Background/Objectives: There is significant commercial and research interest in location based search for search engines. Searching of keywords belonging to one or more locations (geographic references) requires geographical web search and ranking on the basis of spatial and textual relevancy. This type of search sets the requirement of spatial and textual indexing. Methods/Statistical Analysis: This paper uses a new spatial-textual hybrid indexing technique, based on Wavelet Tree (WT) to handle point and region queries for Geographical Information Retrieval. Here, WT data structure is used for both textual and spatial indexing. Minimum Bounding Rectangles (MBRs) of different geographical points (latitude, longitude) is created for designing hybrid index. For searching textual keywords, we need to design inverted index. It is created using wavelet tree. Also, a spatial-textual relevancy scheme is used for relevant document retrieval to the end users. Findings: The algorithm has been implemented in order to measure the performance in terms of search time. Approximately 40,000 Wikipedia pages have been crawled and stored in database along with geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude) of locations in India to design MBRs of these locations. The results show that wavelet tree based hybrid index algorithm performance increase with the increase in query length. For small query length, B/R* tree performs better but for larger query lengths, wavelet tree based hybrid index outperforms other techniques. Precision and recall of web documents have also been calculated using hybrid index. For varying query lengths, the precision and recalls are varying which shows that by reducing the time in search time precision and recall are preserve. Applications/Improvement: Our algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms both in terms of simplicity in implementation and searching time. In future we will propose a compression technique on hybrid index to minimize the space taken by hybrid index that will further improve the searching time in case of single as well as multiple geographical references of documents.


Juniperus polycarpos (K. Koch) is one of six native juniper forest tree species in Iran whose population size is declining continuously. The ultimate aim of the research presented in this thesis was to increase the regeneration potential of J. polycarpos by identifying factors influencing seed quality and develop methods that increase germination capacity and vigor. The research focused on impact of infection by dwarf mistletoe on reproductive output, methods for sorting unproductive seeds from seed lots, improving germination capacity and vigor through sorting techniques and by breaking seed dormancy. The results show that moderate level of infection significantly (p < 0.05) reduced mean number of cones per unit area of the host crown, increasing the number of damaged seeds, reducing seed size and germination capacity. For sorting viable seeds from non-viable seeds, three methods were applied: Incubation, Drying and Separation (IDS), modified specific gravity (SG) separation and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). For the IDS experiments, seven days incubation followed by nine hours of drying and sedimentation in pure water or 200 g sucrose /l water solution resulted in 75% and 82% sunken-viable seeds, respectively. For seeds soaked for 48 hours, SG separation in 600 g/l sucrose solution also resulted in 77% sunken-viable seeds. For both sorting techniques, only 4% of viable seeds were lost into the discarded floating fraction. NIR spectroscopy of individual seeds discriminated between viable and non-viable seeds of J. polycarpos with 98% and 100% accuracy, respectively based on spectral differences attributed to seed coat chemical composition and storage reserves. For finding optimal dormancy breaking treatment and subsequent stimulation of germination capacity and vigor of J. polycarpos seeds, different pretreatments were tested. The results showed warm stratification for sixteen weeks followed by twelve weeks of cold stratification resulted in 72% germination after 12 days compared with 16-week cold-stratification alone (42%) and the control (8%). Exogenous application of phytohormones alone or in combination with cold stratification resulted in less than 50% germination, though significantly (p < 0.01) higher than the control (8%). As a whole, the results have strong implication for active restoration by increasing seedling production potential in nurseries.


We demonstrate an efficient and eye-safe wavelength intracavity optical parametric oscillator (OPO), based on a KTP crystal inside a Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser end pumped by a fiber-coupled diode laser. In the acousto-optic Q-switched operation with the pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz, a 1572-nm eye-safe laser with the average power of 237 mW at the incident pump power of 5.64 W is obtained. Under the pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz, the signal light with pulse width of 2 ns and peak power of 18.5 kW is achieved. The conversion efficiency of the average power is 4.2% from pump diode to OPO signal output and the signal pulse duration is about 13 times shorter than that of the depleted pump light.更多还原


In the history of the CIAM, the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne, the importance and significance of the summer schools organized by the organization have not yet been recognized. They were peculiar events where the ideology of the organization had to be divulgated among a younger audience. Especially the 1956 summer school was an interesting one. 1956 was the year of the dissolution of the CIAM. Le Corbusier had tried to prevent this with his plea for a 'CIAM Seconds'. He ended his plea with the words: 'Act so that the CIAM continue in their creative passion, in disinterest, reject the opportunists or hot heads.' Apart from disagreements of the management and future purposes of the organization there was also a language question. Members had been complaining for some time that discussions were often held in German and French and that some participants were unable to intervene due to the language. English became triumphant in the world. From August 8th till September 2nd 1949 a CIAM summer school was held in London. Preparations had been made since the spring of 1948. The school had to focus on the reconstruction of urban centers, a theme that would also be central to the CIAM congress on the heart of the city. Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto and Sigfried Giedion were supposed to give key talks but the event, planned for later that year, was eventually postponed. The summer school that was held a year later was organized by the English MARS group. Maxwell Fry, assisted by Jacqueline Tyrwhitt, was the main responsible architect. The theme was related to four study objects: a housing scheme, a large office building, a national theatre and a traffic problem. The ambitions were thus diminished from the scale of a city to the scale of an architectural object. The next summer school, under auspices of Italian architects, was to be held in Venice. In the report on Architectural Education of CIAM 8 the commission, of which Gropius, Ernesto N. Rogers, C. van Eesteren, Giedion, Serge Chermayeff and Jacqueline Tyrwhitt were part, stated that 'members of CIAM must take the initiative in bringing all schools, wherever they may be located, in sympathy with the principles of the CIAM into the closest possible contact and to provide opportunities for direct interchanges such as CIAM summer schools'. At the same congress also the establishment of Junior CIAM Groups was decided in order to achieve more interest from students and recently graduated architects. A call went out to architectural schools in Europe to participate but only four positive answers were received, namely from Basel, Zagreb, Paris and Karlsruhe. The division between young and old was not really appreciated. In many countries younger architects had already infiltrated the established groups and were letting their dissident voices heard. Nevertheless the CIAM was still interested in spreading their vision among students of a younger generation.


The COVID-19 outbreak is on the world. While many countries have imposed general lockdown, emergency services are continuing. Healthcare professionals have been infected with the virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS), which spreads by close contact and aerosols. The anesthesiologist is particularly vulnerable to aerosols while performing intubation and other airway related procedures. Regional anesthesia (RA) minimizes the need for airway manipulation and the risks of cross infection to other patients, and the healthcare personnel. In this context, for prioritizing RA over general anesthesia, wherever possible, a structured algorithmic approach is outlined. The role of percentage saturation of hemoglobin with oxygen (oxygen saturation), blood pressure and early use of point-of-care ultrasound in differential diagnosis and specific management is detailed. The perioperative anesthetic implications of multisystem manifestations of COVID-19, anesthetic management options, the scope of RA and considerations for its safe conduct in operating rooms is described. An outline for safe and rapid training of healthcare personnel, with an Entrustable Professional Activity framework for ascertaining the practice readiness among trained residents for RA in COVID-19, is suggested. These are the authors' experiences gained from the current pandemic and similar SARS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and influenza outbreaks in recent past faced by our authors in Singapore, India, Hong Kong and Canada.


Abstract Increasing attentions have been paid on the application of essential oils and plant extracts for control of postharvest pathogens due to their natural origin and less appearance of resistance in fungi pathogens. In this study, in addition to the chemical analysis of Iranian anise and fennel essential oils, their fungicidal and/or fungistatic effects on two postharvest pathogens were investigated. Essential oils were extracted by means of hydro-distillation and afterwards GC-MS analysis was performed to identify their components. The main constituents were E-anethol (92.9 %), p-alylanisol (2.2 %), Z-α-biosabolene (1.8 %) for anise oil and E-anethol (71.2 %), limonene (8.2 %), Fenchone (8.53 %), Methylchavicol (7.01 %) for fennel oil. Both essential oils exhibited fungistatic effect on Aspegillus niger but fennel was more effective. Satisfactory fungistatic effects against Rhizopus stolinifer, a stubborn pathogen, were observed for fennel oil. Anise oil did not show significant inhibitory effect on R. stolinifer in used concentrations. It was shown that presence of E-anethol as the major component of both oils is not responsible for antifungal activity and especial antifungal activities arise from other reasons such as interaction of components or complexity of the oils.


Abstract. In the Plotnikova Valley, west of Petropavlovsk in South Kamchatka, two valley drift complexes can be identified. They are correlated with glaciofluvial terraces. The older, so called M1-moraines descend to about 300 m a.s.l. corresponding with the T1-terraces; they are smoothand vague-shaped, without kettles. The younger, so called M2-moraines descend to 350-450 m a.s.l.; their relief is well formed and rich in kettles and ridges, and they are connected with the T2-terraces. The soils developed on these drifts and terraces do not differ significantly with respect to colour and weathering intensity. Soils of the older drift and terraces reveal stronger cryogenetic disturbances and their boulders and gravels are characterized by more pronounced weathering crusts in comparison to the younger drift and terraces. No features indicating interglacial weathering can be identified in the subsoils. But all soils are stratified by 3-4 tephra layers, due to the following eruptions: tephra 1 = Opala, 1400-1500 a BP; tephra 2 = Ksudach 1, 1700-1800 a BP; tephra 3 = Ksudach 2 = 6000 a BP; tephra 4 = Kuril Lake Il'inskay, 7600-7700 a BP (BRAITSEVA et al. 1992). According to these results it is supposed that both moraines indicate Late Pleistocene glaciation; the M1 drift was deposited during an early phase of the Late Pleistocene, the M2 drift characterizes a second phase of the Late Pleistocene, separated only by an interstadial, not by an interglacial. In contrast to Middle Europe, early Late Pleistocene glaciation has been more pronounced than Late Pleistocene second phase glaciation. Studying soil development on frontal moraines along a sequence from 350 to 1000 m a.s.l. in the Topolovaya-Valley it was found that up to about 930 m a.s.l. all soils are stratified by tephra 1-4 layers, indicating that the age of the corresponding moraines is older than 7600/7700 a BP. Drift in about 980 m a.s.l. shows only tephra 1 and 2. These moraines are older than 1700/1800 a BP, but younger than 6000 a BP. Probably they indicate a glacial advance during the middle Holocene (Neoglacial). In 1000 m a.s.l. two additional ridges can be identified, well formed with initial soil formation but without tephra. According to the lichenometric results they characterize snow and ice accumulations during the so-called "Little Ice Age".


