Mutilating injuries of the hand and upper extremity result in tendon losses too great to be replaced by autologous grafts. The goal of this study was to use tissue engineering techniques to produce additional tendon material. We used a custom bioreactor to apply cyclic mechanical loading onto tissue-engineered tendon constructs to study ultimate tensile stress (UTS) and elastic modulus (E). Constructs used were acellularized rabbit hindpaw flexor digitorum profundus equivalents reseeded with tenocytes or left unseeded. Tendon constructs were subjected to a stretch force of 1.25 N over a 5-day course. Seeded tendon constructs that were exposed to bioreactor loading had a significantly increased UTS (71.17 +/- 14.15 N) compared to nonloaded controls (35.69 +/- 5.62 N) (p = 0.001). Similarly, seeded constructs exposed to bioreactor loading also had a significantly higher E (1091 +/- 169 MPa) compared to nonloaded controls (632 +/- 86 MPa) (p = 0.001). This study shows that cyclic loading of tendon constructs increases the UTS and elastic modulus of seeded constructs. The use of the bioreactor may therefore accelerate the in vitro production of strong, nonimmunogenic tendon material that can potentially be used clinically to reconstruct significant tendon losses.


In this paper, we describe the Txupito interactor model. Nowadays, application contents are accessible on a wide variety of devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones but the heterogeneity of such devices does not help programmers to elaborate ambient interactive applications adapted to each device. Indeed, users do not interact in the same way on a tablet, a laptop or a smartphone. Furthermore the design of cooperative HCI (Human Computer Interface) remains a very complex task especially in an ambient and heterogeneous environment. In this paper, we propose a multimodal mobile interactor model, called Txupito, and a set of composition operators as a way to achieve interactions with hardware in a distributed and cooperative way.


Aim. To assess results of Meshalkin National Research Medical Center and Tomsk National Research Medical Center in surgical treatment of DeBakey type I aortic dissection using hybrid technologies ("frozen elephant trunk") compared with classical standard interventions.Material and methods. The study included patients operated on successively in the 20022010 timeframe with a diagnosis of acute and subacute DeBakey type I aortic dissection. A retrospective observational comparison of the surgical treatment results of patients (two groups) was performed: using standard surgical approaches (beveled anastomosis or aortic arch replacement using multibranched prosthesis) and frozen elephant trunk (FET) intervention. The groups included 70 and 31 patients, respectively. Mortality and morbidity were evaluated in the postoperative period, the frequency of aortorelated events — during the observation period.Results. Mortality and the frequency of complications between the groups in the early and late postoperative periods did not differ. Aortorelated events of the groups in the longterm period differed statistically significantly in favor of hybrid interventions (p=0,005).Conclusion. The hybrid technology of thoracic aorta reconstruction using "frozen elephant trunk" type allows to make onestep reconstruction of the aorta during its multilevel lesion. Observation of patients in the longterm period allows us to announce of a longtime, stable result of surgical treatment in the absence of additional perioperative risks.


1. Pregnant rats were fed either low (less than 1 p.p.m.) Zn or control (40 p.p.m. Zn) diets from day 10 of gestation. They were killed at intervals during the last 96 h preceding the normal time for onset of parturition, and differences in plasma progesterone, oestradiol-17 beta and ovarian 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase were assessed. 2. Gestation was prolonged in Zn-deficient rats. 3. Although the preparturient decline in plasma progesterone began at the same time in all groups, at term, plasma progesterone concentration in Zn-deficient rats remained significantly higher than in normal females. 4. Induction of ovarian 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity was delayed by about 8 h by Zn deficiency. This delay was not observed if prostaglandin F2 alpha was injected previously. 5. The results suggest a Zn-dependent step(s) in uterine synthesis and/or release of prostanoids.


Considering the current context of globalization and expansion of international trade, Parallel Imports has been a great challenge for legal scholars and courts around the world. In the present work, it will be possible to realize how the practice of Parallel Import is interfering and causing conflicts in trade relations between the holders of the trademark, right, its licensors and third importers, deepening the analysis exhaustion of Intellectual Property rights adopted in Brazil. The complexity of the issue is closely linked to the issue of consent of the mark in this type of relationship. Thus, this work aims to analyze how the courts have been interpreted the art. 132, item III of Law 9.279/96 and involving the legality of the practice of Parallel Import with the tacit or express consent.


This paper presents the results of research using an online Delphi method, which aimed to explore university teacher roles and readiness for learner-centred pedagogy, driven by personal learning environments (PLEs). Using a modified Policy Delphi technique, a group of researchers worked with 34 international experts who are university teachers by profession, but who are currently associated with PLEs as PLE-practising teachers, researchers, and developers. A questionnaire based on the relevant literature published between 2006 and 2012 was developed to serve the panel as the starting point for the Delphi debate. This questionnaire sought Delphi experts' consensus on the names and task descriptions of 36 university teacher roles categorized into five core competencies. During the three rounds of this study, the experts changed the names of many roles and modified their task descriptions. The study concluded by identifying the 28 roles on which the Delphi panel was able to reach a consensus. The results also revealed that the university teacher today is ready to carry out the new roles suggested by this study.


Edutainment has emerged as a computational area that combines entertainment and education in order to engage students to learn in creative ways. Role Playing Games (RPG) are a type of games where players take the role of a character within a story and make decisions to advance and reach a given goal. RPG's are highly interactive entertainment tools that propose complex virtual worlds and rich and interesting story lines. These characteristics could be used to engage students and as vehicles to deliver educational material. Based on this, we have developed a generic architecture for edutainment systems called RchEd. This architecture defines a User Interface component to support multimedia deployment. An Edutainment System component will manage user interactions and the game development. The methodology, edutainment architecture and preliminary results are shown.


Immigration has become a new phenomenon in Spanish society during the last years. In 2007, immigrants represented around 10% of total population, with 35% coming from Latin-American countries. When immigrants arrive, they bring their own values and cultural symbols, which, essentially, are different from those of the indigenous population. As time goes through, two alternative processes are observed: 1) a gradual switch towards the Host Society values; or 2) a maintenance of their ethnical identity. Focussing in the Latin-American immigrants in Barcelona, the objective of this paper is twofold: 1) to measure their degree of ethnical identity; and 2) to analyse the relationship between food habits and their ethnical identity. Food habits refer here to the consumption of traditional meals from their country of origin. Face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of Latin American immigrants in the Metropolitan area of Barcelona are undertaken. First, socioeconomics characteristics of the sample are described. Second, the MEIM scale is used to measure their ethnical identity, which combines aspects from the social identity and personal development theories. Finally, a Multinomial Logit Model is estimated to identify the relationship between food habits and ethnical identity. Results indicate that the higher the level of ethnic identity and feeling of belonging, the greater the persistence of dietary habits from the country of origin.


ABSTRACT Learning intervention based on a "Mars and Space" exhibition was designed according to STEAM-education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) principles and practices in order to bridge the gap between formal and informal learning. The cognitive learning of 12-year-old students in Finland (N = 306) showed a sustained level for a six months period. The results of this study provided evidence that situational motivation was enhanced by interest in school science in the STEAM science exhibition context. This led to better cognitive learning results in the post-knowledge test. Thus, interest and situational motivation were the first steps, and the superficial situational motivation seemed to successfully change into content-based intrinsic motivation with longer-lasting, deep learning outcomes. STEAM intervention apparently produced long-term learning, and this exhibition learning setting is shown to provide an appropriate platform to reach the deeper layers to successfully retain knowledge. Boys' scores rose even in the delayed test. Using structural equation modelling (SEM) to assess the effects on individual, motivational and situational interest in learning, situation motivation is shown to work as a catalyst and acting as a catalyst and also acted as a stepping stone for intrinsic motivation as part of relative autonomy (RAI) and a deep learning strategy.


Background Assessing the real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and understanding the incidence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 illness in children are essential to inform policy and guide health care professionals in advising parents and caregivers of children who test positive for SARS-CoV-2. Objective This report describes the objectives and methods for conducting the Pediatric Research Observing Trends and Exposures in COVID-19 Timelines (PROTECT) study. PROTECT is a longitudinal prospective pediatric cohort study designed to estimate SARS-CoV-2 incidence and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection among children aged 6 months to 17 years, as well as differences in SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine response between children and adolescents. Methods The PROTECT multisite network was initiated in July 2021, which aims to enroll approximately 2305 children across four US locations and collect data over a 2-year surveillance period. The enrollment target was based on prospective power calculations and accounts for expected attrition and nonresponse. Study sites recruit parents and legal guardians of age-eligible children participating in the existing Arizona Healthcare, Emergency Response, and Other Essential Workers Surveillance (HEROES)-Research on the Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Essential Response Personnel (RECOVER) network as well as from surrounding communities. Child demographics, medical history, COVID-19 exposure, vaccination history, and parents/legal guardians' knowledge and attitudes about COVID-19 are collected at baseline and throughout the study. Mid-turbinate nasal specimens are self-collected or collected by parents/legal guardians weekly, regardless of symptoms, for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza testing via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, and the presence of COVID-like illness (CLI) is reported. Children who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 or influenza, or report CLI are monitored weekly by online surveys to report exposure and medical utilization until no longer ill. Children, with permission of their parents/legal guardians, may elect to contribute blood at enrollment, following SARS-CoV-2 infection, following COVID-19 vaccination, and at the end of the study period. PROTECT uses electronic medical record (EMR) linkages where available, and verifies COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations through EMR or state vaccine registries. Results Data collection began in July 2021 and is expected to continue through the spring of 2023. As of April 13, 2022, 2371 children are enrolled in PROTECT. Enrollment is ongoing at all study sites. Conclusions As COVID-19 vaccine products are authorized for use in pediatric populations, PROTECT study data will provide real-world estimates of VE in preventing infection. In addition, this prospective cohort provides a unique opportunity to further understand SARS-CoV-2 incidence, clinical course, and key knowledge gaps that may inform public health. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR1-10.2196/37929


Ferulic acid is a simple phenolic acid found mainly in cereals and grains, used as an antioxidant and food preservative. Recent evidence suggests that ferulic acid possess anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anticancer, and cardioprotective properties. Several investigations also have shown that ferulic acid rich food might prevent hypertension. As a potent scavenger of free radicals (ROS, reactive oxygen species), ferulic acid attenuates oxidative stress, which is responsible for lowering elevated blood-pressure through improved endothelial function and increased bioavailability of the nitric oxide in the arterial vasculature. This review article describes the role of ferulic acid in the pathophysiology of vascular dysfunction and hypertension along with highlighted the merit of further scientific and clinical exploration.


ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are membrane proteins responsible for cellular detoxification processes in plants and animals. Recent evidence shows that this class of transporters may also be involved in many other cellular processes. Because of their homology with human multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRP), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and sulfonylurea receptor (SUR), some plant ABC transporters have been implicated in the regulation of ion channel activities. This paper describes an investigation of the AtMRP4 gene and its role in stomatal regulation. Reporter gene studies showed that AtMRP4 is highly expressed in stomata and that the protein is localized to the plasma membrane. Stomatal aperture in three independent atmrp4 mutant alleles was larger than in wild-type plants, both in the light and in the dark, resulting in increased water loss but no change in the photosynthetic rate. In baker's yeast, AtMRP4 shows ATP-dependent, vanadate-sensitive transport of methotrexate (MTX), an antifolate and a substrate of mammalian MRPs. Treatment with MTX reduced stomatal opening in wild-type plants, but had no effect in atmrp4 mutants. These results indicate the involvement of AtMRP4 in the complex regulation of stomatal aperture.


This paper addresses a longstanding puzzle in Bangla syntax regarding the position of the complementizer particle je (cf. Bayer and Dasgupta 2010, Bhattacharya 2001 and Hsu 2015). Preposing of finite complement clauses is observed to be related to the position occupied by the complementizer je within the complement clause. Some earlier accounts have tried to explain the phenomenon with the help of information-structure-driven movements, while the other has been a syntax-phonology interface approach (Hsu 2015). This paper suggests a novel connection between the movement of an element to the left of the je particle and scrambling in Bangla. Finally, a syntax-phonology interface account along the lines of Hsu (2015) is suggested, where the final positioning of the complementizer and the complement clause is determined by an interaction of post-syntactic constraints.


Categories are often defined by rules regarding their features. These rules may be intensely complex yet, despite the complexity of these rules, we are often able to learn them with sufficient practice. A possible explanation for how we arrive at consistent category judgments despite these difficulties would be that we may define these complex categories such as chairs, tables, or stairs by understanding the simpler rules defined by potential interactions with these objects. This concept, called grounding, allows for the learning and transfer of complex categorization rules if said rules are capable of being expressed in a more simple fashion by virtue of meaningful physical interactions. The present experiment tested this hypothesis by having participants engage in either a Rule Based (RB) or Information Integration (II) categorization task with instructions to engage with the stimuli in either a non-interactive or interactive fashion. If participants were capable of grounding the categories, which were defined in the II task with a complex visual rule, to a simpler interactive rule, then participants with interactive instructions should outperform participants with non-interactive instructions. Results indicated that physical interaction with stimuli had a marginally beneficial effect on category learning, but this effect seemed most prevalent in participants were engaged in an II task.


Long before Baron Haussmann remade Paris, several generations of intellectuals, planners, architects, engineers, and politicians envisioned a radical transformation of medieval Paris into a modern city that would be beautiful, rational, sanitary, and responsive to the needs of commerce and industry. Historian Nicholas Papayanis examines the emergence and evolution of modern urban planning in Paris between the end of the eighteenth and the middle of the nineteenth century, focusing on the principles and concerns that informed competing plans for the city. Papayanis examines three major planning traditions in this period: functionalist, Saint-Simonian, and Fourierist. The latter two drew their inspiration from the utopian-socialist philosophers, while the former comprised practical proposals by civil engineers and administrators. Regardless of their perspective, the thinkers within each tradition critiqued the disorder, inefficiency, and social misery of Paris as it was, imagining a new city that balanced commerce, public health and safety, circulation, and social order. Ultimately, Papayanis finds, this vision of the modern industrial and commercial city lent itself to the creation of a hegemonic order that suited the demands of the state, capitalism, and the middle-class urbanite, often at the expense of other interests. Planning Paris before Haussmann uncovers the intellectual ferment about city planning and urban reform that constituted a powerful intellectual and theoretical foundation for Haussmannization and for modern urban planning.


Draining deforested tropical peat swamp forests (PSFs) converts greenhouse gas (GHG) sinks to sources and increases the likelihood of fire hazards. Rewetting deforested and drained PSFs before revegetation is expected to reverse this outcome. This study aims to quantify the GHG emissions of deforested PSFs that have been (a) reforested, (b) converted into oil palm, or (c) replanted with rubber. Before rewetting, heterotrophic soil respiration in reforested, oil palm, and rubber plantation areas were 48.91 ± 4.75 Mg CO2 ha−1 yr−1, 54.98 ± 1.53 Mg CO2 ha−1 yr−1, and 67.67 ± 2.13 Mg CO2 ha−1 yr−1, respectively. After rewetting, this decreased substantially by 21%, 36%, and 39%. Conversely, rewetting drained landscapes that used to be methane (CH4) sinks converted them into CH4 sources; almost twice as much methane was emitted after rewetting. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions tended to decrease; in nitrogen-rich rubber plantations, N2O emissions halved; in nitrogen-poor reforested areas, emissions reduced by up to a quarter after rewetting. Overall, rewetting reduced the net emissions up to 15.41 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1 (25%) in reforested, 18.36 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1 (18%) in oil palm, and 28.87 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1 (17%) in rubber plantation areas.


for oral presentation under the "Human Presence in Antarctica" theme A history of the environmental impact of NZ's only mainland base: Vanda Station Jenny Webster-Brown and Ian Hawes Vanda Station was built beside Lake Vanda in the Wright Valley, Victoria Land in 1968. It was occupied every summer field season, and occasionally over winter. In 1993 it was removed when the rising level of Lake Vanda threatened to flood the site. Vanda Station's lifetime spanned a period of transition from little concern over environmental impacts in the Dry Valleys, to the beginning of the stringent code of conduct that is in place today. The legacy of environmental consequences can now provide unique insights into the lasting impacts of this mode of human activity on the Antarctic environment, and the ability of time, environmental change and human endeavour to remediate or amplify those effects. The assessment of environmental impacts began just prior to the removal of the station in which specific sites of soil contamination, including an an area of routine greywater disposal in a gully beside the main buildings were identified. A second assessment was undertaken in 1997, on the partially remediated but still unflooded site, which identified discrete areas of residual chemical contamination particularly in "Greywater Gully". The lake level has continued to rise and now, just over 20 years after its remediation, the station site has almost completely flooded. "Greywater Gully" is now under 3 4m of lake water. In December 2014 we resampled and reanalysed these lake waters, flooded sediments and the few remaining exposed contaminated soils, to determine whether or not, the legacy of Vanda Station includes a lasting impact on its environment.


I recently stumbled across a BMJ blog about medical humour, and its potential pitfalls when shared online. Julian Sheather, author of the blog, warned about posting information that can identify patients without consent, and reminded doctors to maintain professional boundaries.1 Healthcare workers who had publicly discussed and joked about patients on social media had been in the news—in New Zealand, hospital staff are facing disciplinary action for making inappropriate comments.2 Of course, problems with workplace humour are not restricted to healthcare professionals. Allen and Ovary published a report about the extent and perception of workplace banter earlier this year, surveying a wide range of professions from education to construction.3 But is it unethical, insensitive, and …


The morpho‐functional and topographical features of the lingual papillae situated on the dorsal surface of the bovine tongue, were studied utilizing LM and SEM techniques. In the bovine species, the functional differentiation of the lingual papillae in their gustative and mechanical modes, seems to be related to the position of the papillae rather than to their morphological features. The gustative function predominates over the mechanical one on the caudal tract of the tongue body (lateral to the lingual torus and associated with circumvallate papillae). The gustative function also involves the conical papillae situated on the caudal tract of the tongue body. This gustative function is aided by additional anatomical structures: 1. The grooves situated on the rostro‐lateral side of the conical papillae; 2. The microcraters located on the top of the fungiform papillae; and 3. The furrows of the circumvallatae papillae vallum. The contact between saliva soluble food particles and taste buds is aided and made more efficient by these structures. Furthermore, a large variety of conical papillae were observed, whereas no filiform papillae were noted.


Object-Oriented Stochastic Petri Net (OOSPN) is utilized concerning the complexity of container terminal tridimensional rail transmission system network. It simplifies the structure and modeling with object-oriented and hierarchy idea, while the efficiency of each state is detected based on Stochastic Petri Net performance analysis. Thereby, it finds the system bottleneck which also provides reference for the improvement of the program. The efficiency indicators are obtained by analysis and construction of container terminal transmission system as well.


