.48−000514.8 (hereafter J2054−0005) at z = 6.0391 ± 0.0002 and J231038.88+185519.7 (hereafter J2310+1855) at z = 6.0035 ± 0.0007. The [O iii] luminosities of J2054−0005 and J2310+1855 are L[O iii] = (6.8 ± 0.6) × 109 and $(2.4 \pm 0.6) \times 10^{9}\,$L⊙, corresponding to ∼0.05% and 0.01% of the total infrared luminosity, LTIR, respectively. Combining these [O iii] luminosities with [C ii] 158 μm luminosities in the literature, we find that J2054−0005 and J2310+1855 have [O iii]-to-[C ii] luminosity ratios of 2.1 ± 0.4 and 0.3 ± 0.1, respectively, the latter of which is the lowest among objects so far reported at z > 6. Combining [O iii] observations at z ≈ 6–9 from our study and the literature, we identify the [O iii] line deficit: objects with a larger LTIR (total infrared luminosity) have lower L[O iii]-to-LTIR ratios. Furthermore, we also find that the anti-correlation is shifted toward a higher LTIR value when compared with the local [O iii] line deficit.


ABSTRACT The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is considered to be one example of the rise of populism during the 2010s in Europe. During the decade that he has been in government, Hungary has been a forerunner in terms of democratic decline. In parallel, throughout this period, political communication has increasingly shifted online, and politicians are now actively using social media to gain political capital. Despite the growing literature on online political communication, visual political communication remains underrepresented. Orbán's case offers a unique opportunity to examine what authoritarian populism and maintenance of illiberalism look like when a regime has been in power for more than 10 years. Using visual discourse analysis, we analyzed 131 visuals of Viktor Orbán's Instagram from 2019. We argue that by using the symbols of nationalism and masculinity, Orbán attempts to embody the features of an "ordinary man" and also simultaneously conveys statesmanship through outlining "us" in ethno-nationalistic terms, in an effort to strengthen his party's message, renew its hegemonic position, and to remain in power. This is in stark contrast to the communication of the Hungarian government, which relies heavily on "othering" and the construction of "them" in legacy and social media.


Focused on the complexity and Time-consuming of judging the error wiring of the energy measurement device, It extracts a series of electric parameter tables including phase angle table, such as the voltage sequence table, the line voltage location table, phase angle transform table, and phase angle table. And proposes a simple method of judging the error wiring of Three-phase three-wire error wiring of two components energy measurement device. The method based only on the four tables, inspectors only need to look-up the tables in accordance with the measured dates and get the error wiring instead of drawing vector plots. Because these tables root from vector plots. It greatly simplifies inspectors to judge wiring mistake, improves the working efficiency and makes the test results more accurate.


Reflects a new understanding of modernism by following the fortunes of a single item of fashion. "When Fred Miller Robinson tugs the bowler from the closet in "The Man in the Bowler Hat: His History and Iconography," a wealth of cultural and social baggage comes tumbling out after it.--"Esquire" "Entertaining and enlightening. . . . A scholarly, thoughtful, and well-documented cultural critique.--"Journal of Popular Culture" "A hundred years of Western culture pulled out of a bowler hat--it's quite a trick, and Robinson accomplishes it with considerable flourish.--Roger Shattuck, Boston University "An attempt to penetrate the bowler's significance in art, literature, and life. . . . [Robinson] has ferreted out plenty of curious and varied information, he has some nice observations of detail, and he offers a good deal to enlighten and amuse.--"New Yorker" "A witty, well-written, scrupulously researched book that is a wonderful fusion of genres: social history, cultural history, and something that falls between belles lettres and fiction.--Dore Ashton, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and ArtOriginally published in 1993.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.


Kinetic piezoelectric energy harvesters are used to power up ultra-low power devices without batteries as an alternative and eco-friendly source of energy. This paper deals with a novel design of a lead-free multilayer energy harvester based on BaTiO3 ceramics. This material is very brittle and might be cracked in small amplitudes of oscillations. However, the main aim of our development is the design of a crack protective layered architecture that protects an energy harvesting device in very high amplitudes of oscillations. This architecture is described and optimized for chosen geometry and the resulted one degree of freedom coupled electromechanical model is derived. This model could be used in bistable configuration and the model is extended about the nonlinear stiffness produced by auxiliary magnets. The complex bistable vibration energy harvester is simulated to predict operation in a wide range of frequency excitation. It should demonstrate typical operation of designed beam and a stress intensity factor was calculated for layers. The whole system, without presence of cracks, was simulated with an excitation acceleration of amplitude up to 1g. The maximal obtained power was around 2 mW at the frequency around 40 Hz with a maximal tip displacement 7.5 mm. The maximal operating amplitude of this novel design was calculated around 10 mm which is 10-times higher than without protective layers.


In this paper, we cover some radio dimensioning aspects for the downlink in WCDMA systems. Capacity and coverage estimation is conducted in a multiservice context, based on an analytical expression for the total power of the base-station. A definition for the multiservice downlink cell loading is introduced which allows a characterization of downlink multiservice capacity. Influence on the capacity of the traffic mix or of some key parameters like the non-orthogonality factor, soft handover rate, or the portion of power dedicated to broadcast channels is analysed. A downlink-specific link budget is also established, accounting for the mix of traffic in the cell. In this context, a comprehensive downlink dimensioning framework is set up.


Memorizing Alqur'an is not as easy as turning the palm of the hand, there are many obstacles or small difficulties faced by the memorizers of the Koran. Preferred pronunciation and makhroj, because errors in pronunciation will be fatal, because it can change the meaning and meaning. In this study discuss the benefits and advantages of memorizing the Qur'an, the problems faced by the students of the Tahfidzul Qur'an program Ma'had Darul Hikmah IAIN Kediri, the tips of santri to overcome the problems encountered during the Tahfidz al-Qur'an program in Ma'had Darul Hikmah IAIN Kediri, and also specific tips for the Qur'anic followers. In this study, researchers used a qualitative approach that was descriptive qualitative because the data obtained in this study were in the form of words and was a study aimed at describing and analyzing symptoms or phenomena, events, social activities, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, people's thoughts individually or in groups that occur in the field.The results showed that the benefits of memorizing the Koran include happiness both in the world and in the hereafter, peace of mind or peace of mind, sharp memories and intuition, having a good identity and behaving honestly, being fluent in speaking and having a certain prayer.