On Guam, the nudibranch Glossodoris pallida specializes in feeding on the branching sponge Cacospongia sp., which contains scalaradial and desacetylscalaradial as major secondary metabolites. The nudibranch, which accumulates both compounds for its own defense, is typically found on the base of the sponge. In this study, we quantified intracolonial variation in the production of secondary metabolites (percent yield of crude extract, filtered extract, scalaradial, and desacetylscalaradial), structural material (fiber and ash content), and protein content in Cacospongia sp. in order to assess the consequences that such variation has on feeding responses of generalist fish predators, the specialist nudibranch predator G. pallida, and on the distribution of the nudibranch on the sponge. Levels of secondary metabolites varied among the parts of the sponge analyzed (tip, base, surface, and matrix). The mean peicer,: y-ic!d of cr.;dc cx!:zct :vs: $isher i?, the surface nf !he spc~cje. .uhi!e filtered extract and desacetylscalaradial were higher in tips than in bases Structural materials were highest in the base and in the surface of the sponge. In contrast, the inner part of the sponge contained higher levels of protein than the surface, but no differences were found between tips and bases. Compared to a control, the crude extract of Cacospongia sp. significantly deterred fish feeding at the lowest concentration found in the sponge (base concentration) In field assays. When offered a cholce between base and t ~ p concentrations, both the pufferfish Callthiyaster solandn in laboratory assays and the natural reef fish assemblage in the field showed no preference for extracts of bases over tips (i.e. lower levels over higher levels of chemical defenses). However, when offered a choice between pieces of sponge from the base and from the tip, the nudibranch G. pallida preferred bases over tips, which agrees with the nudibranch distribution on the sponge. Alternative factors may shape the observed distribut~on of nudibranchs on Cacospongia sp. Nudibranchs at the bases may suffer lower levels of predation because they are less accessible to predators than nudibranchs at the tips of the sponge Therefore, we also tested whether small disks of artificial squid food located on tips and bases of the sponge are equally accessible to generalist fish predators. The reef fish C. solandri in laboratory assays and the natural fish assemblage at the Cacospongia sp. community consumed equal amounts of food from tips and bases. Our data demonstrate that Cacospongia sp. extracts deter feeding by fishes at the lowest concentration found in the sponge, which suggests that the higher concentration in the tips is not a mechanism to avoid consumption by generalist fish predators. In contrast, avoidance of higher levels of chemistry appears to be the factor behind the selection of bases over tips by the specialist nudibranch predator G. pallida. Intracolonial variation in chemical defenses seems to determine the nudibranch distribution on the sponge


Inter-organizational Systems (IOS) cannot be adopted by any organizations in isolation from their trading partner. Their adoption requires cooperation and collaboration between trading partners and, therefore, is reliant on the nature of relationships between the parties involved. For organizations to progress in their IOS adoption, improvement in relationships between trading partners is required before they can adopt a more sophisticated IOS. In addition, through IOS adoption, trading partners can actually improve their relationships overtime. There has been some research that investigates relationships and how organizations progress from one level to the next level of adoption. However, these studies do not clearly define the concepts of relationship, IOS adoption and IOS adoption maturity. Furthermore, they do not adequately justify the exclusion of other variables in defining the relevant concepts and are not theoretically based. This research extends the Kurnia and Johnston (2000) process model of IOS adoption by incorporating the notion of IOS adoption maturity and reducing the scope from a supply chain to a dyadic level to enable better evaluations of IOS adoption progression. We argue that with the proposed model, the dynamics of IOS adoption maturity can be better examined empirically.


Television microscopy was used to observe the responses of in vivo arterioles and venules of the rat cremaster muscle to the topical application of angiotensin II (10(-8) and 10(-6) M). Neither the first- (A1) or second-order arterioles (A2) nor the first- (V1) or second-order venules (V2) constricted significantly to angiotensin II. However, after the inhibition of local prostaglandin synthesis with either mefenamic acid or indomethacin, both A1 and A2, but not the venules, gave a significant constrictor response to angiotensin II (10(-6) M). Arterioles and venules, which were preconstricted with norepinephrine, dilated to their initial baseline diameters after angiotensin II (10(-6) M), a response not observed when the microvessels were pretreated with either an angiotensin antagonist or a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor. These observations indicate that endogenous prostaglandins exert a significant dilator influence on the larger arterioles, that this dilator influence appears to oppose the constrictor effect of angiotensin II, and that angiotensin II acts on specific receptors to induce synthesis and/or release of dilator prostaglandins in large arterioles. However, prostaglandins cannot account for the absence of a venular constriction to angiotensin.


This textbook brings together nuclear and particle physics, presenting a balanced overview of both fields as well as the interplay between the two. The theoretical as well as the experimental foundations are covered, providing students with a deep understanding of the subject. In-chapter exercises ranging from basic experimental to sophisticated theoretical questions provide an important tool for students to solidify their knowledge. Suitable for upper undergraduate courses in nuclear and particle physics as well as more advanced courses, the book includes road maps guiding instructors on tailoring the content to their course. Online resources including color figures, tables, and a solutions manual complete the teaching package. This textbook will be essential for students preparing for further study or a career in the field who require a solid grasp of both nuclear and particle physics.


Developing ordered gene maps from multiple mammalian species coupled with chromosome-painting data provide a powerful resource for resolving the evolutionary history of chromosomes and whole genomes. In this work, we recapitulate the evolutionary history of human chromosome 1 and its homologs in placental mammals, putatively the largest physical unit in the ancestral placental genome. Precise definition of translocation exchange breakpoints in human, carnivore, cetartiodactyl, and rodent-ordered gene maps demonstrate that chromosome breakpoints, previously considered as equivalent, actually represent distinct chromosome positions and exchange events. Multidirectional chromosome painting, using probes from homologs to chromosome 1 in seven mammal species from six orders of placental mammals, confirm the gene-mapping results and indicate that the multiple human chromosome 1 homologs in these species are derived from independent fissions of a single ancestral chromosome. Chromosome painting using human chromosome 1 probes identifies a single human chromosome 1 homolog in phylogenetically distant taxa, the two-toed sloth, cetaceans, and higher primates. The diverse phylogenetic occurrence of a single Hsa1 synteny among the major clades of placental mammals suggests that human chromosome 1 represents an intact ancestral chromosome, which was variously fissioned in the majority of placental species. We find that the number of human chromosome 1 fissions in a specific lineage reflects its general rate of genomic evolution. Further, historic chromosome exchange appears to have been disproportionately clustered in two breakpoint hotspots on the long arm.


Philippines is among the top 10 countries with increasing number of teenage pregnancy. To date, there are 3.6 million young mothers in the country; most of them are below 19 years old. Teenage pregnancy has been listed as one of the social determinants of health under human and social development of Davao City. Due to this alarming fact, this study that aimed to describe and understand the lived experiences of teenagers that went through pregnancy outside marriage was conducted. This phenomenological study covered three conversation partners (CP) who were purposively chosen from two higher education institutions in Davao City. Thematic-emergent approach was used in analyzing information. Effects of teenage pregnancy included broken relationship with family members, physical abuse, planned abortion, delay and added sacrifice to proceed with schooling, mother and child relationship is not being nourished, and loss of freedom to hang-out with friends. It could be noted, however, although premarital sex runs contrary to the teachings of the church, two CPs claimed to have encountered God in a deeper manner during the pregnancy. More so, CPs have realized that motherhood at teenage is not easy. Their priorities in life had also evolved; the welfare of their kid has become their primary consideration in the pursuits of their dreams.


Long-term established human lymphoid cells were shown to possess high affinity cell surface receptors for low density lipoprotein (LDL), the major cholesterol-carrying protein in human plasma. Binding of LDL to these receptors was followed by internalization of the lipoprotein and hydrolysis of its protein and cholesteryl ester components. Cultured lymphocytes from a patient with the homozygous form of familial hypercholesterolemia lacked cell surface LDL receptors and therefore failed to take up and degrade the lipoprotein with high affinity. Cultured human lymphocytes should prove useful for further studies of: (a) the relation between cholesterol metabolism and cellular function and (b) the mechanism by which LDL binding at the cell surface leads to internalization of the lipoprotein.


The psychometric characteristics of Carver and White's (1994) BIS/BAS scales were examined in 2 groups of Dutch adolescents (497 early adolescents and 237 middle adolescents, M Age = 13.0 years and 16.4 years, respectively) and their middle-aged mothers (M Age = 45.2 years; N = 734). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed an acceptably fitting 2-factor model for adapted BIS /BAS scales in all 3 groups, reflecting separate BIS and BAS factors. Reliabilities of the 2 scales were satisfactory. The results supported the convergent validity of BIS and BAS scales. BIS was positively correlated with internalizing problem behaviors and neuroticism. BAS was positively correlated with externalizing problem behaviors and extraversion. The discriminant validity of the BIS/BAS scales received mixed support in our data. BIS was negatively correlated with extraversion, and BAS was not correlated with depression. However, BIS was also found to be correlated with externalizing problem behaviors, and BAS was positively correlated with neuroticism. In sum, the scales are suitable for use in research settings, but caution is advocated in application for clinical practice.