The aim of this paper is to justify in dimensions two and three the ansatz of Caracciolo et al. stating that the displacement in the optimal matching problem is essentially given by the solution to the linearized equation i.e. the Poisson equation. Moreover, we prove that at all mesoscopic scales, this displacement is close in suitable negative Sobolev spaces to a curl-free Gaussian free field. For this we combine a quantitative estimate on the difference between the displacement and the linearized object, which is based on the large-scale regularity theory recently developed in collaboration with F. Otto, together with a qualitative convergence result for the linearized problem.


Chemical oxidation using ozone with appropriate catalysts offers an attractive option for removing inhibitory and toxic pollutants in micro-polluted water. This work investigated the catalytic ozonation of three chloronitrobenzenes (CNBs, i.e. p -CNB, o -CNB, and m -CNB) in the presence of a novel and efficient synthesized aluminum silicate catalyst. Experiments were carried out with focus on the degradation efficiency of CNBs at different reaction pH values, water matrices and repeated uses, as well as the possible catalytic mechanism. Regardless of the water matrix, the results showed that the catalytic ozonation had considerably higher degradation efficiency of CNBs than the single ozonation process at the same ozone dose. The change of pH had an obvious effect on the removal efficiency of CNBs, which suggested that the aluminum silicate catalyst was more appropriate for application in the neutral pH condition. Ozonation processes in the presence of the aluminum silicate were significantly influenced by tert-butyl alcohol, which confirmed that the aluminum silicate catalytic ozonation followed a hydroxyl radical-type mechanism.


Summary form only given. In order to implement or accommodate nonlinearity in future telecommunications systems the nonlinear coefficient n/sub 2/ must be accurately known and the affect of fiber constitution on the nonlinearity readily determinable. We describe here a technique that employs a cw pumping scheme, based upon the effect of self-phase modulation of a beat signal derived from two diode laser sources, to determine n/sub 2/, which can be readily applied to both short and long fiber lengths. The technique has been used to determine the nonlinear coefficient of standard telecommunications, dispersion-shifted and dispersion-compensating optical fibers.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential and adoption of closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance-based security system (hereafter "CCTV") for enhancing the security of library materials in academic libraries of universities (central, state, deemed and private) and prestigious institutions such as Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management in a developing country, i.e. India. The study also overviewed the CCTV policies of the studied libraries of universities/institutions as they relate to the ethical aspects of the surveillance system.

Design/methodology/approach
Structured questionnaire was designed and distributed among librarians of 24 academic libraries covering each zone of India in October 2019 in both physical and online manner. All 24 filled-in questionnaires were collected personally and online by the investigator were found valid eliciting a response rate of 100%. All the 24 filled-in questionnaires were included in the analysis of the interpretation of data. The response to 18 questions was analyzed in the form of tables and figures using descriptive statistical methods.

Findings
The study reveals that librarians' found CCTV useful for security by controlling theft, unethical losses and missing items. It also helped to curb mutilation and vandalism, procurement of the rare material via the latest camera devices and night vision capturing, besides improving the service efficiency of the patron, as well as staff. The quantitative study surveyed security professionals to assess how each university/institution developed, deployed and integrated CCTV policies related to securing video data, safeguarding privacy and prevention of the potential for the unethical use of surveillance cameras. The analysis of the survey responses determined that more than 50% of the universities/institutions participating had a written CCTV policy. Further, library professionals find that the future of libraries lies in a CCTV system, so the cost should be brought down to improve return on investment by the mass adoption of this technology in a developing country such as India.

Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study showed that the potential uses of CCTV in Indian libraries are slow compared to that of the libraries of developed countries and some of the developing countries. Many of the CCTV policies that universities/institutions did have failed to include mandated training of personnel or provisions ensuring that their policies remained up-to-date. It is suggested that universities and institutions understudy should realize the benefits of CCTV systems and incorporate-related updated tools in the security and multi-purpose uses in the libraries to enhance the services for the users and security for the materials or collections.

Practical implications
The paper includes implications for libraries and their professionals to approach CCTV systems with ethical considerations for procurement of library collections, which help to detect mutilation/theft, observe the misbehavior of users, as well as staff and deployment, should not be decided merely while balancing security demands.

Social implications
The study is significant because it represents one of the earliest works to shed light on the current level of the use of CCTV system by librarians of studied libraries of universities/institutes in developing country such as India and how they are providing CCTV-based security and services, which are currently in its primitive nature. The study also suggested that select libraries are required to weigh up and balance many competing desires, demands and objectives.

Originality/value
This paper provides a concise overview of the various applications/area and uses of CCTV system including its procedures during implementation, merits and demerits while using the system described above in libraries and recommends this technology to other libraries for faster and better services for their users and security to their library materials in today's technological advancement. It provides a set of issues that should be considered before system adoption or deployment.


In this paper deals with behavior of the magnetic abrasive using sludge on polishing characteristics in a new internal finishing of seamless stainless steel tube applying magnetic abrasive polishing. The magnetic abrasive using sludge-abrasive grain WA and GC used to resin bond fabricated low temperature. And sludge of magnetic abrasive powder fabricated that sludge was crused into 200 mesh. The previous research have made an experiment in the static state the movement of magnetic abrasive grain is nevertheless in the dynamic state. In this paper, We could habe investigated into the changes of the movement of magnetic abrasive grain. In reference to this result, we could have made the experiment which is set under the condition of the magnetic flux density, polishing velocity according to the form of magnetic brush.


In every legal system, consumer law indicates problems that it is supposed to solve: imbalance, unfairness and unconscionability. It raises important questions about a legal system's pre-existing ability to deal with those problems. In a way, consumer law's very presence in a legal system judges that system. When considering consumer law as a part of the system, an opposition arises between two kinds of discourse. First, there is a discourse, which constructs consumer law as a legal entity apart from the others, sometimes leftist, founded on a defense of social justice or on market regulation. From this angle, consumer law might easily appear to be subversive. Second, there is a discourse, which results from the effort to accommodate consumer law within the legal tradition's general private law. Under this discourse, rather than disrupting the core private law, consumer law is integrated into it. A gap may thus be noticeable between the initial intentions that sustain consumer law and the effects it produces. The author's claim in this paper is that this gap, which generates ambivalence about consumer law, results from western legal systems' main way of formalizing law in the contemporary era by writing.


Solar technology has been on the rise in popularity in recent years and we are starting to see more of it across the US. As the technology and capabilities of photovoltaic (PV) cells advance, there has been an increase in the number of different product designs that incorporate PV cells. Building integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) products have been some of the most popular introduced to the market. In the last five years, one of these BIPV products, a solar system integrated into the roofing shingles of residential homes has been sensationalized and, according to a California solar installer, that has encouraged a lot of homeowners to enquire about the product and eventually become solar adopters. Over the course of my research I conducted personal interviews with both the installers and the homeowners involved with the installation of a CertainTeed Apollo II Tile integrated solar system on a home in the Stockton, CA area. The most noteworthy shortcomings of these solar shingles are they that convert solar energy less efficiently cost than rack mounted panel systems. The biggest upside to these shingle systems is their appealing aesthetics and they have the potential to reduce time and costs involved with the labor and material for residential projects.


INTRODUCTION
Spinal anesthesia presents reversible interruption of nerve transmission within subarachniod space produced by injection of local anesthetic in cerebrospinal fluid. At the same time it comes to the blockade of particular functions of the nerve transmission. At the focus of this work is the blockade of sympathetic fibres which significantly affect on the behavior of the hemodynamic parameters. Change of these parameters may be very emphasized. One of the possible factors which may implicate is baricity of spinal anesthetic. The goals of the work are to determine how does the baricity affect the behavior of the basic hemodynamic parameters and also the height and distribution of the sensory block.

METHODS
The research has been made on two groups who were given the same amount of 0.5% bupivacaine of different baricity; to the first group hyperbaric with 8.25% glucose and to the second an isobaric without any additives. At that time the application has been made on the same vertebral level, in same position. The research has been made on the patients in Hospital "Dr Irfan Ljubijankic" in Bihac.

RESULTS
In hyperbaric group, systolic, mean, diastolic blood pressure and pulse frequency decreased 19.41%, 18.75%, 17.54% and 10.26% respectively, significantly greater than in isobaric group (7.22%, 2.65%, 1.62% and 9.38%). Gained results with high statistic significancy show that the baricity have an essential effect on the behavior of the basic hemodynamic parameters in the sense of reduction of the arterial blood pressure and slowing down of the pulse. At the same time isobaric anesthetic give smaller deviation of the parameters.

CONCLUSION
By choosing the anesthetics of the appropriate baricity we can significantly affect hemodynamic status of the patient.


We have developed an electrochemical immunoassay platform, which detects a range of disease-related targets including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protein biomarkers. The platform features a voltage-controlled signal amplification, which leads to ultrasensitive detection. The analytical performance of the platform has been validated with protein biomarkers and bacteria. The detected biomarkers include CA 125, PSA in serum and AMACR, a novel biomarker for prostate cancer, in serum and urine. The PSA and AMACR detections were performed on the femto gram/mL level. S100 B, a biomarker for traumatic brain injury, was detected in serum with a detection limit of 10 fg/mL level. Because of its ultrasensitivity, the platform detects bacteria directly in urine and whole blood without sample culture. We have detected E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa, N. gonorrhroae, S. aureus, MRSA and S. pneumoniae in prepared and clinical samples. The current detection limit for bacteria is 3 CFU/mL in blood. We have demonstrated the platform's capacity as a diagnostic technology for bacterial infections. The platform showed a detectionidentification time of 84 minutes, and a time-to-result for antibiotics susceptibility testing of 204 minutes. We have conducted an independent (3rd party) validation of the platform.