The paradigm of medical resident duty hours is currently undergoing vast changes, as research has demonstrated the negative effects of sleep deprivation on the wellbeing of both patients and residents alike. These changes began in the United States, where reduced work hour schedules for residents have been implemented within the past decade. However, the effectiveness of these changes has been debated in the literature. In Canada, this issue has only recently come into spotlight. Under the guidance of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, a task force was assembled in 2012 with two main objectives: gather all evidence related to resident duty hours, fatigue, and patient safety, and to create a national Canadian consensus on resident duty hours. In 1984, New York City was the setting of a new wave of thinking about residency training programs within the medical profession. That year, the death of Libby Zion, a lawyer's daughter, initiated the Zion vs. New York Hospital case, which would have an indirect impact on international rules for resident work hours. Traditionally, it was not uncommon for residents to work up to 36 consecutive hours with minimal sleep, accumulating well over 100 hours of work in a week. Some considered this a rite of passage into the medical profession, while others saw it as a valuable learning tool. When the death of teenager Libby Zion was traced down to a medical error, more attention was drawn to the effect of sleep deprivation on residents' performance on the wards. What effect does sleep deprivation have on residents? One review found that with acute sleep deprivation, residents showed decreased performance on tasks that required prolonged, vigilant concentration, but were resilient in performing brief, psychomotor tasks requiring manual dexterity and short-term recall.1 Furthermore, resident mood was affected, with increased anger, hostility, and symptoms of depression being noted – all factors that hinder the physician-patient relationship. In addition, one study found that extended shifts put residents' safety at risk, by increasing the likelihood of reporting a motor vehicle accident after a call shift.2 A landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine compared two different work schedules head-to-head.3 The first schedule, considered "traditional," had an average of 77-81 work hours per week with up to 34 hours of continuous work and 1 in 3 overnight call. The second, or "interventional" schedule, had 60-63 work hours per week maximum, 16 hours of continuous work maximum, and a day-call versus night-call designation, rather than a whole day of call. These schedules were randomized among internal medicine residents, and patient safety measures were prospectively followed. When researchers compared the traditional schedule and interventional schedule respectively, they found that residents made 35.9% more serious medical errors (136.0 vs. 100.1 per 1000 patient-days), 22.0% more total medical errors (193.2 vs. 158.4 per 1000 patient-days), 20.8% more serious medication errors (99.7 vs. 82.5 per 1000 patient-days), and 96.5% more serious diagnostic errors (21.6 vs. 11.0 per 1000 patient-days), while on the traditional schedule.3 In light of these findings, in 2003 the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in the United States instituted limits on resident work hours: 16 hours maximum for continuous shifts for PGY-1 (more hours allowed for seniors), 80 hours maximum per week, and 1 day off per week averaged over a 4-week period.4 Any residency program's accreditation is endangered if their work protocols are not congruent with the ACGME. Unfortunately, data collected after these changes have shown mixed results as to the effectiveness of reduced hours. A systematic review of 7 studies (one of which was conducted after the 2003 ACGME changes) comparing reduced hour schedules with traditional schedules looked at mortality, adverse events, and medication errors as outcomes.5 The results showed that some outcomes improved, others declined, and still others showed no change. For example, mortality was largely unaffected by reduced hours, but medication errors were reduced.5 The authors emphasized a distinction between mortality outcomes, and task-based outcomes, the latter of which may be more susceptible to sleep deprivation. Although there were limitations within the studies in this review, such as the failure to measure baseline characteristics, the point is raised that reduced-hour schedules may not have the effects that were once anticipated. There may be negative consequences with reduced hour work schedules. Proponents of the traditional, long hour work schedules raise the argument that by reducing hours and increasing patient hand-over, an element of discontinuity is introduced which in itself may increase medical errors. In addition, fewer predictable hours may not prepare residents for independent practice, where hours are not limited and may be unpredictable. This may be reflected by an increase in the length of residency programs to allow for adequate clinical exposure. A survey of surgical residents in the United States found that many are unsatisfied with the reduced work-hour changes: 55.1% believed their education declined, and 68.4% felt they were not being prepared for senior roles.6 Although 61.9% of junior surgical residents had an increase in their quality of life, 54.4% of senior residents found a decline in their quality of life, likely due to seniors adopting the work that the juniors could not complete on their reduced hour schedules. Shockingly, 67.6% of surgical residents reported non-compliance with the work-hour limits, and 62.1% reported falsifying duty hours.6 In Canada, the resident association of each province has the daunting task of negotiating collective agreements for medical resTides of change The future of Canadian medical resident work hours Jouseph Barkho (Meds 2015) Faculty Reviewer: Dr. Catherine Yanchula, MD, CCFP, FCFP (Department of Family Medicine)


Forest clearing, a topical issue the world over, historically occurred at a high rate in Queensland to ostensibly increase pasture production. Our research evaluates the impact of clearing on selected soil biological properties (i.e. total soil respiration, root respiration, microbial respiration and microbial biomass (C and N)). Three major woodland communities of central Queensland region i.e. Eucalyptus populnea, E. melanophloia and Acacia harpophylla were selected for paired comparisons between sites that had, or had not, been cleared of trees to develop land for exotic pastures. The cleared sites representing three different time periods since clearing (5, 11-13 and 33 years) were used to determine the temporal impact of clearing on soil biological properties. Cleared and uncleared sites did not differ in annual or seasonal rates of soil respiration. The average annual rate of CO2 emission across all treatments was 0.11 g CO2/m2.h. Microbial respiration and microbial biomass (measured in January 2002) were, however, greater at uncleared than at cleared sites and conversely, root respiration (for roots from herbaceous plants) was greater at cleared than uncleared site. The Q10 value of 1.42 (measured for different seasons over a year) suggested some response of soil respiration to soil temperature, which is less compared to that in temperate climates possibly due to the limited availability of soil moisture or organic matter in the semi-arid climates of central Queensland.


The text analyses stresses in composite beam, as a result of time dependent concrete slab shrinkage, where in addition to analytical solution of stress distribution, numerical solution is given as well, using structural software SAP2000 v 16. For linear behavior of the headed stud anchors, whose stiffness for varying diameters is determined using separate finite element model, a comparison between numerical and analytical solutions of stress distribution is shown. Shrinkage strain is determined using EC2. For purposes of the finite element model, this strain is converted into equivalent temperature load.


We present a new non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) algorithm for rendering photographs in an impasto painterly style. We observe that most existing image-based NPR algorithms operate in a spatially local manner, typically as non-linear image filters seeking to preserve edges and other high-frequency content. By contrast, we argue that figurative artworks are salience maps, and develop a novel painting algorithm that uses a genetic algorithm (GA) to search the space of possible paintings for a given image, so approaching an "optimal" artwork in which salient detail is conserved and non-salient detail is attenuated. Differential rendering styles are also possible by varying stroke style according to the classification of salient artifacts encountered, for example edges or ridges. We demonstrate the results of our technique on a wide range of images, illustrating both the improved control over level of detail due to our salience adaptive painting approach, and the benefits gained by subsequent relaxation of the painting using the GA.