The Joint Chilean-German-Italian Magellan Victor Hensen Campaign in October/November 1994 and the Polarstern expedition ANT XIII/4 (May 1996) yielded 207 quantitative multibox corer samples from 11 stations in the Paso Ancho (Magellan Straits), 10 stations in the Beagle Channel, and 15 stations of the shelf and continental slope off the eastern entrance of the Beagle Channel. Mean abundance values in the Magellan Region varied from 1591 Ind. M -2 in the Paso Ancho to 3643 Ind. m -2 in the Beagle Channel and 3983 Ind. m -2 on the shelf; the corresponding biomass values were 96.8 g, 301.6 g, and 119.0 g wet weight m -2 respectively. In terms of org. C the corresponding values are 4.8, 11.4, and 4.6 g m -2 . Abundance (3806 Ind. m -2 ) and biomass (222.6 g wet weight m-2 or 7.3 g C) data from the eastern Weddell Sea shelf (Polarstern expeditions ANT VI/3, 1987/88 and ANT VII/4, 1989) are in the same range. The composition of the fauna, however, reveals distinct differences.


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Forecasting atmospheric CO2 concentrations on synoptic time scales (~days) can benefit the 10 planning of field campaigns by better predicting the location of important gradients. One aspect of this, accurately predicting the day-to-day variation in biospheric fluxes, poses a major challenge. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using a diagnostic light-use-efficiency model, the Vegetation Photosynthesis Respiration Model (VPRM), to forecast biospheric CO2 fluxes on the time scale of a few days. As input the VPRM model requires downward shortwave radiation, 2 m temperature, and 15 Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI), both of which are calculated from MODIS reflectance measurements. Flux forecasts were performed by extrapolating the model input into the future, i.e. using downward shortwave radiation and temperature from a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model, as well as extrapolating the MODIS indices to calculate future biospheric CO2 fluxes with VPRM. A hindcast for biospheric CO2 fluxes in Europe in 2014 has been 20 done and compared to eddy covariance flux measurements to assess the uncertainty from different aspects of the forecasting system. In total the range-normalized mean absolute error (normalized) of the 5 day flux forecast at daily timescales is 7.1%, while the error for the model itself is 15.9%. The largest forecast error source comes from the meteorological data, in which error from shortwave radiation contributes slightly more than the error from air temperature. The error contribution from all error 25 sources is similar at each flux observation site, and is not significantly dependent on vegetation type.


The goal of this paper is to examine the phonetic correlates of stress and accent in Catalan. We analyzed five acoustic correlates of stress (syllable duration, spectral balance, vowel quality, vowel pitch, and vowel intensity) in two stress conditions and in two accent conditions, which is to say, in stressed and unstressed syllables in both accented and unaccented environments (that is, appositions in sentences such as Vol la vela, la vella '(S)he wants the sail, the old sail' vs. right-dislocated subjects in Vol la vela, la vella '(S)he wants the sail, the old lady'. In keeping with the findings of Slujter & collaborators on Dutch and on English [1], [2], [3], and Campbell & Beckman on English [4], Catalan reveals systematic differences in the acoustic characterization of the accent and stress dimensions. Specifically, syllable duration, spectral balance, and vowel quality are reliable acoustic correlates of stress differences, while accentual differences are acoustically marked by intensity and pitch cues.


In recent years an increasing number of professionals have become interested in providing health care to the people in under-privileged countries. Today, optometrists are serving these people through various organizations. This article relates the experiences of three University of Houston College of Optometry fourth year students during their volunteer optometric service in Nicaragua in the summer of 1975. Most colleges and schools of optometry have similar programs; however, only Ohio State University and the University of Houston participate in the Amigos de las Americas program. Participation in these and other similar activities by the profession is necessary to maintain good public health and develop better public relations.


The major challenge in intensity-modulated radiotherapy planning is to find the right balance between tumor control and normal tissue sparing. The most desirable solution is never physically feasible, and a compromise has to be found. One possible way to approach this problem is constrained optimization. In this context, it is worthwhile to quantitatively predict the impact of adjustments of the constraints on the optimum dose distribution. This has been dealt with in regard to cost functions in a previous paper. The aim of the present paper is to introduce spatial resolution to this formalism. Our method reveals the active constraints in a target subvolume that was previously selected by the practitioner for its insufficient dose. This is useful if a multitude of constraints can be the cause of a cold spot. The response of the optimal dose distribution to an adjustment of constraints (perturbation) is predicted. We conclude with a clinical example.


With the development of automated design and fabrication tools, researchers have shown a growing interest for traditional timber joining techniques. Innovative wood-wood connections, referred to as integral mechanical attachments, have been developed and successfully applied to full-scale building structures. However, it has been shown that these connections highly influence the mechanical behavior of structures. The mechanical behavior of the connections themselves therefore needs to be investigated. Numerical modelling is largely used for complex structural analysis problems when analytical solutions are either cumbersome or non-existent. Furthermore, it has the potential to replace expensive and time-consuming experimental tests, for which a limited number of parameter combinations can be tested. For the numerical modelling of timber connections in particular, various studies have been carried out because of the difficulty to achieve analytical models. However, numerical modelling of timber remains arduous due to the anisotropy and inhomogeneity of timber, with largely different mechanical properties parallel and perpendicular-tograin. In this paper, a 3D finite element model predicting the shear stiffness of wood-wood connections is presented. It is based on models developed by Sandhaas for timber joints [1] and Roche et al. for the study of the rotational stiffness of multiple tab-and-slot joints [2]. In this paper, instead of modelling each layer of engineered timber panels with its orientation (longitudinal layers at 0° and crosswise layers at 90°), a single material with the thickness of the timber panel was used, allowing to extend the model for a larger range of engineered timber panels. The model was compared to experimental tests performed on a shear testing setup. Promising results were obtained when comparing experimental tests to the numerical model. However, the model showed limitations for some configurations of joints.


Summary Selected immunomodulatory effects of levamisole were studied in patients with asymptomatic metastatic colon cancer and in a preclinical model (CF1 female mice treated with methyl-azoxymethanol acetate) for colon tumors. In the patient population studied, there was no augmentation of cellular cytotoxicity or alteration in lymphocyte subpopulations that participate in these functions. An increase in Fc receptor binding on circulating monocytes was apparent at the 4-week timepoint; however, a corresponding increase in antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity was observed in only one of the six patients studied. In most patients, cellular cytotoxicity diminished with time. No significant effects on cellular immunity or carcinogenesis were observed in our murine studies. However, treatment with levamisole did increase circulating immunoglobulin levels and IgM response in mice immunized with the T-dependent antigen keyhole limpet hemocyanin. This parameter was not tested in the human trial. Failure to demonstrate antitumor effects on cellular immunity by levamisole in both human and murine studies suggests that these effects, if they do exist, may involve immunological parameters that were not tested using our methods or that may not be apparent in patients with more advanced malignancy.


Considering the confining mechanism in circular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns, a volume-based method for dividing the effectively and ineffectively confined area of concrete core and calculating the value of effectively confined coefficient is presented. The constitutive relationship of concrete core is developed by means of modifying the expressions of effective lateral pressure and the descending stage in Mander's confined concrete model. Numerical simulation of several circular CFST columns under axial load is carried out in ABAQUS. The comparisons between calculated results and experimental results demonstrate that the suggested concrete constitutive relationship is appropriate for the nonlinear analysis of circular CFST columns.


6-Hydroxydopamine is a neurotoxin commonly used to lesion dopaminergic pathways and generate experimental models for Parkinson disease, however, the cellular mechanism of 6-hydroxydopamine-induced neurodegeneration is not well defined. In this study we have explored how 6-hydroxydopamine neurotoxicity is initiated. We have also investigated downstream signaling pathways activated in response to 6-hydroxydopamine, using a neuronal-like, catecholaminergic cell line (PC12 cells) as an in vitro model system. We have shown that 6-hydroxydopamine neurotoxicity is initiated via extracellular auto-oxidation and the induction of oxidative stress from the oxidative products generated. Neurotoxicity is completely attenuated by preincubation with catalase, suggesting that hydrogen peroxide, at least in part, evokes neuronal cell death in this model. 6-Hydroxydopamine does not initiate toxicity by dopamine transporter-mediated uptake into PC12 cells, because both GBR-12909 and nisoxetine (inhibitors of dopamine and noradrenaline transporters, respectively) failed to reduce toxicity. 6-Hydroxydopamine has previously been shown to induce both apoptotic and necrotic cell-death mechanisms. In this study oxidative stress initiated by 6-hydroxydopamine caused mitochondrial dysfunction, activation of caspases 3/7, nuclear fragmentation, and apoptosis. We have shown that, in this model, proteolytic activation of the proapoptotic protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) is a key mediator of 6-hydroxydopamine-induced cell death. 6-Hydroxydopamine induces caspase 3-dependent cleavage of full-length PKCδ (79 kDa) to yield a catalytic fragment (41 kDa). Inhibition of PKCδ (with rottlerin or via RNA interference-mediated gene suppression) ameliorates the neurotoxicity evoked by 6-hydroxydopamine, implicating this kinase in 6-hydroxydopamine-induced neurotoxicity and Parkinsonian neurodegeneration.


