Abstract. Substantial insight into earthquake source processes has resulted from considering frictional ruptures analogous to cohesive-zone shear cracks from fracture mechanics. This analogy holds for slip-weakening representations of fault friction that encapsulate the resistance to rupture propagation in the form of breakdown energy, analogous to fracture energy, prescribed in advance as if it were a material property of the fault interface. Here, we use numerical models of earthquake sequences with enhanced weakening due to thermal pressurization of pore fluids to show how accounting for thermo-hydro-mechanical processes during dynamic shear ruptures makes breakdown energy rupture-dependent. We find that local breakdown energy is neither a constant material property nor uniquely defined by the amount of slip attained during rupture, but depends on how that slip is achieved through the history of slip rate and dynamic stress changes during the rupture process. As a consequence, the frictional breakdown energy of the same location along the fault can vary significantly in different earthquake ruptures that pass through. These results suggest the need to reexamine the assumption of predetermined frictional breakdown energy common in dynamic rupture modeling and to better understand the factors that control rupture dynamics in the presence of thermo-hydro-mechanical processes.


Recent observations of record low winter sea-ice coverage and warming water temperatures in the eastern Bering Sea have signaled the potential impacts of climate change on this ecosystem, which have implications for commercial fisheries production. We investigate the impacts of forecasted climate change on the eastern Bering Sea food web through the end of the century under medium- and high-emissions climate scenarios in combination with a selection of fisheries management strategies by conducting simulations using a dynamic food web model. The outputs from three global earth system models run under two greenhouse gas emission scenarios were dynamically downscaled using a regional ocean and biogeochemical model to project ecosystem dynamics at the base of the food web. Four fishing scenarios were explored: status quo, no fishing, and two scenarios that alternatively assume increased fishing emphasis on either gadids or flatfishes. Annual fishery quotas were dynamically simulated by combining harvest control rules based on model-simulated stock biomass, while incorporating social and economic tradeoffs induced by the Bering Sea's combined groundfish harvest cap. There was little predicted difference between the status quo and no fishing scenario for most managed groundfish species biomasses at the end of the century, regardless of emission scenario. Under the status quo fishing scenario, biomass projections for most species and functional groups across trophic levels showed a slow but steady decline toward the end of the century, and most groups were near or below recent historical (1991–2017) biomass levels by 2080. The bottom–up effects of declines in biomass at lower trophic levels as forecasted by the climate-enhanced lower trophic level modeling, drove the biomass trends at higher trophic levels. By 2080, the biomass projections for species and trophic guilds showed very little difference between emission scenarios. Our method for climate-enhanced food web projections can support fisheries managers by informing strategic guidance on the long-term impacts of ecosystem productivity shifts driven by climate change on commercial species and the food web, and how those impacts may interact with different fisheries management scenarios.


HCS 5314 (ACN 5314) Computational Modeling Methods in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (3 semester credit hours) Computational Neuroscience, Cognitive Neural Modeling, Machine Learning, and Mathematical Psychology modeling methodologies are introduced through the use of computer-based simulation modeling experiments. Emphasizes creative applications of these research methodologies. Prerequisites: BBSC majors only and department consent required. (3-0) T HCS 6110 (ACN 6110) Fundamentals of Functional Brain Imaging Lab (1 semester credit hour) This course covers applications of functional neuroimaging data collection and analysis methods focusing on methods of data collection, and experimental design, data analysis methods, and how they are related. Students work in the lab to develop proficiency with neuroimaging analysis software tools. Class meetings will consist of lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and work-through sessions with readily available data sets to learn the mechanics of basic fMRI data analysis. Corequisite: ACN 6310 or HCS 6310. Prerequisites: BBSC majors only and department consent required. (0-3) Y HCS 6302 Issues in Behavioral and Brain Sciences Part I (3 semester credit hours) Doctoral proseminar on current theory and research in cognition and neuroscience, communication sciences and disorders, and psychological sciences. Pass/Fail only. Prerequisite: BBS doctoral students only or instructor consent required. (3-0) Y HCS 6310 (ACN 6310) Fundamentals of Functional Brain Imaging (3 semester credit hours) Indepth topics in brain imaging including neuroimaging detection systems (primarily MRI), experimental design, statistical techniques in image analysis, clinical applications of functional neuroimaging, and reviews of pertinent literature using functional brain imaging to illuminate various cognitive and perceptual processes, including language, memory, hearing, and vision. Corequisite: ACN 6110 or HCS 6110. Prerequisites: BBSC majors only and department consent required. (3-0) Y HCS 6312 (ACN 6312 and PSYC 6312) Research Methods in Behavioral and Brain Sciences Part I (3 semester credit hours) This course focuses on applying, understanding, and interpreting various ANOVA-related statistical techniques in a behavioral science context. Students learn the frameworks for hypothesis testing and effect size estimation. The course provides students with an understanding of the interrelationships among statistical techniques, and computer skills required for data analyses. Students without the necessary background knowledge of basic statistics and experimental design will be required to take PSY 3392 before registering for ACN 6312. Prerequisites: BBSC majors only and department consent required. (3-0) Y HCS 6313 (ACN 6313 and PSYC 6313) Research Methods in Behavioral and Brain Sciences Part II (3 semester credit hours) This course focuses on applying, understanding, and interpreting regression and analysis of variance -related statistical techniques in a behavioral and brain science context. The course provides students with increased conceptual understanding of topics within regression and analysis of variance (e.g., hierarchical regression analysis, multiple regression with continuous and categorical predictors, regression diagnostics, fixed, random, and mixed effect models), along with computer skills required to interpret data analyses. Prerequisites: (ACN 6312 or HCS 6312 or PSYC 6312) and department consent required. (3-0) Y HCS 6315 Grant Writing for Researchers (3 semester credit hours) Identifying funding sources appropriate to research needs, formulating a research plan, generating specific aims and a methodological design to address those aims, presentation of preliminary results to show the feasibility of the proposed work, and use of appropriate reference citations. Prerequisites:


The main task of most deployed wireless sensor networks is data collection. While a number of solutions have been designed for static networks, there are currently no widely used data collection algorithms for mobile sensor networks. In this paper, we concentrate on scenarios where many nodes, both data sources and sinks, move along a certain track in one direction, a scenario that is common in sports events. Rather than designing a new protocol from scratch, we extend an existing data collection protocol with lightweight mechanisms to make it efficient for mobility. Our extensive simulations and results in a test bed that includes mobile robots demonstrate that our solution is able to achieve high packet delivery rates at low energy consumption. For our target scenario, our solution more than doubles packet delivery rates when the network is sparse. Our solution also works well in scenarios with a higher degree of mobility where nodes move according to a more demanding random waypoint model.


A 1.5-V, 10-bit, 14.3-MS/s pipeline analog-to-digital converter was implemented in a 0.6m CMOS technology. Emphasis was placed on observing device reliability constraints at low voltage. MOS switches were implemented without lowthreshold devices by using a bootstrapping technique that does not subject the devices to large terminal voltages. The converter achieved a peak signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio of 58.5 dB, maximum differential nonlinearity of 0.5 least significant bit (LSB), maximum integral nonlinearity of 0.7 LSB, and a power consumption of 36 mW.


Amphibians are particularly affected by alien fish introductions and are declining worldwide. However, the behavioural mechanisms behind the observed cases of coexistence and exclusion patterns between adult amphibians and fish are poorly understood. In the present study, we aimed at testing the hypothesis that adult newts display different feeding and space use behaviour in the presence of fish cues (i.e. access less food resources and use more shelters than when fish cues are absent). To achieve this we measured behavioural patterns in 100 adult Alpine newts (Mesotriton alpestris) in a replicated laboratory design (20 tanks × 7 replicates across time). Half of trials involved individuals in indirect (visual and olfactory) contact with goldfish (Carassius auratus), a non-predatory species for adult newts. In the presence of fish, significantly more newts hid under shelters than in their absence, but this difference decreased over time. A lower number of newts fed in comparison with controls. These results show that newts responded to fish presence even in the absence of direct contact, but the differences were small. Newts decreased vital activities such as exploration of open areas and feeding. They also adjusted shelter use over time, suggesting a process of habituation or a risk assessment in the absence of direct risk. These results reveal that exploring behavioural patterns can aid in understanding the causes of exclusion and coexistence patterns between fish and amphibians.


Objective To determine whether proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, compared with histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs). Design The United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink was used to identify initiators of PPIs and H2RA from 1990 to 2018, with follow-up until 2019. Cox proportional hazards models were fit to estimate marginal HRs and 95% CIs of colorectal cancer. The models were weighted using standardised mortality ratio weights using calendar time-specific propensity scores. Prespecified secondary analyses assessed associations with cumulative duration, cumulative dose and time since treatment initiation. The number needed to harm was calculated at five and 10 years of follow-up. Results The cohort included 1 293 749 and 292 387 initiators of PPIs and H2RAs, respectively, followed for a median duration of 4.9 years. While the use of PPIs was not associated with an overall increased risk of colorectal cancer (HR: 1.02, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.14), HRs increased with cumulative duration of PPI use (<2 years, HR: 0.93, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.04; 2–4 years, HR: 1.45, 95% CI 1.28 to 1.60; ≥4 years, HR: 1.60, 95% CI 1.42 to 1.80). Similar patterns were observed with cumulative dose and time since treatment initiation. The number needed to harm was 5343 and 792 for five and 10 years of follow-up, respectively. Conclusion While any use of PPIs was not associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer compared with H2RAs, prolonged use may be associated with a modest increased risk of this malignancy.


Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading causes of food-borne gastroenteritis. Because of the high prevalence of C. jejuni in poultry, poultry meat is considered a major source of C. jejuni infections for humans. However, it is not known whether all poultry-associated C. jejuni strains are capable of causing disease in humans. Four different virulence properties of C. jejuni strains were compared between 20 poultry isolates and 24 human isolates. Strains were chosen based on their PFGE pattern to represent a heterogeneous population. The isolates were compared for their ability to invade and induce interleukin-8 (IL-8) production in T84 cells, their production of functional cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) using HEp-2 cells, and their sodium deoxycholate resistance. All four virulence factors were present among strains of human and poultry origin, with strong differences observed among strains. For invasion and IL-8 induction, no difference was observed between the two populations. However, on average, human isolates arrested more HEp-2 cells in their cell cycle than did the poultry isolates (P=0.041), suggesting higher CDT production by the former. The ability to survive 16 000 mug sodium deoxycholate ml(-1) was significantly more pronounced (P=0.006) among human isolates than poultry isolates, although all strains possessed the cmeABC operon. These data suggest that all four virulence properties are widespread among C. jejuni isolates, but that a higher degree of bile-salt resistance and more pronounced CDT production are associated with strains causing enteritis in humans.


Although titanium is considered to be the most successful metal for uncemented endosseous implants, its biocompatibility may be unsatisfactory in certain clinical cases. As an early osseointegration is essential in order to reduce the implant failure risk, the bioactive fixation becomes the appropriate solution for bone applications. The method requires bioactive materials such as hydroxyapatite (HA) to facilitate the chemical bonding to tissue. The present work refers to Ti-HA composites designed for endosseous implants and obtained through the classic PM route. Grade 1 c.p. Ti powder obtained through the hydriding – milling – dehydriding process, 63 - 100 μm grain size, was used. Sol-gel HA powder, grain size of less than 100 μm, was obtained through the sol-gel method. Blends of Ti and 5 to 50% HA were compacted in a rigid die (0.5 cm2), without the use of any lubricant, with 400, 500 and 600 MPa, then vacuum sintered (10-6 torr) at 1160°C for 60 minutes. Samples are well sintered with a compactness that increases with the applied compaction pressure. A transition layer can be seen in the EDX at the interface between the Ti matrix and the HA particles and is expected to increase the overall mechanical stability of compacts. The pores, essential for osseointegration, are interconnected, with irregular shapes and sizes that reach 100 μm, the critical size needed for the formation of a vital new bone. The HA content has to be limited to 30%, not to lead to an excessive brittleness. The biologic viability of compacts was assessed by immersion for 7 days into a simulated body fluid (SBF). The subsequent XRD analyses have proven that a new HA layer is formed on the surface of samples. This layer is essential for accelerating the cellular response of osteoblasts in the body.


The in vitro activity of Bay 09867, a new quinoline derivative, was compared with those of norfloxacin, nalidixic acid, ceftazidime, cefaclor, cefuroxime, gentamicin, and other antimicrobial agents, when appropriate, against 410 recent clinical isolates. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of Bay 09867 for 90% of Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacteroides fragilis strains were between 0.008 and 2 micrograms/ml. Bay 09867 was considerably more active against the gram-negative bacteria tested than were other agents tested. Gentamicin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, P. aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus were highly susceptible to Bay 09867. Strains less susceptible to nalidixic acid and norfloxacin tended to be less susceptible to Bay 09867. The protein binding of Bay 09867 was about 20%.


ABSTRACT A cross-sectional study was conducted on the seroprevalence of horse brucellosis using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Serum Agglutination Test (SAT) on the Mambilla plateau of Taraba state, Nigeria where horses are reared under a free range management system on cattle farms. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of brucella antibodies in horses as well as the distribution of the infection according to sex and age. A total of 100 horses were sampled, 25 each from four locations where horses were concentrated on the plateau: Gembu, Nguroje, Dorofi, and Mayo Ndaga. Sixty-two of the horses were males, and 38 were females. Eighty of the horses were adults, while 20 were young. All horses were reared under a free range management system together with cattle. The overall seroprevalence rate was 16 (16%) according to the RBPT and 6 (6%) according to the SAT. The seroprevalence rates were 19.40% (12/62) according to the RBPT and 6.50% (4/62) according to the SAT in the males and 10.50% (4/38) according to the RBPT and 5.30% (2/38) according to the SAT in the females. The prevalence was highest in Nguroje (8/25, 32%) followed by Gembu (5/25, 20%), Dorofi (3/25, 12%) and Mayo Ndaga (0%). Adult horses showed a seroprevalence of 18.8% (n=15) according to the RBPT and 7.5% (n=1) according to the SAT. Young horses had a seroprevalence rate of only 5% (n=1) according to the RBPT and 0% (n=0) according to the SAT. There was no statistically significance association with location, sex, and age (P>0.05). From this result, it can be concluded that brucellosis in horses on the Mambilla plateau of Taraba state, Nigeria was essentially a disease of adult horses and more prevalent in male horses than female horses. Further studies need to be conducted to determine the disease status in lowland areas of the state where horses are reared on zero grazing or are tethered and also to determine the involvement of other species and humans.


We present an algorithm for the minimization of f:ℝ n →ℝ, assumed to be locally Lipschitz and continuously differentiable in an open dense subset 𝒟 of ℝ n . The objective f may be non-smooth and/or non-convex. The method is based on the gradient sampling (GS) algorithm of Burke et al. [A robust gradient sampling algorithm for nonsmooth, nonconvex optimization, SIAM J. Optim. 15 (2005), pp. 751–779]. It differs, however, from previously proposed versions of GS in that it is variable-metric and only O(1) (not O(n)) gradient evaluations are required per iteration. Numerical experiments illustrate that the algorithm is more efficient than GS in that it consistently makes more progress towards a solution within a given number of gradient evaluations. In addition, the adaptive sampling procedure allows for warm-starting of the quadratic subproblem solver so that the average number of subproblem iterations per nonlinear iteration is also consistently reduced. Global convergence of the algorithm is proved assuming that the Hessian approximations are positive definite and bounded, an assumption shown to be true for the proposed Hessian approximation updating strategies.


Pelvic support osteotomy and femoral lengthening are sometimes employed in cases of hip instability. We assessed the efficacy of surgery following sepsis and congenital dislocation in relation to functional results. Between March 2005 and May 2007 we performed pelvic support osteotomy and femoral lengthening for 21 hips in 20 patients. Preceding pathology included congenital dislocation in 13 hips (12 patients) and sequelae of sepsis in 8 hips. All surgical procedures were performed as described by Ilizarov. The mean follow-up period was 33.5 months. There was no significant difference between the final Harris Hip Scores of the 2 groups. The number of patients with persisting abductor weakness was similar between the 2 groups. Complications were more frequent following congenital dislocation, and additional physiotherapy to restore knee motion was required in almost half of these. Patient satisfaction was higher in cases with sequelae of sepsis.


This article compares utilization trends for inpatient care before and after the introduction of Medicare's Prospective Payment System (PPS). Using discharges from a constant cohort of 419 hospitals over an eight-year period, I examine Medicare and non-Medicare utilization trends for the variables: total discharges, average length of stay (ALOS), average preoperative length of stay, average postoperative length of stay, percentage of patients using either ICU or CCU, and percentage of patients with consultations. Admission declines and the initial drop in ALOS are consistent with the initial program objectives and expectations. Post-PPS increases in ALOS, especially postoperative ALOS, are not consistent with PPS goals. Use of consultants and ICU/CCU facilities is not different before and after PPS.


Author(s): Piryaei, Shabnam | Advisor(s): Kim, John N | Abstract: My dissertation is focused on one question from different cultural and historical sites: what is a perpetual state of emergency and how is it used to enact state violence? Generally, I hope for this dissertation to stage an intervention in, and to open questions and investigations around, violence, condemnation, ethics, and the law. More specifically, through this project I seek to read explicit legal state violence in post-Revolutionary Iran to elucidate more implicit legal state violence in the contemporary U.S. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the state does not conceal that it functions as what Edouard Glissant calls a "root model" with hierarchical and fixed moral parameters determining the laws of the country; in fact, the government publicly touts its widespread deployment of violence in order to deter individuals—condemned as enemies—who may try to deviate from, or challenge, the laws. In the U.S., the state rhetorically reinvents seemingly new crises—such as the War on Drugs—to sustain the notion of an enemy warranting the state's use of violence. While I investigate published texts that pertain to the U.S. system, I have chosen to examine Iranian cinema—rather than published texts—as a venue for critical discourse addressing the issue of state violence. Ultimately, this project proposes the following inquiries: how can a reading of state violence—legal, juridical, rhetorical, and physical—in post-Revolutionary Iran elucidate concealed state violence in the contemporary U.S.? What is at stake when one compares U.S. legal and juridical systems with those of the Islamic Republic of Iran? How can our relation to law be critically and creatively re-imagined?


Machine vision performs an important role in many applications, including robotics. Combined with classical instrumentation, welding robots can use a camera to perceive the scene and take a decision. A camera attached to the robot body and machine vision system work as the eyes of the robot during the welding process. However, image-based systems are susceptible to the interference of fumes, sparks, dust, and artifacts generated as a side effect of the welding process. Fume can adhere to the lenses and degrades the image, introducing a negative impact on the processing pipeline. This paper proposes a novel image fusion based algorithm that minimizes the effects caused by the fume adhered to the camera lens. Results show the proposed method is able to enhance the overall image quality, outperforming classical alternatives for similar problems.