Nowadays, the avionics industry is moving towards the use of a new architecture for aircraft systems called Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA), which consists of a distributed, highly integrated platform, in which a variety of applications can be executed in the same hardware. Standards and guidelines for the development of aircraft systems now provide guidance for using formal methods during the development process of these systems. In this dissertation we present an approach for using Circus as a formal language to model and validate the IMA architecture focusing on temporal partitioning. We provide here an overview of the IMA architecture, detailing its components and features. We also present an overview of existing approaches on certification and verification of IMA systems. We also present a brief survey of formal languages for the design of concurrent systems. Later, we present a Circus model of three layers of components of the IMA architecture. It comprises a model of the operating system layer, the application executive (APEX) layer and the partitions layer. Moreover, we validate the Circus model by translating it into CSP with time constructs and using the model checker FDR. Finally, we conclude this dissertation with our plans for future work.


2006 marks the 40th year of publication for The Annals. Over that time, The Annals has been an important contributor to the development of clinical pharmacy. Throughout 2006, we are publishing articles reflecting on the history of clinical pharmacy through the eyes of practitioners, including those pioneering clinical pharmacy, as well as those who have more recently entered the profession and a well-established specialty. In addition, we are also presenting articles and editorials from the early history of The Annals that have given direction and shape to the practice of clinical pharmacy (see page 1651).


Recent progress in our understanding of the pathways linked to progression from hepatic insult to cirrhosis has led to numerous novel therapies being investigated as potential cures and inhibitors of hepatic fibrogenesis. Liver cirrhosis is the final result of prolonged fibrosis, which is an intimate balance between fibrogenesis and fibrinolysis. A number of these complex mechanisms are shared across the various etiologies of liver disease. Thankfully, investigation has yielded some promising results in regard to reversal of fibrosis, particularly the indirect benefits associated with antiviral therapy for the treatment of hepatitis B and C and the farnesoid receptor agonist for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis and metabolic associated fatty liver disease. A majority of current clinical research is focused on targeting metabolic associated fatty liver disease and its progression to metabolic steatohepatitis and ultimately cirrhosis, with some hope of potential standardized therapeutics in the near future. With our ever-evolving understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, these therapeutics focus on either controlling the primary disease (the initial trigger of fibrogenesis), interrupting receptor ligand interactions and other intracellular communications, inhibiting fibrogenesis, or even promoting resolution of fibrosis. It is imperative to thoroughly test these potential therapies with the rigorous standards of clinical therapeutic trials in order to ensure the highest standards of patient safety. In this article we will briefly review the key pathophysiological pathways that lead to liver fibrosis and present current clinical and experimental evidence that has shown reversibility of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, while commenting on therapeutic safety.


Structural genomics will yield an immense number of protein three-dimensional structures in the near future. Automated theoretical methodologies are needed to exploit this information and are likely to play a pivotal role in drug discovery. Here, we present a fully automated, efficient docking methodology that does not require any a priori knowledge about the location of the binding site or function of the protein. The method relies on a multiscale concept where we deal with a hierarchy of models generated for the potential ligand. The models are created using the k-means clustering algorithm. The method was tested on seven protein-ligand complexes. In the largest complex, human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase/nevirapin, the root mean square deviation value when comparing our results to the crystal structure was 0.29 A. We demonstrate on an additional 25 protein-ligand complexes that the methodology may be applicable to high throughput docking. This work reveals three striking results. First, a ligand can be docked using a very small number of feature points. Second, when using a multiscale concept, the number of conformers that require to be generated can be significantly reduced. Third, fully flexible ligands can be treated as a small set of rigid k-means clusters.


Monocytes give rise to macrophages, osteoclasts (OCs), and dendritic cells (DCs). Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB (RANK) ligand induce OC differentiation from monocytes, whereas granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) trigger monocytic differentiation into DCs. However, regulatory mechanisms for the polarization of monocytic differentiation are still unclear. The present study was undertaken to clarify the mechanism of triggering the deflection of OC and DC differentiation from monocytes. GM-CSF and IL-4 abolished monocytic differentiation into OCs while inducing DC differentiation even in the presence of M-CSF and RANK ligand. GM-CSF and IL-4 in combination potently up-regulate tumor necrosis factor- (cid:1) (TNF- (cid:1) ) converting enzyme (TACE) and activity in monocytes, causing ectodomain shedding of M-CSF receptor, resulting in the disruption of its phosphorylation by M-CSF as well as the induction of osteoclastogenesis from monocytes by M-CSF and RANK ligand. Interestingly, TACE inhibition robustly causes the resumption of the surface expression of M-CSF receptor on monocytes, facilitat-ing M-CSF–mediated phosphorylation of M-CSF receptor and macrophage/OC differentiation while impairing GM-CSF– and IL-4–mediated DC differentiation from monocytes. These results reveal a novel proteolytic regulation of M-CSF receptor expression in monocytes to control M-CSF signaling and monocytic differentiation into macrophage/OC-lineage cells or DCs. (Blood. 2009;114:4517-4526)


Nucleic acid triple helices may be used in the control of gene expression. One limitation of using triplex-forming oligonucleotides as therapeutic agents is that their target sequences are limited to homopurine tracts. To increase the repertoire of sequences that can be targeted, it has been postulated that a guanine can target a thymidine forming a stable GTA mismatch triplet. In this work, we have used a combination of optical and calorimetric techniques to determine thermodynamic unfolding profiles of two triplexes containing a single GTA triplet, d(A(3)TA(3)C(5)T(3)AT(3)C(5)T(3)GT(3)) (ATA) and d(AGTGAC(5)TCACTC(5)TCGCT) (GTG), and their control triplexes, d(A(7)C(5)T(7)C(5)T(7)) (TAT7) and d(AGAGAC(5)TCTCTC(5)TCTCT) (AG5T). In general, the presence of a GTA mismatch in DNA triplexes is destabilizing; however, this destabilization is greater when placed in a C(+)GC/C(+)GC base-triplet stack than between a TAT/TAT stack. These destabilizations are accompanied by a reduced unfolding enthalpy of approximately 10 kcal/mol, suggesting a decrease in the base stacking contributions surrounding the mismatch. Relative to their corresponding control triplexes, the folding of ATA is accompanied by a lower counterion uptake and a similar proton uptake, while GTG folding is accompanied by an increase in the counterion and proton uptakes. These effects are consistent with the observed decrease in stacking interactions. The overall results indicate that the main difficulty of targeting pyrimidine interruptions is that the decrease in stacking contributions, due to the incorporation of a GTA mismatch, affects the stability of the neighboring base triplets. This suggests that nucleotide analogues that increase the strength of these base-triplet stacks will result in a more effective targeting of pyrimidine interruptions.


