We present an exact Fourier-based algorithm for rebinning 3D data generated by a stationary dual-panel PET system to obtain direct slices for subsequent slice-by-slice reconstruction. The algorithm is computationally efficient and can greatly reduce the problem dimensionality and computation complexity of the reconstruction task. By conducting computer simulation studies in which the effects of scatter, randoms, detector response functions and attenuation correction are not considered, we demonstrate that direct slices generated by the proposed algorithm are quantitatively accurate and exhibit substantially better noise characteristics than the original direct slices. However, image artefacts, occurring at axial intensity discontinuities and in regions close to the axial axis, can be observed. With preliminary supporting evidence, we stipulate that these artefacts are due to errors in discrete implementations of partial derivatives of the 3D data. Although general weightings can be used in the proposed rebinning algorithm, in this work we only study the use of uniform weightings and the resulting direct slices exhibit non-uniform noise distributions, with the central slices being less noisy. In future studies, by using general weightings to reduce contributions of the data that are acquired at large oblique angles, we expect that more uniform noise distributions can be achieved, and axial blurring due to parallax errors can be reduced, at the cost of overall image variance.


An increase of tightly integrated, renewable energy sources with highly varying production leads to a greater need for flexible hydropower plants to "balance" the intermittent production from these sources. From a systems perspective, the intermittency aspect constitutes a disturbance, while the tight integration leads to a multivariable systems, both of which causes increased challenges for good control. This instigates the need for a model based analysis and synthesis tool which can describe dynamic phenomena, supports multiphysics problems, and allows for immediate use in advanced control analysis and design. Previously, an open source Hydro Power Library (OpenHPL) have been developed within the multiphysics Modelica eco-system which satisfies the above requirements: OpenHPL contains a set of model units relevant for hydropower systems, as well as examples of tools for analysis of these models for control purposes. Thus far, OpenHPL has been validated by comparison against other simulation tools. However, a real test of OpenHPL is to use it to describe a real hydropower plant using minimal plant information, to tune model parameters against experimental data, and to validate the model. As a case study, experimental data from the Trollheim hydropower plant in Norway have been made available, and used to test OpenHPL. By flow sheeting a hydropower model in OpenModelica using OpenHPL, the model can be simulated from within a script language (Python via the OMPython API, Julia via the OMJulia API) and further analyzed using analysis tools in the script language. Based on default model parameter suggestions from OpenHPL, least squares model fitting was carried out in Python, and the model was validated with good model fit. Important parts of the modelling phase were the development of a new friction model for the Francis turbine, and iterations on the description of the turbine outlet geometry. The results are complemented with a discussion of possible uses of the model.


This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the First International Conference on English Historical Dialectology (ICEHD), organized at the University of Bergamo in September 2003. It includes papers on fundamental aspects of English historical dialectology, from Old English to Late Modern English. The papers discuss points in two thematically distinct but related sections, 'Methods' and 'Data'. The volume also includes the transcript of a debate on methodological issues, in which the main themes are the principles of historical investigation of geographical varieties, the new approaches provided by corpus linguistics and computer technology, and the need for greater awareness of textual reliability.


As the ocean environment is more complex than the land environment, the offshore wind turbines especially the floating types generally suffer significant structural loads. In this study, in order to carry out the accurate simulation and analysis for the dynamic characteristics of a barge-type floating wind turbine, a detailed turbine model including the complete drivetrain is constructed. Additionally, the structural responses of the wind turbine are mitigated by using a single-degree of freedom tuned mass damper (TMD) system installed in the platform. In order to achieve the ideal response mitigation effect, a parametric study on the TMD configuration is carried out. Based on a new co-simulation model combining multi-body model and external control codes, the turbine model coupled with the TMD is then simulated under the combined wind and wave. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed TMD on mitigating the structural responses of the barge-type floating wind turbine.


Introduction:
 The pathogenesis of cerebral aneurysms is multifactorial. Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) leads to endothelial and platelet deterioration and may be associated with the formation of cerebral aneurysms. We tested the hypothesis that HHcy plays a role in the growth and/or rupture of cerebral aneurysms.

 Methods:
 We exposed 13-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats fed a high-salt diet to estrogen deficiency, hemodynamic stress, and induced hypertension. To induce HHcy we added methionine to their drinking water.

 Results:
 In methionine induced rats the aneurysms the total rupture rate was higher than in rats not treated with methionine. One fourth of the aneurysms arising at the anterior communicating (Acom) artery, and half of the aneurysms at the posterior half of the circle of Willis, but no aneurysms at the anterior cerebral artery-olfactory artery (ACA-OA) bifurcation ruptured. Immunohistochemically, the infiltration of M1 macrophages was increased at the Acom artery in methionine induced rats and the messenger ribonucleic acid level of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, the ratio of MMP-9 to tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease (TIMP)2, and the interleukin-6 level were higher at the Acom artery than the ACA-OA bifurcation. Treatment with folic acid abolished the exacerbated effects due to HHcy, suggesting that the propensity of cerebral aneurysms at the Acom artery to rupture is attributable to disequilibrium between the degradation molecules and their inhibitors and to macrophage infiltration.

 Conclusion:
 HHcy may be associated with vulnerability of the cerebral aneurysmal wall to rupture in hypertensive ovariectomized rats.


In this paper, a method of fabrication of a microfluidic system, integrated with fluorescence detection optics, is presented. Soda-lime glass is used as a substrate material, in which the waveguiding optics is fabricated by means of an ion exchange process, whereas the microfluidic channel is manufactured utilising reactive ion etching technique. Basic optical characteristics of the device are also reported.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


The urbanised environment provides ecologists with unique situations in which to undertake ecological study. It has been said that urbanisation is like a natural experiment; we often have populations of animals that have gone from living in natural or semi-natural environments to living in a highly modified anthropogenic environment. These situations provide ideal settings to study the ecological and behavioural differences that may develop in populations located in different habitats. Urbanisation typically results in a minority of species dominating the fauna, and this thesis aimed to examine one such species, the Australian magpie. Despite the magpie being a common and well-liked suburban bird, the majority of previous research on this species has been undertaken within rural or exurban locations. This thesis aimed to examine what actually happens to the species when it lives in the suburban environment. In particular I focused on specific behavioural and ecological features, to see if there were any particular adaptations the suburban magpies showed and also if the suburban habitats provide certain resources favourable to the magpies and what ecological effects these may have. Comparisons of the territory structure and resources of rural and suburban magpies showed that although many features of the territory are similar between rural and suburban locations, notably the choice of native nest trees, magpie territories within suburban areas were smaller and contained more anthropogenic features. The reduced territory size may possibly be related to a greater abundance of key food resources also evident within suburban areas. Furthermore, suburban magpies are more successful in their foraging attempts, again possibly reflecting a more abundant food supply in suburbia and also the simplified nature of suburban foraging areas might facilitate more successful foraging. The increased foraging success is likely to explain the greater provisioning rate to nestling suburban magpies. Suburban magpies also utilised human provided foods. I quantified the extent of wildlife feeding within many of the suburban study sites of this thesis (through the use of questionnaire surveys). In each of the locations it was evident that at least one person (usually more) was providing a regular supply of food to wildlife and magpies appeared to be the main recipients of this food. Previous ecological studies suggest the provision of extra food to avian populations is likely to affect the breeding ecology, and this was so for magpies. The suburban populations initiated breeding significantly earlier than rural magpies. To test the influence of food, supplementary food was provided to rural magpies, not currently receiving any additional human provided foods. The fed rural magpies initiated breeding before control rural magpies (i.e. not receiving any additional food) but suburban magpies still initiated breeding before all other groups. This suggests additional factors present within suburbia, such as warmer temperatures, may also control the timing of breeding in magpies. Magpies in rural and suburban locations lived within different vertebrate communities. Within suburban magpie territories a greater number of intrusions were made by domestic animals, notably dogs (Canis lupus) and cats (Felis domesticus). The frequency of raptors entering the territorial areas occupied by magpies appears to suggest such events are more common in rural areas. The number of humans entering magpie territories was obviously greater in the more populated suburban areas and the majority of magpies responded neutrally to humans. However a group of magpies that previously exhibited extreme aggression towards humans were found to have a greater frequency of aggressive interactions with potential predatory intruders, which were primarily humans. Subsequent examination of the level of corticosterone from this aggressive group of magpies found that a high level of aggressive interactions with potential predators and humans is reflected in higher level of corticosterone, which may have implications for further behavioural and even physiological changes. An ability to habituate to human in urbanised areas is a key attribute of successful synanthropic species. Comparisons of magpies disturbance distances at different points along the urban gradient (the gradient that runs from the urbaised city to natural wildlands) found suburban magpies only responded to humans when they had approached to a close distance (often less than one metre) and many simply walked away to avoid the approaching human. Rural and exurban magpies responded to humans at greater distances than suburban magpies. The distance at which they responded to the human was usually 100 meters plus, and these magpies always flew away. A continuation of this investigation over a temporal scale again found the large difference in response to humans, with suburban magpies exhibiting a decreased response towards humans. However, a certain proportion of responses from suburban magpies were also aggressive. The examination of disturbance distance over the breeding season found that in suburban magpies the responses of most disturbance distance variables remained similar between breeding stages. Rural magpies, however, exhibited variation in their responses towards humans depending on the stage of breeding. It is suggested that the response of rural magpies may be a typical fear response towards an unusual potential threat. The studies presented in this thesis show that magpies have the behavioural capacity to take advantage of resources in suburban landscapes that are not available or are in lessor supply in rural landscapes, it is these abilities that facilitate the magpies synanthropy.