The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics associated with different levels of substance use in a national probability sample of maltreated 11- to 15-year-olds (n = 1,179). Bivariate (chi-square tests) and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses were used to examine the association of adolescent substance use with demographics, placement type, and youth and family characteristics. Seventy-one percent of youth reported no use, 20% reported low levels of substance use, and approximately 9% reported moderate to high levels of use. Youth substance use was similar across placement types. Conduct problems and low caregiver relatedness were more prevalent for youth reporting higher levels of substance use. High levels of conduct problems increased the odds of substance use, whereas high caregiver monitoring decreased the odds of substance use. Caregiver monitoring may be a key tactic in attempts to reduce the likelihood of substance use in maltreated youth, regardless of placement type.


Herein, a novel route for the production of renewable hydrocarbon jet fuels from the biomass-derived platform chemicals furfural and 2,3-butanediol (BD) was developed. Carbonaceous solid acids bearing –SO3H groups were prepared from biomass or its isolated polymeric components to catalyze the dehydration of BD to methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) in the liquid phase at low temperatures (<170 °C). Lignocellulose, cellulose, and lignin were more suitable feedstocks than xylan to prepare cabonaceous solid acids for well introducing –SO3H groups into carbon carriers with good acidity. The highest MEK yield of 57.6% with 79.1% BD conversion and 72.8% MEK selectivity was obtained when sugarcane bagasse solid acid with p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) was used as the catalyst. However, the main side product in the dehydration process was cyclic hydrophobic ketal (CHK), formed by the condensation of BD and MEK, and it could be easily re-converted to BD and MEK via acid catalysis. The C9/C14 precursors were obtained by carbon chain extension via aldol condensation of furfural and MEK under alkaline conditions. The product profile could be easily controlled by adjusting the reaction variables, particularly the ratio of furfural to MEK, as well as the solvent system to maximize the yield of the desired C9/C14 precursors and minimize the formation of heavier condensation products. Under the optimal reaction conditions, nearly 100% conversion of furfural with a C9/C14 yield of 99.8% was obtained. Hydrodeoxygenation of the precursors resulted in the formation of hydrocarbon fuels, with C1–C4, C5–C8, and C9–C14 alkane products obtained in the yields of 15.4%, 7.9%, and 73%, respectively. This process showed a theoretical exergy efficiency similar to that of the bioethanol process and higher than that of the biobutanol process.


Heterogeneous hierarchical architectures result from the interconnection of several heterogeneous MPSoCs through an efficient communication infrastructure. Each communication between two processing units requires the use of hardware devices managed by a software driver responsible to initialize, handle and complete the communication. This paper describes a multi-device driver synthesis flow based on available communication paths of the architecture. A small set of generic driver templates is available in a driver library. The flow is in charge to select one correct driver template from the library, and then to configure and specialize it in order to produce the source code. The effectiveness of our approach is illustrated by a significant example.


Obesity is rapidly growing health problem in both developed and developing countries. In adults, obesity is associated with hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and vascular dysfunction. C - reactive protein (CRP), formerly considered solely as a biomarker for inflammation, is now viewed as a prominent partaker in endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. The present study aims to establish correlation between elevated hscrp levels and elevated serum cholesterol levels in overweight and obese patients. The present study was undertaken at a tertiary care center in Gujarat, India for a period of 2 years. Inclusion criteria includes healthy males and females more than 18 years with body mass index ≥ 25kg/m2 whereas all the comorbidities like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, coronary artery disease is excluded. There was statistically significant positive correlation between elevated s. cholesterol level and HSCRP level (elevated s. cholesterol: normal s. cholesterol ratio of HSCRP is 2.96: 1.68, z value 5, p value < 0.0012). Data shows that there is more risk of future coronary events when there is combined elevation of s. cholesterol and HSCRP, but there may also be risk of future atherosclerosis and other coronary events when s. cholesterol is normal and HSCRP is elevated, as HSCRP is surrogate marker of inflammation and indirect predictive risk factor for atherosclerosis and other coronary events.


ABSTRACT The fourth industrial revolution will bring extensive changes in the nature of work. While automation is likely to displace workers, new occupations will be created. Emerging occupations are likely to be disproportionately concentrated in the nonroutine and cognitive category, and require skills that cannot be easily automated. This paper argues that meeting the skill demands of the fourth industrial revolution requires strengthening learnability – the willingness and ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn – among the current and future workforce. The paper provides a summary of the literature on how automation impacts jobs. In this context, the paper considers the implications for workforce development in terms of both skills supply and demand. Specifically, the paper describes emerging trends in education systems and identifies trends among firms that demand greater learnability. Finally, the paper proposes moving toward a learning society that promotes learnability at all stages of workforce development.


Prospective elementary teachers may enter their teacher education program having experienced science more as a collection of definitions and facts than in ways that support rich engagement with scientific phenomena. As a result, their visions of themselves as science teachers may not align with the most recent understandings about how to teach science to support student learning. Science methods courses are settings that have the potential to shift prospective teachers' visions of science teaching. We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach with collection of survey data followed by interviews with selected participants. We analyzed how prospective elementary teachers' visions of science teaching shifted over the course of a one-semester science methods course and what experiences they felt most influenced their visions of teaching science. We found that the visions of science teaching shifted towards or maintained alignment with the principles of science teaching introduced in the science methods course. Additionally, the prospective teachers identified model science activities and explicit connections between these activities and how students learn science as having influenced them in terms of how they thought about teaching science.


Recent developments in the area of Bid Tender Forecasting have enabled bidders to implement new types of easy-to-use tools for increasing their chances of winning contracts. Although these new tools (such as iso-Score Curve Graphs, Scoring Probability Graphs, and Position Probability Graphs) are designed for bidders in capped tendering (tenders with an upper price limit), some of their principles can also be applied by a Contracting Authority to detect which bidders do not follow a standard pattern, that is, their bids are extremely high or low. Since a collusive bid generally needs to be sufficiently high or low to make an impact on the bid distribution, any person in charge of supervising capped tenders can be alerted to any bidder that might be involved in a cartel after identifying the same abnormal behavior in a series of tenders through simple calculations and a new type of graph.


A 2-D kinetic Monte Carlo mesoscale model of molecular resists is developed to probe the effects of photoacid (PAG) homogeneity, specifically PAG aggregation behavior, on the resolution, sensitivity, and line-edge roughness (LER) performance of resists. The model reproduces many pattern defects that are commonly found experimentally by simply increasing the amount of PAG aggregation. The sensitivity of resists is found to change with increasing PAG aggregation in resists with low photoacid diffusivity, but remains near constant for resists with high photoacid diffusivity. Likewise, LER is found to increase with increasing PAG aggregation in resists with low photoacid diffusivity, but appears to be weakly dependent on PAG aggregation when the resist has high photoacid diffusivity. Increasing PAG aggregation limits the absolute resolution of a resist, because there exists a trade-off between the ability of photoacid diffusion to smooth out the inhomogeneity due to PAG aggregation and the blurring of the patterned feature that reduces resolution. Even very low levels of PAG aggregation appear to greatly limit the potential of a resist for sub-30-nm resolution patterning, but increased PAG loading appears to provide a way to mitigate this problem and allow for improved absolute resolution, even in the presence of aggregation.


Previous studies have demonstrated that intraduodenal hypertonic saline (IHS) induces dense Fos expression within two regions of the ferret dorsal vagal complex (DVC): the area postrema (AP) and the medial subnucleus of the nucleus of the solitary tract (mn). The aims of the present experiments were to determine the peripheral pathways involved in excitation of DVC neurons after IHS and the relative importance of mn and AP excitation in the emetic response to this stimulus. The emetic response and the distribution of Fos were examined after IHS in animals that had received either vagotomy alone, vagotomy and splanchnic nerve section, or sham operation. The emetic response was studied in both awake and anesthetized animals, and Fos induction was studied in anesthetized animals. Vagotomy alone or combined with splanchnic nerve section abolished the emetic response and the area of dense labeling within the mn and reduced but did not abolish the labeling in the AP. It was concluded that both the emetic reflex and the dense expression of Fos within the mn after IHS are dependent on an intact vagus nerve. The excitation of neurons in the AP after IHS is partially dependent on vagal afferents, and the residual labeling that is present in the AP of neurectomized animals may be mediated via a blood-borne route.


: The fascicular pattern is the most important component of a nerve when a microsurgical reconstruction is made. The intraneural topography of the extratemporal facial nerve does not have a reliable fascicular pattern, although our study in 25 extratemporal facial nerves showed a definite fascicular pattern in the different studied levels. The microanatomic intraneural investigation was made in four different levels; we studied the diameter of the trunk, number and diameter of each fascicle, fascicular pattern, characteristics of the epineurium, perineurium, and interfascicular connective tissue, and extra- and intraneural blood supply. In the proximal and distal facial trunk, most axons are included in one to three big funiculus surrounded by a small amount of connective, interfascicular tissue; both epineurium and perineurium are thin and slender. The principal arteries are placed between funiculus and epineurium. Either epineurial or interfascicular neurorrhaphy could be produced and mono- or polyfascicular nerve grafts can be used. In both temporofacial and cervicofacial primary branches, the fascicular distribution was from four to five fascicles in 64% of cases with abundant connective interfascicular tissue involving the principal arteries. The interfascicular surgical technique is of election, but the epineurial suture must not be discarded. Nerve graft must be polyfascicular. The goal of nerve repair is to obtain the restoration of anatomic continuity of the most of axons by means of a complete fascicular alignment, in which detailed knowledge of the intraneural topography of the facial nerve must be required for reliable microsurgical reparation.