The present investigation examines the localization and migration of purified T cell subsets in comparison with B cells, CD8 T cells and CD4+CD8− single-positive thymocytes. CD4 T cell subsets in the rat are defined by mAb MRC OX22 ( anti-CD45RC), which distinguishes resting CD4 T cells (CD45RC+) from those (CD45RC−) which have encountered antigen in the recent past– subpopulations often referred to as 'naive' and 'memory'. Purified, 51Cr-labelled CD45RC+ CD4 T cells broadly reflected the migration pattern of CD8 T cells and B cells. Early localization to the spleen was followed by a redistribution to mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and cervical lymph nodes ( CLN) , B cells migrating at a slightly slower tempo. There was almost no localization of these subpopulations to the small or large intestine [Peyer's patches (PP) excluded]. In contrast, CD45RC− CD4 T cells (indistinguishable in size from the CD45RC+ subset) localized in large numbers to the intestine; they were present here at the earliest time point (0.5 h) , persisted for at least 48 h but did not accumulate, indicating a rapid exit. Numerically, localization of CD45RC− CD4 T cells in the MLN could be accounted for entirely by afferent drainage from the intestine. Unexpectedly, CD45RC− CD4 T cells (but not other subsets) localized and accumulated in the thymus. In vivo treatment with mAb HP2/1 against the integrin α4 subunit inhibited almost entirely CD45RCT− CD4 T cell migration into the PP (98.1%), intestine (87.1%) , MLN (89.1%) and thymus (93.5%) migration into the CLN was only reduced by half. To distinguish between recognition of MAdCAM-1 and VCAM-1 by α4−containing integrins, recipients were treated with mAb 5F10 against rat VCAM-1. Except for the thymus and a small reduction in CLN, localization of CD45RC− CD4 T cells was unaffected; entry to the thymus was almost completely blocked (92.3%) by anti-VCAM-1. The results indicated (i) that CD45RC− CD4 T cells alone showed enhanced localization to the gut and PP, probably via α4β7-MAdCAM-1 interaction; ( II) that many CD45RC− cells entered nonmucosal LN independently of α4 integrin or VCAM-1; and (III) that entry of mature recirculatlng CD45RC− CD4 T cells into the thymus across thymic endothellum was apparently regulated by α4 integrln-VCAM-1 interaction.


Abstract Simulations of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) evolving in the interplanetary (IP) space from the Sun up to 1 AU are performed in the framework of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The aim is to quantify the effect of the background solar wind and of the CME initiation parameters on the evolution and on the geo-effectiveness of CMEs. The shocks and magnetic clouds related to fast CMEs in the solar corona and interplanetary space play a crucial role in the study of space weather. Better predictions of space weather events require a deeper insight in the physics behind them. Different solar wind models are considered in combination with different CME initiation models: magnetic foot point shearing and magnetic flux emergence. The simulations show that the initial magnetic polarity substantially affects the IP evolution of the CMEs influencing the propagation velocity, the shape, the trajectory (and, thus, the geo-effectiveness).


Background Nutritional screening facilitates the early identification of hospitalised children at risk of malnutrition. Screening tools have scarcely been evaluated in the developing world where the burden of malnutrition is greatest. Methods A retrospective study was undertaken of 113 patients admitted to the general paediatric wards at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. Children 6 months to 14 years old were screened for malnutrition using anthropometry and correlating WHO z-scores, and retrospectively assessed for nutritional risk using a modified STAMP (mSTAMP). Results The mSTAMP identified additional patients at nutritional risk. The majority (87%) of children with normal anthropometry scored as medium and high risk using the mSTAMP. Weight loss and length of hospital stay (LOS) were higher in medium and high risk groups: One (5%) low risk child lost weight, compared with 8 (38%) medium and 12 (57%) high risk children (p = 0.021). Low risk children had a median LOS of two and half days (IQR 1–8) compared with medium and high risk groups, with medians of three (IQR 3–8) and six (IQR 4–9) days respectively (p = 0.04). Conclusion The mSTAMP identified more children at risk of malnutrition who may not have been considered for nutritional therapy during the hospital stay using anthropometry screening alone. There is a place for nutritional risk screening in developing world settings, but tools may need to be modified locally. Further studies and validation of these tools in sub-Saharan Africa seem prudent and may result in improved nutrition and outcomes of hospitalised children.


Design expertise is increasingly being applied in projects that aim to promote people's wellbeing. Relatively little knowledge, however, exists on appropriate and effective ways to organize such Design-for-Wellbeing (DfW) projects. This paper sets out to explore this topic. First, we propose that DfW projects are distinct in their aim to create opportunities for people to engage in meaningful and fulfilling activities. Then we turn to the Capability Approach, which focuses on creating conditions for people to expand their capabilities. We explore several principles that would be needed in organizing DfW projects: promoting participation and empowerment; improving external conditions and personal resources; and facilitating freedom and accounting for diversity. The paper closes with a discussion of design expertise and an example of a tool that can help to focus a project on enabling people to expand relevant capabilities.


Combination therapy has various advantages over monotherapy. In the last decade, interest in developing a combination of two or more Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in a single dosage form (monolithic or bilayer tablet) has increased in the pharmaceutical industry, promoting patient convenience and compliance. Bilayer tablets can be a primary option to avoid chemical incompatibilities between API by physical separation, and to enable the development of different drug release profiles (immediate release with extended release). Several pharmaceutical companies are currently developing bi-layer tablets, for a variety of reasons: patent extension, therapeutic, marketing to name a few. To reduce capital investment, quite often existing but modified tablet presses are used to develop and produce such tablets. This article explains why the development and production of quality bi-layer tablets needs to be carried out on purpose-built tablet presses to overcome common bi-layer problems, such as layer-separation, insufficient hardness, inaccurate individual layer weight control, cross-contamination between the layers, reduced yield etc. Using a modified tablet press may therefore not be best approach in producing a quality bi-layer tablet under GMP conditions, especially when high production output is required. There are various applications of the bi-layer tablet consists of monolithic partially coated or multilayered matrices.


Judges are the managers of the cases litigated before them and the administrators of the procedural rules that govern the litigation of cases. This Article investigates problems with the procedural rules closely associated with a judge's managerial capacity and suggests a new paradigm for crafting and evaluating these rules by drawing on the administrative law principles of reason giving in decisionmaking.I argue that for certain types of procedural rules, rulemakers should abandon the task of trying to regulate procedure by promulgating rules or standards regarding the desired outcome of the application of the device at issue. Instead, they should turn their attention to regulating the process by which judges make procedural decisions. Borrowing concepts from administrative law, this Article argues that rulemakers should employ the technique of reason giving to regulate select procedural devices. Reason giving and the information it produces can work in tandem in the procedural realm by leveraging a core intuition — that requiring regulators and the regulated to engage in a reasoning process constitutes an effective form of regulation. The Article envisions how rulemakers can promote this sort of process among trial court judges, and how that process can ameliorate some of the problems that rulemakers encounter in current attempts to regulate procedural devices.The Article concludes by suggesting that commentators rethink the value of precedential opinions in some procedural decisions. Rather than straining to identify uniformity in the application of vague standards, rulemakers should be satisfied that they have regulated an area through the delegation of authority and the promotion of a systematic use of that authority by judges as regulators and regulated subjects. These sorts of decisions have the potential for developing stability and standards in certain areas of procedural law.


A fire risk computer model CUrisk is being developed at Carleton University to evaluate fire safety designs for four-story, timber-frame commercial buildings. The model consists of the system model and a number of subsidiary submodels. The system model implements the risk analysis framework and controls data flow of the submodels; it is also responsible for calculating the life hazard of each scenario. Other submodels include Fire Growth and Smoke Movement, Boundary Failure and Fire Spread, Occupant Response and Evacuation, and Building Cost and Economic Loss. Using the outputs of the submodels, the system model calculates three decision-making parameters:the Expected Risk to Life, the Expected Risk of Injury, and the Fire Cost Expectation. These parameters are based on possible fire scenarios and their associated probabilities. This paper provides a brief description of CUrisk, and presents the results of a multi-scenario risk analysis for a four story commercial building.


We propose and analyze a physical mechanism for photogeneration of multiexcitons by single photons (carrier multiplication) in semiconductor nanocrystals, which involves intraband optical transitions within the manifold of biexciton states. In this mechanism, a virtual biexciton is generated from nanocrystal vacuum by the Coulomb interaction between two valence-band electrons, which results in their transfer to the conduction band. The virtual biexciton is then converted into a real, energy-conserving biexciton by photon absorption on an intraband optical transition. The proposed mechanism is inactive in bulk semiconductors as momentum conservation suppresses intraband transitions. However, it becomes highly efficient in the case of zero-dimensional nanocrystals, where quantum confinement results in relaxation of momentum conservation, which is accompanied by the development of strong intraband absorption. Our calculations show that the efficiency of the carrier multiplication channel mediated by intraband optical transitions can be comparable to or even greater than that for impact-ionization-like processes mediated by interband transitions.