Nylon 6 nanofibre membranes were prepared by electrospinning of nylon 6 solutions with various volume ratios of trifluoroethyl alcohol (TFE) and formic acid (FA). The effect of the solvent type on the morphology of nylon 6 nanofibre membranes was investigated. Results showed that all membranes studied showed uniform, defect-free structures with very thin nanofibre diameters. The addition of formic acid led to a significant decrease in average fibre diameters. The average fibre diameters were 660, 186, 87, 62 and 30 nm for nylon 6 nonofibre prepared using the binary solution system and trifluoroethyl alcohol/formic acid (100:0), (75:25), (50:50), (25:75) & (0:100) respectively. In addition, the nylon 6 nanofibre membranes prepared using formic acid showed the highest strength with the highest porosity and the lowest average fibre diameters.


Evaluation of Use of Teach-Back for Patient Education by Tamara J. Orr MSN, Walden University, 2012 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University December 2018 Abstract The focus of this quality improvement doctoral project was the evaluation of an organization's standardized use of the teach-back process for patient education implemented in February 2018. Teach-back is a process in which the patient restates the key concepts for self-management, so the nurse can assess the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. The practice-focused question compared 4 questions on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey with literature and recommendations from major health care organizations. The Iowa Model was used to guide the project. The literature review was completed using the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Plus with full text database of peerreviewed articles published between 2013 and 2018. The standardized HCAHPS scores for 4 identified questions from 6 months of preimplementation and postimplementation of the teach-back process were compared using an independent t-test to determine whether the teach-back method improved satisfaction scores. No statistically significant change was noted in the postimplementation scores compared with scores prior to the implementation of teach-back. Potential reasons for lack of improvement may include lack of nurse readiness, insufficient communication for nurse involvement, and lack of support for the evidence-based practice. Although the results did not show significant improvement in the 4 selected questions, opportunity exists for continued work to standardize the use of teach-back process to improve communication about medications and care transitions for patients preparing for discharge to home. Improved patient understanding may improve outcomes and promote positive social change.The focus of this quality improvement doctoral project was the evaluation of an organization's standardized use of the teach-back process for patient education implemented in February 2018. Teach-back is a process in which the patient restates the key concepts for self-management, so the nurse can assess the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. The practice-focused question compared 4 questions on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey with literature and recommendations from major health care organizations. The Iowa Model was used to guide the project. The literature review was completed using the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Plus with full text database of peerreviewed articles published between 2013 and 2018. The standardized HCAHPS scores for 4 identified questions from 6 months of preimplementation and postimplementation of the teach-back process were compared using an independent t-test to determine whether the teach-back method improved satisfaction scores. No statistically significant change was noted in the postimplementation scores compared with scores prior to the implementation of teach-back. Potential reasons for lack of improvement may include lack of nurse readiness, insufficient communication for nurse involvement, and lack of support for the evidence-based practice. Although the results did not show significant improvement in the 4 selected questions, opportunity exists for continued work to standardize the use of teach-back process to improve communication about medications and care transitions for patients preparing for discharge to home. Improved patient understanding may improve outcomes and promote positive social change. Evaluation of Use of Teach-Back for Patient Education by Tamara J. Orr MSN, Walden University, 2012 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University December 2018


ABSTRACT Salmonella are Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria that are common in warm-blooded animals and can cause disease in humans. Nontyphoidal Salmonellae are a leading cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide. Nontyphoidal Salmonella infections are usually restricted to the gastrointestinal tract and spontaneously resolve but can develop into invasive infections like bacteremia. The clinical course of nontyphoidal Salmonella bacteremia may be affected by age, immunosuppression, and other factors. Serious disease can result, especially in debilitated, elderly patients and neonates. This is a case study of a 76-year-old female who arrived in the emergency department of a large acute care hospital with fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and signs of dehydration. Blood cultures were positive for Gram-negative rods identified as nontyphoidal Salmonella Group D, and the patient was treated with antibiotic therapy. Low-grade fever continued, and over a period of 2 weeks in the hospital, an abdominal aortic aneurysm developed and ruptured causing the patient's death. The purpose of this case study is to alert medical professionals to the possibility of mycotic or infectious aortitis as a rare but life-threatening result of Salmonella bacteremia that can lead to aortic aneurysm. If not properly treated with a combination of intensive antibiotic therapy and surgical debridement, with aneurysm repair if necessary, it has a high rate of aortic rupture and death. In this case of Salmonella-induced aortic aneurysm, the possibility of aortic aneurysm was not anticipated and, when found, was not treated surgically, leading to aortic rupture and death of the patient.


Research and development methods addressing interconnected products, services and experiences that are of particular relevance in tourism have to be consistently updated. One of the recently proposed approaches relates innovation and experience design aspects with touch points (Experiences through Design, Innovation and Touch points – EDIT). The aim of the chapter is to scrutinize innovations in tourism focusing on recently awarded innovations by the national innovation-supporting mechanism that is recognized by international institutions. Case study analysis serves to evaluate the applicability of the EDIT model for a more holistic understanding of the new realities at the 'innovation crossroads' – the contingency this book is targeting. The results of analysis provide deep insight into the innovation process in tourism relevant from the perspective of theoretical advancement and policy design.


In this article we study the question of free will from an interdisciplinary angle, drawing on philosophy, neurobiology and physics. We start by reviewing relevant neurobiological findings on the functioning of the brain, notably as presented in (Koch 2009); we assess these against the physics of (in)determinism. These biophysics findings seem to indicate that neuronal processes are not quantum but classical in nature. We conclude from this that there is little support for the existence of an immaterial 'mind', capable of ruling over matter independently of the causal past. But what, then, can free will be ? We propose a compatibilist account that resonates well with neurobiology and physics, and that highlights that free will comes in degrees – degrees which vary with the conscious grasp the 'free' agent has over his actions. Finally, we analyze the well-known Libet experiment on free will through the lens of our model. We submit this interdisciplinary investigation as a typical case of naturalized philosophy: in our theorizing we privilege assumptions that find evidence in science, but our conceptual work also suggests new avenues for research in a few scientific disciplines.


The conference "
Numerical Algebra, Matrix Theory, Differential-Algebraic Equations, and Control Theory
" brought together about 160 experts in the mathematical research fields mentioned in its title. These research areas are strongly related and they often occur in the same real-world application. Main areas where such applications emerge are computational engineering and sciences, but increasingly also social sciences and economics.The conference was dedicated to Volker Mehrmann on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Volker Mehrmann is a leading expert in the areas of the conference, and in a unique manner unifies expertise in the mathematical fields providing the title of this conference.
Besides 24 invited and 16 contributed talks, the scientific program of the conference included a Poster Session, starting with a Poster Blitz, providing the participants with the opportunity to advertise their posters in a 1-minute presentation. This collection shows some of the posters presented there.


