Abstract. In the present study, Au-surfactant core-shell colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) with controlled dimension and composition were synthesized by sacrificial anode electrolysis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that Au NPs core diameter is between 8 and 12 nm, as a function of the electrosynthesis conditions. Moreover, surface spectroscopic characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the presence of nanosized gold phase. Controlled amounts of Au NPs were then deposited electrophoretically on carbon nanotube (CNT) networked films. The resulting hybrid materials were morphologically and chemically characterized using TEM, SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and XPS analyses, which revealed the presence of nanoscale gold, and its successful deposition on CNTs. Au NP/CNT networked films were tested as active layers in a two-pole resistive NO2 sensor for sub-ppm detection in the temperature range of 100–200 °C. Au NP/CNT exhibited a p-type response with a decrease in the electrical resistance upon exposure to oxidizing NO2 gas and an increase in resistance upon exposure to reducing gases (e.g. NH3). It was also demonstrated that the sensitivity of the Au NP/CNT-based sensors depends on Au loading; therefore, the impact of the Au loading on gas sensing performance was investigated as a function of the working temperature, gas concentration and interfering gases.


Abstract The Paleozoic to Mesozoic grade 'Protozygoptera' is revised. It appears to be composed of two main lineages, namely the superfamily Permagrionoidea, and the Archizygoptera. The latter taxon forms a monophyletic group together with Panodonata ( = crown-Odonata plus their closest stem-relatives). Therefore, the 'Protozygoptera' as previously understood is paraphyletic. Diagnostic characters of the 'Protozygoptera', Permagrionoidea, and Archizygoptera are re-evaluated. The Permolestidae is considered as a junior synonym of the Permagrionidae. The following new taxa are described: Permolestes sheimogorai new species, Permolestes soyanaiensis new species, Epilestes angustapterix new species, Solikamptilon pectinatus new species (all in Permagrionidae); Lodeviidae new family (for Lodevia); Luiseiidae new family (including Luiseia breviata new genus and species); Kennedya azari new species, Kennedya pritykinae new species, Kennedya ivensis new species, Progoneura grimaldii new species (all in Kennedyidae); Engellestes chekardensis new genus and species (in Bakteniidae); and Azaroneura permiana new genus and species (in Voltzialestidae). The Kaltanoneuridae and Oboraneuridae are revised. The evolution of protozygopteran Odonatoptera during the transition from the Permian to the Triassic is discussed. The larger taxa of the permagrionoid lineage apparently did not cross through the Permian–Triassic boundary, unlike the more gracile Archizygoptera. This last group shows a remarkable longevity from the late Carboniferous to the Early Cretaceous. It also presents a great taxonomic and morphological stability, with genera ranging from the Permian to the Triassic, and a wing venation pattern nearly unchanged from the late Carboniferous to the Late Triassic. The mass extinction at the end of the Permian period seemingly had a minor effect on these tiny and delicate insects.


The presented study represents a holistic approach to citizenship theory in general and cultural citizenship in particular, with specific focus on their inherently evolutionary nature and challenges as well as dilemmas facing them in the face of globalization. As such it has distinct relevance for the subject of citizenship as a whole. In addition it includes a specific and qualitative study of the cultural make-up of the international post-graduate student body at NTNU, with detailed regard to their enactment of citizenship as highly educated migrants. Initially establishing a hold on contemporary citizenship theory by deliberating the concepts of citizenship, the state, nationalism and democracy as well as relations between them. The study goes on to give a brief account of citizenships historic development while keeping mind its evolutionary nature. Subsequently establishing a theory of cultural citizenship, with particular regard to contemporary experiences and enactments thereof. The presented study goes on to establish how individual citizens culturally learn through the use of media and their tools, with a specific attention to the emergence of the internet as perhaps the most modern of all media. Finally and after outlining the projects methodological approach, the presented work goes on to analyse the data gathered through qualitative interviewing of a purposefully and conveniently picked non-probability sample of the international post-graduate student body at NTNU. Concluding with an explanation of how individual citizens, illustrated by the sample, make sense of their natural states of freedom, participation and equality all the while culturally learning to cope with the challenges this poses on a individual, mutual and collective level through self-awareness, -contemplation and -reflection by the use of media and their tools, thereby becoming cultural citizens.