Using a sample of two hundred luminous (L_unabs>10^38 erg/s, where L_unabs is the unabsorbed 0.25-8 keV luminosity) high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) candidates found with Chandra in 27 nearby galaxies, we have constructed the collective X-ray spectrum of HMXBs in the local Universe per unit star formation rate, corrected for observational biases associated with intrinsic diversity of HMXB spectra and X-ray absorption in the interstellar medium. This spectrum is well fit by a power law with a photon index Gamma=2.1+/-0.1 and is dominated by ultraluminous X-ray sources with L_unabs>10^39 erg/s. Hard sources (those with the 0.25-2 keV to 0.25-8 keV flux ratio of 0.95, respectively) at lower energies. The derived spectrum probably represents the angle-integrated X-ray emission of the near- and super-critically accreting stellar mass black holes and neutron stars in the local Universe. It provides an important constraint on supercritical accretion models and can be used as a reference spectrum for calculations of the X-ray preheating of the Universe by the first generations of X-ray binaries.


A retrospective study was carried out on 50 patients at Paediatric cardiology unit of Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka to analyze the outcome of balloon angioplasty of coarctation of aorta. The study period extended over two years starting from January 2007. Age of the patient varies from 7 days to 28 years. Twenty two (44%) patients were female and rests were male. Native coarctation was in 44 cases (88%) and post surgical re-coarctation was in 5 cases (10%). Neonatal critical coarctation was 19 (38%). Twelve (24%) cases were detected when they were investigated for hypertension. Abdominal coarctation was found in 6 cases (12%). Multiple coarctations were found in 3 (6%) cases. Two cases (4%) had balloon angioplasty twice as they developed re-coarctation. No intra-operative or post-operative complication was observed in any cases of this series. Data were collected by chart review. No test was performed on any of the subjects as part of study protocol. Coarctation balloon angioplasty of coarctation of aorta is a safe and effective measure to treat coarctation of aorta. Key words: Balloon angioplasty; coarctation of aorta. DOI: 10.3329/jafmc.v6i1.5983 Journal of Armed Forces Medical College, Bangladesh Vol.6(1) 2010 p.4-7


We discuss our ongoing program of Target of Opportunity sub-millimeter observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using the Sub-millimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Sub-millimeter observations of the early afterglows are of interest because this is where the emission peaks in some bursts in the days to weeks following the burst. Of increasing interest is to look for underlying quiescent sub-millimeter sources that may be dusty star-forming host galaxies. In this paper, we present observations of GRB 991208, 991216, 000301C, 000630, 000911, and 000926. For all these bursts, any sub-millimeter emission is consistent with coming from the afterglow. This means that we did not conclusively detect quiescent sub-millimeter counterparts to any of the bursts that were studied from 1997 through 2000. The inferred star formation rates (M 5 M) are typically <300 M yr 1 . If GRBs are due to the explosions of high-mass stars, this may indicate that the relatively small population of extremely luminous dusty galaxies does not dominate the total star formation in the universe at early epochs. Instead, the GRBs may be predominantly tracing slightly lower luminosity galaxies. The optical faintness of some host galaxies is unlikely to be explained as due to dust absorption in the host.


Game theory has focused attention on different problems at different times in its history. Currently, attention is devoted to investigating how human decision makers with bounded rationality choose strategies in interactive decisions. Behavioral economics, and more generally experimental games, have appeared in the literature with accelerating frequency since 1990, and this cannot continue indefinitely without a proportional expansion of journal space. This Special Issue includes contributions to behavioral economics, experimental games, and evolutionary game theory, using theoretical, experimental, and agent-based modeling techniques.


Introduction In 2012, the HSE launched the national 'Policy on Prevention and Management of Stress in the Workplace' which was developed by a cross-sectorial multi-disciplinary group. In line this policy, the Organisational Psychology Unit, local HR (HSE West/North West/Mid West) and National HR designed resources and risk assessment tools to enable managers address workplace stress. The 2015 European Safety Campaign ' Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress' afforded the HSE an opportunity to develop a national response to workplace stress as a psychosocial risk. The National Health and Safety Function (NHSF) recognised the need for a collaborative response and facilitated the development of a Workplace Stress Working Group (WSG). The WSG compiled of professionals from Organisational Psychology, Health and Safety, Occupational Health (OH), Employee Assistance and Counselling Services (EASC), Learning, Education and Development (LED), Health Promotion (HP and I) and HR. Methods The WSG developed the HSE's Cycle of Stress Management (Identification, Prevention, Support and Assistance and Monitoring and Review) and created supporting information material. A seminar programme was developed to: provide support and disseminate tools to managers, implement workplace stress risk assessment, promote manager leadership in pro-actively managing and supporting staff health and wellbeing, assess personal health behaviours and create supportive positive work environments. Key stakeholders from the WSG co-presented at these seminars. Result To date, nineteen accredited seminars were held, with 842 attendees. 95% of evaluations received (75% response rate) were hugely positive. Data from the NHSF, demonstrated one hospital increased its use of the stress management risk assessment tool by 62.5%, following two stress management seminars. Discussion Anecdotal evidence suggests that managers are more confident in pro-actively addressing workplace stress and this is evident with the recent results of Health Sector Staff Survey Your Opinion Counts showing that almost 70% of staff are aware of the facilities to support stress in work.


: We report on a case of acute twin-twin transfusion syndrome in a twin pregnancy in the 26 th under primarily unclear conditions. On admission to the hospital, one fetus was not showing signs of life anymore, while the Doppler indices and CTG of the living fetus showed signs of acute distress. On the scan both fetuses showed adequate and symmetric growth as well as symmetric and normal amniotic fluid amounts, indicating a lack of typical signs for chronic twin-twin transfusion syndrome. The emergency cesarean section performed under the assumption of acute twin-twin transfusion syndrome, which unfortunately could not save the second twin, confirmed our suspected diagnosis.


This paper documents and analyzes trends in immigration-related public opinion over the past decade in the major North Atlantic countries of the EU-15 and US. Opening with a summary of the international social-scientific literature on the roots of immigration attitudes, the essay next documents changes in the average European's and American's views on migration since 2000 using such polls as the Eurobarometer, European Social Survey, World Values Survey, International Social Science Programme, and American National Election Study. A third major section employs over-time statistical models to examine the (minimal) impact of the current economic crisis on such attitudes. Finally, the paper describes the scholarly literature on the relationship between public opinion and immigration policy in Europe and the United States and speculates on how likely the current global recession is to alter immigration laws and their enforcement.


Speech motor disruptions are common with aging. The rate of oral diadochokinesis (DDK) is considered for determining the severity of speech motor control impairments. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in motor control in geriatrics in comparison with younger adults with Diadokokinesis as a speech parameter. Significant difference was observed between the geriatrics compared to the younger groups indicating poor performance of geriatrics on diadochokinetic rate in comparison to normal adults. The present investigation has provided evidence for analysing the error patterns in the syllable repetitions using DDK rate which is a simple yet quantitative measure.


Southeast Asia with different geographical landscapes and inhabited by diversities of people with unique cultures and recognize as Asian cultural mosaic and branding this region as a fast growing in many aspects, politics, economy, infrastructure and cultural development. The region is sharing development concept, the knowledge-based economy and the global environment, strongly followed branding and rebranding strategies to garner more economic benefits. No doubt that the region is also facing a great challenge from internal and external factors and the region from time to time need to review their internal and external policies. All policies towards economics, politics and social enable an individual country in Southeast Asia change the outlook of the country in facing the external world like Malaysia. It will affect the relations and cooperation bilaterally, regionally and globally especially diplomatic, international relations and economic relations. The possible and broader questions related to the concerns could be how these were reframed and rebranded to benefit countries and what were the impacts of rebranding on cultures, norms, values, practices and traditional lifestyles? All these issues were discussed at the 7th International Conference on Southeast Asia (ICONSEA 2017). This will discuss a selected paper presented in this conference in line with the main theme of the conference rebranding Southeast Asia.
Keywords: rebranding, Southeast Asia, ASEAN, Southeast Asian Studies, ICONSEA2017, social-politics, culture and economy


A magneto-dielectric (MD) material, which has allowably low magnetic loss and moderate permeability for the wireless communication band, is presented. A quad-band monopole antenna with the MD material is proposed and compared to an antenna with a dielectric material. It is demonstrated that the MD material is advantageous for an antenna miniaturization and bandwidth expansion for the LTE 700 MHz. Measured results of the total efficiencies and envelope correlation coefficients for the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with the MD materials are presented. It is demonstrated that the MD antenna has relatively higher efficiencies at the band edges and wider impedance bandwidth than the dielectric antenna for the LTE Band 17, and the developed MD material can be practically applicable to the wireless communication systems.