Results of examining the blood serum of 90 patients with disseminated sclerosis, 94 patients with other nervous diseases, and 20 healthy subjects using the glia migration inhibition test are presented. It is shown that the index of the glia migration inhibition (IGMI) gets higher during exacerbation of the disseminated sclerosis and drops in cases of relative stabilization of the clinical manifestations and remission. In the course of treatment with immunodepressants, such as, prednisolone (alone, or in combination with cyclophosphan) and antilymphocytic immunoglobulin, the IGMI falls down. Possible use of the IGMI for determining the indications for the immunodepressant therapy and for solving differential diagnostic and therapy control problems is discussed.


This presentation addresses the psychological well-being of aid workers engaged in the endeavour to alleviate the suffering of survivors of sexual violence in humanitarian crisis. However gratifying such effort may be, it also puts great strain on the professionals and volunteers involved. First, working in crisis situations is oftentimes dangerous, with staff running the risk of being attacked, kidnapped, physically harmed, sexually violated or murdered (e.g., Connorton et al, 2012). In addition, medical and psychological aid workers face the risk of suffering from traumatic stress due to witnessing (the consequences of) atrocious events. Organizational, living or team conditions may also act as chronic stressors. Scientific studies have shown that chronic stress and traumatic event exposure among humanitarian workers are related to elevated prevalence rates of mental health problems. PTSD, depression, anxiety, burn-out, and alcohol abuse are most common (e.g., Lopes-Cardozo et al., 2012). Such problems may have serious implications for the individual's personal and professional life. Humanitarian and medical organizations may promote the well-being of their staff and sustain organizational effectiveness and efficiency through creating an open and supportive organizational culture (Strohmeier et al., 2019; Antares Foundation, 2012). The presenter will discuss research findings on (predictors of) the mental health of humanitarian aid workers, and then address strategies to promote resilience on organizational, team and individual level.


Central nervous system (CNS) relapse of Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) is a rare phenomenon with dismal prognosis, where no standard therapy exists. Since the covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib is effective in relapsed/refractory MCL and it penetrates the blood-brain barrier (BBB), on behalf of Fondazione Italiana Linfomi and European Mantle Cell Lymphoma Network we performed a multicenter retrospective international study to investigate the outcomes of patients treated with ibrutinib or chemo-immunotherapy. In this observational study we recruited MCL patients with CNS involvement at relapse, who received CNS directed therapy between 2000 to 2019. The primary objective was to compare overall survival (OS) of patients treated with ibrutinib or BBB crossing chemotherapy. A propensity score based on a multivariable binary regression model was applied to balance treatment cohorts. Eighty-eight patients were included. Median age at study entry was 65 years (range: 39-87), 76% were males, and median time from lymphoma diagnosis to CNS relapse was 16 months (range: 1-122). Patients were treated with ibrutinib (n=29, ibrutinib cohort), BBB crossing chemotherapy, i.e. high-dose methotrexate ± cytarabine (n=29, BBB cohort), or miscellaneous treatments (n=30, other therapy cohort). Both median OS (16.8 versus 4.4 months; p=0.007) and median PFS (13.1 versus 3.0 months; p=0.009) were superior in the ibrutinib cohort as compared to BBB cohort. Multivariable Cox regression model revealed that ibrutinib therapeutic choice was the strongest independent favorable predictive factor for both OS (HR: 6.8, 95% CI: 2.2-21.3; p <0.001) and PFS (HR 4.6, 95% CI: 1.7-12.5; p=0.002), followed by CNS progression of disease (POD) > 24 months from first MCL diagnosis (HR for death: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.1-5.3; p=0.026; HR for death or progression: 2.3, CI 95%: 1.1-4.6; p=0.023). The addition of intrathecal chemotherapy to systemic CNS directed therapy was not associated with superior OS (p=0.502), as the morphological variant (classical versus others, p=0.118). Ibrutinib was associated with superior survival compared to BBB penetrating chemotherapy in patients with CNS relapse of MCL, and should be considered as a therapeutic option.


In analyses of action options regarding sustainability, the economic theory of production is often used as a conceptual starting point. We contend that this theory is deficient, even counterproductive. Especially, we argue that effective options exist for sustainability improvement that are not visible in this theory, and thus will not be taken into consideration when comparing alternative options based on it.
We argue that the fundamental problem of the economic theory of production is that it cannot explain the formation of either cost or value in an adequate way. This
situation seems to have been caused by the foci and assumptions of the "marginalist turn" of economics, starting from 1870, especially the denial to consider any internal organization of production other than that caused by prices and costs, the assumption of optimal efficiency, and the assumption of ends as given.
The shortcomings of the economic theory of production are demonstrated through a case study on plasterboard (also known as drywall) installation. We show how practices for installation of these products, as advocated in lean construction, would not have been suggested or visible in a "sustainability" analysis based on economic theory.


The origin of stony meteorites landing on Earth today is directly linked to the history of the main belt, which evolved both through collisional evolution and dynamical evolution/depletion. In this paper, we focus our attention on the main belt dynamical evolution scenario discussed in Petit et al. (2001). According to Petit et al., during the planet formation epoch, the primordial main belt contained several Earth masses of material, enough to allow the asteroids to accrete on relatively short timescales. After a few My, the accretion of planetary embryos in the main belt zone dynamically stirred the remaining planetesimals to high enough velocities to initiate fragmentation. After a short interval, perhaps as long as 10 My, the primordial main belt was dynamically depleted of $>99$% of its material via the combined perturbations of the planetary embryos and a newly-formed Jupiter. The small percentage of objects that survived in the main belt zone became the asteroid belt. It has been shown that the wavy-shaped size-frequency distribution of the main belt is a "fossil" left over from this violent period (Bottke et al. 2004). Using a collisional/dynamical model of this scenario, we tracked the evolution of stony meteoroids produced by catastrophic disruption events over the last several Gy. We show that most stony meteoroids are a byproduct of a collisional cascade derived from large and ancient asteroid families or smaller, more recent breakup events. The meteoroids are then delivered to Earth by drifting in semimajor axis via Yarkovsky thermal drag forces until they reach a resonance powerful enough to place them on an Earth-crossing orbit.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html


The urocortins, together with corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), have a long evolutionary pedigree. In the brain, CRH largely mediates anxiogenic effects associated with the stress response, while the urocortins are concerned with adaptive and coping behaviour. The urocortins, in particular, are also expressed in peripheral sites, including the heart. Here, they may play an autocrine/paracrine role, since CRH-R2 receptor subtypes, which preferentially bind the urocortins, are also expressed in the heart. Endogenous cardiac urocortin expression is enhanced by ischaemia/reperfusion injury in vitro, and addition of exogenous urocortins reduces cell death caused by ischaemia/reperfusion in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo. In the isolated perfused heart, urocortin improves haemodynamic recovery, and partially prevents the reduction in high energy phosphates following ischaemia/reperfusion. Urocortin-mediated cardioprotection involves several mechanisms, including increased expression of Kir6.1 K(ATP) channels and HSP90, although other as yet poorly understood mechanisms have also been implicated. Moreover, there is early data suggesting that urocortin has beneficial haemodynamic effects in an ovine model of heart failure, and further studies of the value of both endogenous and exogenous urocortins in the compromised heart are clearly needed. In man, there is suggestive, though indirect, data, that urocortin may also provide an endogenous myocyte salvage mechanism against iatrogenic ischaemia/reperfusion injury associated with bypass surgery. These experimental studies suggest that assessment of the clinical use of urocortins as direct and/or cardioplegic therapies in ischaemia/reperfusion, and maybe heart failure, should be actively pursued.


Objective: To evaluate the effects of blood pressure levels on prognosis of intracranial trauma patients with cognitive dysfunction. Methods: One hundred and twenty intracranial trauma patients enrolled in our hospital from February 2011 to July 2013 were selected, including 40 hypertension and 80 non-hypertension cases. They were investigated by MiniMental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scales, and the clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Compared with the control group, the MoCA, visuospatial executive function, attention, language, delayed recall, MMSE, orientation and memory scores of the hypertension group were significantly lower. Unconditional Logistic regression analysis showed that age, history of cerebrovascular disease and triglyceride level were the independent risk factors of cognitive function. Conclusion: The blood pressure levels of intracranial trauma patients were associated with cognitive function, with age, history of cerebrovascular disease and triglyceride level as the independent risk factors. Therefore, it is necessary to control blood pressure level to improve prognosis.


A transversely oscillating circular cylinder confined in a channel has the potential to promote mixing and heat transfer at moderate Reynolds number flows. In the present study, simulation results for flow past a circular cylinder subjected to forced cross-flow oscillations in a straight channel with an upstream splitter plate are presented in a wide range of cylinder oscillation frequencies, including the subharmonic, superharmonic, and primary lock-in regimes. Simulations are performed at Re=100, with cylinder oscillation amplitude of 0.4 diameters and a blockage ratio of 1/3. A spectral element algorithm based on the arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian formulation is utilized. The numerical method exhibits spectral accuracy and allows large mesh deformation in the computational domain without mesh refinements. The main objective of this study is systematic investigations of the cylinder oscillation on the vortex shedding mechanism, downstream vortex patterns, and forces exerted on the cylinder.


We construct a flat (and fake-flat) 2-connection in the configuration space of n indistinguishable particles in the complex plane, which categorifies the sl(2,C)-Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection obtained from the adjoint representation of sl(2,C). This will be done by considering the adjoint categorical representation of the string Lie 2-algebra and the notion of an infinitesimal 2-YangBaxter operator in a differential crossed module. Specifically, we find an infinitesimal 2-Yang-Baxter operator in the string Lie 2algebra, proving that any (strict) categorical representation of the string Lie-2-algebra, in a chain-complex of vector spaces, yields a flat and (fake flat) 2-connection in the configuration space, categorifying the sl(2,C)-Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection. We will give very detailed explanation of all concepts involved, in particular discussing the relevant theory of 2-connections and their two dimensional holonomy, in the specific case of 2-groups derived from chain complexes of vector spaces.