The effect of carbon content of steel melt on the heat transfer in a continuous casting mold was in- vestigated in a laboratory scale mold by simultaneous measurements of the heat flux during solidification of the melt and shrinkage of the resulting shell during solidification and cooling. For peritectic medium carbon steels, the heat flux on the mold suTface was subject to an anomalous decrease. since the surface roughness of the shell was substantial, providing an air gap at the shell/mold interface. For ultra low carbon steels. however, the heat flux was large in spite of the fact that surface roughness was also significant. For peritectic medium carbon steels. the deformation of the shell caused by the shrinkage due to ~ly transformation during and just after solidification is responsible for the formation of the surface roughness. resulting in the heat transfer anomaly. On the contrary, the surface roughness for ultra low carbon steels is formed later on the shell after solidification during cooling, and hence it does not decrease the heat flux at the initial stage of solidification.


Abstract Over the last few years, hydrogen energy has shifted from a little-studied field to the main one with which leading western countries associate the prospects of their national economies. The reasons are the unprecedented pace of development of hydrogen technologies. It turned out that they are able to provide significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and thus bring closer the solution to the problem of global climate change. The first and foremost purpose of our investigation is to reveal that our country has ample opportunities to become the main supplier of hydrogen to the EU market, overtaking North Africa in the competition. Using the methods, authors studied the targets of the European funds towards development of energy production from biohydrogen, studied the potential for the implementation of hydrogen projects, possibilities of financing them and a potential ability of Ukraine to form internal and external markets for hydrogen energy. One of the main issues of Ukraine's possible participation in Europe's hydrogen energy program as a supplier and producer of renewable hydrogen is the possibility of its technically safe and cost-effective transportation to EU countries. As a conclusion to the authors' research, the path of the hydrogen industry development in Ukraine will help to receive additional investments in the Ukrainian economy for creation of new capacities for "green" hydrogen production. In return, Europe will receive research and evolution of the bioenergy component of the economy, which will permit the safe transition of Europeans to an affordable, competitive, and stable energy system.


The Supreme Court is presently considering the Stoneridge case which raises the question of whether private investors who are victimized by schemes to defraud that violate subsection (a) of Rule 10b-5 may sue? It is undisputed that plaintiffs may sue under subsection (b) of Rule 10b-5 if they are defrauded by misrepresentations and omissions in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. Why can they not sue under subsection (a) of the same rule? In this paper, I continue a debate with scheme liability opponent Joseph Grundfest. Professor Grundfest constructs an "arc of history" argument which claims that the implied right to sue under §10(b) was frozen in time in 1975 when Cort v. Ash heightened the standard for judicial implication of private rights to sue. Therefore, he claims, plaintiffs claiming under subsection (b) of Rule 10b-5 enjoy a "squatter's right" to sue, but to recognize scheme liability would be to improperly extend this implied right of action. Professor Grundfest's argument rests on two false premises, either of which is fatal to his position. First, he assumes that the right to sue for fraudulent schemes in violation of 10b-5(a) did not exist in 1975 when, in fact, it was very well established in numerous cases. Second, he assumes that the §10(b) implied right to sue is frozen in time as of 1975 when, in fact, the Supreme Court has at least twice expressly stated that it is not so frozen, and the conditions specified for extending the private right to sue are precisely met in the case of scheme liability. In response to Professor Grundfest, I also argue that the right to sue under §10(b), while not originally intended by Congress, now carries such a stamp of Congressional approval that it makes no sense to continue to treat it as if it were purely a judicial invention. I also show that the common law of fraud that informed Congress's enactment of §10(b) broadly recognized scheme liability in 1934 and indisputably would have imposed liability upon parties who acted as did the defendants in Stoneridge. This is critically relevant, for the Supreme Court has held that where the language of §10(b) does not answer a question regarding interpretation of the private right to sue, the proper way to proceed is to determine what a 1934 Congress would have intended had §10(b) included an express private right to sue.


Semi-quantitative bacterial culture is the standard method to diagnose urinary tract infections (UTI), but bacterial growth rate limits diagnostic speed and it is unreliable when patients have been pre-treated with antibiotics. Metagenomics could increase diagnostic speed and accuracy by sequencing the microbiome and resistome directly from urine samples, bypassing culture. However, a semi-quantitative approach – as needed for diagnosing UTIs – has not been established. Metagenomics was deployed to identify and semi-quantify bacterial presence indicative of UTI, predict antimicrobial susceptibility (AMR), and results were compared to semi-quantitative culture. Whole genome sequencing of the corresponding uropathogens was done for comparison. Analysis time and cost were tracked. Forty-one consecutive urine samples underwent metagenomic analysis. All culture positive samples contained >200ng of DNA, suggestive of a threshold below which UTI could be ruled out solely based on DNA quantity. A semi-quantitative Diagnostic Index (DI) was created by multiplying the total DNA quantity by the relative abundance of uropathogens per urine sample. The DI allowed discrimination of UTI from non-UTI samples in all but 1 case. Metagenomic detection of AMR determinants correctly predicted the phenotype of uropathogens in 20 of 32 cases. The metagenomic work-flow was 31h and cost €116 per sample, but could be reduced to 4.5h and €5 for low-DNA-yield non-UTI samples. The genomic determinants of AMR and their distribution across uropathogens need to be better understood for prediction of AMR phenotypes by metagenomics. The introduction of the DI demonstrates the potential of semi-quantitative metagenomics to replace culture as rapid diagnostic method for UTI.


UAVs are powerful IoT components, offering sensing, communications and data analysis in the air. Recently, 3GPP TS 22.261, TR 22.862, and TR 36.777 have specified performance requirements for communications between multiple UAVs in the 5G domain. This article discusses communications reliability challenges in a UAV swarm context. Recommendations for designing an ultra-reliable communications system for UAV swarms are introduced with a focus on the software protocol stack and RF hardware. For the purpose of demonstration, we developed Easy- Swarm, an open-source UAV swarming platform that adopts the LoRa radio at the physical layer and a low-latency channel access protocol at the MAC layer. Real-life testbeds are built consisting of 10 UAVs and 20 robotic cars that produce background traffic. LoRa, WiFi and LTE networks are employed to provide broadband and cellular wireless network support. Results show that using LoRa leads to better reliability, in particular allowing for higher swarm density and longer coverage distance, than when WiFi is used. In addition, LTE provides the best reliability and latency for UAV swarms with good network connectivity.


This thesis analyses the fabled public exchange of letters that occurred between
political theorist Hannah Arendt and historian of Jewish religion Gershom Scholem in
1964 following the historic trial of Adolf Eichmann and Arendt's subsequent
publication of her report of the event, Eichmann in Jerusalem. The thesis covers the
historical issues that form the contextual background to the exchange. It involves the
introduction of the two participants as defining Jewish intellectuals of the past
century, the course of the trial itself and the political and ideological problems it
entailed as well as the turbulent history of the reception of Arendt's book. It is down
to these four factors that guaranteed the eminence of the exchange of letters analysed
in the thesis. Oft-quoted as the exchange is, there has been no proper analysis of it to
this date. To accomplish this task, the thesis adopts the theoretical-methodological
framework of discourse analysis in general, and the version of rhetorically oriented
discursive psychology, proposed mainly in the publications of Potter and Wetherell
(1987) and Billig (1996}, in particular. This approach allows the thesis to provide a
fine-grained analysis of the various ways of textual construction. Firstly, the ways
examined concern the significance, worth and value of the debate itself, as formulated
by both of the participants. Secondly, they involve the construction of the attempt to
establish definite versions of the content of the book. Thirdly, they cover the textual
acts of accounting for that content, or the practice of misinterpretation of that content,
respectively. What all these three aspects have in common is the positioning of the
problems touched upon in a moral and political context, and ultimately approaching
them in terms of the identities of the participants. In this sense, versions of the events
and ways of accounting for it will not only aim at producing accurate descriptions of
events but in the forms of an implied morality or politics an implied "action-plan" for
the future as well. The construction of Arendt and Scholem is, hence, analysed in
terms of its argumentative organisation in order to undermine the other's counterversion
and to establish its own as the definite one. While, structurally, there are many
similarities in the two letters, what distinguishes them is that they conceive of their
objects (i.e. the text), subject positions, and political or moral values according to
which they should be assessed in quite diametrically opposite ways. This thesis not
only registers the various rhetorical ways the participants fashion their versions as
definite ones, but also accounts for the differences in their contents.


Abstract. In this study, process of wave-induced silty seabed response was explored in a rectangle flume. Based on the experimental phenomena, the variations of pore water pressure and theory analysis, discussions were made on the mechanism of wave-induced silty seabed instability. Results indicated that seabed under wave nodes would experience fluidization and oscillation under wave actions, obvious pore pressure accumulation was observed at the same time. The mode of wave-induced silty seabed instability was fluidization. The mechanism of wave-induced silty seabed fluidization was a combination of excess pore water pressure and shear failure, the chief factor of fluidization could be ascribed to wave-induced cycling shear stress. The steady state strength was somewhat an expression of the level of wave-induced decrease of soil strenth that could finally reach, therefore, it could be used for the estimation of wave-induced fluidization of silty seabed.


A rare monophialidic fungus, Taifanglania hechuanensis gen. & sp. nov., was isolated from soil oil the banks of Jialin River, Hechuan, Chongqing City during a survey of soil-borne filamentous fungi from different phytogeographical areas in China. It is described and illustrated in this paper. A further eight monophialidic species of Paecilomyces are transferred to the genus. Diagnosis features of the new genus are white, grey, straw yellow or brown to black colonies on Czapek agar. Conidiophores are always absent or simple. Phialides are solitary, consisting of a cylindrical or ellipsoidal swollen basal portion, tapering into a thin neck, directly arising on vegetative hyphae or prophialides, sometimes consisting of a whorl of 2 to 3 phialides oil simple conidiophores. Conidia arc one-celled, hyaline, smooth-walled, subglobose, ellipsoidal or fusiform, having or no the connective between conidia and being thermotolerant. The new species is characterized by pale yellow to grey-yellow colonies, solitary phialides with ail ellipsoidal or fusiform basal portion that arise directly from the vegetative hyphae, big conidia (3.1-)3.9-8.7 x ( 1.7-)2.1-4.7(-5.1) mu m with the connective, and thermotolerant growth. A molecular study based oil the nucleotidic sequences of the SSU rDNA and ITS regions support the status of T. hechuanensis as a new species and Taifanglania as a new genus.