Integration of front-end circuits with 2D capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays has been a challenging issue due to the small element size and large channel count. We present a front-end drive-readout integrated circuit suitable for 2D CMUT arrays used in 3D ultrasonic imaging. The circuit consists of a pulser for driving the CMUT array element by a high voltage pulse, a metal pad for connection to the CMUT element, a low noise readout amplifier for buffering the received echo signal, and a switch for protecting the inputs of the readout amplifier not only from the DC bias of the CMUT but also from the high voltage pulses in transmit mode. We developed an equivalent electrical model for simulating the CMUT, where the model parameters were obtained through a finite element analysis using ANSYS. Based on this model we performed the prc-layout simulations for each sub-circuit using the Cadence Spectre Simulator, where a 10pF load capacitance was assumed to model the routing and off-chip parasitic capacitances. The layout of the circuit fits into 200 x 2QQfj,m2 area that satisfies the Nyquist spatial sampling requirement for a 2D transducer aperture operating at 3-5 MHz. We also performed post-layout simulations using the extracted circuit by Cadence Spectre and compared the results with the pre-Iayout simulation results to examine the possible effects of the parasitic components on circuit performance. We observed that the prc- and post-layout simulations were in agreement, proving the validity of our electrical model. The equivalent input noise at the input of the readout amplifier was measured as 6.45 nV/y/Wz. An experimental chip consisting of 4x4 array of circuit cells was formed for the initial test studies and scheduled for fabrication in AMS 0.8 \x m, 50V CMOS technology. The designed circuit is suitable for integration with CMUT arrays through flip-chip bonding or CMUT-on-CMOS process.


Abstract Studies were conducted to develop a model from field and laboratory studies to predict the emergence phenology of Chenopodium album. A mechanistic model to predict the phenology of weed seedling emergence across locations, years, and tillage systems is presented. This was accomplished by the integration of hydrothermal time to describe germination and thermal time to describe shoot elongation. The interaction of soil moisture and temperature in the model was accounted for by the integration of hydrothermal time in algorithms predicting seed germination. Soil temperatures within the weed seed germination zone were predicted by temperature ranges at different depths in the soil. Emergence phenology of C. album seedlings was predicted with greater accuracy under no-till and moldboard plow systems than under a chisel plow system. We attributed this lower accuracy in the chisel plow system to increased heterogeneity in the soil matrix and vertical distribution of the seedbank caused by the chisel plow. The presence or absence of Zea mays did not affect model performance. The use of soil temperature to calculate thermal time was a better predictor of C. album seedling emergence than air temperature. The ability to predict weed seedling emergence phenology is an important component of an integrated weed management strategy. Nomenclature: Chenopodium album L. CHEAL, common lambsquarters.


Influenza A virus (IAV) proteins interact with an array of cellular proteins and hijack host pathways which are at the helm of cellular responses to facilitate virus invasion. This thesis identifies host protein, RING finger protein 43 (RNF43), a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, as a novel interactor of nucleoprotein (NP) of IAV and an essential partner to induce NP-driven p53-mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in IAV-infected cells. This thesis describes a novel strategy adopted by IAV for utilizing the much conserved ubiquitin proteasomal pathway and also unravels a promising host target for antiviral intervention.


1. Zonal centrifuging permitted the separation, on the milligram scale and in a form largely free from contamination by soluble cytoplasmic protein or membrane fragments derived from other structures, of synaptic vesicles from the purely cholinergic terminals of the electric organ of Torpedo. Up to 100g of tissue could be processed in a single run. 2. As much as 46% of the bound acetylcholine from the original tissue preparation was recovered as a single peak of density equivalent to 0.38m-sucrose-0.21m-NaCl and with a concentration of up to 680nmol of acetylcholine/mg of protein. 3. The limiting concentration of acetylcholine in isolated vesicles when allowance had been made for non-vesicular protein appeared to be about 600nmol/mg of protein. 4. Vesicle counts by a ;bead-tagging' procedure indicated an acetylcholine content of about 360mumol/ml of vesicles; thus the vesicle protein content would be about 60% (w/v). 5. Calculations showed that the core of the vesicle, accounting for about 55% of the vesicle volume, could be largely filled with acetylcholine and protein.


Objectives/Scope: Despite the importance of learning from incidents, little is known about the indicators that signal whether people have actually learnt. Previous research has shown that learning is dependent on context; a software engineer and an operator at a petrochemical plant display learning in different ways, so the indicators of whether or not they have learnt will differ. Therefore it is important that energy organisations are able to recognise indicators of learning following an incident that are relevant to their context. The objective of this study is to explore ways of understanding whether individuals are learning from incidents, and provide a general model that companies can use as a starting point in evaluating learning.

Methods, procedure, process: The Open University, in collaboration with the Energy Institute, undertook interviews with 18 workers at a European site of a multinational energy company. The participants came from a variety of positions in both operations and maintenance, ranging from front-end operators to managers. A model of professional learning was used to guide a thematic analysis of what participants viewed as effective learning from incidents.

Results, observations, conclusions: The interviews provided many examples of ways that individual practice and site processes had changed as a result of learning from incidents. Indicators of learning ranged from individual traits, such as accurate perception of risks, to changes in leadership priorities. While the number of incidents has been used in both research and practice as an indicator of learning, the interviews demonstrated that there are many ways in which learning can be evidenced. Understanding what changes are important for individuals, teams, leadership, and the company as a whole is a first step to being able to assess if effective learning is taking place. Our preliminary findings indicate that there is no single measure that can be used to assess how well people learn. However, once a company has defined what changes it expects to see, a combination of measures could be created to give insight into how effectively learning is happening.

Novel/ additive information: This paper aims to provide some examples of indicators of learning after an incident. Both in research and in practice a single metric is often used to assess whether learning is occurring. This study proposes a model that would allow companies to select appropriate metrics for various aspects of learning from incidents.


The breakdown products of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the K-value were determined as a means of evaluating the quality of some heated fishery products. During hot smoking, the K-value usually increased by 6 to 30%. Duringsous videtreatment of whitefish, the K-value increased from 4 to 48%. Nucleotide breakdown did not occur to a marked extent in hot smoked orsous vide-treated products during subsequent storage. The denaturation of water-soluble proteins was monitored by electrophoretic methods. The enzymes that degrade nucleotides as well as soluble proteins of rainbow trout were denatured at 65 to 70 °C. The method could be tentatively used for the evaluation of what the level of freshness of the rainbow trout was before hot smoking. The K-value of rainbow trout did not increase during cold smoking but did increase afterwards during subsequent cold storage, in a fashion similar to that occurring with raw fish. Differences in the contents of nucleotide breakdown products between individual fish samples decrease the suitability of this method.


We followed an international research network that holds regular meetings in technology-enhanced working environments. The team is geographically distributed and uses a set of technical artefacts to support their collaborative work, including a videoconferencing system and a media space. We have been studying how mutual understanding is created between the team members and the role that visual representations play in this work. Our approach has been to analyse the initiatives and responses made by the team members. The meeting situation is complex because the team members are participating either in both video and audio, or audio only. In this multi-channel setting it often has to be clarified who is attending, and there is also a risk of team members being forgotten when they are present only on audio. The communication space is limited; when many want to participate in the communicative activity, it becomes harder to make successful initiatives; moreover, the roles of the team members seem to become accentuated in the distributed setting. The media space is restricted in that it only allows one person to be active at the time; this causes problems when several persons want to contribute simultaneously. Some of these limitations in the system are overcome through verbal articulations of actions.


Organizational culture is a case that has a big attention in the world of globalization economy. Nowadays we can hear different kind of debates and also we can find a lot of research papers that are related with organizational culture. In most of research papers we can find different definitions of the organizational culture but in context the concept of culture means the same: "Culture is how organizations do things'." — Robbie Katanga. Most simple cultures involve three basic human activities: what people think, what people do and what people make. Organizational culture has to be oriented in highly positive virtues, attitudes, and behavior of employees and management that are part of individuals who work together to achieve organizational goals in effective and efficient way. These individuals share their attitudes, values, beliefs between organization, with costumers and furniture and with the whole factors that directly or indirectly are related with the organization work. Organizational culture is a big matter for all types of organizations because it has very important effect on the company's success and the whole wellbeing. In this research paper is showed a picture of the organizational culture in academic institutions regarding to Hoffstede's five dimensions for culture.


OBJECTIVE
Admission hyperglycemia is associated with poor prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Final Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) frame counts of culprit coronary arteries may show significant variability despite successful coronary reperfusion after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In this prospective observational study, relationship between final TIMI frame counts of the culprit coronary artery and admission glucose values was investigated in patients who underwent successful primary PCI due to acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

METHODS
During a 6- month period of time, 73 non-diabetic patients presented with acute STEMI who have undergone primary PCI with final TIMI 3 flow were consecutively included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to final TIMI frame counts. Group 1 (n=53) consisted of patients with final TIMI frame counts of the culprit coronary artery within the two standard deviation of predefined values and Group 2 (n=20) consisted of those with higher TIMI frame counts. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U tests and multiple linear regression analysis.

RESULTS
Despite similar fasting glucose values, admission glucose levels were significantly higher in Group 2 as compared to Group 1 (138 [114-165] vs. 123 [97-143] mg/dl, p=0.03). In whole group, admission glucose values were significantly correlated with corrected TIMI frame counts of culprit coronary arteries (r=0.30, p=0.01). In addition, there were significant association between admission glucose values and peak creatine kinase-MB (r=0.36, p=0.007) values as well as left ventricular ejection fraction (r=-0.43, p=0.009). In multiple linear regression analysis, only admission glucose value was found to be significantly related to the final TIMI frame count of the culprit artery (β=0.04, 95%CI: 0.02-0.085, p=0.04).

CONCLUSION
High admission glucose values were significantly associated with impaired coronary flow even after successful primary PCI in non-diabetic patients with STEMI.


BACKGROUND
During the 2001 election campaign, President Yoweri Museveni announced he was abolishing user fees for health services in Uganda. No analysis has been carried out to explain how he was able to initiate such an important policy decision without encountering any immediate barriers.