This paper presents a torque sensor design based on a differential pressure measurement, focusing on thermal stability. The sensor utilizes the principle of measuring the differential volumetric strain due to the applied torque. The proposed design of the sensor is an improvement to the previous design of the sensor. Both the previous design and the improved design are discussed in terms of thermal stability. Comprehensive thermal simulations are conducted on the design in order to compare the thermal stability and performance of the sensors. Based on the presented results it is shown that prosed design of the sensor can achieve at least 99.61% better stability then the previous design. The range of the sensor is ±150N·m. Furthermore, it is also concluded that the new design also improves on the manufacturability, ease of integration and overall size of the sensor.


AIMS
A randomized clinical trail was designed to compare the efficacy of two commercially available desensitizing agents (fluoride varnish containing 6% sodium fluoride and 6% calcium fluoride and a gel containing 6% potassium nitrate and 0.11% fluoride ions) in the treatment of dentinal hypersensitivity.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN
Randomized clinical trial.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-one patients were selected. Subjects were evaluated using three different stimuli, i.e., tactile test, air blast test and cold water test. They were then randomly divided into two groups. Patients in group I were treated with fluoride varnish and group II patients were treated with gel containing 6% potassium nitrate and 0.11% fluoride ions. The patients were examined at baseline, immediately after application of the agent, at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months interval.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Statistical analysis was done using unpaired "t" test, paired "t" test and Chi-square test with Yate's correction.

RESULTS
The results were analyzed; it was seen that patients treated in group I showed significantly better results compared to group II patients at 1 month and 3 months interval. Teeth which required repeat dose and those which did not require repeat dose were comparable in number.

CONCLUSIONS
Both the agents showed significant reduction in sensitivity at all time intervals compared to baseline. A comparatively significant reduction in sensitivity score was seen in patients treated with fluoride varnish and it appeared to be more effective in providing long-term relief against all the three test stimuli. Teeth with initial high sensitivity score required repeat doses, which was comparable for both the groups.


A molecular dynamics model was performed to study the proton transport of Nafion series membrane which is often used in low temperature fuel cells. The simulations intents to investigate the microstructure and the phenomenon of the proton transport processing. The model includes all-atom of main and side chains. The force field includes intermolecular Coulomb and Lennard-Jones terms and intra-molecular terms for harmonic bond stretch potentials, harmonic angle bend potentials and cosine terms for the torsions. The simulations were carried out in two cube systems at different temperature where water content differed from 5 and 10 water molecules per acid group in the polymer, respectively. The results showed that proton transport affected with water content by analyses of snap- shots of the MD simulation, the radial distribution functions between the sulfur atoms of SO3− groups, between the oxygen atoms of H3O+ ions, between oxygen atoms of water molecules and Nafion atoms at various stages.


The study examines the framing of anti-corruption war by newspapers in Nigeria from 2015 to 2019. Content analysis was adopted for the study while 608 hard copies of the The Punch and Daily Trust Nation newspapers published during the period were examined. The study was situated in the framing theory which posits that the media give salience to issues in a manner to shape public opinion. Data were collected and presented in tables were analyzed with the Chi-square statistical tool. Findings show that there were significant differences in the frequency and prominence in the framing of the anti-corruption war by the newspapers. The study recommends that mainstream media organizations should review their editorial policies to increase the frequency and prominence in their framing of the anti-corruption war to help mitigate the consequences of corruption on the socio - economic and political development of the country.


In this paper we addressed the issue of classifying pathological voices from normal ones based on two different parameters, spectral slope and ratio of energies in harmonic and noise components (HNR), and artificial neural network (ANN). Voice data from normal peoples and patients were collected, then diagnosed and classified into three different categories (normal, relatively less noisy and severely noisy pathological data). The spectral slope and the HNR were computed and used to classify the severely noisy pathological voice from others first because of its much noise. Then artificial neural network was used as a classifier to discriminate the rest of data into normal and relatively less noisy pathological categories when common numerical parameters were used as inputs. And the classification results were evaluated by comparing the distribution characteristics of the spectral slope and HNR for all of data and analyzing the classification rates for the normal and relative less noisy pathological voices.


The California Bearing Ratio(CBR) denotes the potential strength of subgrade material and is the important index of evaluating its using performance in expressway. In order to study the main influence factors of the CBR value of clay, The physics and chemistry tests of fifteen groups subgrade materials, coming from the Qing(Dao)-Yin(Chuan) expressway in hebei province, are done. Based on the result of tests, which there are obvious difference between CBR value with the same plastic index clay under the same test method and condition, the influence factors of California Bearing Ratio of expressway subgrade materials are distribution of particle sizes in soils, mineral component and clay mineral component. The profitable conclusions are gained: the main influence factors of California Bearing Ratio of expressway subgrade material are the type of mineral component and the content of each mineral, the distribution curve shape of particle sizes in soils and the clay ratio silt secondly. The CBR value minishs with the clay ratio silt increasing.


The purpose of this study is to prescribe the influence of Si in WC-Ni Hard Metal. For the manufacture of WC-Ni Hard Metal according to Si content, the researcher manufactured WC-Ni mixed powder which 0wt.%~1.5wt.% of Si was added to after selecting Ni which a fixed amount of B was added to, and then manufactured sintered body by implementing vacuum-sintering to the mixed powder. This study implemented the analysis with HRA, TRS, XRD, SEM, and EPMA to observe densification, alloying reaction, and mechanical properties of the sintered body. In WC-Ni Hard Metal, shrinkage showed a tendency to increase as Si content increased. It is considered that the densification was promoted during liquid phase sintering, because a melting point of binder metal got lower as Si content increased. The hardness of WC-Ni Hard Metal was kept uniformly up to 0.6wt.%Si, and then it showed the tendency to increase from the level of 0.9wt.%Si. It is considered that the hardness of B and Si added to Ni binder metal formed BNi3 phase and Ni3Si phase which had high hardness, and these compound phases restrained the growth of WC particle. It is considered that transverse rupture strength of WC-Ni Hard Metal according to the increase of Si content was increased by the decrease of mean free path of WC particle caused by the improvement of fluidity according to the restrained growth of WC particle by of BNi3 phase and Ni3Si phase, and caused by the improved fluidity according to the decreased melting point of Ni binder metal.


Purpose: This study investigated the effects of reciprocal teaching on the English reading comprehension and metacognitive reading strategies of Iranian pre-university learners in a reading comprehension classroom. Method: To fulfill the purpose of the study, the participants, included 60 female junior high school students were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups each consisting of 30 learners. The experimental group was taught through reciprocal teaching while the control group was taught through traditional teaching method. Following a pretest, treatment, and a posttest, the obtained data was analyzed using paired t-test to examine the effects of the independent variables. Findings: The results of the analysis indicated that reciprocal teaching had a significantly positive effect on the English reading comprehension and usage of the four main metacognitive reading strategies of the students. The posttest mean score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group at 0.05 level. However, less proficient learners reported high favor of the reciprocal strategy compared to the learners with higher level of proficiency. It is noteworthy that both experimental and control group had a better performance on the posttest when compared with the pretest. The findings are discussed as far as effective reciprocal teaching is concerned in a foreign language teaching context.


In many online examinations, physical invigilation is often replaced with traditional authentication approaches for student identification. Secure and usable authentication approaches are important for high stake online examinations. A Profile Based Authentication Framework (PBAF) was developed and implemented in a real online learning course embedded with summative online examination. Based on users' experience of using the PBAF in an online course, online questionnaires were used to collect participants' feedback on effectiveness, layout and appearance, user satisfaction, distraction and privacy concerns. Based on overall findings of the quantitative analysis, there was a positive feedback on the use of a hybrid approach utilizing image and text based challenge questions for better usability. However, the number of questions presented during learning and examination processes were reported to be too many and caused distraction. Participants expressed a degree of concern on sharing personal and academic information with little or no privacy concern on using favorite questions (p <; 0.01).


Soil acidity is one of the major constraints of crop production in the Ethiopian highlands where precipitation is high enough to leach basic cations leaving the soil acidic. Liming is the major practice used to ameliorate the problem of soil acidity. Currently farmers use Ag lime in their fields to reduce soil acidity. However, the suitability of the existing methods of lime requirement (LR) has not yet being determined. Shoemaker-McLean-Pratt (SMP) single buffer, Adams-Evans buffer, Modified Mehlich buffer, titration with single addition of Ca (OH)2, and exchangeable aluminum methods were evaluated using the CaCO3 moist incubation method. The result revealed that the LR estimated by the buffer methods and titration highly correlated with the incubation LR since the correlation coefficient(r) was ≥ 0.98. The modified Mehlich buffer was better in predicting the LR on average, for target pH values of 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 6.8 and 7.0 as r = 0.99 and as the standard error of estimate (Sy.x) 0.57, the minimum among the buffer methods. The modified Mehlich buffer should be calibrated further with the reference CaCO3 incubation using a set of soils and a calibration equation to calculate the lime requirement.

 Key words: Acidity, lime requirement, calibration, buffer methods, incubation.


Artificial neural network was one of the most important methods in intelligent fault diagnosis because it has the performance of nonlinear pattern classification and the capacity of self-learning and self-organization, but it can not judge redundancy and usefulness of information. Rough set can reduce the knowledge of information system and dislodge redundant information. In this paper, fault data of rolling bearing was reduced by the greedy algorithm of rough set. Training data and test data of BP neural network had been reduced by rough set. By comparison of two test result about simply data and original data, it was indicated that resolving power was unchanged and database was simply.