In this paper, we propose a novel cache management strategy that uses the notion of "overload" where overload is defined as a situation when there is insufficient proxy cache for a new incoming user in a mobile region. In an overloaded situation, there will be increased network traffic (since the original server will need to be contacted) and increased service delays for mobile hosts (due to cache misses). The proposed techniques attempt to decrease the penalty of overloaded traffic and to reduce the number of remote accesses by increasing cache hit ratio. Our cache replacement algorithm is holistic in that it considers (i) mobility of the clients, (ii) predicted overloads, (iii) sizes of cached objects and (iv) their access frequencies in determining which object's cache (how much cache space) to be replaced, and when to replace. Performance results show that our overload-driven cache management strategy outperforms the existing popular policies


Using deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization (S1 nuclease method), we identified 12 hybridization groups (genospecies) containing 74 strains among 85 Acinetobacter strains studied. A total of 28 characters which allowed identification of the genospecies were applied to 266 strains. Of the 12 genospecies, 11 could be unambiguously identified. Genospecies 1 (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus sensu stricto) contained eight glucose-oxidizing strains which were unable to grow at 44°C and were isolated from soil, including the type strain of A. calcoaceticus. Genospecies 2, which contained 121 strains (mostly glucose oxidizers that were able to grow at 44°C), was named Acinetobacter baumannii sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 19606). Genospecies 3 contained 15 strains that were able to oxidize glucose and to grow at 41°C but not at 44°C. Genospecies 4, which contained 23 hemolytic and proteolytic strains that were able to utilize DL-4-aminobutyrate but not DL-lactate, was named Acinetobacter haemolyticus sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 17906). Genospecies 5, which contained 17 strains that were unable to oxidize glucose and able to utilize DL-lactate and L-histidine but not glutarate or azelate, was named Acinetobacter junii sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 17908). Genospecies 6 contained only three hemolytic, proteolytic strains that were unable to utilize DL-lactate, malonate, or DL-4-aminobutyrate. Genospecies 7, which contained 23 strains that were unable to grow at 37°C and to oxidize glucose and utilized only a few carbon sources was named Acinetobacter johnsonii sp. nov. (type strain, strain ATCC 17909). A total of 34 strains had the characteristics of genospecies 8/9 (mostly glucose negative; utilized azelate but not Simmons citrate, glutarate, L-histidine, L-aspartate, L-leucine, β-alanine, or 2,3-butanediol). Genospecies 8 was Acinetobacter lwoffii sensu stricto since it contained the type strain of this species. Genospecies 9 could not be differentiated from genospecies 8. Genospecies 10 (four strains), 11 (four strains), and 12 (three strains) were differentiated by their nutritional patterns.


Through an education the individual learner can affect changes as he or she achieves a set of skills and knowledge that will provide opportunities to operate within a chosen discipline or context pushing beyond the known. As learners make their way in the world assuming and reframing their identities they create and recreate life stories within personally constructed spaces and places. As the concept of a self forms and reforms, what has existed becomes transformed and assimilated into a changed identity. This transformation of self also involves challenges that confront conceptual beliefs and understandings not only within an educational context, but also within other facets of life. This paper will discuss Thresholds Concepts in relation to artistic identity and will argue that preoccupation with the ways we might influence learners in terms of knowledge acquisition can distract from other important notions of learning and self. While concentrating on the external drivers such as discipline content we can easily ignore or conveniently forget that there may be other drivers that are internalised and adopted as a motivating force in the desire for authorising an identity or identities. Such drivers may well be the most important elements in the acquisition of knowledge and the successful crossing of life's thresholds.


The objective of this work was to identify nonlinear regression models that best describe dry matter accumulation curves over time, in garlic ( Allium sativum ) accessions, using Bayesian and frequentist approaches. Multivariate cluster analyses were made to group similar accessions according to the estimates of the parameters with biological interpretation (β1 and β3). In order to verify if the obtained groups were equal, statistical tests were applied to assess the parameter equality of the representative curves of each group. Thirty garlic accessions were used, which are kept by the vegetable germplasm bank of Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Brazil. The logistic model was the one that fit best to data in both approaches. Parameter estimates of this model were subjected to the cluster analysis using Ward's algorithm, and the generalized Mahalanobis distance was used as a measure of dissimilarity. The optimal number of groups, according to the Mojena method, was three and four, for the frequentist and Bayesian approaches, respectively. Hypothesis tests for the parameter equality from estimated curves, for each identified group, indicated that both approaches highlight the differences between the accessions identified in the cluster analysis. Therefore, both approaches are recommended for this kind of study.


This study investigated variation in lumber bending properties of white spruce ( Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) and its correlation with tree growth, wood density, and knot size and number. A total of 242 sample trees from 39 open-pollinated families harvested from 36-year-old provenance-progeny trials at two sites in Quebec, Canada through a thinning operation were processed. The results indicate that mechanical properties of lumber from young white spruce plantation-grown trees are low. It appears that low wood density, the occurrence of numerous knots, and a high proportion of juvenile wood are the main factors contributing to the low lumber stiffness and strength properties. The narrow-sense heritability for lumber stiffness was low to moderate, whereas that of strength was hardly different from zero. Thus environmental growing conditions highly influence white spruce wood mechanical properties. The results also revealed a strong negative correlation between stem volume and lumber stiffness and strength at the family means, which suggests that selection for volume would have an indirect negative effect on lumber quality. However, the absence of such significant correlation at the phenotypic level also suggests that mass selection with vegetative propagation would be a promising avenue for improving white spruce wood properties without having to give up gains in volume.


This paper uses the China AP1000 project as an example to exhibit the application of quantitative risk management in nuclear power plant construction projects. For those lump sum contracts, one of the most significant purposes of quantitative risk management is to determine the contingency, i.e. the reserved money and time for projects. This paper studies the application of Monte Carlo simulation in determining the contingency, taking into account the distinctive features of nuclear power projects.Most nuclear power projects, especially advanced ones such as Generation III and above, meet one common obstacle in estimating key economic indicators — the absence of historical data due to its avant-garde design. As cost estimators of the coal power plant contractors may collect their data from thousands of previous cases, nuclear power plant contractors, especially in many developing countries, do not have a shared database of financial data. Some first-of-a-kind nuclear power plants have absolutely no historical data to look up.This paper aims to provide a resolution to this problem. First, the feasibility and representativeness of different probability distributions are compared based on their respective skewness and kurtosis to determine the best-suited distribution in nuclear power projects. This paper also analyzes the use of second-order Monte Carlo simulation in reducing the error caused by the biased estimation of inexperienced risk assessment engineers.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


This Systematic Review is thought to deepen the relation between sociodemographic variables most associated with suicidal behaviour and suicide methods in Europe and America. A research was made from articles and reviews published between 2005-2015 in PsycINFO, Medline, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and SciELO. Thanks to it, we retrieved 5,222 records which were analysed against the inclusion (e.g., any design of the study, published in English or Spanish) and quality criteria, including 53 studies in the review. In these results it is noticeable how men (36% of the studies) and elderly (28% of the studies) commit suicide more frequently. Women (30% of the studies) and young people (17% of the studies) have more attempts and suicidal behaviour. The most commonly used methods among them hanging (24% of the studies), firearm (17% of the studies), and precipitation (6% of the studies); unemployment (17% of the studies), rural life (9% of the studies), a marital status other than marriage (15% of the studies), and low education (23% of the studies) are also closely associated with both suicide and suicidal behaviour. Consequently, important connections can be concluded when carrying out psychological autopsies, which should be taken into ac due to their clear implications in personal and material damage that must be elucidated judicially, clarifying the specific occurrence as suicide, homicide, or accident.


Mature quartz-rich sandstone interbedded with Mesozoic magmatic-arc strata in southern Arizona has been previously considered correlative with the eolian Pleinsbachian to Toarcian Navajo Sandstone on the Colorado Plateau. New U-Pb zircon data from the Mount Wrightson Formation in the Santa Rita Mountains and from the strata of Cobre Ridge in the Pajarito Mountains and in the Arivaca area in southern Arizona support the hypothesis that sand derived from the Navajo Sandstone probably did gain access to the magmatic arc and further indicate that sands extending from younger eolian units on the Colorado Plateau are probably present as well.

The Mount Wrightson Formation accumulated from ∼190 Ma to 170 Ma, corresponding to late Pleinsbachian to Aalenian time (time scale of Harland, 1990). Isotopic ratios from zircon fractions from the lower member of the Mount Wrightson Formation define a discordia line with lower intercept of 184 ± 8 Ma. The lower member is approximately coeval with the 188 ± 2 Ma Piper Gulch monzonite, dated by Asmerom and others (1990), which intrudes it. The middle and upper members of the formation yield somewhat less precise dates that indicate deposition between 183 ± 2 Ma and ≈170 Ma. Quartz-rich sandstone occurs in all three members, though most abundantly in the middle and upper members, and in many places contains sedimentary structures diagnostic of eolian sedimentation. Our results suggest that sands related to Lower Jurassic Navajo ergs and Middle Jurassic Temple Capergs gained access to the arc.