OBJECTIVE
To explain this outcome through in-depth policy analysis driven by the application of key analytical frameworks.

METHODS
An explanatory case study informed by analytical frameworks from the institutionalism literature was undertaken. Multiple data sources were used including: academic literature, key government documents, grey literature, and a variety of print media.

RESULTS
According to the analytical frameworks employed, several formal institutional constraints existed that would have reduced the prospects for the abolition of user fees. However, prevalent informal institutions such as "Big Man" presidentialism and clientelism that were both 'competing' and 'complementary' can be used to explain the policy outcome. The analysis suggests that these factors trumped the impact of more formal institutional structures in the Ugandan context.

CONCLUSION
Consideration should be given to the interactions between formal and informal institutions in the analysis of health policy processes in Uganda, as they provide a more nuanced understanding of how each set of factors influence policy outcomes.


Objective The aim of this study was to describe important barriers to exercise in older women with urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) from the patient and provider perspectives. Methods Six focus groups (2 in active women, 2 in sedentary women, and 2 in providers) were conducted with 36 women with UUI and 18 providers. Focus group discussions were transcribed verbatim. All transcripts were coded and analyzed by 2 independent reviewers. Investigators identified emergent themes and concepts using a modified biopsychosocial conceptual model. Results A wide range of physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors were perceived to influence exercise. Although women with UUI identified pain as a strong barrier to exercise, providers did not. Both women with UUI and providers identified shame associated with incontinence as a significant barrier, and, conversely, satisfaction with UUI treatment was noted as an enabler for exercising. Women and providers had incongruent views on the need for supervision during exercise; women viewed supervision as a barrier to exercise, whereas providers viewed lack of supervision as a barrier to exercise. Opportunity for socialization was noted as a major enabler of exercise by all groups and suggests that exercise programs that promote interactions with peers may increase exercise participation. The importance of financial incentive and reimbursement was congruent between women and their providers. Conclusions Women with UUI have unique perspectives on barriers to exercise. Understanding women's perspective can aid clinicians and researchers in improving exercise counseling and in creating exercise programs for women with UUI.


In Malaysia, limited amount of research has been done to investigate critical thinking abilities of students from the point of view of inquiry-based learning approach. In view of the objectives of the present educational system to develop the quality of manpower for it to enter the new knowledge era, a better understanding of the resourcefulness of Malaysian students and factors which could affect or enhance it becomes more crucial. The influence of personal variables such as critical thinking skills and styles, gender, academic achievements and the possibility of integrating interactive multimedia technology into the teaching of thinking skills would be of concern to the educator and the policy-makers. For the above reasons, the author decides to conduct a comprehensive research designed to measure the current status level of critical thinking capabilities of Malaysian students and develop a multimedia courseware package, written in the Malay language, incorporating apprenticeship learning design, with content focusing on verbal maps, graphic organiser and CoRT1 techniques that are capable of enhancing students' capability in critical thinking via inquiry-based learning approach. The study also intends to explore the correlation with students' thinking styles and gender as a result of exposure to the interactive multimedia courseware.


Research Management and Administration (RMA) is a developing profession. Many RMA staff work in Universities and other Research Organisations, but they can also be found in agencies that fund research; in fact anywhere where research is undertaken or managed. RMA can be defined as "the leadership, management or support of research activities" and one area of endeavour that RMAs are involved with is Electronic Research Administration (ERA): "IT system(s) designed specifically to support research management or administration". The aim of my professional doctorate is two-fold: to show my contribution to the development of RMA as a profession in the UK; and to demonstrate my practical contribution to advancing ERA systems including undertaking research to address the question: "is it perceived by RMAs and academic staff that ERA can affect the quality and quantity of research?"
Over the years (1997-2011) I have been involved in and led many initiatives that have helped to shape RMA, such that it is now recognised as a profession in the UK. I chart my role in the development of RMA in the UK through the growth of the professional Association for Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) and other related initiatives.
The second strand of this doctoral work reflects on the specific ERA developments that I have introduced at the University of Sunderland; collectively known as GRS On-line. In particular it highlights how and why the various Sunderland GRS systems were initiated, developed, enhanced and sometimes superseded. Two elements of GRS On-line are discussed in detail and reflected upon as case studies: Costing & Pricing, which underwent a number of major changes; and Publications Information, which evolved in a more organic way. The impact of both areas is considered in terms of benefits and detriments to research endeavour.
A mixed methods study of the perceived effects of ERA systems across the UK on the quality and quantity of research undertaken is also conducted. This report presents the results of the Sunderland case studies which are complemented by the analysis of a series of national questionnaires looking at the perceptions of research managers and administrators, and academic staff regarding ERA systems.
From the evidence presented it is shown that both RMA and ERA are perceived to have a positive impact on both the quality and quantity of research undertaken. Furthermore, the evidence base for the value of research management and administration as a profession is advanced; not only for individual RMAs, but also to the research community as a whole.


Abstract Muscle deoxygenation responses provide information about the training impulse of an exercise session enabling adaptation to be predicted. Our aim was to investigate muscle oxygenation profiles during prolonged low-intensity eccentric and concentric cycling. Twelve healthy men performed two 45-min exercise sessions of concentric (CON) and eccentric (ECC) cycling, matched for the same heart rate at the start of each session. Mechanical power output during ECC was ~2.5 times that of CON (210±40 W vs. 82±16 W). Oxygen uptake, blood lactate, cardiac output and systolic arterial pressure responses did not differ between exercises. Heart rate was similar at 5 min of each exercise bout but progressively increased during ECC and was higher at 15, 30 and 45 min of ECC compared to CON (+10 bpm), with a trend for a lower stroke volume. Diastolic and mean blood pressures were higher during ECC. No significant differences were observed in muscle oxygenation profiles. Muscle oxygenation responses during prolonged low-intensity exercise were not affected by the type of muscle action at the same metabolic demand and cardiac output.


Prediction of the ultimate bearing capacity of piles (Qu) is one of the basic issues in geotechnical engineering. So far, several methods have been used to estimate Qu, including the recently developed artificial intelligence methods. In recent years, optimization algorithms have been used to minimize artificial network errors, such as colony algorithms, genetic algorithms, imperialist competitive algorithms, and so on. In the present research, artificial neural networks based on colonial competition algorithm (ANN-ICA) were used, and their results were compared with other methods. The results of laboratory tests of short piles in clayey soils with parameters such as pile diameter, pile buried length, eccentricity of load and undrained shear resistance of soil were used for modeling and evaluation. The results showed that ICA-based artificial neural networks predicted lateral bearing capacity of short piles with a correlation coefficient of 0.9865 for training data and 0.975 for test data. Furthermore, the results of the model indicated the superiority of ICA-based artificial neural networks compared to backpropagation artificial neural networks as well as the Broms and Hansen methods. Keywords—Lateral bearing capacity, short pile, clayey soil, artificial neural network, Imperialist competition algorithm.


Predicting areas of disease emergence when no epidemiological data is available is essential for the implementation of efficient surveillance programs. The Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali is a major African wetland where >1 million Palearctic and African waterbirds congregate. Waterbirds are the main reservoir of Avian Influenza Viruses (AIV). Our objective was to model their spatial distribution in order to predict where these viruses would be more likely to circulate. We developed a generalized linear model and a boosted regression trees (BRT) model based on total aerial bird counts taken in winter over six years. We used remotely sensed environmental variables with a high temporal resolution (10 days) to predict the spatial distribution of four waterbird groups. The predicted waterbird abundances were weighted with an epidemiological indicator based on the prevalence of low pathogenic AIV reported in the literature. The BRT model had the best predictive power and allowed prediction of the high variability of waterbird distribution. Years with low flood levels showed areas with a higher risk of circulation and had better spatial distribution predictions. Each year, the model identified a few areas with a higher risk of AIV circulation. This model can be applied every 10 days to evaluate the risk of AIV emergence in wild waterbirds. By taking into account the IND's ecological variability, it allows better targeting of areas considered for surveillance. This could enhance the control of emerging diseases at a local and regional scale, especially when resources available for surveillance programs are scarce. (Texte integral)


In order to identify the existing health information sources and channels of rural women, 213 married women of child bearing age from four villages of Kangpokpi District in Manipur, India were randomly selected. A questionnaire method was adopted for the data collection and Descriptive Statistics was used for analyzing the data collected from the women. The study identified a number of health information sources such as Family members, Friends, among others and Information channels like Word of Mouth ASHA, Pamphlet in Mother tongue, Mobile phone Short Message System (SMS) for communicating their health information needs.


OBJECTIVE
To identify symptoms of dysphagia in individuals with COPD, based on their responses on a self-perception questionnaire.

METHODS
The study comprised 35 individuals with COPD and 35 healthy individuals, matched for age and gender. The study group was assessed regarding COPD severity; sensation of dyspnea; body mass index (BMI); and symptoms of dysphagia. The control group was assessed regarding BMI and symptoms of dysphagia.

RESULTS
The most common symptoms of dysphagia in the study group were pharyngeal symptoms/airway protection (p < 0.001); esophageal symptoms/history of pneumonia (p < 0.001); and nutritional symptoms (p < 0.001). Positive correlations were found between the following pairs of variables: FEV₁ and BMI (r = 0.567; p < 0.001); pharyngeal symptoms/airway protection and dyspnea (r = 0.408; p = 0.015); and esophageal symptoms/history of pneumonia and pharyngeal symptoms/airway protection (r = 0.531; p = 0.001). There was a negative correlation between nutritional symptoms and BMI (r = -0.046; p < 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that the individuals with COPD presented with symptoms of dysphagia that were associated with the pharyngeal and esophageal phases of swallowing, as well as with the mechanism of airway protection, a history of pneumonia, and nutritional symptoms.