Introduction Reframing the conventional deprecation of ignorance Varieties of ignorance from various perspectives Indicative cognitive challenges of a University of Ignorance Avoiding distortions of premature cognitive closure Academic misappropriation of the known-not-known dynamic Clues to engaging with the unknown Knowing and Ignoring: a necessary complementarity? University of Ignorance as a dynamic cognitive pattern Re-imagining the intensive farming of people in a knowledge-based society Dynamic of indwelling intelligence: questioning knowing Palliative care for institutional dementia? Minimal connectivity of knowledge to sustain healthy ignorance Living in ignorance in the University of Life References


Stefan George (1868-1933) was one of the most important figures in modern German culture. His poetry, in its originality and impact, has been ranked with that of Goethe and Holderlin. Yet George's reach extended beyond the sphere of literature. In the early 1900s, he gathered around himself a circle of disciples who subscribed to his vision of comprehensive cultural-spiritual renewal and sought to turn it into reality. The ideas of the George Circle profoundly affected Germany's educated middle class, especially in the aftermath of the First World War, when their critique of bourgeois liberalism, materialism, and scholarship (Wissenschaft) as well as their call for new forms of leadership (Herrschaft) and a new Reich found wider resonance. The essays collected in the present volume critically re-examine these ideas, their contexts, and their influence. They provide new perspectives on the intersection of culture and politics in the works of the George Circle, not least its ambivalent relationship to National Socialism. Contributors: Adam Bisno, Richard Faber, Rudiger Gorner, Peter Hoffmann, Thomas Karlauf, Melissa S. Lane, Robert E. Lerner, David Midgley, Robert E. Norton, Ray Ockenden, Ute Oelmann, Martin A. Ruehl, Bertram Schefold. Melissa S. Lane is Professor of Politics at Princeton University. Martin A. Ruehl is Lecturer in German Thought and Fellow of Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge.


Objective: To use multimodal neuroimaging to evaluate the influence of heterogeneous underlying pathology in corticobasal syndrome (CBS) on the neuroanatomical distribution of disease. Methods: We performed a retrospective evaluation of 35 patients with CBS with T1-weighted MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, and neuropathologic, genetic, or CSF evidence of underlying pathology. Patients were assigned to 2 groups: those with evidence of Alzheimer pathology (CBS-AD) and those without Alzheimer pathology (CBS–non-AD). Group comparisons of CBS-AD and CBS–non-AD assessed clinical features, gray matter (GM) cortical thickness, and white matter (WM) fractional anisotropy. Results: CBS-AD was found in 34% (n = 12) and CBS–non-AD in 66% (n = 23) of CBS patients. Clinical evaluations revealed that CBS–non-AD had a higher frequency of asymmetric rigidity compared to CBS-AD, but groups otherwise did not differ in dementia severity, impairments in cognition, or rates of extrapyramidal symptoms. We found frontoparietal GM and WM disease in each group compared to healthy, demographically comparable controls, as well as multimodal neuroimaging evidence of a double dissociation: CBS–non-AD had WM disease in the corpus callosum, corticospinal tract, and superior longitudinal fasciculus relative to CBS-AD, and CBS-AD had reduced temporoparietal GM relative to CBS–non-AD, including the precuneus and posterior cingulate. Conclusions: Patients with CBS have a pathology-mediated dissociation of GM and WM disease. Multimodality neuroimaging may be useful for improving in vivo pathologic diagnosis of CBS.


This study presents a predictive guidance scheme for tactical missiles. The modern day targets, with improved manoeuverability, have revealed insufficient performance of the conventional guidance laws. The underlying cause of this poor performance is the reactive nature of the conventional guidance laws such as proportional navigation (PN) and pure pursuit (PP). Predictive guidance offers an alternative approach to the classical methods by taking proactive actions by estimating target's future trajectory. However, most of the existing predictive guidance approaches assume that the interceptor have a model of the target dynamics. A guidance strategy is developed in this study, that can learn the target dynamics iteratively and adapt the interceptor actions accordingly. A recursive least squares (RLS) estimation algorithm is employed for learning and estimating the possible future target positions, and a fixed horizon nonlinear program is employed for selecting the optimal interception action. Monte-Carlo simulations show that the guidance algorithm introduced in this work demonstrates a significantly improved performance compared to the alternatives in terms of interception time and miss distance.


Abstract. Places can be characterized by the ways that people interact with them, such as the times of day certain place types are frequented, or how place combinations contribute to urban structure. Intuitively, schools are most visited during work day mornings and afternoons, and are more likely to be near a recreation center than a nightclub. These temporal and spatial signatures are so specific that they can often be used to categorize a particular place solely by its interaction patterns. Today, numerous commercial datasets and services are used to access required information about places, social interaction, news, and so forth. As these datasets contain information about millions of the same places and the related services support tens of millions of users, one would expect that analysis performed on these datasets, e.g., to extract data signatures, would yield the same or similar results. Interestingly, this is not always the case. This has potentially far reaching consequences for researchers that use these datasets. In this work, we examine temporal and spatial signatures to explore the question of how the data acquiring cultures and interfaces employed by data providers such as Google and Foursquare, influence the final results. We approach this topic in terms of biases exhibited during service usage and data collection.


Aging is associated with well-recognized alterations in brain function, some of which are reflected in cognitive decline. While less appreciated, there is also considerable evidence of socioemotional changes later in life, some of which are beneficial. In this review, we examine age-related changes and individual differences in four neuroendocrine systems—cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, and oxytocin—as "difference makers" in these processes. This suite of interrelated hormonal systems actively coordinates regulatory processes in brain and behavior throughout development, and their level and function fluctuate during the aging process. Despite these facts, their specific impact in cognitive and socioemotional aging has received relatively limited study. It is known that chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol exert neurotoxic effects on the aging brain with negative impacts on cognition and socioemotional functioning. In contrast, the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone appear to have neuroprotective effects in cognitive aging, but may decrease prosociality. Higher levels of the neuropeptide oxytocin benefit socioemotional functioning, but little is known about the effects of oxytocin on cognition or about age-related changes in the oxytocin system. In this paper, we will review the role of these hormones in the context of cognitive and socioemotional aging. In particular, we address the aforementioned gap in the literature by: (1) examining both singular actions and interrelations of these four hormonal systems; (2) exploring their correlations and causal relationships with aspects of cognitive and socioemotional aging; and (3) considering multilevel internal and external influences on these hormone systems within the framework of explanatory pluralism. We conclude with a discussion of promising future research directions.


Microfluidic immunoassays are expected to be the next-generation diagnostic methods due to the small size of the reaction space and their high performance. Various tests are performed in clinics or for home medical care. However, the analytical markers are restricted in comparison to the clinical tests performed in medical facilities. We developed a microfluidic ELISA (micro-ELISA) system, which utilized a microfluidic device for reactions and a thermal lens microscope (TLM) for detection. This system allowed a very sensitive and rapid assay due to the small size of the reaction space. In this study, to apply this system for clinic use, we investigated the detection of an unstable and low concentration (pg mL−1) marker in patient's plasma. Among the various markers, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), a heart failure marker, was chosen because BNP is one of the difficult markers to handle in clinics and at home due to its instability (biological half-life: ∼20 minutes); moreover, its activity in the patient's sample declines within several hours. To overcome these problems, we investigated the chemical procedure. A streptavidin-beads/biotin–antibody reaction was applied because of its high association constant, and a one-step pre-mixed method was developed for a facile process and higher sensitivity. However, commercial standard BNP with sodium azide cannot be used in this pre-mixed method because sodium azide will inhibit the activity of HRP. Therefore, the preparation and preservation stability of the standard sample was evaluated. To maintain the stability of BNP, a buffer solution containing aprotinin was used for dilution in our investigations. In addition, to reduce the influence of the viscosity changes in patient's blood samples, a dilution procedure was also considered. Based on these investigations, the quantitative analysis of BNP in only 10 μL of patient's plasma was successfully realized, whereas the conventional 96-well microtiter plate method required about 500 μL of plasma sample. Moreover, a superior performance was demonstrated in the limit of quantitation (3.61 pg mL−1) and short assay time (20 min for 1 sample and 70 min for 5 samples). An excellent correlation was shown between the conventional method used in the University of Tokyo Hospital and our micro-ELISA method.