Introduction: Over the last decades, the university system has experienced huge growth, facing several challenges. Accordingly, the University of Pisa recognizes the value and opportunities deriving from research and fully supports collaboration with the world of entrepreneurship and industry, as well as local communities. Study programs, teaching methods and technologies, learning environments, quality assurance, programmed student numbers, and research results are key features of the prestige of the scientific community. Aim: In this respect, "Sport and Anatomy", a brand that includes an academic organization at the University of Pisa, holds two main goals: (i) to offer the top level in both educational and professional fields; and (ii) to optimize the fine-tuning among all these sections, thus becoming a reference point for sports management. Methods and results: Indispensable links between basic and specialist sciences through different Masters' and schools were created. In addition to didactic activity, research activity, medical assistance, and rehabilitation were coordinated. Two main outcomes emerged from this experience: (i) improved stakeholder performances and (ii) optimized cooperation between university and local communities. Conclusions: "Sport and Anatomy" plays a key role in supervising and accomplishing in an innovative way all the three missions of the university (i.e., teaching, research, and dissemination of knowledge), thus strongly fulfilling the aims of modern university targets.


Long-term space debris modelling studies have suggested that the •10 cm low Earth orbit debris population will continue to grow even with the widespread adoption of mitigation measures recommended by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee. However, a number of recent studies have shown that, with additional removal of a small number of debris objects, it is possible to prevent the growth of debris in LEO. These modelling studies were based on assumptions constraining future launch and explosion rates, solar activity and mitigation, amongst others, to a limited number of cases. As a result, the effectiveness of Active Debris Removal (ADR) has only been established and quantified for a narrow range of possible outcomes. Therefore, the potential benefits of ADR, in practice, remain uncertain and there is a need to investigate a wider range of potential future scenarios to help establish ADR requirements. In this paper, we present results of a study to model and quantify the influence of four essential assumptions on the effectiveness of ADR: (1) launch activity, (2) explosion activity, (3) solar activity and (4) compliance with post-mission disposal. Each assumption is given a realistic range based upon historic worst-case data and an optimistic best-case. 8VLQJ WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ RI 6RXWKDPSWRQ¶V 'HEULV Analysis and Monitoring Architecture to the Geosynchronous Environment (DAMAGE) tool, these assumptions were modelled randomly from their permitted range in Monte Carlo projections from 2009 to 2209 of the •5 cm LEO debris environment. In addition, two yearly ADR rates were investigated: five and ten objects per year. The results show an increase in the variance of the mean LEO debris population at the 2209 epoch. The uncertainty is such that, in some cases, ADR was not sufficient to prevent the long-term growth of the population, whilst in others ADR is not required to prevent population growth.


We examine a sample of Japanese regional banks and explore whether exposure to market risk factors affects systemic risk through banks' portfolio composition or revenue source, using Adrian and Brunnermeier's (2016) CoVaR to proxy for systemic risk. We find that the securities investment and feeand commission-related activities of Japanese regional banks exert positive and significant effects on systemic risk by generating higher co-movement among banks, even though they reduce standalone bank risk through portfolio diversification. Further, the marginal effect of an increase in common risk factors on systemic risk is larger when other banks are already highly exposed to common risk factors. We interpret the results as suggestive of "fallacy of composition," since the behavior of individual banks could be individually optimal but collectively has an unwelcome systemic effect. Our results have important implications from the macroprudential perspective.


We describe the direct coupling of alcohols and amines to a 3-(pyridin-3-yl)propanoic acid ligand coordinated to a Pt(II) to afford ester and amide derivatives. Using this approach, a family of trans-Pt(II) compounds with amine ligands bearing long perfluorinated chains was prepared, as these chains potentially endow the complexes with thermoactivatable properties. Related compounds with alkyl chains in place of the perfluorinated chains were also prepared as controls using the same direct coupling method. The stability of the complexes in solution, their reactivity with DNA and proteins, and their antiproliferative activity evaluated in tumorigenic (A2780 and A2780cisR) and nontumorigenic (HEK293) cells at 37 °C and following exposure to elevated temperatures (that mimic the temperatures employed in thermotherapy) were also studied to assess their utility as putative (thermoactivated) anticancer agents.


It is well known that not every combinatorial configuration admits a geometric realization with points and lines. Moreover, some of them do not even admit realizations with pseudoline arrangements, i.e., they are not topological. In this paper we generalize the concept of topological configurations to a more general one (in a least possible way) such that every combinatorial configuration is realizable in this way. In particular, we generalize the notion of a pseudoline arrangement to the notion of a quasiline arrangement by relaxing the condition that two pseudolines meet exactly once. We also generalize well-known tools from pseudoline arrangements such as sweeps and wiring diagrams. We introduce monotone quasiline arrangements as a subfamily of quasiline arrangements that can be represented with generalized wiring diagrams. We show that every incidence structure (and therefore also every combinatorial configuration) can be realized as a monotone quasiline arrangement in the real projective plane. A quasiline arrangement with selected vertices belonging to an incidence structure can be viewed as a map on a closed surface. Such a map can be used to distinguish between two "distinct" realizations of an incidence structure as a quasiline arrangement.


To estimate the prevalence and identify correlates of anthropometry and clinical risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) among ready-made garment (RMG) of workers, majority are females, come from low-socioeconomics conditions. Population-based cross-sectional study with 614 individuals aged ≥18 years were recruited from six different RMG factories. In total, of 313 male (46%) and 301 of female (56%) workers had body mass index (BMI) in the overweight and obese range as per Asian cut off values with corresponding reflection in waist hip ratio (WHR). High proportion of male 84% (95% confidence interval 81-87) had smoking habits. The prevalence of hypertension (HTN), dyslipidemia were 24% vs 15%; 56% vs 43% among males and females respectively. Prevalence of diabetes was 7.3% (5.3-9.4) and pre-diabetes was 10.6% (8.2-13) and it showed female preponderance (4.5% male vs 10.3% female). In multivariable logistic regression HTN showed significant association with age, gender, BMI; glycemic status with age, genderand WHR; dyslipidemia with BMI and WHR. A substantial proportion of RMG workers are at an increased risk of CVDs which need focused attention to reduce smoking (among males) and body-weight and central obesity, particularly in females.


Serial sectioning combined with microscopy provides high resolution volumetric data to complement in-vivo imaging modalities and aid ex-vivo diagnostics. We describe the design of a fully-automated cryomicrotome combined with a multispectral reflection and fluorescence imaging system that enables high-throughput analyses of biological specimens with a large field of view and cellular resolution while keeping the manufacturing and running costs low. We show the performance of the system for representative applications in high-resolution volumetric imaging of reporter animals and multispectral tissue analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrate the versatility of the economical imaging system in applications such as in vivo epifluorescence imaging, histology slide scanning, cell counting and gel electrophoresis documentation.