In this study we employed 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) and 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) as binary additives exhibiting complementarily preferential solubility for processing the crystalline conjugated polymer poly[bis(dodecyl)thiophene-dodecyl-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione] (PBTC12TPD) and the fullerene [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) in chloroform. Using synchrotron grazing-incidence small-/wide-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy to analyse the structure of the PBTC12TPD–PC71BM blend films, we found that the binary additives with different volume ratios in the processing solvent allow us to tune the relative population of face-on to edge-on PBTC12TPD lamellae and the size of PC71BM clusters in the blend films; the sizes of the fractal-like PC71BM clusters and the aggregated domains of PC71BM clusters increased and decreased, respectively, upon increasing the amount of DIO, whereas the relative ratio of face-on to edge-on PBTC12TPD lamellae increased upon increasing the amount of CN. When fabricating the photovoltaic devices, the short-circuit current density of the devices with the PBTC12TPD–PC71BM active layer having been processed with the binary additives is higher than that of the device incorporating an active layer processed without any additive. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of a device incorporating an active layer of PBTC12TPD–PC71BM (1 : 1.5, w/w) processed with binary additives of 0.5% DIO and 1% CN in chloroform increased to 6.8% from a value of 4.9%, a relative increase of 40%, for the corresponding device containing the same active layer but processed without any additive.


Mandibular condylar cartilage (MCC) is classified as secondary cartilage, the histologic structure of which is unique from that of primary cartilage. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a small noncoding RNA that binds to the messenger RNA (mRNA) target to repress its translation and plays an important role in cell differentiation, proliferation, and death. Microarray analysis revealed that miR-200a was characteristically expressed during embryonic development. We hypothesized that miR-200a may be involved in regulating the formation of cartilage during MCC growth. We investigated the function of miR-200a by transfecting an inhibitor or mimic into MCC organ and cell cultures. A histologic examination revealed the localized inhibitory effects of the miR-200a mimic and widespread enhancing effects of the inhibitor on chondrocytic differentiation in the MCC organ culture system. An immunohistochemical examination and gene expression analysis demonstrated that the miR-200a inhibitor enhanced chondrogenesis, while the mimic had the opposite effect by enhancing cell proliferation. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that miR-200a downregulated the gene expression of chondrocyte markers. Moreover, transfection of the miR-200a mimic into ATDC5 cells repressed the formation of the cartilaginous matrix. These results indicate that miR-200a contributed to chondrogenesis in developing MCC by controlling proliferation and differentiation in MCC cells.


On the referendum day these were last minute decisions that most probably turned the tide in favour of the Leave camp. In this article Thomas Milic and Uwe Serdult draw up an analogy of the June 23rd vote between the referendum votes on the EU that took place in Switzerland over the past couple of years. They argue that would the Brits be Swiss, they would have voted for an exit as well.


We consider a perfectly homogeneous and isotropic universe which undergoes a sudden phase transition. If the transition produces topological defects, which we assume, perturbations in the geometry and the cosmic uid also suddenly appear. We apply the standard general relativistic junction conditions to match the pre-and post-transition eras and thus set the initial conditions for the perturbations. We solve their evolution equations analytically in the case when the defects act as a coherent source and their density scales like the background density. We show that isocurvature as well as adiabatic perturbations are created, in a ratio which is independent of the detailed properties of the defects. We compare our result to the initial conditions currently used in the literature and show how the cosmic uid naturally \compensates" for the presence of the defects.


Anomalous and intermittent behavior is a leading concern for electronics manufacturers of electronic products. Yet it is often not possible to replicate such behavior, let alone determine the root cause of faults. This paper presents an approach to identify anomalous behavior using a simple Mahalanobis distance approach. A case study of experiments conducted on a field returned electronic product is presented.


International Relations (IR) theory has been the site of intense debate in recent years. A decade ago it was still possible to divide the field between three main perspectives - realism, liberalism and Marxism. Not only have these approaches evolved in new directions, they have been joined by a number of new 'isms' vying for attention, including feminism and constructivism. International Relations Theory for the Twenty-First Century is the first comprehensive book to provide a critical overview of all the most important theories within the study of international relations. Written by a team of international experts in the field, the book covers both traditional approaches as well as new developments within IR theory.


Abstract In this paper, we propose a new robust cycle-based control policy for single installation inventory models with non-stationary uncertain demand. The policy is simple, flexible, easily implementable and preliminary numerical experiments suggest that the policy has very promising empirical performance. The policy can be used both when the excess demand is backlogged as well as when it is lost; with non-zero fixed ordering cost, and also when lead time is non-zero. The policy decisions are computed by solving a collection of linear programs even when there is a positive fixed ordering cost. The policy extends in a very simple manner to the joint pricing and inventory control problem.


Background and Aim: Dairy fermented foods such as yogurt, cheese, fermented milk, butter milk, curd, butter and ghee are used as major diet ingredients in west of IRAN, such as Kermanshah province. Ghee (Kermanshahi traditional oil or roghane heiwâni) is traditionally produced from butter milk of yoghurt after fermentation. Review of the literature yielded no study on isolating probiotics from Kermanshahi traditional oil preparation stages. Therefore, purpose of this study was just to focus on isolating and identifying lactic acid bacteria in these products using culture and PCR-sequencing methods. Materials and Methods: Fifteen samples from each dairy products including yogurt, butter and Kermanshahi traditional oil were collected in Kermanshah province, Iran. Each sample was diluted, homogenized, and cultured on selective medium for growing of lactic acid bacteria. 16SrRNA gene sequences analysis was carried out for final confirmation of these isolates. Results: After culturing of samples on MRS and M17 under aerobic and anaerobic condition, a total of 78 strains of bacteria were isolated and identified by conventional biochemical tests. The frequency of bacteria in all isolates (78) were 48.71% for Lactobacillus, 33.33% for Streptococcus, 6.41% for Enterococcus and 6.41% for Bacillus. Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Bacillus genus, were isolated from 84.44%, 57.78%, 11.11% and 15.56% of all three kind of samples, respectively. Conclusion: Based on our findings, Lactic acid bacteria and other potentially probiotic microorganisms are present in Kermanshahi traditional oil. Of course, the potential probiotic properties of these isolates and impact of consumption of Kermanshahi traditional oil containing those on human health need to be analyzed more. By proving the presence of probiotic bacteria in Kermanshahi oil, it may be falls in the category of functional foods.


Computing the optimal portfolio policy of an investor facing capital gains tax is a challenging problem: because the tax to be paid depends on the price at which the security was purchased (the tax basis), the optimal policy is path dependent and the size of the problem grows exponentially with the number of time periods. Dammon et al. (2001, 2002, 2004), Garlappi et al. (2001), and Gallmeyer et al. (2001) address this problem byapproximating the exact tax basis by the weighted average purchase price. Our contribution is threefold. First, we show that the structure of the problem has several attractive features that can be exploited to determine the optimal portfolio policy using theexact tax basis via nonlinear programming. Second, we characterize the optimal portfolio policy in the presence of capital gains tax when using theexact tax basis. Third, we show that the certainty equivalent loss from using the average tax basis instead of the exact basis is very small: it is typically less than 1% for problems with up to 10 periods, and this result is robust to the choice of parameter values and to the presence of transaction costs, dividends, intermediate consumption, labor income, tax reset provision at death, and wash-sale constraints.


Grazing and trampling by semi-domesticated reindeer are important factors controlling vegetation in northern Fennoscandia. In this article we review Nordic studies on the effects of reindeer on vegetation and animal communities. The studies have shown clear effects on vegetation, especially on Cladina lichen dominated sites. Cladina is the main forage of reindeer during winter and dominates climax vegetation in dry site types in the absence of reindeer. Reindeer can even affect galling and ground-dwelling invertebrates. Due to the special relationship between reindeer and Cladina majority of the research has concentrated on winter grazing on Cladina, but there are some studies of summer grazing which have also shown substantial changes in vegetation. Reindeer grazing increases richness and diversity of vegetation and invertebrate assemblages in most cases, but this influence depends on site type and grazing intensity. The enriching effect seems to be strongest at moderate grazing intensity.


A study is made into the occurrence of shimmy oscillations in a dual-wheel main landing gear system. Nonlinear equations of motion are developed for the system and various nonlinear effects are considered including gyroscopic coupling, nonlinear tyre properties, geometric nonlinearities and fluid damping. Of particular interest in this study is the presence of freeplay — this is introduced as a lateral play at the apex of the torque link joints. Using bifurcation analysis methods, the dynamics of this system are explored as the forward velocity and loading force acting on the gear are varied. For the zero freeplay case the system is found to be stable over its realistic operating range with shimmy oscillations appearing only for extreme loading forces and speed. However, with the introduction of freeplay, shimmy may be observed over more typical operating conditions and the resulting oscillations are found to scale linearly with freeplay magnitude. Using numerical continuation, the (V, Fz) parameter plane is further subdivided into areas of different shimmy dynamics. With the inclusion of freeplay the variety of observed behaviour is shown to increase with the appearance of low and high frequency shimmy, bi-stable behaviour and stationary solutions of non-zero yaw.