There is considerable interest in the development of high efficiency cost-effective solar cells for renewable energy generation. Multi-junction cells based on III-V compound semiconductors currently hold a strong position because they are well suited to solar concentrator systems. However, high efficiency can be also be achieved by exploiting two photon photocurrent relying on the intermediate band concept. This thesis reports on an in-depth investigation of solar cells containing type-II GaSb/GaAs quantum ring (QR) nanostructures, systematically studying their electrical and optical performance under different test conditions. The aim is to understand the potential and limitations of this system, working as an intermediate band solar cell (IBSC), towards improving the efficiency of the conventional GaAs single junction solar cell. Two different approaches were developed and investigated to enhance solar cell performance; (i) increasing the number of QR layers and (ii) decreasing the overall thickness of the QR stack. High density stacks of type-II GaSb/GaAs QR of high crystalline quality were successfully grown and characterized as QRSC for the first time. The stacks consisted of up to 40 QR layers with a linear density of 0.17 nm-1 along the growth direction, which is the highest reported to date for a type-II IBSC. By increasing the number of QR layers from 10 to 40, both the efficiency and the electroluminescence of the WL and QR transitions were enhanced by a factor of 4. Electroluminescence and open-circuit voltage (VOC) reciprocity was demonstrated experimentally, showing that QR radiative recombination limits VOC. Hole transport through the intrinsic region of the cell was improved by decreasing the QR stack thickness from 400 to 60 nm, which resulted in an enhancement of 15% in short-circuit current and 30% in conversion efficiency. However, the open-circuit voltage drops when adding QR to the GaAs matrix preventing high efficiency from being obtained. Two-photon photocurrent was studied in type-II QRSC using two-colour spectroscopy at 17 K and trapping was identified as the mechanism controlling QR (hole) charging. Above 100 K thermionic emission of holes was found to dominate QR discharging over optical emission. The non-radiative and radiative decay times of the QR were measured for first time at 10 K to be 10-100 ns, equivalent to rates of 108-107 s-1, under a peak flux of 1017 cm-2s-1. As illumination increases SRH is overtaken by radiative band-to-band recombination in high density QR stack SC. Partial VOC recovery (up to 56%) under high solar concentration of 4000 suns was demonstrated in type-II QRSC at room temperature, analysing current versus voltage characteristic for first time. Full recovery of VOC is prevented by the thermal coupling between the QR intermediate band and the valence band. In addition, hydrostatic pressure was applied to IBSC for the first time, to characterize type-II GaSb/GaAs QRSC. Under 8 kbar at room temperature the bandgap increased by 100 meV without modifying the carrier thermal energy and resulting in a VOC increase of 15%.


Floating drug delivery systems are the systems which are retained in the stomach for a longer period of time and thereby improve the bioavailability of drugs. Different approaches for gastroretentive dosage forms include floating, raft, expanding or swelling, bioadhesive or mucoadhesive and high/low-density systemsFamotidine, an anti-ulcer drug, suffers from poor bioavailability (50%), as famotidine is very less soluble in alkaline PH. Famotidine used in combination with antacids promotes local delivery of these drugs to the receptor of the parietal cell wall. Local delivery also increases bioavailability at the stomach wall receptor site and increases the efficacy of drugs to reduce acid secretion. Thus, the present work is aimed to formulate floating tablets of famotidine using an effervescent approach for gastroretentive drug delivery system. Floating tablets were prepared using directly compression technique using polymers like HPMC K4M and HPMCK100M for their gel-forming properties. The HPMC alone polymer unable to controlled on release rate it release drug >90% in 4-6 hrs while in combination with Xanthan gum it release >90% in 8 hrs. The results indicate that gas powered gastroretentive floating Tablets of famotidine containing 40mg HPMCK100M and Xanthan gum provides a better option for controlled release action and improved bioavailability.


Honeybee pollination accounts annually for over $14 billion in United States agriculture alone. Within the past decade there has been a mysterious mass die-off of honeybees, an estimated 10 million beehives and sometimes as much as 90% of an apiary. There is still no consensus on what causes this phenomenon, called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. Several mathematical models have studied CCD by only focusing on infection dynamics. We created a model to account for both healthy hive dynamics and hive extinction due to CCD, modeling CCD via a transmissible infection brought to the hive by foragers. The system of three ordinary differential equations accounts for multiple hive population behaviors including Allee effects and colony collapse. Numerical analysis leads to critical hive sizes for multiple scenarios and highlights the role of accelerated forager recruitment in emptying hives during colony collapse.


: The age-related changes in the pineal gland are functional rather than organic, which makes their correction or prevention more tenable. The amelioration or inhibition of some age-related impairments of the pineal gland were observed with dietary restriction and the use of S-adenosylmethionine or MAO-A inhibitors. A threefold increase in nocturnal melatonin peaks occurs in old rhesus monkeys treated with a synthetic peptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (Epithalon) designed basing on the amino acid content of a pineal peptide extract Epithalamin. Other effects of Epithalon markedly overlap with melatonin effects. Besides life extension in mice and fruit flies, Epithalon effects include the postponing vision loss in Campbell rats with hereditary pigmental dystrophy. A uniting aspect of such a range of activities might be the participation of transcription factors, since they are often highly conservative in evolution and, on the other hand, may be strictly tissue-specific. The targets of Epithalon may include transfactors that in mammals are specific for the pineal gland and retina and exhibit impaired functions in the aged pineal gland.


Hydrogen production from biomass pyrolysis is economically and technologically attractive from the perspectives of energy and the environment. The two-stage catalytic pyrolysis of pine sawdust for hydrogen-rich gas production is investigated using nano-NiO/Al2O3 as the catalyst at high temperatures. The influences of residence time (0–30 s) and catalytic temperature (500–800 °C) on pyrolysis performance are examined in the distribution of pyrolysis products, gas composition, and gas properties. The results show that increasing the residence time decreased the solid and liquid products but increased gas products. Longer residence times could promote tar cracking and gas-phase conversion reactions and improve the syngas yield, H2/CO ratio, and carbon conversion. The nano-NiO/A12O3 exhibits excellent catalytic activity for tar removal, with a tar conversion rate of 93% at 800 °C. The high catalytic temperature could significantly improve H2 and CO yields by enhancing the decomposition of tar and gas-phase reactions between CO2 and CH4. The increasing catalytic temperature increases the dry gas yield and carbon conversion but decreases the H2/CO ratio and low heating value.


Nearly 2,500,000 acres are irrigated in Upper Snake basin. Of these, 1,000,000 have a deficient water supply. An additional 3,000,000 acres of arable land have no water supply. Yet nearly 7,000,000 acre-ft flow out of the area annually of which 60% is ground-water discharge. Surface holdover storage sufficient to supply the above lands cannot be identified and the abundant ground water supply is mostly beneath presently irrigated lands. Therefore, further development must depend on coordinated surface and ground water use exchange of sources of supply and artificial recharge. Numerous hydrologic and geographic factors establish limiting parameters within which detailed planning may proceed. Studying the possible layouts and operations of such projects is being undertaken by analog studies of the ground water reservoir and computer studies of the river system.


We have successufully developed a localized plasma etching system for failure analyses in semiconductor devices. The plasma was excited by a capacitively coupled plasma technique using a quartz capillary tube and the system can be operated by both methods of drawing etching gases into the glass tube (inward plasma method) and blowing etching gases out of the tube (outward plasma method). By the former method, we can reduce unfavorable materials leaving behind on the processed surface after processing. This successuful operation is comfirmed by the exposure of wires in 45 nm pattern rule device semiconductor.