Significance Health in later life and longevity vary substantially across sociodemographic groups, but the biological mechanisms of these disparities remain poorly understood. We conducted a transcriptome profiling study of inflammatory and antiviral gene activity in a large, nationally representative and ethnically diverse sample of young adults and found that sociodemographic variations in the activity of these molecular pathways emerge by young adulthood—well before they manifest as late-life chronic illness. Inflammation related to biobehavioral factors (BMI, smoking), interferons related to individual characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity), and transcription factor and immune-cell activation showed additional links to social context (family poverty, geographic region). These data suggest that interventions early in life may address the predisease physiological disparities that manifest as late-life health disparities. Health in later life varies significantly by individual demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and race/ethnicity, as well as by social factors including socioeconomic status and geographic region. This study examined whether sociodemographic variations in the immune and inflammatory molecular underpinnings of chronic disease might emerge decades earlier in young adulthood. Using data from 1,069 young adults from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)—the largest nationally representative and ethnically diverse sample with peripheral blood transcriptome profiles—we analyzed variation in the expression of genes involved in inflammation and type I interferon (IFN) response as a function of individual demographic factors, sociodemographic conditions, and biobehavioral factors (smoking, drinking, and body mass index). Differential gene expression was most pronounced by sex, race/ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI), but transcriptome correlates were identified for every demographic dimension analyzed. Inflammation-related gene expression showed the most pronounced variation as a function of biobehavioral factors (BMI and smoking) whereas type I IFN-related transcripts varied most strongly as a function of individual demographic characteristics (sex and race/ethnicity). Bioinformatic analyses of transcription factor and immune-cell activation based on transcriptome-wide empirical differences identified additional effects of family poverty and geographic region. These results identify pervasive sociodemographic differences in immune-cell gene regulation that emerge by young adulthood and may help explain social disparities in the development of chronic illness and premature mortality at older ages.


Although information systems researchers have long recognized the possibility for collective- level information technology use patterns and outcomes to emerge from individual-level IT use behaviors, few have explored the key properties and mechanisms involved in this bottom-up IT use process. This paper seeks to build a theoretical framework drawing on the concepts and the analytical tool of complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory. The paper presents a CAS model of IT use that encodes a bottom-up IT use process into three interrelated elements: agents that consist of the basic entities of actions in an IT use process, interactions that refer to the mutually adaptive behaviors of agents, and an environment that represents the social organizational contexts of IT use. Agent-based modeling is introduced as the analytical tool for computationally representing and examining the CAS model of IT use. The operationability of the CAS model and the analytical tool are demonstrated through a theory-building exercise translating an interpretive case study of IT use to a specific version of the CAS model. While Orlikowski (1996) raised questions regarding the impacts of employee learning, IT flexibility, and workplace rigidity on IT-based organization transformation, the CAS model indicates that these factors in individual-level actions do not have a direct causal linkage with organizational- level IT use patterns and outcomes. This theory-building exercise manifests the intriguing nature of the bottom-up IT use process: collective-level IT use patterns and outcomes are the logical and yet often unintended or unforeseeable consequences of individual-level behaviors. The CAS model of IT use offers opportunities for expanding the theoretical and methodological scope of the IT use literature.


In 2007 Germany has introduced a pension reform which increases the normal retirement age from currently age 65 to 67. The present study aims to quantify the macroeconomic, welfare and efficiency consequences of this reform by means of a computable general equilibrium model with overlapping generations. Our model features the most recent demographic projections and distinguishes three skill classes with different life expectancies within generations. Most importantly, individuals choose their effective age when they exit from the labor market and start receiving pension benefits. Our quantitative analysis indicates three central results: First, the previously implemented pension reductions are not able to stabilize long-run contribution rates and increase future old-age poverty rates in Germany considerably. Second, the considered reform will increase effective retirement age by about one year and redistribute towards future cohorts. However, it hardly reduces old-age poverty since rich people are more flexible in adjusting retirement. Overall, the efficiency gains of the reform are very modest. Third, supplementary policy should raise the actuarial adjustment factor while other reform packages aimed to reduce old-age poverty may be associated with significant efficiency cost.