Islamic education in the multi-racial, multi-religious and secular Singapore faces a
multitude of challenges and problems that have existed for decades. There are basically
three major areas of concerns on the subject matter. First, the dualistic and non-integrated
education system, inherited from the colonial era that involve profound philosophical and
conceptual ramifications that resulted in the serious confusion on the true meaning and
purpose of Islamic education. Secondly, the issue of authority and leadership with regards
to the administration of Islamic education in a secular State. Thirdly, the rapidly and
continuously changing global city, the societies as well as the complexities involved and
its resultant effect on Islamic education. The position of the secular State with regards to
Islamic education in general, has to do with the long historical tradition and policies the
authority has adopted since independence; not only to studies relating to Islam but to
other religious beliefs. This thesis postulates however, the fundamental challenge to
Islamic education is not the secular nature of the State and the policies of the government
on matters pertaining but secularization as a philosophical program that affects the mind,
soul, values and learning by the Muslim individuals and the community. Thus, the
Muslim intelligentsia and leadership ought to understand these problems profoundly in
order to guide the community at large to have realistic and positive engagements with the
relevant authorities with regards to Islamic education. Although the challenges mentioned
seem overwhelming, the Muslims in Singapore has the rare but golden opportunity to
prove that it has the commitment, conviction and capability to make positive changes and
transformations with regards to Islamic education. Andalus as a private educational
institution which is the case study of this thesis has shown that this is possible. The case study that covers over a period of 19 years from 1996 to 2015, showed that educational
institution has grown significantly across the island. Andalus offers part-time Islamic
education in a structured and systematic manner for about 10,500 students from nursery
to diploma level and the student number has kept increasing. This case study provides a
comprehensive analyses on the success factors of Andalus, based on the Singapore
Quality Class (SQC) framework and envisage a scenario that a successful Islamic
educational institution for the indigenous Muslim minority in Singapore is naturally,
advantageous for both the community and the State. The key elements for the design and
implementation for the case study, encompassing the research questions, propositions,
data analysis as well as explorations via multitude of lenses are addressed via this
framework. Finally, the thesis forwards a prognosis of the future on Islamic education in
Singapore by providing clear pathways, focusing on the priorities, optimizing the
resources and expertise and thereafter, mobilizing them in the most effective ways. These
would eventually equip the Muslims with the capabilities and confidence to overcome
eventually, the challenges mentioned earlier. Thereafter, Islamic education would be
firmly established based on proper foundations and worldview as well as adopting a
framework for an excellent organization, deemed suitable for the country.


RAM-8 Groep, a Belgian local artist collective, found in Bridges Exhibits a compelling incentive to produce exciting collaborative artworks around mathematical content with a total freedom of expression, once layout and theme suggested by members in turn and enhanced by the group, are finalized. To date, three works including this year's were realized and the general descriptions of the ones of Enschede and Seoul in the relevant Catalogs are here supplemented by crisp indications of the various artists' personal intents, first with respect to mathematics. An Appendix shows hi-res images of the works' "making-of" and as they were further exhibited in local events including the Figibox initiative.


In general, developing countries are lagging behind in e-government adoption compared to developed countries. Within Indonesia, there is a huge disparity in e- government implementation between districts. This study presents e-government challenges and the role of political leadership in the rural district of Sragen, one of the leading districts in implementing e-government in the country. The study focuses on the supply-side of e- government, and categorises the challenges in three main areas; management, infrastructure, and human factors. Initiatives taken to deal with these challenges are presented and strong political leadership is found to play an important role.


This summary-report describes the results of a pre-project that has the aim of establishing the basic technical knowledge to evaluate whether remote surveillance of the rotor blades of large off-shore wind turbines has technical and economical potential. A cost-benefit analysis was developed, showing that it is economically attractive to use sensors embedded in the blade. Specific technical requirements were defined for the sensors capability to detect the most important damage types in wind turbine blades. Three different sensor types were selected for use in laboratory experiments and full-scale tests of a wind turbine blade developing damage: 1) detection of stress wave emission by acoustic emission, 2) measurement of modal shape changes by accelerometers and 3) measurement of crack opening of adhesive joint by a fibre optics microbend displacement transducer that was developed in the project. All types of sensor approaches were found to work satisfactory. The techniques were found to complement each other: Acoustic emission has the capability of detecting very small damages and can be used for locating the spatial position and size of evolving damages. The fibre optics displacement transducer was found to work well for detecting adhesive failure. Modelling work shows that damage in a wind turbine blade causes a significant change in the modal shape when the damage is in the order of 0.5-1 m. Rough estimates of the prices of complete sensor systems were made. The system based on acoustic emission was the most expensive and the one based on accelerometers was the cheapest. NDT methods (ultrasound scanning and X-ray inspection) were found to be useful for verification of hidden damage. Details of the work are described in annexes. ISBN 87-550-3044-0 ISBN 87-550-3045-9 (Internet) ISSN 0106-2840 Print: Pitney Bowes Management Services Denmark A/S, 2002


The objective of the present study was to compare the efficacy of three diluents on post-thaw motility, viability, and fertility of frozen chicken semen. Semen from Thai native cocks (Pradu Hang Dam; n=24) was collected, pooled, and randomly allocated into three groups, then diluted at a ratio of 1:3 (v:v) with Schramm, EK, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-based medium. The diluted semen samples were cooled down to 5oC and then mixed with Dimethylformamide (DMF) (6% v/v). Semen straws were subjected to cryopreservation using liquid nitrogen vapor method. For cryopreserved sperm quality assessment, the frozen semen straws were thawed, and motility was assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Viability was evaluated using a SYBR-14/PI live/dead sperm viability kit. Lipid peroxidation level was measured based on malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Fertility was also examined by inseminating layer hens (n=36) with the frozen semen. The experimental results showed that sperm motility and viability were superior when using Schramm and EK diluents, compared to PVP-based medium (P ≤ 0.05). The Schramm and EK diluents yielded lower levels of MDA and higher fertility than the PVP-based medium (P ≤ 0.05). The present study indicated that Schramm and EK diluents were the suitable cryopreservation media for native chicken; the diluents could maintain the quality of native chicken semen after freezing-thawing.


Gold has been used around the world as an instrument for investment to hedge against inflation or in the form of jewellery. All these factors are the reason for hyping the demand for gold day by day. As per world gold council gold demand in India is about to rise 33% by 2020.The cumulative annual demand will be excess of 1,200 tonnes by 2020.Recently India has become the largest consumer of gold and price of gold is likely to breach Rs 32,000 mark in the next calendar year. There is an inverse relationship between gold price and dollar. In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the existence of unidirectional or bidirectional relationship between gold price and Sensex for the period of 10 years (2002-2012). The results of the analysis show that there is no causality between the gold price and Sensex. Gold Prices, Stock Market Return, BSE, Volatility, Co-integration.


A simple algorithm previously used to evaluate steady-state global Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) resources is extended to probe the effect of various effluent discharge methodologies. It is found that separate evaporator and condenser discharges potentially increase OTEC net power limits by about 60% over a comparable mixed discharge scenario. This stems from a relatively less severe degradation of the thermal resource at given OTEC seawater flow rates, which corresponds to a smaller heat input into the ocean. Next, the most practical case of a mixed discharge into the mixed layer is found to correspond to only 80% of the so-called baseline case (mixed discharge at a water depth of initial neutral buoyancy). In general, locating effluent discharges at initial neutral-buoyancy depths appears to be nearly optimal in terms of OTEC net power production limits. The depth selected for the OTEC condenser effluent discharge, however, has by far the greatest impact. Clearly, these results are preliminary and should be investigated in more complex ocean general circulation models.


Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of mortality among people with diabetes. Although diabetes is more prevalent among blacks than among whites, little is known about CHD risk among black people with diabetes. We performed a case-control analysis to assess CHD mortality risk among people with diabetes. Coronary heart disease mortality cases were identified from the 1986 National Mortality Followback Survey, and controls were taken from behavioral risk factor surveys conducted in 35 states in 1988. In the young age groups (men younger than 45 years and women younger than 55), both white and black people with diabetes and no other CHD risk factors had about a thirteen-fold greater risk of CHD mortality compared to people without diabetes and with no other CHD risk factors. In the older age groups, diabetes was associated with a lower risk of CHD mortality among blacks (OR = 1.6) than among whites (OR = 2.5). With the exception of smoking in young people with diabetes, we found smoking, high blood pressure, and body mass to carry generally similar relative risks of CHD mortality in black people with diabetes as in white people with diabetes. Further study of other CHD risk factors is needed in black people with diabetes.


For many years science educators in Kenyan secondary schools hoped that the use of science apparatus supplied by Science Equipment Production unit (SEPU) would substantially help teachers to provide students with efficient and effective opportunities to learn science, products, and processes. But this has not improved students " performances in examinations. Research findings from developed countries have pointed out the capabilities of computers to improve students " scientific knowledge. This happens when students are taught to use computers as tools for thinking, creating and adapt computers to fit their own needs such as students written simulations, science interfacing. Computers have now been available in Kenyan secondary schools for over ten years. This article presents the results of a study that investigated the use of computers in teaching and learning science in public secondary schools in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to find out if science teachers use computers to help improve the quality of science education. Related literature for this study revealed that teaching/learning science subjects with computer helps to improve students performance in examination. This study was based on a descriptive survey. The area of study was Kisumu Municipality and the study population consisted of 22 head teachers, 1200students and 44science teachers. Saturated sampling was used to select a sample of 20 head teachers, while purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 20 science teachers. At the same time, simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 400 students. Data was collected by use of questionnaire, document analysis guide and observation schedule. Data analysis involved use of descriptive statistics that included graphics, percentages and frequencies. The finding showed that there was inadequate provision of computers in secondary schools. Very few science teachers used computers in teaching/learning science. The study recommended that Head teachers should purchase more computes and provide adequate facilities such as computer laboratory, and trained manpower.