It is often argued that detailed differences between occupational positions have important empirical effects upon socio-economic outcomes (e.g. Weeden and Grusky, 2005). In this paper we investigate the extent to which fine-grained measures of parental occupational positions, as are available in a major longitudinal UK social survey (Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales), add value to an analysis of children's educational attainment.
The focus of the presentation is school attainment measured by General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination. GCSEs are public examinations and mark the first major educational branching point, and poor GCSE attainment is a considerable obstacle which precludes young people from pursuing more advanced educational courses. Young people with low levels of GCSE attainment are frequently disadvantaged in the labour market, and are also likely to have a less favourable longer term experiences in the adult labour market.
We analyse some alternative measures of GCSE attainment and consider a number of alternative classifications of parental occupations, which feature substantial variation in their level of detail using a range of GLMM models. We conclude that there is a relatively strong, and persistent, association between parental occupations and filial GCSE attainment. This is greater than the effect of both gender and ethnicity. This relationship is observed irrespective of however GCSE attainment and parental occupations are measured, however, the relationship is empirically stronger when the data on parental occupations recognises specific and detailed differences between jobs. For example the difference between school teachers and publicans, which in many UK socio-economic schemes are assigned to the same classification). We reflect upon the empirical and theoretical consequences for exploiting occupational data in studying educational attainment and in stratification research more generally.


Start of fuel injection and fuel type are two important factors affecting engine performance and exhaust emissions in internal combustion engines. In the present study, a one-dimensional computational fluid dynamics solution with GT-Power software is used to simulate a six-cylinder diesel engine to study the performance and exhaust emissions with different injection timing and alternative fuels. Starting the fuel injection was from 10 °CA BTDC to the TDC with an interval between two units and from alternative fuel bases (diesel), including methanol, ethanol, diesel, and ethanol compounds, biodiesel and decane was used. To validate the model, a comparison is made between simulation data and experimental data (including torque and power) showing the validation error is less than 6.12% and indicating the software model validation. Also, the modeling results show that decane fuel has higher brake power and brake torque of more than 6.10 % while fuel is injected at 10 °CA BTDC compared to the base fuel, and illustrates a reduction of 5.75 % in specific fuel consumption due to producing higher power. In addition, with the advance of injection timing compared to baseline, the amount of CO and HC in biodiesel fuel reduces to 83.88% and 64.87%, respectively, and the lowest NOX emission with the retardation of starting injection, to decane fuel is awarded. In general, the results show that decane fuel could be a good alternative to diesel fuel in diesel engines when it starts fuel injection at 10 °CA BTDC.


This study was conducted to obtain saline tolerant mungbean genotypes through evaluating growth, biochemical and molecular parameters, and possible salt tolerant mechanisms were studied in different salt sensitive genotypes. Thirteen prescreened mungbean genotypes were grown on 0, 40, 80 and 120 mMNaCl induced salinity and evaluated by germination percentage, shoot and root length, superoxide (O2•-) generation rate, concentration of H2O2, lipid peroxidation (as malondialdehyde, MDA), methylglyoxal (MG), K+/Na+ and proline content in leaves. Based on these parameters, genotypes BD-10588, BD-6894 and IR-01 were selected as tolerant genotypes. For studying oxidative stress tolerance mechanism, BD-10588 and IR-01 were used as tolerant and BD-6887 and BD-10741 as susceptible genotypes, and comparative ROS (O2•- and H2O2), and MDA as well as LOX activity between the two groups were determined. Analysis of activities of ROS metabolizing antioxidant enzymes strongly suggested that superoxide dismutase in tolerant genotypes provided first line protection from salt induced O2•-. Higher catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) played major role in H2O2 metabolism in tolerant genotypes. Both specific and in-gel activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) strongly proved the H2O2 metabolism for reducing oxidative damage in both tolerant and susceptible genotypes. However, higher peroxidase activity was important for mitigating salt stress in susceptible mungbean genotypes. Therefore, SOD, APX and GPX are very important for protecting salt mediated oxidative damage in mungbean genotype.
Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 44(3): 469-492, September 2019


In the realm of academic disciplines, Feminism and Feminist art history have made significant contribution on matters and theories of practice. One would think that the percentage of people in the academic world unaware of the notion of Feminist Art History is or must be very small. No one would think the opposite, only lacking in awareness of those cultural, political, historical, sociological, economic or any other forms that bound together the past or present characters of society, always and undeniably occupied by sexual politics, if not formed by them and run for them. The problem does not lie in the justification of their existence. The problem lies in the methods deployed by feminist art historians in order to evoke and reevaluate the assessment of cultural images. These methods are rarely in agreement with each other and often fall imder ideological categories, in search for answers either in form of gender or class analysis. This project aims to bring together, analyze and examine the main issues concerning these methodologies, and its application to feminist art history, looking at female artistic production of l9th century in France and Britain. Questions that are going to be discussed are the role of feminist art history, its beginnings, evolution and ultimate purpose. Debates between Marxist feminists and Radical feminists are going to be discussed, as well as methodologies that claim to unite Marxism and Feminism. It aims to prove that the feminist critique comes mainly either from a Marxist perspective or a gender perspective, for their unification has proved unsuccessful. This is perhaps the most difficult project of Feminist Art History, which challenges the construction of the traditional form of art history, aiming to provide an alternative art history. In chapter one I provide a general view of historical facts, concerning the main projects of feminist art history both in theory and practice. Matters regarding the changing social status of women in France and Britain in the 19th century are documented as well as the role of women in the arts and their access to art education and exhibition. I am providing facts that are historically proven and are part of the ongoing construction of sexual difference, however examined in different ways by various scholars. The construction of sexual difference, which has determined the course of women's life and cultural production, has led writers into taking views and adopting theories which are diametrically opposite from each other. This is the content of chapter two, which looks at the adoption of Marxist or radical positions and their differences when assessing cultural images. It aims to show that most Marxist feminists started from a material analysis of class and culture, but moved away believing that sufficient explanations as to women's subordinate position to men and their emancipation, cannot be found in Marxist texts. Examples of iconographical analysis following one or the other approach are considered, both in literary and art historical theory. Gen Doy's Marxist approach leads to a dismissal of Griselda Pollock's methodology, where she has tried to provide ideological structure that combines both matters of class and gender. I have called chapter two "a friction in feminist art history" due to the current literature, which seems to take apart rather than unite feminist theory. I want to show that understanding the ideological structures which form the theorization of sexual difference, the importance of the role of feminist art history and its position to the traditional discipline of art history, is not an easy task. The issue is that it does not look as if it is going to become any less easy either. For the problems lie in following either one approach or the other. Marxists fighting for a historical materialistic analysis versus a gender based explanation. There have been approaches which have tried to unite both ideologies*, but however have proved fruitless, for most feminist scholars tend to believe that the construction of sexual difference is based on the oppression of women by men. Such an approach is Griselda Pollock's, the British spokesperson for feminist art history, whose influence in the world of feminism and cultural studies is undeniable. I have chosen to concentrate on the analysis of her sophisticated methodology in chapter three, as it seems to be an excellent representative example of the above and is best represented in her Vision and Difference, of 1988. I will be researching her attempt to unite Marxism and Feminism, her critique of Marxism, the spaces of femininity defined by her work, her deployment of philosophical methods such as phenomenology and her dismissal of feminist texts which do not comply with her approach. I want to say that this is not an attempt to dismiss the theory of Feminist Art History, its methodologies and its various academic advocates. Rather it is a project that aims to state its evolution and course of intellectual progress, and highlight its current ideological problems.