The integration of video and audio into computers requires the support of continuous data streams at the hardware level. This paper proposes a bus bandwidth management and access arbitration scheme for a multimedia workstation. It assumes that a multimedia workstation consists of several specialized processing modules which are linked by a packet-switched bus. Using the proposed scheme, the bus can support a mix of continuous media streams and random transactions while fulfilling special requirements of each traffic type. Specifically, the bus provides fast response to random transactions and serves continuous media streams in such a way that no packet misses its deadline. Furthermore, the performance with respect to continuous media traffic is maintained independent of time variations of random traffic. Practical implementation guidelines are provided. Finally, the performance of the proposed scheme is compared with alternative approaches.<<ETX>>


Summary: The behaviour of six strains of herpes simplex virus was studied. Marked differences were noted in the type of lesion formed and the rate of attachment when the strains were inoculated on to the chorio-allantois, and in the behaviour of strains inoculated intracerebrally into mice or on to the cornea of the rabbit.
Two easily differentiated strains were inoculated together on to the chorio-allantois under conditions designed to give rise to a proportion of doubly infected cells. After a short period of incubation the progeny of the first intracellular growth cycle was obtained.
Ten clones were isolated, of which six resembled one of the two parents in the type of lesion formed and level of virulence for mice. Of the other four, one (106 a) produced small type lesions and the other three large type. All possessed degrees of virulence intermediate between those of the parents. Three of these substrains showed no alteration in the type of lesions formed or their degrees of virulence after 3 to 5 passages of single lesions at limiting dilution. When the rate of attachment to the chorio-allantois and the behaviour when inoculated on to the cornea of the rabbit were studied, it was found that 106a produced effects intermediate between the parents, whilst the other strains resembled one of the two parents.


The Neoclassical Theory assumes that individuals are essentially selfish and maximize the utility of their income, measured on some utility scale. It defines the rationality of individuals based on preference relations, which should not change by the context. However, it is a fact that individuals do not generally use these "market rules" with their families, friends, colleagues or in their neighborhoods. This behavior has been seen as "Bounded rationality" or "failures" in the individual's behavior. The main objective of this paper is to explore this kind of behavior and pose some questions about how institutions influence the preferences and decisions of individuals in some contexts. The assumption we have is: In reality, the homo economicus considers context as additional information and reacts on that basis. He adapts to the community with which he interacts as a matter of "survival". We conclude that there is a "Broader rationality" in that behavior, which goes beyond the one defined in the Neoclassical Theory, which is applicable in highly specific conditions.


Part 1 Flow in bounded and unbounded domains: a Reynolds equation derived from the micropolar Navier-Stokes system more Lyapunov functions for the Navier-Stokes equation on the nonlinear stability of the magnetic Benard problem stability of Navier-Stokes flows through permeable boundaries on steady solutions of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation classical solutions to the stationary Navier-Stokes system in exterior domains stationary Navier-Stokes flow in two-dimensional Y-shape channel under general outflow condition regularity of solutions to the Stokes equations under a certain nonlinear boundary condition viscous incompressible flow in unbounded domains lifespan and global existence of 2-D compressible fluids on the theory of nonstationary hyrrodynamic potentials a note on the blow-up criterion for the inviscid 2-D Boussinesq equations weak solutions to viscous heat-conducting gas 1D-equations with discontinuous data - global existence, uniqueness, and regularity. Part 2 General qualitative theory: regularity criteria of the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations. (Part contents).


Mobile technology is a new and promising area of research in distance education. Currently, there are few if any descriptive models of mobile learning that can be used to develop appropriate pedagogical practices. This thesis has two main purposes: to develop a theoretical model of mobile learning and to use the model to evaluate a set of mobile devices. The Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education (FRAME) model describes mobile learning as a process resulting from the convergence of mobile technologies, human learning characteristics, and social interaction. The devices included in this study were equipped with wireless networking capacity, but varied in size, weight, processing power, interface design, portability, as well as input and output capabilities. This study is both theoretical and evaluative, relying on a small panel of experts to review the devices. During the first phase of data collection, the experts individually evaluated each device. In the second phase, they shared their observations in a face-to-face discussion. All questionnaires and discussion questions were based on the FRAME model. The study culminates in a discussion of some of the most significant factors likely to affect mobile device usability in distance education. It also outlines other areas of research suggested by the FRAME model.


Estimating the locomotion type of fossil ground birds is necessary for a better understanding of their ecology. Until now, only one method has allowed us to estimate the locomotion of fossil ground birds, but its application is complicated in the majority of fossil cases because it requires data from the three bones from the same hindlimb of one individual. Here, we propose a new method using only the maximum length and minimum width of the tarsometatarsus to estimate the locomotion of these fossil birds. This method is easy to apply and better distinguishes the intermediate cases between graviportal (walking) and cursorial (running) birds. This study shows that the species of large ground birds of the families Gastornithidae and Brontornithidae were all graviportal, probably because of their large body mass. More unexpectedly, it also shows that some Phorusrhacidae (e.g. Paraphysornis), usually described as cursorial birds, were in fact graviportal, probably because of their considerable body mass. All these new data about locomotion provide a better understanding of the ecology of fossil ground birds.


The workshop aims at giving some familiarity with the identification of symmetries of plane patterns and their classification with the help of an interactive application. This recent application works as an extension of Atractor's DVD [1] and has a competition version which allows two teams to test their experience and knowledge in the area. Several options allow the level of difficulty to be adapted to the experience/age of users.


Dr. Rees remarked that it is principally owing to the very surprising effects which he has observed from the use of lemonjuice-he could not know that 100 g. of lemon contains 50 mg. of ascorbic acid-in the treatment of rheumatic gout that he has been induced to notice this case. He has been in the habit of prescribing this remedy, with marked and rapid benefit. The early relief from pain was such that had anyone unacquainted with the remedy in use watched the progress of the case he would almost inevitably have concluded that sedatives had been employed. Among the out-patients at Guy's Hospital he has met with " several prominent examples of cure " by this method. In his Manual of the Practice of Medicine, London, 1856, Dr. G. H. Barlow, physician to Guy's Hospital, mentions "one of the most ingenious methods " of treating rheumatic inflammation, and says: ' Dr. Rees recommended lemon-juice to be given in doses, which he ultimately increased to two or three ounces, three or four times a day; and in a considerable number of cases the patient has become convalescent in five or six days." The history of medicine is often a tale of discoveries that were soon forgotten, only to be rediscovered years or even centuries later and hailed as new observations.-I am, etc.,


Abstract : Short steep pulses of high electrical energy are required to drive systems such as pulsed transmitters, light sources, and plasma discharges. A low impedance stationary coil will generate such pulses when the magnetic flux threading the coil undergoes large and rapid changes. The rapid change can be achieved by a 'flux displacer', a conductor driven at high speed past the stationary coil. The applied field is provided in the present work by a superconducting magnet in order to produce a magnetic flux of the necessary magnitude and density with small operating loss, bulk and weight. The stationary coil which is connected to the load, and the flux displacer, which need not be superconducting, were placed outside the dewar. Two series of experiments with flux displacers driven by a rotary prime mover are discussed. The first series used relatively small, isolated specimens. These experiments served to determine the effect of displacer shape, speed and conductivity on output. The second series used relatively large displacers formed by pairs of cylindrical shell segments which were electrically and mechanically connected by end plates. These experiments give information on the influence of various system parameters on the energy, and on the duration and shape of the pulses. The results are presented in dimensionless form, so that the performance of high energy systems can be predicted. The rotary prime mover may be a lightweight explosive drive or gas turbine, or, in a vehicle or aircraft, one of the propulsion engines. (Author)


Headwater regions of the streams consist an array of unique biological communities, and these ecosystems are considered the most sensitive element of river ecosystems. The significant role played by these ecosystems are well documented but the information relevant to Sri Lankan water bodies is very limited. Thus, the present study was designed to study the vegetation and benthic macro- invertebrates in relation to their habitats at upstream Sapugahadola in Walasmulla. Four sites were selected in the headwater region from upstream to downstream (S1, S2, S3 and S4) and each site was visited two consecutive months in 2018. Distribution of aquatic plants was observed along a transect (7-13 m) which placed perpendicular to the stream bank. Benthos were collected at each four sites using Surber sampler. Water quality parameters (Temperature, pH, Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen (DO)) were measured using water quality meters while Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), nitrate and phosphate contents of water were measured using the standard analytical procedures. Soil pH, soil conductivity, soil nitrate, soil phosphate and soil organic carbon were measured as soil properties. Eleven macro- invertebrate families were found in the sampling sites representing eight orders, including nine insect families. Leptoceridae, baetidae and potamonidae were the most dominant families. Benthos diversity increased towards downstream and it was noticed in the Shannon-Wiener Index (SWI). The SWI of S1, S2, S3 and S4 were 1.49, 1.72, 1.70 and 1.88 respectively. Eighteen aquatic plant species were found in the stream sites, and out of those species, Taxiphyllum sp, Bryum sp and Homaliodendron flabellatum were dominant. The most dominated phylum was bryophyte and nine species were recorded. The highest SWI for plant was found in site 3 while it was statistically similar for other sites. Benthos diversity was strongly correlated with dissolved oxygen content (r=0.85, p<0.05), soil nitrate content (r=0.95, p<0.05) while the vegetation diversity was strongly correlated with total suspended solids (r=-0.74, p <0.05) and biological oxygen demand (r=0.89, p<0.05). Although the relationship between macro-invertebrate diversity and soil quality parameters were significant, vegetation diversity was independent from soil properties. Most of the vegetation were found on rocky surfaces that were above the water level of the stream. Keywords: Vegetation, Macro- invertebrates, Diversity, Soil properties, Water quality