Author(s): Coppola, Benjamin Anthony | Abstract: It is now recognized that regional estimates of myocardial function are necessary to understand the underlying basis of global cardiac function. Moreover, these regional measures are more meaningful when expressed in terms of the muscle fiber architecture. In addition, myocardium has been shown to be a syncytium of myofibers organized into branching laminar "sheets", and recent evidence suggests that the sheet structure is important to systolic wall thickening. Therefore, we studied the regional mechanics of both the normal heart and a model of dyssynchronous activation, and related each to the local fiber and sheet structure. Regional deformation was assessed by implanting beads into the canine heart and imaging them with biplane cineradiography. After the functional data was acquired, fiber and sheet orientations were determined by histological sectioning. In the model of the dyssynchronous heart, myofibers in the late-activated region continued to stretch 44 ms after local tissue activation, and was associated with little stretching perpendicular to the fibers or shearing. Despite occurring primarily during isovolumic systole, this deformation differed markedly from what has been observed during passive inflation, reflecting the state of partial activation. In addition, this dyskinetic contraction did not alter the motion of myocardial sheets relative to wall motion. The relative contributions of sheet lengthening and shearing represented most of the overall wall thickening, and no acute interventions changed this relationship. Therefore, the structural architecture of the ventricular wall appears to be the dominant factor for its regional mechanical function. Using detailed histological measurements of the myocardial sheets, we attempted to derive a mathematical model coupling myofiber tension to active stress transmission through the myocardium. When simulating ventricular mechanics with a finite element model, it appears that a stress component transverse to the myofibers is necessary to replicate experimental measurements. However, the direction of transverse stress transmission is not bounded by the sheet orientation (i.e. only within sheets), so the mechanistic role of the sheets on active contraction remains unclear


This paper discusses a new methodology for modeling non-Gaussian time series with long-range dependence. The class of models proposed admits continuous or discrete data and considers the conditional variance as a function of the conditional mean. These types of models are motivated by empirical properties exhibited by some time series. The proposed methodology is illustrated with the analysis of two real-life persistent time series. The first application is concerned with the modeling of stock market daily trading volumes, whereas the second application consists of a study of mineral deposit measurements. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In this study, cloud computing is assessed by SWOT analysis. Information systems occupy everyday life day by day. It is not a distant idea to think that "Future Wars" will be directed against information systems. In future, center of war will be a code line in the software. In parallel to the occupation of information systems in our daily life, strength sides of cloud computing provide fast and reliable data process in an economical way with bringing a new understanding to information systems. In spite of the known strengths, weaknesses that cloud computing brings are questionable. Also cloud computing has opportunities and threats. In this study, cloud computing is researched by SWOT analysis. KeywordsCloud Computing, Information Systems, SWOT Analysis.


Degraded land is a major issue globally and impacts human societies on every inhabited continent. To counter the negative effects of land degradation and return ecosystems to reference ecological states, active restoration is often required. However, many restoration efforts suffer from low success in the re-assembly of reference states. As such, there is a need for improvements on current restoration practices. Ecological theory suggests that early plant colonisers could help later arrivals in re-assembly. This theory has the potential to inform restoration efforts.

The major goal of my research is to build on current theoretical understanding of plant-plant interactions while at the same time improving restoration practice for banksia woodlands. My study system offers a great test of my ideas because it is highly biodiverse. A greater understanding of plant-plant interactions in space, and interactions between diverse functional groups, will inform the types of species to include in seed mixes and could potentially improve likelihoods of restoration success in other woody ecosystems around the world.

Specifically, I used observational and manipulative experiments to test spatial arrangements of plant species and build on theories of plant-plant interactions in early and mid-successional stages of restoration. I tracked re-assembly of banksia woodland after sand mining on the Swan Coastal Plain. I utilized spatial point pattern analysis in two studies to analyse spatial associations of perennial plant species and infer interactions from spatial arrangement. Utilizing knowledge gained from the first two studies, I manipulated the spatial arrangement of seeds to test differences in seedling survival. Finally, I tested different densities of a fire-ephemeral species that could impact survival of seedlings in restoration.

Results of my studies demonstrate that plant-plant interactions play a critical role in the survival of some species and spatial arrangement effects restoration outcomes. I found some species have a greater tendency to demonstrate positive interactions, but the strength of positive and negative interactions changes through time and by species. Similarly, density dependent mortality was strong for some species but not others. The spatial arrangement of species was also important to seedling survival. Four of six species had greater survival in concentrated seeding-bare space configurations than completely random dispersed plantings, which are representative of current restoration practices.

Few studies of positive plant-plant interactions exist for Australia and my studies demonstrate that both positive and negative interactions drive re-assembly patterns in restoration. A greater understanding of plant-plant interactions in space, and interactions between diverse functional groups, will inform the types of species to include in seed mixes and seeding spatial arrangements. Utilizing spatially-informed restoration practices could improve likelihoods of restoration success in other woody ecosystems around the world.


This paper shows an approach for designing a system which implement a microcontroller-based control module that receives its instructions and commands from a cellular phone over the GSM (Global system for mobile communication) network. The microcontroller then will carry out the issued commands and then communicate the status of a given appliance or device back to the cellular phone.This device allows a user to remotely control and monitor multiple home/office appliances using a cellular phone. This system will be a powerful and flexible tool that will offer this service at any time, and from anywhere that has network coverage. Due to the fact that the combination and sequential logic circuits have more components soldered together, inflexible, more difficult to the user, and not programmable, the 8951 micro controller was chosen because it can be written to and read from and also has an internal memory which makes it to be versatile in application and user friendly. Apart from the micro controller, other electrical / electronic components used include: resistors, filters, voltage regulator, transformer, rectifiers, capacitors, DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) Integrated circuit etc.


We address the computation of rare event probabilities in Markovian queueing networks with huge or possibly even infinite state spaces. For this purpose, we incorporate ideas from importance sampling simulations into a non-simulative numerical method that approximates transient probabilities based on a dynamical truncation of the state space. A change of measure technique is applied in order to accomplish a guided state space exploration. Numerical results for three different example networks demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of our method.


Cloud‐to‐ground lightning flash data have been analyzed for the twelve‐year period 1989–2000, for a geographical area centered on Houston, Texas. Of the 1.6 million cloud‐to‐ground flashes in this area of study, approximately 752,000 flashes occurred in the summer months of June, July, and August, and 119,000 flashes in the months of December, January, and February. The highest flash densities, greater than 4 flashes km−2 in the summer and 0.7 flashes/km−2 in the winter, are near the urban areas of Houston. We suggest that the elevated flash densities could result from several factors, including, 1) the convergence due to the urban heat island effect, and 2) the increasing levels of air pollution from anthropogenic sources producing numerous small droplets and thereby suppressing mean droplet size. The latter effect would enable more cloud water to reach the mixed phase region where it is involved in the formation of precipitation and the separation of electric charge, leading to an enhancement of lightning.


Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is both an opportunity to contribute to economic and political development and a hindrance. On the one hand, FDI represents an opportunity to extend public participation in international investment and to promote access to FDI by private investors. On the other hand is concern that FDI may be predatory, invasive of Australia's public interests and impact negatively on some domestic industries. Resolving these tensions is not self-evident. The regulation of FDI needs to be not only stable and even-handed, but also sensitive to domestic socio-cultural, economic and political demands. It should have a coherent structure and yet be flexible enough to suit the FDI regime in issue. Australia's dilemma is to establish its economic interdependence within a global coalition of investing nations without becoming unduly dependent on foreign infrastructures and resources. Its challenge is to strengthen its domestic economy with support of foreign investment without threatening vulnerable and sensitive sectors of the economy in the process. This article explores these issues in light of customary principles of international investment law, trade and investment conventions, such as the United National Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). It considers the decisions of international investment tribunals such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the domestic restrictions imposed on FDI through the police and related powers of domestic countries, including but not limited to Australia. It also emphasises the development of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Bilateral Investment Agreements (BITs), such as under Ch 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the more recent Australia- United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA). This article gives particular emphasis to the need to appreciate salient differences in investment treaty protocols, the distinctive manner in which state-investment tribunals have construed them in the event of FDI disputes, and how these constructions may influence FDI practices in the future. Given the fluidity of FDI and its international and domestic regulation, the article does not present wholly predictable legal responses to investment conduct. Instead, it focuses on developing an understanding about key issues involved in FDI planning, including giving due account to different investment treaties and the prospect of FDI practices being treated differently in different international and domestic legal contexts.


Energy is a basic human need. In Indonesia, fuel oil (BBM) is the most widely used energy source in meeting national energy needs. The composition of Indonesia's national energy consumption in 2015, namely BBM: 52.50%; Gas: 19.04%; Coal: 21.52%; Water: 3.73%; Geothermal: 3.01%; and New Energy: 0.2% (Kholiq, 2015). To reduce the use of non-renewable energy, we are trying to find a solution to overcome this problem, namely by using Aloe vera as a source of electrical. This research focuses on the type of circuit and the number of sets of electrodes to produce an optimal source of electrical energy. In this research, we are using an experimental method that aims to determine whether Aloe vera can be an alternative renewable energy source. The first condition is one leaf, series circuit. The second condition, two leaves with a parallel circuit. The third condition, three-leaf with a parallel circuit. The results of this study are that the more electrodes, the more voltage is generated. By assembling in parallel, the resulting current is greater. From our study, we hope Aloe vera has potential as an alternative energy source and it can reduce the use of non-renewable energy.