Oceanology International Pacific Rim 04‐18 Singapore 30–31 October 2001 PGI Spearhead, 50 Kingston Road New Malden, Surrey, UK Tel: +44 20 8949 9222 Fax: +44 20 8949 8186 E‐mail: email@example.com International Water and Effluent Treatment Exhibition (IWEX) NEC Birmingham 30 October–1 November 2001 Tel: +44 (0) 1895 454 545 Fax: +44 (0) 1895 454 640 Website: www.iwex.co.uk Managing California's Groundwater Sacramento, California, USA 1–2 November 2001 Organised by the Groundwater Resources Association of California Contact: Groundwater Resources Association of California Website: www.grac.org Annual Water Resources Conference Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4–7 November 2001 Contact: 4 West Federal Street, PO Box 1626 Middleburg, VA 20118‐1626, USA Tel: 540 687 8390 Fax: 540 687 8395 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: http://www.awra.org/meetings/future.html Oceans 2001 04‐18 Honolulu 5–8 November 2001 Annual MTS‐IEEE Conference Tel: +1 800‐564 4220 Fax: +1 703‐818 9177 E‐mail: email@example.com Website: http://www.hydrographicsociety.org/Calender/welcome.html International Conference on Environmental Risk Assessment of Pesticides and Integrated Pesticide Management in Developing Countries Kathmandu, Nepal 6–9 November 2001 Contact: Professor A. Herrmann, Kathmandu IPM Conference, Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Technical University Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19c, D‐38106 Braunschweig, Germany Tel: +49 531 3915607 Fax: +49 531 3918170 E‐mail: ipmktm@tu‐bs.de 9th International Conference on the Conservation and Management of Lakes Shiga, Japan 11–16 November 2001 Contact: Shiga Pretectural Government. Environmental Policy Division, 4‐1‐1 Kyomachi. Shiga 520‐8577, Japan Tel: +81 77 528 3466 Fax: +81 77 528 4849 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com 2001 AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference Albuquerque, New Mexico 12–15 November 2001 Website: http://www.spatialhydrology.com/ Engineering for Profit from Waste VI ImechE HQ, London 13–14 November 2001 Contact: Paul Terry Tel: +44 207 304 6867 Fax: +44 207 233 1654 International Workshop on Modelling in Hydrogeology New Delhi, India 3‐7 December 2001 Contact: Dr. L. Elango, UNESCO‐IHP‐MODHYD, Assistant Professor, Centre for Geoscience and Engineering, Anna University, Chennai‐600 025. India Tel: +91 44 2351723 Fax: +91 44 2352870 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com MODSIM2001—International Congress on Modelling and Simulation Canberra, Australia 10–13 December 2001 Contact: Dr Fred Ghassemi, Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 Australia Tel: +61 2 6125 0653 Fax: +61 2 6125 0757 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: http://cres.anu.edu.au/∼tony/modsim2001.htm AGU 2001 Fall Meeting San Francisco, California, USA 10–14 December 2001 Sponsor: American Geophysical Union (AGU) Contact: AGU Meetings Department, 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1‐202‐462‐6900 Fax: +1‐202‐328‐0566 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: www.agu.org/meetings/ 2002 Ocean Sciences Meeting Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. 11–15 February 2002 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Contact: AGU Meetings Department, 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20009, USA Phone: +1‐202‐462‐6900 Fax: +1‐202‐328‐0566 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: http://www.agu.org/meetings International Groundwater Conference on sustainable development and management of groundwater resources in semi‐arid regions with special reference to hard rocks Dindigul, Tamilnadu, India 20–22 February 2002 Contact: Conference Secretariat IGC2002, NGRI, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500007, India Tel: +91 40 7170141 Fax: +91 40 717 1564 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com International Conference on geochemical processes with long‐term effects in anthropogenically affected seepage and groundwater Bremen, Germany 4–7 March 2002 Organised by the University of Bremen Contact: Fachbereich 5—Geowissenschaft, Universität Bremen, Postfach 330 440, D‐28334, Bremen, Germany Tel: +49 421 218 3393 Fax: +49 421 218 4321 E‐mail: hdschultz@uni‐bremen.de Website: www.geochemie.uni‐bremen.de UNESCO International Hydrology Programme Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice Cape Town, South Africa 18–22 March 2002 Tel: +27 46 6224014 Fax: +27 46 6229427 E‐mail: email@example.com Website: http//www.ru.ac.za/institutes/iwr International Conference on Water Resources Management in Arid Regions Kuwait 23–27 March 2002 Organised by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research Contact: KISR, PO Box 24885, 13109 Safat, Kuwait Fax: +965 48 18 482 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com International Groundwater Symposium—Bridging the Gap between Measurements and Modelling in Heterogeneous Media Berkley, California, USA 25–29 March 2002 Contact: Dr Angelos Findikakis, Bechtel, Mail Stop 333/12/C34, PO Box 3965, San Francisco, California, USA Tel: +1 415 768 8550 Fax: +1 415 768 4898 E‐mail: email@example.com European Geophysical Society (EGS) XXVII General Assembly Nice, France 22–26 April 2002 Contact: EGS Office, Max‐Planck‐Str 13, 37191 Katlenburg‐Lindau, Germany Tel: +49 5556 1440 Fax: +49 5556 4709 E‐mail: email@example.com Website: http://www.copernicus.org/EGS/ International Symposium on the Interactions between Sediments and Water Banff, Alberta, Canada 5–10 May 2002 Organised by the International Association of Sediment Water Science. Contact: Dr Ellen Petticrew, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC Canada, V2N 4Z9 Tel: +1 250 960 6645 Fax: +1 250 960 5538 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com 2002 International Groundwater Conference: Balancing the Groundwater Budget Darwin, Australia 12–17 May 2002 Sponsor: International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), Australian National Chapter Contact: D Foo, 1AH (NT) PO Box 95, Palmerston, NT 0831, Australia Fax: +61 8 8999 3666 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: http://www1/octa4.net.au/iahnt/conference.htm 2002 AGU Apring Meeting Washington, DC, USA 28 May–1 June 2002 Contact: AGU Meetings Department, 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +202 462 6900 Fax: +1 202 328 0566 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: http://www/agu.org/meetings XIV International Conference on Computational Methods in Water Resources Delft, The Netherlands 23–28 June 2002 Phone: +31‐152‐785074 Fax: +31‐152‐785915 Website: http://cmwr2002.citg.tudelft.nl Fifth International Conference on Hydroinformatics Cardiff School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK 1–5 July 2002 Contact: Cherrie Summers, Hydroinformatics 2002 Secretariat Tel/Fax: +44 (0)29 2087 4421 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: http://www.cf.ac.uk/engin/news/confs/hydro/index.html The 11th International Conference for Science Editors Global Science Communication in the New Century Beijing, China 24–29 August 2002 Contact: Tel: 86 10 68597750/68597751 Fax: 86 10 68597748 E‐mail: email@example.com Website: http://www.cessp.org.cn/ifse.htm Annual Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration: "Restoration Across Borders" Niagra Falls, Ontario 4–6 October 2001 E‐mail: email@example.com Website: http://www.river‐management.org/conferences.html Wetland Soils and Hydrology Albuquerque, New Mexico 7–10 October 2001 Registration: $875 Information: Wetland Training Istitute, Post Office Box 31, Glenwood, New Mexico, 88039 Tel: 877/792‐6482 E‐mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: http://www.river‐management.org/conferences.html 2002 Annual Water Resources Conference Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4–7 November 2002 Website: http://www.spatialhydrology.com/ 2002 AGU Fall Meeting San Francisco, California, USA 6–10 December 2002 Sponsor: American Geophysical Union (AGU) Contact: AGU Meetings, 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1‐202‐462‐6900 Fax: +1‐202‐328‐0566 E‐mail: email@example.com Website: www.agu.org/meetings


A pilot project is underway in New Brunswick, Canada, to demonstrate direct control of thermostatically controlled loads as a means of providing ancillary services. This paper will focus on one of the load classes, aggregated control of domestic electric water heaters (DEWHs) as a means of shifting load profiles. The approach not only strives to satisfy utility level objectives by curtailing individual DEWHs in a strategic manner but also takes account of the thermal dynamics of individual heaters and estimates of hot water usage in an attempt to maintain customer comfort and satisfaction. The aggregated load controller is unique in its topology and operation, consisting of an individual load extractor, a water demand model, and a temperature estimator for each DEWH, together with a reserve capacity forecast unit and aggregated load control logic. Details of the aggregated load controller are developed, the relationship to the system operator is described and a summary of preliminary results is provided.


In recent years, microbial asparaginases have drawn particular interest because of their potential antineoplastic properties and significant application in food industries. The present survey was undertaken to establish other microbial species which produce L-asparaginase, possibly in more effective and specific form, and which might have even more efficient antineoplastic action.15 soil isolates and 12 other microorganisms from different culture collections were evaluated for their L-asparaginase producing ability. The activity was identified on a agar medium containing 3.0 gL-1 glucose, 6.0 gL-1 Na2HPO4.2H2O, 3.0 gL-1 KH2PO4, 0.5 gL-1 MgSO4.7H2O, 0.5 gL-1 NaCl, 0.015 gL-1 CaCl2.2H2O, 3.0 gL-1 L-asparagine at and phenol red. Phenol red was used as an indicator for the production of enzyme L-asparaginase. Among all the microorganisms tested, four organisms from soil sample and nine cultures from various culture collections in India showed their potential for the enzyme production. Further morphological and biochemical characterization resulted that the soil isolates were belonging to the genera Bacillus spp., Proteus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. The strain, designated as ITBHU02, has shown maximum activity of enzyme L-asparaginase.


B17 Background Narrative approaches to health promotion in cancer prevention have recently gained much attention. Cultural grounding to produce narrative-based messages is a well-suited method of health promotion to address health disparities, but cognitive and emotional mechanisms that purportedly work through narratives to change behavior are rarely specified nor directly measured. A model for assessing narrative characteristics and effects on intention to change behaviors (derived from narrative theory and entertainment-education) was proposed and tested in pilot studies of a community-based, storytelling intervention for Latinos. Method Seven sessions with health information embedded in narratives taught by experienced Promotoras de Salud (who assisted in developing story content) were pilot-tested prior to full study implementation. Novella-style stories featured a group of neighbors with various interpersonal challenges, and incorporating colorectal cancer prevention (dietary, physical activity, and screening) messages. Participants evaluated each story presented and answered questions pre- and post-intervention regarding intention to modify health behaviors. Scale items to assess factors theoretically predicted to change behavior were created; data reduction and regression modeling were used to examine model elements. Results Fifty-five Latinos completed the pilot study and assessed stories in each session; mean age 39.6, mean education level, 9th grade; 92% prefer Spanish; median annual income $15-25K. Factor analysis on story characteristics produced two scales, Cultural (α = .755) and Emotional Content (α =.817). Factor analysis on mediators expected to predict behavior yielded Identification (α = .925), Engagement (α = .976) and Attention (α = .966). Model testing indicated significant relationships between some of the story characteristic measures and mediators: Cultural and Emotional Content of stories was related to Identification with stories and characters, and Cultural Content was related to Attention (p Conclusions Development and preliminary tests of measures to assess narrative characteristics and factors expected to mediate behavior change show promise for theory building. Story characteristics measured as cultural and emotional content provided predictive value for mediators shown in previous research to be important for persuasion and behavior change, Identification and Engagement (otherwise known as "transportation" into the story). Further, Identification and Engagement preliminarily appear to provide predictive power for cancer prevention behavioral intention. Implications The model and corresponding measures tested in this pilot study provide a starting point for evaluating narrative interventions prior to intervention. As our larger community study progresses and additional data are collected on attitudinal and behavioral responses to narratives, a more detailed model will be specified and tested (including social proliferation effects) for theory-building to understand more about narrative effects on behavior change. Funding: NCI Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):B17.