Efficient skeletal muscle repair and regeneration require coordinated remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Previous reports have indicated that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play the pivotal role in ECM remodeling during muscle regeneration. The goal of the current study was to determine if the interstitial collagenase MMP-13 was involved in the muscle repair process. Using intramuscular cardiotoxin injections to induce acute muscle injury, we found that MMP-13 expression and activity transiently increased during the regeneration process. In addition, in muscles from mdx mice, which exhibit chronic injury, MMP-13 expression and protein levels were elevated. In differentiating C2C12 cells, a murine myoblast cell line, Mmp13 expression was most pronounced after myoblast fusion and during myotube formation. Using pharmacological inhibition of MMP-13 to test whether MMP-13 activity is necessary for the proliferation, differentiation, migration, and fusion of C2C12 cells, we found a dramatic blockade of myoblast migration, as well as a delay in differentiation. In contrast, C2C12 cells with stable overexpression of MMP-13 showed enhanced migration, without affecting myoblast maturation. Taken together, these results support a primary role for MMP-13 in myoblast migration that leads to secondary effects on differentiation.


High levels of high-low misalignment in pipeline girth welds have been identified as one of the possible contributing factors to some of the recent pre-service hydrostatic test failures or subsequent service failures. However, pipeline service experience indicates that nominally defect-free girth welds with high levels of misalignment and proper weld profiles can provide satisfactory long-term service. In this paper, recent analytical and experimental work aimed at understanding the impact of high-low misalignment in girth welds is described. In nominally defect-free welds, the performance of the welds is found to be predominantly determined by the misalignment ratio, weld strength mismatch ratio, and the weld profile. Iso-load-capacity relations are developed through finite element analysis (FEA) to capture the interdependence of those key parameters. The analysis procedure is validated by cross-weld tensile testing of girth welds with various levels of misalignment and weld strength mismatch. The effects of the circumferential extent of misalignment, alternatively termed local misalignment, are also analyzed. The effects of misalignment in girth weld with planar flaws are examined in the context of the tensile strain capacity.The analytical and experimental evidence indicate that the absolute level of misalignment is not a sole indicator of girth weld performance. Weld transition profile, pipe wall thickness, and weld strength mismatch all play an important role. With proper weld profiles, minimal or small reduction of load capacity is observed even at very high levels of misalignment. Work is continuing to further examine the effects of high-low misalignment with a goal of making practical recommendations to be included in codes and standards.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Aims : This study aims to model the risk relationships between alcohol consumption and hypertension, as alcohol is likely an important modifiable risk factor in treating hypertension and an important lifestyle variable to be taken into consideration by policy makers and physicians. Design/Participants/Measures : This cross-sectional study uses data from the The Health Survey for England to perform a correlational analysis, as well as multinomial and binomial modeling to evaluate alcohol's impact on hypertension outcomes, all while controlling for relevant covariates (age, sex, smoking, exercise, body mass index, and education). Findings : Findings indicate that alcohol consumption correlates with blood pressure and hypertension, yet the significance of these findings is weakened by large between-person variability and by confounding factors. Conclusions : Based on these results, for the best cardiovascular health outcomes, we suggest that it is best to err on the side of caution and recommend, regarding alcohol intake, very limited (in the case of healthy patients) to no (for those with hypertension) alcohol consumption.


Today in the United States, more than 6,000 people a year receive a liver transplant, and since liver transplants have begun, over 200,000 patients have received this therapy. They survive today due to the efforts of a legendary scientist and surgeon: Thomas Starzl (Figure (Figure1)1) of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He performed the first successful liver transplant in 1967 and refined the use of immunosuppressive drugs such that patients could tolerate their grafts — some for decades. With Starzl's efforts over the last 50 years, thousands of patients with end-stage liver disease have been able to live long and active lives. The full interview can be seen on the JCI website, http://www.jci.org/kiosk/cgm.