The age of the strata of Cobre Ridge is ∼170 ± 5 Ma. Eighteen fractions taken from three samples of the tuff lie in a cluster near concordia. A best-fit age of 169 Ma is based on near concordance of one fraction and on model discordia trajectories using assumed upper intercepts. Sandstone horizons interbedded within the strata of Cobre Ridge in many cases contain sedimentary structures diagnostic of eolian sedimentation and, although quartz rich, in general have more volcanic detritus than sandstones in the Mount Wrightson Formation. The interval between 165-175 Ma corresponds to the Aalenian and Bajocian stages and is within the time span represented by the Temple Cap and Page sandstones of southern Utah and northern Arizona. Sandstone interstratified with the strata of Cobre Ridge may be correlative with either of those units. The possibility cannot be discounted, however, that unconsolidated or weathered Navajo-equivalent sands from the upper member of the Mount Wrightson Formation were recycled into the strata of Cobre Ridge.

These results support the models (Busby-Spera, 1988; Riggs and Busby-Spera, 1990, 1991), suggesting that during Early to Middle Jurassic time the magmatic arc in southern Arizona was low standing and did not constitute an impediment to the south and southwestward movement of continental sediments. We suggest that much of the region between the Colorado Plateau and the arc was topographically low, and that tectonic and volcanic basins within the arc provided traps for windblown mature sands for as long as 35 m.y. We speculate that Early to Middle Jurassic tectonic subsidence within the magmatic arc may have been more continuous than subsidence on the Colorado Plateau, thus providing a depocenter in which major tectonically induced unconformities that characterize the Mesozoic record in the back arc are masked by ongoing volcanic activity.


Zeolite-attapulgite nano-pore structure ceramisite was prepared using natural zeolite and attapulgite through compounding, granulation and calcination.After elementary characterization of this ceramisite by mercury porosimeter, batch tests were carried out to examine its removal mechanism of ammonia. The influences of pH, contact time, initial ammonia concentration and temperature on the ammonia removal were investigated. The optimum pH for adsorption of ammonia was found to be less than 7. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second order rate model. Adsorption isotherm studies showed that Freundlich model fitted the experimental data. The sorption of ammonia increased with the rise of temperature because adsorption process was endothermic. The zeolite-attapulgite composite nano- pore structure ceramisite shows very good promise for practical applicability of ammonia removal from aqueous solution.


Visual feedback and force feedback (haptics) are the two streams of information in a robotic bilateral teleoperation where the operator manipulates a robot in a remote location. Delivering the visual and the haptic information depends in part on the characteristics of the communication network and results in a nonsynchronized delay. The goal is to study the effect of constant nonsynchronized and synchronized time delay of visual and haptic information on the human teleoperation performance. The experimental setup included a virtual reality environment, which allows the operator to manipulate the virtual objects in a simulated remote environment through a haptic device that renders the force feedback. The visual and the haptic information were delayed independently in the range of 0–500 ms, creating 121 different scenarios of synchronized and nonsynchronized delays. Selecting specific parameters of the remote virtual environment guaranteed stable teleportation, given the time delays under study. The experimental tasks included tracing predefined geometrical shapes and a pick-and-place task, which simulates both structured and unstructured interactions under the influence of guiding forces. Eight subjects (n = 8) participated in the experiment performing three repetitions of three different teleoperation tasks with 121 combinations of visual and haptic time delays. The measured parameters that were used to assess the human performance were the task completion time and the position errors expressed as a function of the visual and the haptic time delay. Then, regression and ANOVA analyses were performed. The results indicated that the human performance is a function of the sum of the two delays. As the sum of the two delays increases, the human performance degrades and is expressed with an increase in completion time and position errors. The performance degradation is more pronounced in the pick-and-place task compared to the tracing task. In scenarios where the visual and the haptics information were out of synchronization, the human performance was better than intentionally delaying one source of information in an attempt to synchronize and unify the two delays. The results of this study may be applied to any teleoperation tasks over a network with inherent time delays and more specifically to telesurgery in which performance degradation due to time delay has a profound effect on the quality of the healthcare delivered, patient safety, and ultimately the outcomes of the surgical procedure itself.


This article brings together two ostensibly separate subjects: language empowerment and the Covid-19 pandemic. It argues that knowledge of local languages can help disseminate health-related information on a regional level. This addresses two problems simultaneously: the problems raised by the intelligibilty of governmental healthcare protocols and the functions of the use of local languages. The article is a case study presenting a number of interventions in the languages of East Kalimantan and can be seen as an inclusive, grassroots example of health communication. The study was initially a modest attempt to generate on-the-ground examples of health information in the dominant languages of the region of East Kalimantan. These studies demonstrate that the local communities of these languages are very enthusiastic about getting involved in the interventions. They also reveal that communication using IT and social media is thriving. One of our observations was that information about this pandemic tends to be understood only by highly educated urban people. This happens because it is conveyed by the government in standard Indonesian, which includes many foreign loanwords. The application of local languages is not just using local language vocabulary, it is instead a trigger to revive the collective memory of disaster management based on local culture. In this case, local languages are recognized and considered useful in helping to break the chain of virus transmission to free Indonesia of the Covid-19 outbreak. There were a number of unexpected developments. We found support for the intervention being rolled out on a national level by Special Task Force for Covid-19 under National Disaster Management Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana/BNPB). We also welcomed the online publication by the National Agency for Language Development and Cultivation (Badan Bahasa) of the Handbook for managing behavior about health protocols in seventy-seven local languages. The main thrust of this article should therefore be of interest to anyone working to empower local languages and language vitality.


MICs of clarithromycin against 324 clinical isolates belonging to eight species of slowly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria were determined by using a broth microdilution system. Isolates were inoculated into twofold drug dilutions in Middlebrook 7H9 broth (pH corrected to 7.4) and then incubated at 30 degrees C for 7 days for Mycobacterium marinum and for 14 days for all other species. The MIC for 90% of the strains (MIC90) was less than or equal to 0.5 micrograms/ml for isolates of Mycobacterium gordonae (6 strains), Mycobacterium scrofulaceum (5 strains), Mycobacterium szulgai (6 strains), and Mycobacterium kansasii (35 strains). MICs for M. marinum (25 strains) and Mycobacterium avium complex (237 strains) were higher, but 100% and 89% of the strains, respectively, were susceptible to less than or equal to 4 micrograms/ml. In contrast, MICs for five of six M. simiae strains were greater than 8 micrograms/ml, and the range of MICs for Mycobacterium nonchromogenicum varied from less than or equal to 0.125 to 8 micrograms/ml. For the 237 isolates of M. avium complex, the MIC50 was 2 micrograms/ml and the MIC90 was 8 micrograms/ml. MICs for most isolates (77%) were in the 1- to 4-micrograms/ml range. For the 80 isolates in this group known to be from AIDS patients, the MIC50 was 4 micrograms/ml and the MIC90 was 8 micrograms/ml. These MIC studies combined with preliminary clinical trials suggest that clarithromycin may be useful for drug therapy of most species of the slowly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria except M. simiae.


A 48-year-old man visited our hospital due to exertional chest pain. His resting electrocardiogram exhibited a T wave inversion in the inferior leads. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed a preserved left ventricular systolic function without any regional wall motion abnormalities. Multi-detector computed tomography was performed to evaluate the existence of any coronary artery disease and it revealed a significant stenosis in the right coronary artery; however, there was a minimal atherosclerotic lesion in the left coronary artery (Fig. 1A). The right coronary angiogram showed a significant stenosis in the mid portion of the right coronary artery and percutaneous coronary intervention for that lesion was performed successfully with a drug-eluting stent. The left coronary angiogram showed a focal minimal lesion in the mid left anterior descending artery, just proximal to the diagonal bifurcation (Fig. 1B). Contrary to our expectations, the fractional flow reserve (FFR) measured by a pressure wire at that lesion was significantly decreased at 0.54 (Fig. 1C). Intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed to evaluate the cause of the discordance between the angiography and FFR. The OCT revealed a focal (2 mm length) lotus root-like lesion consisting of multiple cavities divided by septa within fibrous plaque (Fig. 1D). In spite of the variability in the size of the channels, microchannels were seen to communicate with each other. That was a suspicious finding of a recanalized intracoronary thrombus. That lesion was also successfully revascularized and the patient's symptoms no longer occurred after discharge.

Figure 1.

(A) Multi-detector computed tomography shows a minimal coronary stenosis in the left anterior descending artery (LAD). (B) The coronary angiogram also shows no significant coronary lesions in the LAD. (C) The fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement ...

Decision making for revascularization based on angiography alone without prior vessel specific stress testing can be difficult in patients with multi-vessel coronary disease including intermediate or ambiguous coronary lesions. Therefore, functional and physiological considerations of such coronary lesions should be warranted for the selection of the target vessel. This representative case well demonstrated a noteworthy risk of an underestimation using coronary angiography, which could be compensated by invasive functional or intravascular imaging procedures.


A peer to peer process contracting overlay what we call Peer-Con is developed. The system is an extension of Java agent development framework (JADE) and uses IEEE Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA) agent communication language (ACL) standard. Cost aware flexible representation of process capabilities; description of an operator to decide on whether given capabilities turnout to an agreement or not and self organization of peer connectivity for better contracting performance are distinguishing features of the system. The system can easily be adapted to different domains while the core functionality remains the same. Practical use of Peer-Con is shown by an application from digital signal processing module (DSPM) product planning domain.