Background: Bronchial asthma is a well-known chronic illness with a significant burden. The chronic nature of the disease demands time to time management. Knowledge about the disease condition is essential to understand the dynamic nature of the symptoms. Therefore, it is important to assess the knowledge of the patients related to disease, so that further teaching can be planned to educate them about their disease condition and self-management measures. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of patients regarding self-management of bronchial asthma. Materials and Methods: One hundred and thirty-five participants with varying asthma severity were enrolled in the study group. Each participant was interviewed using a prevalidated questionnaire consisting of 19 items. The items were divided into three subcategory questions related to disease condition, triggering factors and symptoms, and correct inhalation device use and acute management. The scores were categorized into three categories, namely poor (0–6), moderate (7–12), and good (13–19) knowledge score. Results: Poor knowledge has been seen in 10.37%. The mean knowledge score of the participants was 10.24 ± 3.11 and ranged from 4 to 17. There was a negative linear correlation between duration of diagnosis and knowledge score (r = −0.16, P > 0.05). A slight positive linear correlation was seen in age and knowledge score (r = 0.2, P < 0.05), and a negative linear correlation was spotted in educational status and knowledge score (r = −0.24, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Written educational material should be routinely provided to patients to enhance their understanding and knowledge about disease condition and its proper management.


This article provides professional perspective of a teacher-training model which relies heavily on an intensive, culturally immersive field experience for the teacher of the Deaf and hard of hearing.  Survey results were based upon 21 participants concerning their perceptions during their three-year internship experience in Zambia. Formal and informal periodic evaluations of participants reinforced the author's perspectives that an intensive yearlong residential experience is critical for developing the linguistic, fluency, and cultural awareness that are not only vital but also indispensable for teachers of D/hh (Deaf and Hard of Hearing) students.  (This study does not intend to endorse any philosophy of the education of the Deaf.  This study adopts an eclectic approach to teaching different philosophies for D/hh students.)


The outcome of childhood asthma was studied in 101 adults who came from a group of 119 asthmatic children (85%) 6 to 14 yr of age who had originally been investigated between 1966 and 1969. Changes in respiratory symptoms, spirometry, and airway responsiveness to histamine in childhood and adult life were analyzed. It was found that 43 of the 101 adults (43%) had current symptoms; 29 of the 43 (67%) were receiving maintenance therapy. In the first study, 83 of the 101 children (82%) showed a response on inhalation of histamine (PC10-histamine less than or equal to 16 mg/ml). The number of subjects in the second study who still had a PC10-histamine less than or equal to 16 mg/ml fell to 29, suggesting that airway responsiveness decreases from childhood to adulthood. During the second survey (in adults), 25 of the 43 (59%) subjects with current symptoms and four of the 58 (7%) without respiratory symptoms responded to histamine. Adults with current symptoms had a significantly lower %FEV1 in both childhood and adulthood than did adults without current symptoms; %FEV1 was not different in females and males or in smokers and nonsmokers in either the first or the second survey. The outcome of childhood asthma is primarily predicted by the initial degree of bronchial obstruction (p = 0.041) and airway responsiveness to histamine (p = 0.050), and does not appear to be related to sex, smoking habits, or age of onset of respiratory symptoms.


Background Identify variables associated with intrapartum epidural use. Methods Odds ratios were calculated to quantify associations between selected variables and epidural use using a population-based case-control study of Washington State birth certificate data from 2009. Results Non-Whites had 10 - 45% lower odds of epidural use relative to Whites. Foreign-born women had 25 - 45% lower odds of epidural use compared to their US-born counterparts, except for Asians. Women who smoked or induced labor had higher roughly 2-fold higher odds of epidural use compared with non-smokers or women giving birth spontaneously, respectively. Women without a high school diploma or equivalent had lower odds of epidural use relative to those who graduated. Delivering at perinatal units, rural hospitals, or non-profit hospitals had ~50% lower odds of epidural use compared with secondary/teritiary perinatal units, urban hospitals or for-profit hospitals, respectively. Conclusion Several individual and health service-related variables were associated with epidural use. These findings elucidate the clinical relevance of epidural use, and dispariaties in its utilization and in quality of care during delivery. Keywords Epidural use; Foreign birth; Labor; Racial disparities


During the last decade infections caused by MDR Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) have become increasingly prevalent. Because of their high morbidity and mortality rates, these infections constitute a serious threat to public health worldwide. Ceftazidime/avibactam is a new approved agent combining ceftazidime and a novel β-lactamase inhibitor with activity against various β-lactamases produced by MDR GNB. Avibactam has a spectrum of inhibition of class A and C β-lactamases, including ESBLs, AmpC and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) enzymes. Thus, combination with this inhibitor expands ceftazidime's spectrum of activity to MDR Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. In Phase II clinical trials of patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections and complicated urinary tract infections ceftazidime/avibactam exhibited clinical efficacy comparable to those of meropenem and imipenem/cilastatin, respectively. A Phase III clinical trial confirmed the efficacy of ceftazidime/avibactam in patients with MDR Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa infections. Microbiological surveillance studies, in vivo animal models of infection and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic target attainment analyses are also discussed, to assess the potential role of this new drug in the treatment of infections caused by MDR GNB.


Many intracellular membraneless bodies appear to form via reversible phase transitions of multivalent proteins. Two relevant types of phase transitions are sol-gel transitions (gelation) and phase separation plus gelation. Gelation refers to the formation of a system spanning molecular network. This can either be enabled by phase separation or it can occur independently. Despite relevance for the formation and selectivity of compositionally distinct protein and RNA assemblies, the determinants of gelation as opposed to phase separation plus gelation remain unclear. Here, we focus on linear multivalent proteins that consist of interaction domains that are connected by disordered linkers. Using results from computer simulations and theoretical analysis we show that the lengths and sequence-specific features of disordered linkers determine the coupling between phase separation and gelation. Thus, the precise nature of phase transitions for linear multivalent proteins should be biologically tunable through genetic encoding of or post-translational modifications to linker sequences.


In "Theory Is Personal," Allen Siegel MD, a Chicago psychoanalyst and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center, shares the very personal story of how he came to his theory. Sometimes we find our theory. Other times, Siegel argues, it is our theory that finds us. In this article Siegel catalogues his early encounters with figures—contemporary and real—from Sigmund Freud to influential department chairs to an analyst who would become legendary for introducing a bold new theory into the psychoanalytic canon. Charting key experiences that shaped his adoption of this new approach—a depression in response to his first patient, a clinical treatment with Heinz Kohut, and exposure to others who dared to challenge Freud—Siegel describes the theory that brought both himself and his patients to life. After outlining the principles that guide the new theory and practice known as self psychology, Siegel tells of the empathic ambiance that can now emerge in the consulting room. Finally, he shows how this new theory of human motivation provides not merely a rationale for psychotherapy but an explanatory apparatus for understanding human action in the world beyond the consulting room. He turns to a brief study of aggression and war, as expressed in a 1932 correspondence between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, to illustrate how the understanding of aggression and war changes significantly when empathy is the field's data collecting instrument.