Relationship between plant species richness and productivity in natural grasslands: In the past two decades a considerable debate was generated among ecologists due to differences in the results of experiments which evaluated the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functioning. Recent experimental and theoretical work in this area has also led to animated debates and controversies. A large number of hypotheses linking species richness and ecosystem functioning have been tested. This relationship has been studied primarily through manipulative experiments but little is known about descriptive studies. Grasslands and their grazers provide one of the strongest and widespread cases for studying this relationship. Evidences of both, positive and negative relationships between species richness and Aboveground Net Primary Productivity (ANPP) were founded in the Rio de la Plata grasslands. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between species richness and ANPP in natural grasslands under continuous grazing of the Southern-Central region of Uruguay. We used two estimators of the ANPP, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the accumulated green biomass. In a heterogeneous environment in terms of soil fertility, species richness and NDVI were measured in 44 plots of 30 cm of diameter. The plots were harvested to estimate the accumulated green biomass and the species were grouped in three Plant Functional Types. The results indicated that both descriptors were positively related to species richness (only the NDVI was significant). Erect grasses and herbs showed higher values for species richness. On the other hand, the prostrate grasses despite being a group with only four species (8% of the total species), contribute with abundant biomass (about 35% of the total biomass) and explain much of the productivity of these grasslands. This paper provides evidence for a linear and positive relationship between species richness and ecosystem functioning descriptors.


Three hundred six consecutively treated surgical patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome were evaluated from a group of 415 patients. One hundred nine patients were excluded because they failed to obtain a postoperative polysomnogram or were lost to followup. All patients received a physical examination, cephalometric analysis, fiberoptic examination, and polysomnography before treatment to document OSAS and determine the areas of obstruction. A two-phase surgical protocol was used for the reconstruction of the upper airway. Phase I surgery consisted of a uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) for palatal obstruction and genioglossus advancement with hyoid myotomy-suspension for base of tongue obstruction. Failures of phase I were offered phase 2 reconstruction, which consisted of maxillary-mandibular advancement osteotomy. One hundred twenty-one patients were treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) before surgery and this was the primary method of evaluating surgical success. Results were reported on the polysomnogram performed a minimum of 6 months after surgery and compared to the preoperative polysomnogram and the second night nasal CPAP study. The polysomnographic results included respiratory disturbance index (RDI), lowest oxyhemoglobin saturation (LSAT), and sleep architecture parameters. Surgery was considered a success if it was equivalent to nasal CPAP or the postoperative RDI was less than 20 with normal oxygenation. The overall success rate, which included patients that dropped from the protocol, was 76.5%, with a mean followup of 9.3 months (SD, 6.7). The preoperative RDI, nasal CPAP RDI, and postoperative RDI were 55.8 (SD, 26.7), 7.2 (SD, 5.4), and 9.2 (SD, 7.5), respectively. The preoperative LSAT, nasal CPAP LSAT, and postoperative LSAT were 70.5 (SD, 15.8), 86.7 (SD, 8.5), and 86.6 (SD, 4.1), respectively. Patients who proceeded to completion of the protocol had a success rate of more than 95%. This report has allowed us to conclude that a comprehensive presurgical evaluation allows a logical approach to reconstruction of the upper airway, and patients who complete the surgical protocol have a greater than 95% long-term success rate, which is superior to any other treatment modality.