Hollywood Theory, Non-Hollywood Practice: Cinema Soundtracks in the 1980s and 1990s. By Annette Davison. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004. (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series.) [x, 221 p. ISBN: 0-75460-5825. $69.95.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, index. "[I]n their attempts to show how movies purportedly mystify spectators," argues Noel Carroll in Mystifying Movies: Fads & Fallacies in Contemporary Film Theory (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988, 2), "contemporary film theorists, in fact, mystify our understanding of cinema." Carroll's comments adequately describe the end result of Hollywood Theory, Non-Hollywood Practice: Cinema Soundtracks in the 1980s and 1990s, a new title in Ashgate's Popular and Folk Music Series. The stated mission of the series is to present music "in cultural context, and may draw upon methodologies and theories developed in cultural studies, semiotics, poststructuralism, psychology and sociology." Davison's book is not primarily about film music but rather about how it can be construed in the context of film theory. The analysis of film scores as a musical form is not found here. Because of this, it rightly should be cataloged in PN 1995.7 (Motion pictures-Sound effects) instead of ML 2075 (Motion picture music-Analysis, appreciation, or Motion picture musicHistory and criticism). A working knowledge of film theory is really needed to adequately understand this difficult text, something that most musicians are not likely to possess. Although Robynn Stilwell, quoted on the dust jacket of the book, states that "[the book] will be an excellent foundation for any student in the field" only those with a strong background in film theory will be served or, more precisely, a background mostly in yesteryear's film theory, rather than more recent alternative theories advanced in the past decade and a half, as found in Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies (David Bordwell and Noel Carroll, eds. [Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996]). Davison makes a distinction between classical Hollywood scoring practices, defined as "a set of structural conventions originally institutionalized as a set of filmmaking practices in the 1930s and 1940s" (p. 2) and non-Hollywood practices, described as "film soundtrack composition" or "alternative scoring," presumably to mean any music that does not adhere to the form of the "traditional" orchestral film score. Hence pre-existing music (not originally composed for the film), and sound effects used as music, or vice versa, fit this definition. Terminology is a problem in this book. Davison describes this type of research early on as "film musicology" (p. 1 ) without a definition as to what this is. Is "film musicology" the musicology of film or the study of film music? Davison assumes that the reader understands what this term means without documenting its origin. "Sound track" is another word used copiously throughout the book without acknowledging that the word has more than one meaning. In cinema parlance, "sound track" refers to the part of the physical film that carries the sound recording. It can also mean the commercially-available recording of the music from a film. Davison assumes that the reader knows she is using the film theory definition of the word meaning all of the sound in a film. Another assumption Davison makes concerns the distinction between the "dominant scoring practice of Hollywood films made between the mid-1930s and the early 1950s." (p. 1) and "the re-emergence of classical scoring in the mid-to-late 1970s." Although it is undeniably true that movies and moviemaking "changed" after the studio system was broken up in the late 1950s, it does not necessarily follow that "classical scoring" was simply abandoned until the 1970s. A cursory survey of the creative output of a number of film composers active during this period belies this, and instead shows that traditional scores continued to be the mainstay, written by the likes of John Addison, Elmer Bernstein, Georges Delerue, Hugo Friedhofer, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Bronislaw Kaper, Maurice Jarre, Ennio Morricone, Alfred Newman, Alex North, Andre Previn, Leonard Rosenman, Nino Rota, Miklos Rozsa, Masaru Sato, and Dimitri Tiomkin, to name just the more familiar names, as there were many others. …


The 1968 Battle of Karameh secured a place in history for the Fida'i as an iconic figure of the victorious "new Palestinian." The ideals that initially animated the Fida'i icon in 1968 have been transformed alongside the unstable conditions of the Palestinian liberation struggle. The enduring resonance of the Fida'i is nevertheless a pedagogical opportunity to revisit the period of its emergence and draw out lessons for contemporary decolonial struggle. The author argues that the unfulfilled revolutionary promise of the Fida'i is best apprehended by focusing on the organizational practices, aspirations, and contradictions from which it emerged and the widespread internationalist and grassroots participation in struggle that it galvanized. Through an examination of Fida'i poster art alongside political manifestos, the author analyzes the Palestinian, Arab, and global context in the period when the Fida'i became an icon and its subsequent transmutations in the decades that followed. The author illustrates the strategic and analytic principles obscured by various superficial invocations and appropriations of the icon in efforts to recuperate its emancipatory legacy.


Whereas many books in this field deal with individual aspects or texts of the study of family laws, Leviticus: The Priestly Laws and Prohibitions from the Perspective of Ancient Near East and Africa examines extensively biblical texts, ancient Near Eastern text, and oral traditions from Africa. Thus, three different cultures converge: the world of the Hebrew Bible, the world of the ancient Near East, and the world of Africa. This volume examines in detail the history of the development of ancient laws in general and family laws in particular, especially the laws relating to marriages between close relatives. Furthermore, Johnson M. Kimuhu looks at prohibitions and taboos in Africa and the problems they pose with regard to the interpretation and translation of difficult biblical concepts into African languages. In that sense, Kimuhu provides an example of how to contextualize or integrate African traditions into the study of biblical Hebrew, and he also offers insights into the current debate on the study of kinship from the point of view of social/cultural anthropology and the Hebrew Bible legal system. Teachers, students, and researchers in biblical studies, ancient Near Eastern studies, African traditions, and social/cultural anthropology will find this book helpful in their quest to understand family laws, prohibitions, and taboos.


Biological remediation is always envisaged as cost effective and eco-friendly for the treatment of recalcitrant dyes and effluents. Aspergillus niger SA1, a brown rot fungi, isolated from storage pond of textile wastewater, showed a great mineralizing ability for azo dyes, acid red (AR) 151 and orange (Or) II. Decolorization assays were carried out for 24 h, by taking 100 ml of dye containing Simulated Textile Effluent (STE) with 5 g of freshly grown fungal pellets. Decolorization of AR 151 was well over 95% under different conditions, however, it reduced to 52% when treated with pre-used fungal biomass under shaking condition. In case of Or II, results were 50 and 61% under static while 65 and 85% under shaking condition with fresh and pre-used fungal biomass respectively. Primarily, dyes removal in STE appeared due to biosorption/bioadsorption of the fungal biomass. However, discoloration of dyes onto the biomass with subsequent formation and then decline in their products in STE suggested clearly that dyes were basically metabolically degraded by the fungal strain.


The purpose of this research is to study the view points of Indian entrepreneurs in the
Klang Valley area of Peninsular Malaysia, especially from the perspective of motivation
factors, which influence their decision to start up a their own business. This study is
undertaken to identify the basic demographic variables, business characteristics and major problems that occur during the start up stage and its present business operation among the Indian entrepreneurs. This study also examines motivation factors that motivate Indian entrepreneurs to start up a new business. The primary data collected through questionnaires were distributed to 250 Indian entrepreneurs. "Statistical Package for the Social Sciences" (SPSS) was used for data analysis: description analysis, descriptive, inferential and t-test were used to explain the background, motivation and to test the hypothesis. This study shows that the majority of the Indian entrepreneurs involved in retail services and trading business and are sole sole-founders of the business. Major problems in their business lies in management, finance, government regulations, technological expertise are also assumed to be the major problems and personal problems in term of financial is included also. To understand the motivator, a descriptive and inferential analysis has performed that the recognition and personal development is most important to start up a business, others are accommodation, satisfaction, communitarianism and also family tradition plays an important role as a motivator. In general, results of this study would help to gain more understanding on the culture and background of Indian entrepreneurs. Finally, this study also gives a useful tool to entrepreneurs, business associations, researchers and policy makers to improve entrepreneurial activities in Malaysia.


In this work, statistical modeling and optimization of biodiesel production from Azadirachta Indica(neem) using co-solvent technique via a two-step transesterification process was carried out. Neem oil was extracted from neem seeds and properties such as moisture content, specific gravity, acid value, saponification value and iodine value were determined. The experimental design used was Central Composite Design. The range of factor levels used for the Central Composite Design were reaction temperature (30°C to 46°C), catalyst amount (0.8% to 1.2%, w/w), reaction time (20 to 40min) and methanol-to-oil molar ratio (5:1 to 9:1). The co-solvents used were methanol and diethyl ether. The co-solvent-to-methanol volume ratio for all the experimental runs was kept constant at 1:1. Also the biodiesel produced was characterized for some important properties including acid value, specific gravity, saponification value, iodine value, cetane number, ester value, kinematic viscosity, flash point, pour point and cloud point. Optimized biodiesel yield of 84.77% was obtained for reaction time of 35 min, catalyst amount of 1.10g, reaction temperature of 34°C, and oil-to-methanol molar ratio of 6:1. The cetane number (51.733), specific gravity (0.8881g/cm3), flash point (134oC) and kinematic viscosity (5.86mm2/s) of the produced biodiesel met the ASTM specifications. The results of characterization of the biodiesel revealed that biodiesel can be produced at lower reaction conditions and with comparable fuel property with biodiesel produced using conventional methods.


Vaccination against the highly abused prescription opioid oxycodone has shown pre-clinical efficacy for blocking oxycodone effects. The current study further evaluated a candidate vaccine composed of oxycodone derivatized at the C6 position (6OXY) conjugated to the native keyhole limpet hemocyanin (nKLH) carrier protein. To provide an oxycodone vaccine formulation suitable for human studies, we studied the effect of alternative carriers and adjuvants on the generation of oxycodone-specific serum antibody and B cell responses, and the effect of immunization on oxycodone distribution and oxycodone-induced antinociception in mice and rats. 6OXY conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT) or a GMP grade KLH dimer (dKLH) was as effective as 6OXY conjugated to the nKLH decamer in mice and rats, while the 6OXY hapten conjugated to a TT-derived peptide was not effective in preventing oxycodone-induced antinociception in mice. Immunization with 6OXY-TT s.c. absorbed on alum adjuvant provided similar protection to 6OXY-TT administered i.p. with Freund's adjuvant in rats. The toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) adjuvant, alone or in combination with alum, offered no advantage over alum alone for generating oxycodone-specific serum antibodies or 6OXY-specific antibody secreting B cells in mice vaccinated with 6OXY-nKLH or 6OXY-TT. The immunogenicity of oxycodone vaccines may be modulated by TLR4 signaling since responses to 6OXY-nKLH in alum were decreased in TLR4-deficient mice. These data suggest that TT, nKLH and dKLH carriers provide consistent 6OXY conjugate vaccine immunogenicity across species, strains and via different routes of administration, while adjuvant formulations may need to be tailored to individual immunogens or patient populations.