Abstract As the recognition of Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased, professionals and academics have theorized its epidemiology and pathology. As valuable as those perspectives are, rarely is the voice of the autistic person heard as a source of understanding. In this ethnographic article, I share my story as a person on the spectrum. I hope to illuminate not the disability of autism, but the reward of the struggle and the gifts that are part of a different way of being. As I reflect on the transformations that have occurred in my life, it becomes clear that my most important role is that of a mother to a son who would himself be diagnosed as autistic in a different context. This narrative offers thoughts about the complex challenges of living with autism—not only from a professional and academic standpoint but also from a deeply human one as well. [autism spectrum disorder, belonging, motherhood, experience]


Since prehistoric times, cetaceans have been important food sources, but they also have been seen as monsters of the sea, a perception that did not change much during the past centuries. Due to a better understanding of their biology in recent years, the public perception towards cetaceans has been evolving. Various studies have been developed aiming to evaluate the attitude and perception of humans towards cetaceans, but these have been local and focused on specific target groups. Our study aimed to evaluate the attitude of the public towards cetaceans on a wide scale by using an international online questionnaire distributed exclusively on social media. An attitudinal scale proposed by Kellert (1985) on a Likert scale matrix was used with nine statements referring to dolphins and nine referring to whales. Even though specific constraints occur from such types of research (e.g., mostly highly educated and young respondents from developed countries), 5,222 responses were collected from 107 countries in total. While Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania were well represented, the number of answers from Africa and Asia were limited. Our results revealed a shift in the public attitude towards cetaceans, with the majority of people exhibiting a positive attitude following the global trend of a rising appreciation for wild-life. Whaling nations and ex-whaling nations that have continued that practice until recently exhibited a more negative attitude towards cetaceans, revealing the importance of culture, heritage, and memory in shaping attitudes. Finally, we discuss our findings under the light of the culture and history of different countries. (Less)


The registration records at the U.S. Copyright Office provide a valuable lens on the use and performance of the copyright system, but have not yet been studied systematically. Using an original data set containing all 2.3 million registrations from 2008 to 2012, we provide a snapshot of current patterns of registration. We describe who is registering what, where, when, and why. Our main findings include the types of work being registered, how the registrations of individuals and firms differ, when works are being registered relative to their date of creation and date of publication, the age distribution of authors in different creative fields, and the geographic distribution and concentration of registration claimants. The registration data collected and reported are superior to those relied upon in prior literature, and should therefore prove useful to lawmakers and scholars wishing to measure the effect of copyright law on creativity or otherwise reform our copyright law.


The composition of the volatile fraction of milk from cows was investigated in a survey of milk samples using a headspace sampling technique and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). Milk samples were collected from 12 farms, selected for similar management, breed and level of production. Farms were also grouped according to the type of forage in the ration: (1) hay; (2) hay and maize silage; (3) hay, maize silage and grass silages. Forty-one compounds in milk were isolated and identified from GC-MS headspace analysis. Quantitatively, the most representative chemical class was ketones (eight compounds, 170 microg/kg), followed by aldehydes (nine compounds, 63 microg/kg), alcohols (eight compounds, 36 microg/kg), and lower amounts of hydrocarbons (six compounds), sulphur compounds (three compounds), esters (four compounds) and terpenes (three compounds). The novel headspace sampling technique, and the consequent reduction of sample pre-treatment, allowed the identification of low-molecular weight volatile compounds, and reduced the risk of producing artefacts during analysis. Discriminant analysis was used to identify a classification criterion for milk samples, using type of forage in the ration as a grouping variable. Posterior probability error rate indicated that aldehydes provided one of the best discriminant criteria for grouping milks according to ration composition. When all 41 identified volatile compounds were included, discriminant analysis selected nine compounds (acetone, 2,3-butanedione, 2-butanone, ethanol, acetaldehyde, ethylacetate, ethvlisovalerate, dimethylsulphone) that did not fail the tolerance test and which correctly classified 100% of the original cases.


Quantitative relationship between modern pollen and climate for the Pampa grassland: first results . We examine modern pollen, potential vegetation and climate relationship for the Pampa grassland and their ecotone with the xerophytic woodland of Argentina using isopollen maps, scatter and percentage diagrams and DCA. These analyses are based on an array of 119 modern pollen samples extending between 34o-41o lat S and 56o-67o long W. Four potential vegetation units were defined in NE-SW gradient. Results between four pollen variables (xerophytic woodland, Poaceae, aquatics and Asteraceae subf. Asteroideae) and TMA (mean annual temperature), PMA (mean annual precipitation) and DH (hydric availability) are presented. All pollen variables show significant correlation with PMA and DH. DH is the main ecological factor that explain pollen assemblages distribution. Despite human impact on Pampa grassland there is a good correspondence between potential vegetation units and pollen samples . This results suggest the potential of this database for quantitative climate reconstructions, especially the hydrological regime.


The large majority of consumers believe that the term "privacy policy" describes a baseline level of information practices that protect their privacy. In short, "privacy," like "free" before it, has taken on a normative meaning in the marketplace. When consumers see the term "privacy policy," they believe that their personal information will be protected in specific ways; in particular, they assume that a website that advertises a privacy policy will not share their personal information. Of course, this is not the case. Privacy policies today come in all different flavors. Some companies make affirmative commitments not to share the personal information of their consumers. In other cases, however, privacy policies simply inform consumers that unless they "opt out" of sharing certain information, the company will communicate their personal information to other commercial entities.Given that consumers today associate the term "privacy policy" with specific practices that afford a normative level of privacy protection, the use of the term by a website that does not adhere to these base line practices can mislead consumers to expect privacy that, in reality, does not exist. This is not to suggest that companies intend to mislead consumers, but rather that consumers today associate certain practices with "privacy policy" just as they associate certain terms and conditions with the word "free."Because the term "privacy policy" has taken on a specific meaning in the marketplace and connotes a particular level of protection to consumers, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") should regulate the use of the term "privacy policy" to ensure that companies using the term deliver a set of protections that meet consumers' expectations and that the term "privacy policy" does not mislead consumers during marketplace transactions.


Cerebral edema, resolution of edema, and subsequent development of cerebral atrophy were studied prospectively in 83 patients with ischemic stroke with CT 3 days, 2 weeks, and 6 months post-stroke. Nineteen patients had large (diameter > 3 cm), 25 medium sized (diameter ≥ 1.5 ≤ 3 cm), and 15 lacunar infarcts (diameter < 1.5 cm). In 24 patients no infarcts were seen. Changes of Evans' ratio (ER), septum-caudate distance (S/C), and width of widest cortical sulci (SuW) were taken as markers of mass effect/atrophy. These parameters were within normal limits in most cases. However, when all CT scans performed in each patient were compared, changes of ER, S/C, and SuW became apparent as evidence of mass effect and subsequent atrophy development. Mass effect occurred in 81 percent and atrophy in 58 percent of patients with large infarcts. In patients with medium sized infarcts, mass effect occurred in 38 percent and atrophy in 45 percent.


We extract possible voting patterns by applying hyperspectral unmixing to the 2013, 2016, and 2019 Philippine elections. Hyperspectral unmixing, when applied to satellite images, extracts recurring traits or patterns found in a scene. First, data reduction determines the number of recurring patterns. Second, unmixing estimates the spectral signature of the recurring patterns. Lastly, inverting fits the obtained spectral signatures with the hyperspectral data to estimate their corresponding weights. By comparing the obtained voting patterns, we found the following recurring archetypes: opposition, conservatives, celebrities, political history, media popularity, and cultural-linguistic affiliation. The dominant archetypes for each province in each year were also calculated using their weights. We found that candidates tend to dominate their home province.


We apply the technique of complex paths to obtain Hawking radiation in different coordinate representations of the Schwarzschild spacetime. The coordinate representations we consider do not possess a singularity at the horizon unlike the standard Schwarzschild coordinate. However, the event horizon manifests itself as a singularity in the expression for the semiclassical action. This singularity is regularized by using the method of complex paths and we find that Hawking radiation is recovered in these coordinates indicating the covariance of Hawking radiation as far as these coordinates are concerned.


Post rain inundations that occurred in Prambanan Temple yard interfere the visitor's mobility and heavy equipment that operated for restoration activities in the temple. A typical porous drainage system was proposed using waste material from Merapi eruption to reduce the inundations. Research on the characteristics of the waste material becomes important due to the availability of so many supplies from these materials and it has not been utilized optimally. A full scale of physical modeling experimental test, with a modified equipment to determine the performance of the porous drainage system, was proposed in this study. Physical modeling of the porous drainage system is expected to represent the actual conditions in the field. The groundwater level was designed in two conditions, deep groundwater level based on the natural field condition and shallow groundwater level that is an extreme condition that may occur in the field. In this test, rainfall simulator was built to flow the discharge constantly into this physical modeling. The effectiveness of this system amounted to 20% of the drainage capacity in natural field condition during the rainfall duration of 2.183 hours. In the extreme condition, the effectiveness of the system amounted to 75% of the drainage capacity during the rainfall duration of 2.383 hours. It shows that the porous drainage system is quite effective when applied at Prambanan Temple yard that has an average rainfall duration of 2.375 hours. The proposed porous drainage system is expected to solve the inundation problem in Prambanan Temple yard.