We derive a new earthquake focal mechanism catalog for 86 Mw>4.0 earthquakes that occurred in the Myanmar region from 2016 to 2021. We apply the generalized Cut-and-Paste inversion method to a new set of regional broadband waveform data to obtain the earthquake focal mechanism and centroid depth with uncertainties estimated in a bootstrapping manner. Compared with global earthquake catalogs, our results are better aligned with mapped, active faults and reveal seismic activity along unmapped, blind faults. Our new catalog shows that the Sagaing Fault is more active in its northern segment with deeper seismogenic zone (∼27 km) compared to its southern segment that has a shallower seismogenic zone (∼10 km), sandwiching a seismic gap in its central segment. Earthquakes that occurred on the unmapped, blind faults beneath the Central Myanmar Basin at shallow depths (3–12 km) suggest a dominating northeast–southwest compressional stress field. Shallow earthquakes beneath the Indo-Myanmar Range (IMR) are rare, instead, north–south-oriented strike-slip faults are active within the deep accretionary wedge or lower crust of the Myanmar plate between depths of 20 and 40 km. At the eastern edge of the IMR, earthquakes with high-angle thrust mechanisms occurred between depths of 30 and 48 km, likely along steep faults separating the accretionary wedge from the Myanmar forearc crust. High-resolution intraslab focal mechanisms show that to the north of 22° N, slab deformation is dominated by strike-slip earthquakes with subvertical fault planes down to a depth of ∼25 km beneath the slab, suggesting lateral shear within the slab due to the northward motion of the Indian plate. To the south, more normal-faulting earthquakes suggest a stronger role of plate-bending processes in the slab deformation.


People with mental health problems, learning difficulties and poor literacy and numeracy are at risk of social exclusion, including homelessness. They are often disconnected from the formal education systems, with few opportunities for education and employment. Academic research has demonstrated a link between literacy and numeracy and social connectedness, however the pathways to enact this are not well understood. This paper presents insights into how a community based adult literacy program in Brisbane, Australia provides a successful model of socially inclusive learning. The paper is based on a 12-month action research project conducted by the Queensland University of Technology in conjunction with Anglicare Southern Queensland 2013-2014. The methodology for the project was qualitative in nature, involving participant observation of lessons, and semi-structured interviews with former and present students, volunteer tutors and the teacher.  The central research focus was how literacy education can act as an instrument of social connection to the community.


One of the most important methods for energy consumption reduction in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is clustering. In this respect, cluster head selection method can highly impact on energy saving in the overall network. In mobile scenarios, for gathering environmental information as an example, due to natural barriers in operational environment, topology isn't fixed and changes continuously. Therefore, cluster head selection can be adapted based on physical location of sensors. This means that the nodes with fewer barriers in front of them are better to be selected for cluster head. The traditional and statistical methods can't consider the topology of network dynamically. In this paper a new intelligent method based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is proposed in order to reduce energy consumption and increase the network performance by choosing the cluster head based on residual energy of nodes and physical positions of them (topology). In this method, at first the positions of nodes mapped to a 2D pattern; then this pattern feeds into ANN that has previously trained and as the output of ANN the best CH position is suggested. The proposed method is compared with the Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) algorithm and the results show that it outperforms LEACH method especially when the nodes are mobile.


We define a notion of tensor product of bimodule categories and prove that with this product the 2-category of C -bimodule categories for fixed tensor C is a monoidal 2-category in the sense of Kapranov and Voevodsky ([KV91]). We then provide a monoidal-structure preserving 2-equivalence between the 2-category of C -bimodule categories and Z( C )-module categories (module categories over the center of C ). The (braided) tensor structure of C1tD C2 for (braided) fusion categories over braided fusion D is introduced. For a finite group G we show that de-equivariantization is equivalent to the tensor product over Rep( G). The fusion rules for the Grothendeick ring of Rep(G)-module categories are derived and it is shown that the group of invertible Rep( G)-module categories is isomorphic to H2 (G, kx), extending results in [ENO09].