Abstract : The authors of this report appeared on a panel at SEPG 99 (1999 Software Engineering Process Group Conference) on March 10, 1999, in Atlanta, Georgia. Each panelist is one of the "most active lead assessors" in the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Appraiser Program and has conducted and reported on over 5 Capability Maturity Model(registered) (CMM(registered)-Based Appraisals for Internal Process Improvement (CBA IPIs) over the past 18 months. In this report, the panelists document their experiences regarding why an organization chooses to have a CBA IPI and what the organization gains from having conducted an assessment. Each author discusses the experiences related to CBA IPIs that he or she has led with a focus on the organizational perspective before, during, and after the assessment. Since a CBA IPI is a major organizational intervention, it is important to know why an organization has an assessment, if it has a positive impact on an organization, and how an organization would characterize the benefits that the assessment provides. What needs to be done during the planning, how the assessment is conducted, and what follows the assessment are all important factors that will affect the benefits that the organization experiences from the assessment.


Data Grid is an infrastructure that manages huge amount of data files, and provides intensive computational resources across geographically distributed collaboration. Increasing the performance of such system can be achieved by improving the overall resource usage, which includes network and storage resources. Improving network resource usage is achieved by good utilization of network bandwidth that is considered as an important factor affecting job execution time. Meanwhile, improving storage resource usage is achieved by good utilization of storage space usage. Data replication is one of the methods used to improve the performance of data access in distributed systems by replicating multiple copies of data files in the distributed sites. Having distributed the replicas to various locations, they need to be monitored. As a result of dynamic changes in the data grid environment, some of the replicas need to be relocated. In this paper we proposed a maintenance replica placement strategy termed as Unwanted Replica Deletion Strategy (URDS) as a part of Replica maintenance service. The main purpose of the proposed strategy is to find the placement of unwanted replicas to be deleted. OptorSim is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed strategy. The simulation results show that URDS requires less execution time and consumes less network usage and has a best utilization of storage space usage compared to existing approaches.


Many topics on microphone array processing, e.g. signal enhancement, noise reduction and direction of arrival (DOA) estimation, has recently been researched. Many methods has been suggested for DOA estimation and the number of estimated DOAs is generally limited by the number of microphones and we has spatial aliasing problem based on relation between the microphones distance and wave length. We has proposed new DOA estimation method using matching pursuit algorithm, which can estimate more DOAs than the microphones number. The DOA estimation we did consists of the following steps. First, we calculate the normalized power of the array output, P (θ), for each frequency bin using the Delay-and-Sum method. We then average P (θ) over all frequency bins. Finally, we perform peak-picking using a matching pursuit algorithm to estimate the DOA over all frequency bands. The matching pursuit algorithm includes, after each iteration step, a reoptimization of all DOAs found thus far. Its main characteristics is that it is possible to find true DOAs when the number of sources exceeds that of microphones. In this paper we report DOA estimation in real-world using this method. We could estimate more DOAs than the number of microphones. Our experiments yielded a better DOAs estimation with the new method than with the conventional method.


A CHANGE IS IN THE AIR for Nordic industrial relations. The Nordic welfare states are at present experiencing considerable financial difficulty. Unemployment rates have increased above all in Sweden and Finland. The non-socialist coalitions in these countries are planning privatization measures and cut-backs in state budgets. The trend towards internationalization, too, will undoubtedly affect the position of the labor movement in Nordic society during the 1990s and beyond. In particular, the institutional framework for internationalization will influence the Nordic labor market system both directly and indirectly. The most important institutional factor is undoubtedly the European Community (EC). Denmark is a member of the EC. Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have signed the agreement establishing the European Economic Area (EEA) and in all probability will ratify this agreement during 1992. In addition, Finland and Sweden have applied for membership in the EC, and it is not out of the question that Norway will follow suit during 1992. This article examines the distinctive features of the "Nordic Model" for the regulation of the labor market and the future prospects for this model in an integrated Europe. What challenges to Nordic societies does the internal market of the EC pose? This article deals with that question, omitting Iceland because of its unique labor relations. THE NORDIC MODEL The economic and political systems of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden constitute a relatively uniform model for the regulation of the labor market.(1) When we refer to the labor market, there is justification for speaking of one Nordic Model with special national characteristics in each country.(2) The reason for this lies not only in the relative homogeneity of Nordic societies but also in their systematic and long-standing tradition of cooperation between national authorities and labor market organizations. Consequently, solutions have often been borrowed or copied from neighboring countries at the same time that demands and concessions have been formulated on the basis of joint inter-Nordic discussions. This has been the case despite the fact that the regulation of the labor market has been kept outside the focus of direct Nordic legislative cooperation. What, then, are the common features that permit us to claim that a "Nordic Model" exists? Some important features can be described briefly. The Nordic labor movement has, practically speaking, unionized all wage-earners in the Nordic countries. With the exception of certain branches, the level of unionization exceeds eighty percent in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In these countries, and with some minor exceptions, the unions have a monopoly. In respective sectors of the economy, there is no real rival organization which a dissatisfied member who wishes to leave his or her union might join. When compared with the situation in France, Italy, and some other European countries, the Nordic Model is therefore nonpluralistic and offers no alternatives. The real choice for the wage-earner in the Nordic countries, if any, is between membership and non-membership in the union. In Norway, the situation is somewhat different. The level of unionization is presumably under sixty-five percent, while in some sectors (for example, the oil industry), true rivals to the major Norwegian labor union, "LO," do in fact exist.(3) From a European perspective, the Nordic labor movement is typified by a high degree of centralization. The central structures of the national unions exercise relatively wide powers and are active in various issues of general interest. Collective agreements are normally made at the federation level. This is the most important decision-making level when it comes to the regulation of the terms of employment and is where policy decisions are made. Local decision-making is clearly subordinate to decision-making bodies on the federation level. …


Circuit breaker is a vital and sophisticated part of protection accessories in power system. An arc model of a circuit breaker can determine the dynamic and static feature for arcing directed by a power circuit. The idea of HTS Circuit Breaker (HTSCB) evolves with the concept of HTS contacts in liquid nitrogen arc medium. Browne's HTS arc model for HTSCB and its characteristics were developed and investigated earlier in order to address the arcing limitations of existing circuit breakers for HTS power applications. The model was mainly developed from the classical arcing equations. In this paper, the same arc model is investigated for the functionality of arc characteristics simulation response. It is found the arc model has closed relationship with time constant, reference voltage and other parameters. The parameter sweep technique for minimizing the arcing time of HTS arc model parameters shows the trend of arcing voltage and current from the change of arc model's parameters. A test bed environment is developed in MATLAB® Simulink by using the final parameter values to perform the interruption scenario of HTSCB. The results deal with different arcing terms like arc current peak, arcing time, fault duration, transient results of HTS arc model and the wave form transition tendency. Finally, the results are compared with the experimental analysis and found in good agreement.


The rise of network governance in the Philippines has reshaped the way power is brokered and resources are allocated to different sectors of society. Networks are open structures, capable of expanding without limits and integrating new nodes as long as they share the same communication codes, such as values or performance goals (Castells, 1996, p. 2). Governance is broadly defined as the sound exercise of political, economic, and administrative authority to manage a country's resources for development. It involves the institutionalization of a system through which citizens, institutions, organizations, and groups in a society articulate their interests, exercise their rights, and mediate their differences in the pursuit of the collective good (Asian Development Bank [ADB], 2005). The broader channels for communication through advanced information technologies, as well as the legal mechanisms for citizen participation, paved the way for the expansion of networks in the country. The dramatic surge of networks has empowered previously marginalized sectors to enter the political mainstream and play an active role in the overarching issues of poverty and homelessness.


We present reliability solutions for adaptable network RAM systems running on general-purpose clusters. Network RAM allows nodes with over-committed memory to swap pages over the network, storing them in the idle RAM of other nodes and avoiding swapping to slow, local disk. An adaptable network RAM system adjusts the amount of RAM currently available for storing remotely swapped pages in response to changes in nodespsila local RAM usage. It is important that network RAM systems provide reliability for remotely swapped page data. Without reliability, a single node failure can result in failure of unrelated processes running on other nodes by losing their remotely swapped pages. Adaptable network RAM systems pose extra difficulties in providing reliability because each nodepsilas capacity for storing remotely swapped pages changes over time, and because pages may move from node to node in response to these changes. Our novel dynamic RAID-based reliability solutions use idle RAM for storing page and reliability data, avoiding using slow disk for reliability. They are designed to work with the adaptive nature of our network RAM system (Nswap), allowing page and reliability data to migrate from node to node and allowing pages to be added to or removed from different parity groups. Additionally, page recovery runs concurrently with cluster applications, so that cluster applications do not have to wait until all data from a failed node is recovered before resuming execution. We present results comparing Nswap to disk swapping for a set of benchmarks running on our gigabit cluster. Our results show that reliable Nswap is up to 32 times faster than swapping to disk, and that there is virtually no impact on the performance of applications as they run concurrently with page recovery.


making available again one of the treasures of early Christianity. His new edition: Melito of Sardis, On Pascha and fragments (Oxford Early Christian Texts, Clarendon Press: Oxford University Press, f-7-50, pp. L+99) is the first Greek/English text since the editio princeps of Bonner in 1940, and up-dates the Greek/French edition of Perler in 1966, by referring to recent Coptic and Georgian evidence. In