In this research, we analyze the effects of vibrations and the atmospheric on turbulence for a broadband laser satellite down link (BLSDL). The use of optical radiation as a carrier between satellites and in satellite-to-ground links enables transmission using very narrow beam divergence angles. Due to the narrow beam divergence angle and the large distance between the satellite and the ground station or any object the pointing is a complicated process. Further complication results from vibration of the pointing system caused by fundamental mezchanisms : tracking noise created by the electro-optic tracker and vibrations caused by internal satellite mechanical mechanisms. Additionally an in homogeneity in the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere leads to variations of the refractive index along the transmission path. These variations of refractive index as well as introducing other external noise, pointing vibrations, can cause fluctuations in the intensity and the phase of the received signal leading to an increase in link error probability. In this research, we develop a bit error probability (BEP) model that takes into account both pointing vibrations and turbulence-induced high amplitude fluctuations (i.e., signal intensity fading) in a regime in which the receiver aperture antenna (Do) is smaller than the turbulence coherence diameter (do), the results indicate that the satellite broad band laser down link with the receiver can achieve a BEP of 10 and data rate of lGbps with normalized pointing vibration of and turbulence with After reducing these limitation of laser satellites and compensates relatively most atmospheric error probabilities due to atmospheric turbaulences (BEPS) or variation of refractive index by using for ward feeding under fine tracking which designed to decrease the residual jitter influencies or by using directional laser beam or introducing feeding forward compensation method and adaptive techniques to reduce the effect of system vibrations [12].


Purpose: Cone-Beam CT (CBCT) is an attractive platform for point-of-care imaging of traumatic brain injury and intracranial hemorrhage. This work implements and evaluates a fast Monte-Carlo (MC) dose estimation engine for development of a dedicated head CBCT scanner, optimization of acquisition protocols, geometry, bowtie filter designs, and patient-specific dosimetry. Methods: Dose scoring with a GPU-based MC CBCT simulator was validated on an imaging bench using a modified 16 cm CTDI phantom with 7 ion chamber shafts along the central ray for 80–100 kVp (+2 mm Al, +0.2 mm Cu). Dose distributions were computed in a segmented CBCT reconstruction of an anthropomorphic head phantom with 4×10⁵ tracked photons per scan (5 min runtime). Circular orbits with angular span ranging from short scan (180° + fan angle) to full rotation (360°) were considered for fixed total mAs per scan. Two aluminum filters were investigated: aggressive bowtie, and moderate bowtie (matched to 16 cm and 32 cm water cylinder, respectively). Results: MC dose estimates showed strong agreement with measurements (RMSE<0.001 mGy/mAs). A moderate (aggressive) bowtie reduced the dose, per total mAs, by 20% (30%) at the center of the head, by 40% (50%) at the eye lens, and by 70% (80%) at the posterior skin entrance. For the no bowtie configuration, a short scan reduced the eye lens dose by 62% (from 0.08 mGy/mAs to 0.03 mGy/mAs) compared to full scan, although the dose to spinal bone marrow increased by 40%. For both bowties, the short scan resulted in a similar 40% increase in bone marrow dose, but the reduction in the eye lens was more pronounced: 70% (90%) for the moderate (aggressive) bowtie. Conclusions: Dose maps obtained with validated MC simulation demonstrated dose reduction in sensitive structures (eye lens and bone marrow) through combination of short-scan trajectories and bowtie filters. Xiaohui Wang and David Foos are employees of Carestream Health


In recent years, the world economy has seen expansive market growth in the area of MicroElectro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). It is predicted that the MEMS market could reach more than $34 billion by the year 2002. Today, commercially available MEMS products include accelerometers for airbags and inkjet printer heads. These products require little or no assembly because a monolithic integrated circuit process is used to develop the devices. However, future MEMS will be more elaborate. Monolithic integration is not feasible when incompatible processes, complex geometry, or different materials are involved. For these cases, new and extremely precise micro-manipulation capabilities will be required for successful product realization. This paper outlines the design and implementation of a computer aided simulation of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) assembly utilizing force feedback devices for display of forces of interaction. The system described in this paper solves boundary element equations for electrostatic forces between MEMS components and then displays this solution in near real time with the help of the PHANToM force feedback device. Issues discussed in this paper include: boundary element solutions of electrostatic forces, interpolation of a six degree of freedom solution grid, scaling up of electrostatic forces to human scale, and use of the PHANToM device for haptic display of electrostatic and contact forces.


Introduction. Polycycstic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an important disorder in women of reproductive age which is characterised with menstrual dysfunction, anovulation and hyperandrogenism. 5-10% of the female population affected by this syndrome. Nesfatin-1 is a new anorexigenic hormone which is expressed from several regions of hypothalamus and peripheral tissues. Nesfatin1 is related with obesity, insulin resistance and appetite. We aimed to evaluated the nesfatin-1 levels in patients with PCOS. Material and methods: Sixty-five patients (37 patients with PCOS and 28 healthy control subjects) were enrolled in the study. We included newly diagnosed patients with PCOS in our study. Diagnosis of PCOS was based on the 2003 ESHRE/ASRM diagnostic criteria. Results: The patients with PCOS and controls were similar in terms of mean age body mass index (BMI), waist/hip (W/H) ratio and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index. Plasma Nesfatin-1 levels were similar between groups. There was no correlation between plasma Nesfatin-1 levels and other parameters. Conclusion: In conclusion nesfatin-1 may be play important role in glucose metabolism and insulin resistance. In this study due to the absence of insulin resistance in PCOS patients, levels of Nesfatin -1 were similar with control group. Nesfatin levels were associated with glucose metabolism, but further studies are needed in this regard.


Abstract• Plantation forestry in Zambia is based mainly on non-native Eucalyptus and Pinus species and constitutes an important component of the country's economy. The productivity of these plantations is, however, threatened by several factors, including fungal pathogens that reduce timber quality and cause tree mortality.• In this paper we present a review of diseases affecting plantation forestry and highlight factors that may favour their development and severity in the country.• Plantation health management in the country is seriously hampered by a general lack of information on pests and diseases affecting these plantations. In this regard, most research has been done more than 30 years ago, and very few pathogens have been identified to species level using modern identification techniques.• Recent surveys identified several previously unknown diseases of Eucalyptus spp. in the country, emphasizing the importance of renewed research on this topic. The impact of diseases associated with these pathogens has been exacerbated by poor plantation management, insufficient financial resources and lack of human capacity to deal with them.• Successful plantation management in Zambia will require increased and improved training of foresters regarding tree health issues, more effective quarantine, silvicultural practices, and importantly, the establishment of sound breeding and selection programmes. These will require considerable commitment from Government, commercial companies and research and educational organizations in the country.


This forum is dedicated to personal health in all its many facets: decision-making, goal setting, celebration, discovery, reflection, coordination---even entertainment. We'll look at innovations in interactive technologies and how they help address current critical healthcare challenges. Elizabeth D. Mynatt, Editor


We have previously reported that various manifestations of the Na+ pump, such as ouabain binding, Na+-K+-ATPase, and 86Rb uptake, were similar in canine renal and femoral arteries [R.D. Bukoski, C.L. Seidel, and J.C. Allen. Am. J. Physiol. 245 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 14): H604-H609, 1983.]. In this report we compare ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake in renal and femoral arteries under two selected conditions of intracellular Na+:low Na+ and Na+ loaded. When intracellular Na+ was low, the renal artery dissociation constant for Rb+ was 1.13 mM compared with the Na+-loaded condition of 2.49 mM. The femoral artery dissociation constant remained the same at both Na+ levels. The maximal rate of 86Rb uptake (Vmax) of the renal artery was the same at both Na+ levels, but the femoral artery Vmax was 23.6 and 11.11 nmol X mg-1 X 20 min-1 in Na+-loaded and low-Na+ vessels, respectively. The reason for the difference in Na+ pump regulation in these two vessels is not clear, but these results suggest that there are heterogeneous mechanisms for controlling ionic movements in vascular smooth muscle.


Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an emerging type of biological wastewater treatment units with simultaneous power generation. The present study demonstrates an effective treatment of greywater and generation of electricity in a double-chambered MFC. This MFC was fabricated using cost-effective and easily available materials replacing expensive materials like Nafion membranes, graphite electrodes, etc. Experimental results showed a maximum open circuit voltage of 0.64 ± 0.04 V and 114 ± 1.41 mA current during the study period. The results further indicate a maximum power generation of 24.50 mW along with 307.69 mW/m² of power density; 34.62 mA/m² of current density, 1.33 W/m³ of volumetric power density, 0.15 A/m³ of volumetric current density and a power yield of 0.40 mW /kg of COD removal. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was 77.6 %. The use of low-cost and easily available raw materials has brought down the total manufacturing cost of MFCs used in this study to less than USD 4.0. However, the performance of the MFCs used in the current study is comparable with other sophisticated MFCs built with expensive raw materials reported in the literature. This cost-effective MFC used in the present study might be an effective replacement of expensive MFCs for wastewater treatment at scaled-up levels. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.71.3.11482


Digital markets worldwide are in rapid flux. The Internet and World Wide Web have traditionally evolved in a largely deregulated environment, but recently governments have shown great interest in this rapidly developing sector and are imposing regulations for a variety of reasons that are changing the shape of these industries. This book explores why the industrial organization of broadband ISPs, Internet backbone providers and content/application providers are in such turmoil.