The concept of religious fundamentalism is in the eyes of the beholder. What could be regarded by one person to be a legitimate exposition or practice of religious obligation might be perceived by others as the manifestations of unbecoming extremes. And, of course, "fundamentalism" can signify different things to different people. In current parlance, "fundamentalism" in matters of religion has acquired a distinctly negative connotation. As commonly understood, fundamentalism is associated with certain trends within a particular religious community. Precise definition of fundamentalism within these general confines seems impossible. Martin Marty and Scott Appleby therefore suggested another way to define fundamentalism, namely "as a generalized tendency, a habit of mind, that may inspire a variety of specific activities."(1) One can at best single out certain trends in religious thought and practice that signify a tendency toward fundamentalism. Gabriel Almond, Emmanuel Sivan and Scott Appleby thus included amongst the "properties of fundamentalism" the following general considerations:(2) Although fundamentalists profess to be upholding religious orthodoxy (right belief) or orthopraxis (right behavior) and hold themselves out as being instrumental in preserving religious traditions from erosion, they in fact embark upon ideologies, practices and organizational structures that are quite new and unprecedented in established or mainstream religions. Most fundamentalists would deny the novelty of their dogma, procedures and institutions, for claiming the authority of a sacred past is crucial to the fundamentalists' sense of mission. Marty and Appleby again, depicted as "general traits" of fundamentalist movements the tendency toward self-separation from those not of their particular creed, and redefinition of the religious community in terms of disciplined opposition to unbelievers and those perceived to be "lukewarm" believers, as well as a male-dominated (charismatic and authoritarian) leadership that defies the conventions of church hierarchies.(3) Fundamentalism in the broadest possible sense may thus be said to thrive upon a belief that God sanctions attitudes and behavior developed and executed in strict obedience to what the faithful observer perceives to be holy commandments. It develops an uncompromising commitment to basic principles believed to be eternal and immutable. It enhances a spirit of repristination: condemnation of contemporary perceptions, institutions and conduct, coupled with glorification of the past and endeavors to restore the ways of the supposedly "good old days." It derives its main support from the victims of suffering and deprivation, or those frustrated by an underdeveloped personality or unfulfilled aspirations. It seeks to develop a strong sense of solidarity amongst its flock and often finds strength in isolating its circle of adherents from the secular world, and from alternative religious influences. It fosters a sense of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness and promotes ruthless condemnation of, and intolerance toward, all competing forces. It is in several of its varieties conducive to xenophobia. Of course, these trends, seen in isolation, would not necessarily constitute fundamentalism of any particular kind. It is the combination of all, or most, of those trends that would attract the fundamentalist badge. Given the distinct variables that could thus be depicted as instances of fundamentalism, one might distinguish several meanings of that epithet. In its most extreme sense, fundamentalism signifies profound radicalism which, if put into practice, would adversely affect the disposition or interests, even the safety or lives, of particular individuals or groups within, or exterior to, the creed encompassed by the fundamentalist's faith. In a different sense, religious "fundamentalism" may also denote a conservative adherence to old and established dogma enunciated in bygone times. …


The trend of [Mn/Fe] in the Galactic bulge follows the solar neighborhood relation, but most stars in the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy show [Mn/Fe] deficient by ~0.2 dex. This leads us to conclude that the Mn yields from both Type Ia and Type II supernovae (SNe) are metallicity dependent. Our observations militate against the idea, suggested by Gratton, that Mn is overproduced by Type Ia SNe, relative to Type II SNe. We predict Mn/Fe ratios, lower than the solar neighborhood relation, for the younger populations of nearly all dwarf galaxies, and that Mn/Fe ratios may be useful for tracing the accretion of low-mass satellites into the Milky Way.


Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals includes a variety of xeric, termophilic and mostly open Mediterranean perennial and annual grasslands growing on usually eutrophic, but also oligotrophic, soils. Three major sub-types should be considered: one of perennial basophile rather hard short-grass communities, included in Lygeo-Stipetalia; another one of very dense and short but highly productive perennial summer drying swards, created by intense and continuous livestock activity, included in Poetalia bulbosae; and a last one of pioneer and ephemeral basophilous annual grasslands, included in Brachypodietalia (Trachynietalia) distachyae. The diversity of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate communities is usually high. Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals has a typical Mediterranean distribution, with a significant area located in the Iberian Peninsula (mostly in Spain), followed by Italy, France, Greece, Cyprus and Malta. The habitat has been favoured by traditional management schemes and contributes to the so-called cultural landscapes. It usually occurs in a mosaic pattern with a wide variety of related habitats, many of them also included in the 92/43 EEC Directive. As a consequence, a high number of animal species protected by that Directive depend, to a higher or lesser degree, on this habitat type. That is why a holistic perspective is needed when considering conservation management models. Too low a grazing intensity will result in scrub encroachment, a reduction in biodiversity and an increased risk of wild fires. For Poetalia bulbosae communities, experience shows that this will lead to their disappearance due to rapid changes in floristic composition. Therefore, grazing (particularly sheep grazing) is essential for the long-term maintenance of this habitat. Regular scrub clearing on small to medium-size irregular plots and silvicultural treatments on related forests and coppices are advisable as complementary measures, as well as the conservation or restoration of traditional infrastructures (water points, hedges, stone walls) and nearby small agricultural plots. A light phosphoric fertilization is recommended for Poetalia bulbosae communities; however, fertilization with other nutrients or on other 6220 habitat type communities should be banned. Restoration of 6220 habitat type communities from overgrown sites will require scrub clearing and intense grazing for many years. Other relevant measures are reducing or banning the use of pesticides and herbicides, protecting the habitat from urbanization processes, control of tourism activity when necessary, promoting livestock quality labels, improving living conditions for shepherds and implementing new land management strategies.


This work presents an improvement to the scene analysis pipeline of a visualization technique called Ghosting. Computer vision and image processing techniques are used to extract natural features, from each video frame. These features will guide the assignment of transparency to pixels, in order to give the ghosting effect, while blending the virtual object into the real scene. Video sequences were obtained from traditional RGB cameras. The main contribution of this work is the inclusion of a motion detection technique to the scene feature analysis step. This procedure leads to a better perception of the augmented scene because the proper ghosting effect is achieved when a moving natural salient object, that catches users attention, passes in front of an augmented one.


Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is the first-line approach for ileocolic resection in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and it is safe and feasible even in complex cases. However, an open approach is still required, but indications to open ileocolic resection for CD are not well described.

 All consecutive adult patients with CD who underwent elective ileocolic resection in the Departments of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota and Jacksonville, Florida between September 2014 and March 2021 were included and divided into "open" and "MIS" groups. Open approach was defined as upfront laparotomy, MIS included laparoscopic and robotic approaches, and conversion was defined as incision made earlier than planned. Indications to open approach were retrospectively reviewed by two authors, and any incongruity was resolved. Analogous indications were also assessed in the MIS group, as appropriate. Indications, baseline, perioperative characteristics, and short-term postoperative outcomes were compared between open and MIS.

 Among 319 ileocolic resections for CD, 45 (14.1%) were open and 274 (85.9%) MIS. Indications for open approach were severe disease, adhesions at previous surgery, history of abdominal sepsis, multifocal and extensive disease, abdominal wall involvement, concomitant open procedures, small bowel dilatation, and anaesthesiologic contraindications (Table 1). In addition, two or more of the above indications were present in 40 patients (89%) in the open group, while only in 6 patients (2%) in the MIS group (p<0.001). Compared to MIS patients, patients undergoing open ileocolic resection were older, with longer CD duration, more previous surgery and preoperative intra-abdominal abscess drainage (Table 2). Nine patients were converted in the MIS group (3.3%). Intraoperatively, open group had more adhesiolysis ≥45 min, more intraoperative complications, more blood loss, more primary stoma, less anastomosis, and longer operative time (Table 3). Postoperatively, they had more overall postoperative complications, ileus, surgical site infections, dehydration, vascular thromboembolism, higher severity by Clavien-Dindo classification, and longer length of stay (Table 4).

 Overall rate of open approach ileocolic resection for CD was 14 % during a 7-years period in a referral centre. Open approach was the only operation performed in cases of abdominal wall involvement, concomitant open procedures, and anaesthesiologic contraindication. In addition, the presence of at least two indications,predicting high technical complexity, may be considered as a no-go for the MIS approach in ileocolic resections for CD.


This chapter covers the preparation and properties of ultraviolet (UV)-curable nanocom‐ posite containing carbon nanotubes as fillers. UV-curing technology is of particular interest due to its unique properties such as rapid curing process and solvent-free formulation. Alongside with the advantages of utilizing this curing method, carbon nanotubes undergo benefits including high aspect ratio, high transparency, and good mechanical proper‐ ties. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are hollow cylindrical shaped configuration; consist of one, two, or more walls with an interlayer of non-covalent van der Waals force acting among the carbon atoms of various walls. Besides influencing the UV curing process, the CNTs loaded UV-curable nanocomposites sustain modified surface, thermal, mechani‐ cal, physical, and conductive properties which are discussed in this chapter. The health and safety concerns of using these classes of nanocomposite are further discussed.


This paper describes an implementation of a behavior-based mobile manipulator capable of autonomously transferring a sample from one drum to a second in unstructured environments. A major contribution of the project was the coherent integration of the arm and base as a cohesive unit, and not just a mobile base with an arm attached. The support for smooth simultaneous operation of all joints on the vehicle facilitated biologically plausible motions, such as arm preshaping. The behavior-based controller used a pseudo-force model, where behaviors add forces and torques to joints and limbs resulting in coordinated motion. The vehicle Jacobian is used to convert the pseudo-forces into joint torques and a pseudo-damping model converts the joint torques into joint velocities. This process allows rapid control of the manipulator without the use of inverse kinematics. A drum sampling task is presented where the vehicle demonstrates how a sample of material could be moved from one drum to another, illustrating the efficacy of the solution.


This paper aims to report a research carried out with sixth-B graders at Nuestra Senora de Fatima Cali school. Its objectives were to describe the reading process and the effects of the implementation of EFL pre-reading comprehension strategies: skimming and prior knowledge. The type of research designed was action research which allows teachers to keep track and take into account many aspects of their work with students through a systematic routine following the characteristics of a qualitative study. Data were gathered through observation of the students utilizing teacher reflective journal, student's survey (questionnaire applied before the pedagogical proposal and oral interview applied in the final of the application of EFL pre-reading comprehension workshops) and students' artifacts. Considering the data collected, this study determines that teaching EFL pre-reading comprehension strategies (skimming and prior knowledge) through the pedagogical approaches top down, bottom up allows the students to identify the gist in a text, locate specific information and relate the text with the real context. As an implication teachers need to provide these strategies to activate their students' prior knowledge. They can use it teaching previewing vocabulary or formulating questions about what the students know about the topic they are going to read. Teachers need to teach students to identify and analyze the key elements in a text which allows to obtain the overall idea and they will not be all the time looking up the dictionary. Also it is necessary to look through the student's texts before they read to know the context and its level of the materials.