We study surface effects of neutron P23 superfluids in neutron stars. P23 superfluids are in uniaxial nematic (UN), D2 biaxial nematic (BN), or D4 BN phase, depending on the strength of magnetic fields from small to large. We suppose a neutron P23 superfluid in a ball with a spherical boundary. Adopting a suitable boundary condition for P23 condensates, we solve the Ginzburg-Landau equation to find several surface properties for the neutron P23 superfluid. First, the phase on the surface can be different from that of the bulk, and symmetry restoration or breaking occurs in general on the surface. Second, the distribution of the surface energy density has an anisotropy depending on the polar angle in the sphere, which may lead to the deformation of the geometrical shape of the surface. Third, the order parameter manifold induced on the surface, which is described by two-dimensional vector fields induced on the surface from the condensates, allows topological defects (vortices) on the surface, and there must exist such defects even in the ground state thanks to the Poincare-Hopf theorem: although the numbers of the vortices and antivortices depend on the bulk phases, the difference between them is topologically invariant (the Euler number χ=2) irrespective of the bulk phases. These vortices, which are not extended to the bulk, are called boojums in the context of liquid crystals and helium-3 superfluids. The surface properties of the neutron P23 superfluid found in this paper may provide us useful information to study neutron stars.


Source coding under a rate-distortion (R-D) constraint and channel coding under a channel cost constraint have long been considered as duals of each other starting from Shannon (1959). We address this duality with the objective of providing a mathematical characterization of it in a functional sense. To be specific, given an optimal source (channel) coding scheme, we detail the conditions under which such a scheme is a functional dual to a channel (respectively source) coding scheme. We show that this functional duality is enabled through appropriate choices of metrics and constraints for the dual source (or channel) coding problem. We then extend this duality formulation to source and channel coding with side information.


AIMS
Breast cancer treatment may result in long-term upper limb morbidity: reduced range of motion of the shoulder, muscle weakness of the arm and hand, lymph edema, pain and numbness. Relationship of this late morbidity with activities of daily life (ADL) and quality of life (QOL) is infrequently described and the strength of this relationship is not clear.

METHODS
A systematic review was performed to evaluate the results of studies, analyzing late morbidity of breast cancer treatment in relationship with ADL and/or QOL. A literature search over the last 20 years (1980-2000) was performed in the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCHLIT and CANCERLIT. Methodological quality of selected articles was assessed and additional, aspects of treatment related late morbidity and the relationship to ADL and/or QOL were summarized.

RESULTS
From the 1642 yielded articles 15 fulfilled our primary selection criteria. Only six articles could be selected due to the inappropriate methodological quality. There was high variation in prevalence of pain (12-51%), impairments in range of motion (2-51%), edema (6-43%) and decreased muscle strength (17-33%). Four articles reported significant relationships between late morbidity of the upper limb and perceived disabilities in ADL/QOL. The strength of these relationships was rather low.

CONCLUSIONS
Few studies investigated the relationship between late morbidity of the upper limb after treatment of early breast cancer and ADL/QOL. Significant relationship between late morbidity and restrictions of daily activities and poorer QOL was reported, however, the strength of this relationship was rather low.


India is among those tropical countries where atmospheric temperature is having very vast range i.e. from 0°C to 48°C in various regions of the country. This vast varying temperature range may not allow the engine to perform uniformly, therefore, which temperature is most suited for operating parameters of engines and will give the best performance levels. The aim of this study is to analyze the performance of a compression ignition (CI) engine using Jatropha biodiesel and its blends with diesel as fuel on changing engine temperature to obtain best performance levels. It has been tried to investigate the optimum operating temperature of engine that will deliver the best performance level. The blends of Jatropha with diesel in varying proportions (B10, B20 and B40) are prepared and are investigated in single cylinder, four stroke CI engine computerized test rig. The results obtained on engine performance parameters i.e brake power (bp), brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) and smoke intensity and presented graphically with respect to the engine coolant temperature at different engine loads ie of 8, 12 and 16 kg etc. The present study inferred that it is preferable to operate the engine at temperature 65 ̊C-75 ̊C to obtain best performance indicators. Keywords—CI engine, Jatropha biosiesel, diesel, smoke intensity, operating temperature.


Air-carrier sprayers provide functional, operational and economic advantages over the use of sell-propelled and tractor mounted hydraulic sprayers for the control of diseases and pests in plantation crops. This paper describes the performance characteristics of output air-jet from two axial-flow blowers of different designs-domestic blower A (operated using 8, 10, 12 and 14 blades at 2030, 2200, 2350, 2550 and 2730 rpm) and blower B (operated using 10 blades at 2130, 2232, 2332, 2445, 2535 and 2658 rpm., and at 0.714, 0.743 and 0.767 stagger angle ratio). Air-jet characteristics of both the blowers were evaluated and established the effects of operating speed, number of blades and stagger angle ratio. Each of these parameters was optimized statistically and using the technique of dimensional analysis. The blower A was then modified using these optimum parameters and blade type similar to that in blower B to obtain a new blower C. This blower provided better efficiency and higher air parameters for operation with a 26.25 kW tractor at 2380 rpm.


Spin transfer torque switching-basis of operation of innovative memory technology-STT-RAM (spin transfer torque memory) has been actively studied in the recent years with two prevalent technologies emerging at fast pace: in-plane and perpendicular. The crucial question for future development is which technology provides better scaling to smaller sizes. The present work provides evaluation of scalability of these two approaches based on micromagnetic modeling.


The engineering of systems involves many different stakeholders, each with their own domain of expertise. Hence more and more organizations are adopting Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) to allow domain experts to express solutions directly in terms of relevant domain concepts. This new trend raises new challenges about designing DSLs, evolving a set of DSLs and coordinating the use of multiple DSLs. In this talk we explore various dimensions of these challenges, and outline a possible research roadmap for addressing them. We detail one of these challenges, which is the safe reuse of model transformations.
Indeed both DSL definition and tooling (e.g., checkers, document or code generators, model transformations) require significant development efforts, for a limited audience (by definition), because the current state of the art of Model Driven Engineering still makes it hard to reuse and evolve these definitions and tooling across several DSLs, even when these DSLs are conceptually very close to one other. We outline a new extension to the Kermeta language that leverages Family Polymorphism to allow model polymorphism, inheritance among DSLs, as well as evolution and interoperability of DSLs.