In large SoCs, managing the effects of soft-errors in flip-flops is essential, however, selective mitigation is necessary to minimize the area and power costs. The identification of the optimal set of flip-flops to protect typically requires compute-intensive fault-injection campaigns. We present new techniques which group similar flip-flops into clusters to significantly reduce the number of fault injections. The number of required fault injections can be significantly lower than the total number of flip-flops and in one industrial design with over 100,000 flip-flops, by simulating only 2,100 fault injections, the technique identified a set of 4.1% of the flip-flops, which when protected, reduced the critical failure rate by a factor of 7x.


Harvesting of pure cells from primary tissue is difficult as isolated tissue contains various cell types. Articular cartilage is highly specialized tissue that functions by forming a smooth surface enabling joint movement. Cartilage is mostly made up of chonrocytes. However, when harvesting cartilage other tissues arising from the synovial membranes, tendons and even nerves. This makes acquisition of a pure chondrocyte culture challenging. Harvesting chondrocytes from neonatal rat joints is even more difficult because the larger joints such as the knee joint is roughly about 2 mm in diameter. Thus despite careful isolation from neonatal rat joints cartilage will be accompanied by a mixture of bone cells and non cartilaginous connective tissue. Cells derived from this tissue will therefore need to be purified. In this study the different adhesion affinity of dissimilar cells on solid surface was used to separate chondrocytes from other cell types. This was achieved by plating primary cell suspensions in tissue culture grade (TC) cell culture flasks and removing those unattached cells after 20 minutes. The unattached cells were then re-plated in a new TC grade cell culture flask. This process was repeated a further 6 times, after which the final cell suspension was allowed to attach to the surface for 100 minutes. This resulted in the generation of 8 cell cultures, plus one control in which the serial attachment process was not used. All 9 cultures were incubated at 370C for 4 days and then immunostained with monoclonal Anti S-100 ( -subunit – SIGMA) antibody and monoclonal anti collagen type-I antibody (SIGMA). Immunocytochemical staining showed that control cultures consisted of a mixture of chondrocytes and other cell types. However, of those cultures derived from the serial attachment process, chondrocytes only became evident after 100 minutes of cell attachment. By the 8th plating the cultures contained almost 100% chondrocytes. These results suggest that chondrocytes can be readily isolated and purified by a prolonged differential adhesion technique with a primary incubation extending for 140 minutes.


Neural population activity relating to behaviour is assumed to be inherently low-dimensional despite the observed high dimensionality of data recorded using multi-electrode arrays. Therefore, predicting behaviour from neural population recordings has been shown to be most effective when using latent variable models. Over time however, the activity of single neurons can drift, and different neurons will be recorded due to movement of implanted neural probes. This means that a decoder trained to predict behaviour on one day performs worse when tested on a different day. On the other hand, evidence suggests that the latent dynamics underlying behaviour may be stable even over months and years. Based on this idea, we introduce a model capable of inferring behaviourally relevant latent dynamics from previously unseen data recorded from the same animal, without any need for decoder recalibration. We show that unsupervised domain adaptation combined with a sequential variational autoencoder, trained on several sessions, can achieve good generalisation to unseen data and correctly predict behaviour where conventional methods fail. Our results further support the hypothesis that behaviour-related neural dynamics are low-dimensional and stable over time, and will enable more effective and flexible use of brain computer interface technologies.


Abstract Embryo development in eggs of the spittlebug Mahanarva spectabilis (Distant) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) passes through four phases (known as S1 to S4) being stopped at S2 during diapause. Studies about the molecular basis of diapause in spittlebugs are nonexistent. Here, we analyzed proteins from non-diapausing (ND), diapausing (D) and post-diapausing (PD) eggs of the spittlebug M. spectabilis. In total, we identified 87 proteins where 12 were in common among the developmental and diapause phases and 19 remained as uncharacterized. Non-diapausing eggs (S2ND and S4ND) showed more proteins involved in information storage and processing than the diapausing ones (S2D). Eggs in post-diapausing (S4PD) had a higher number of proteins associated with metabolism than S2D. The network of protein interactions and metabolic processes allowed the identification of different sets of molecular interactions for each developmental and diapause phases. Two heat shock proteins (Hsp65 and Hsp70) along with two proteins associated with intracellular signaling (MAP4K and a serine/threonine-protein phosphatase) were found only in diapausing and/or post-diapausing eggs and are interesting targets to be explored in future experiments. These results shine a light on one key biological process for spittlebug survival and represent the first search for proteins linked to diapause in this important group of insects.


A vibration amplifier is first proposed for adding to a test vehicle to enhance its capability to detect frequencies of the bridge under scanning. The test vehicle adopted is of single-axle and modeled as a single degree-of-freedom (DOF) system, which was proved to be successful in previous studies. The amplifier is also modeled as a single-DOF system, and the bridge as a simple beam of the Bernoulli–Euler type. To unveil the mechanism involved, closed-form solutions were first derived for the dynamic responses of each component, together with the transmissibility from the vehicle to amplifier. Also presented is a conceptual design for the amplifier. The approximations adopted in the theory were verified to be acceptable by the finite element simulation without such approximations. Since road roughness can never be avoided in practice and the test vehicle has to be towed by a tractor in the field test, both road roughness and the tractor are included in the numerical studies. For the general case, when the amplifier is not tuned to the vehicle frequency, the bridge frequencies can better be identified from the amplifier than vehicle response, and the tractor is helpful in enhancing the overall performance of the amplifier. Besides, the amplifier can be adaptively adjusted to target and detect the bridge frequency of concern. For the special case when the amplifier is tuned to the vehicle frequency, the amplifier can improve the vehicle performance by serving as a tuned mass damper, as conventionally known. This case is of limited use since it does not allow us to target the bridge frequencies. Both bridge damping and vehicle speed are also assessed with their effects addressed.


Ballast water is one of the most important vectors for the transport of non-native species to new aquatic environments. Due to the development of new ballast water quality standards for viruses, this study aimed to determine the taxonomic diversity and composition of viral communities (viromes) in ballast and harbor waters using metagenomics approaches. Ballast waters from different sources within the North America Great Lakes and paired harbor waters were collected around the Port of Duluth-Superior. Bioinformatics analysis of over 550 million sequences showed that a majority of the viral sequences could not be assigned to any taxa associated with reference sequences, indicating the lack of knowledge on viruses in ballast and harbor waters. However, the assigned viruses were dominated by double-stranded DNA phages, and sequences associated with potentially emerging viral pathogens of fish and shrimp were detected with low amino acid similarity in both ballast and harbor waters. Annotation-independent comparisons showed that viromes were distinct among the Great Lakes, and the Great Lakes viromes were closely related to viromes of other cold natural freshwater systems but distant from viromes of marine and human designed/managed freshwater systems. These results represent the most detailed characterization to date of viruses in ballast water, demonstrating their diversity and the potential significance of the ship-mediated spread of viruses.


Distributed health care systems require a pervasive design strategy to ensure security, stability and functionality of the system. Furthermore, distributed health care systems are potentially very complex, which makes it necessary to have appropriate abstraction strategies. In this paper we introduce the theory of communicating sequential processes to distributed health care system design. We use this theory to gain further insight into the communication between different system components. In particular this reasoning is applied to the problem of internal and external integration of distributed health care systems. We claim that a high level of internal and external integration can be achieved with the pervasive design strategy. With the pervasive concept of communicating sequential processes we have a formal method to create a model of the complete system. In the practical part of the paper we apply the formal system model to prove security, stability and functionality of a particular system.


Ligand-protected metal nanoclusters controlled by atomic accuracy (i. e. atomically precise metal NCs) have recently attracted considerable attention as active sites in heterogeneous catalysts. Using these atomically precise metal NCs, it becomes possible to create novel heterogeneous catalysts based on a size-specific electronic/geometrical structure of metal NCs and understand the mechanism of the catalytic reaction easily. However, to create high-performance heterogeneous catalysts using atomically precise metal NCs, it is often necessary to remove the ligands from the metal NCs. This review summarizes previous studies on the creation of heterogeneous catalysts using atomically precise metal NCs while focusing on the calcination as a ligand-elimination method. Through this summary, we intend to share state-of-art techniques and knowledge on (1) experimental conditions suitable for creating high-performance heterogeneous catalysts (e.g., support type, metal NC type, ligand type, and calcination temperature), (2) the mechanism of calcination, and (3) the mechanism of catalytic reaction over the created heterogeneous catalyst. We also discuss (4) issues that should be addressed in the future toward the creation of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts using atomically precise metal NCs. The knowledge and issues described in this review are expected to lead to clear design guidelines for the creation of novel heterogeneous catalysts.


Thirteen strains of mycoplasma representing six different species, Acholeplasma laidlawii, Mycoplasma dispar, M. bovirhinis, M. bovigenitalium, M. agalactiae subsp. bovis, and M. mycoides subsp. mycoides, were inoculated into the mammary glands of mice, and the number of mycoplasmas present in the glands three days after inoculation was determined. The predominant response included involution of inoculated glands and a neutrophil infiltration. With the exception ofM. dispar, the pathogenicity of the six species for mice was found to be similar to their pathogenicity for cattle.