Saudi Arabia has about 23 million palm trees and it is the second largest producer of dates. The biomass from the trimmed branches of palm trees amount to more than 200,000 tons/year. This biomass waste can be used to produce many commercial products. There are several relevant technologies for conversion of biomass and solid wastes into higher value products. The starting point of the project is the pretreatment of palm solid wastes. Thermogravimetric analysis has been done to understand the pyrolysis behavior of palm date wastes. A fluidized bed (FB) has been designed and to study hydrodynamics and develop optimum conditions for the pyrolysis of palm wastes. A novel fluidized bed test rig has been designed and fabricated to carry out the pyrolysis of palm wastes. The pyrolysis is used to produce activated carbon and the waste can also be readily converted to liquid phenolic products. Liquid products are particularly interesting because they have a higher energy density and can be used to produce adhesives as well as biofuels for use in power generation and transport sector. Experimental results have indicated potential opportunities of using the date biomass waste as a potential fuel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (Ahmad Hussain, Aamir Farooq, Mohammad Ismail Bassyouni, Hani Hussain Sait, Mahmoud Abo El-Wafa, Syed Waheedul Hasan, Farid Nasir Ani. Pyrolysis Of Saudi Arabian Date Palm Waste: A Viable Option For Converting Waste Into Wealth. Life Sci J 2014;11(12):667-671). (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com . 126


Background: Since the first detection of a bunch of COVID-19 in late 2019, it become a global concern due to its transmissibility and ability to progress patients in severe respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which need intensive care unit support for a long time. We observed the repurposing use of remdesivir and favipiravir whether considered as a therapeutic option or not through survival rate and changes in biomarker during 10-day treatment stay in ICU.Materials and method: The retrospective observational study in a tertiary care hospital dedicated to COVID-19 at Dhaka, Bangladesh was done at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The mortality rate, length of ICU stays and eight prognostic biomarkers of patients treated with remdesivir and favipiravir was observed as one of the first ever reported experience in Bangladesh.Results: Among the critically ill patients in ICU, 26 (44.8%) died and 32 (55.2%) were cured during the study period and highest mean duration of stay in ICU was observed (14.33 days and 18.13 days) in FPV-treated patients. Mean of means for all biomarkers CRP (26.0) and d-Dimer (2.64) was recorded higher in favipiravir treated patients in death cases, but NLR, d-NLR, platelet, PLR was much higher in remdesivir treated patient of both death and improved cases. Though overall outcome variables between death and improved cases were not statistically significant (p<0.39)Conclusion: The severity of disease progression in critically ill COVID-19 patients in ICU depends on comorbidities and hyper responsive inflammatory or immunological biomarkers to predict. Though the emergency use authorization and repurposing use of different antivirals are still on trial, but remdesivir and favipiravir revealed not much hope in improving prognostic biomarkers, survival rate and disease progression at the initial peak of pandemic in Bangladesh.


The mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms of the 0.09%C-0.08%Mo-0.03%Nb- 0.06%V steel in the initial state and with the ultrafine-grained (UFG) structure obtained by equalchannel angular pressing (ECAP) have been estimated. The investigation included the static and cyclic tensile tests, the impact tests at room and lower temperatures with automatic recording of force-displacement diagram, and the analysis of both the fracture surface microrelief and the evolution of plastic deformation zone by replica method. It is established that the grain refinement increases the ultimate strength and yield strength, but decreases plasticity and impact toughness and raises fatigue growth rate and the critical temperature of ductile–brittle transition. The dynamic fracture toughness of the material after ECAP as compared with that of the material with the initial structure decreases due to the raising of the critical brittleness temperature.


Studies on the effects of socio-economic backgrounds, lifestyles of individuals and recycling behavior on the generation of household wastes are lacking in the country. The objectives of the study include to analyze the effects of personal factors such as income, age, race, marital status, family size, and housing characteristics, as well as attitudes toward waste minimization on the amount of wastes produced and recycled. Survey data and waste characterization studies were gathered and conducted within both rural and urban areas within the Johor Bahru District involving samples of 500 urban and 385 rural families. Various statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) software program. The study reveals that recycling activities not only vary according to urban and rural differences, but also to the types of recyclable materials concerned. There is a significant difference in the recycling of papers and newspapers, paper cardboards, and plastics amongst the two communities. Based on linear regression analysis, newspaper recyclers amongst rural residents appear to have low income and are married, while the plastic recyclers older groups. On the other hand, urban residents who recycle paper, cardboards, and plastics appear to be older with low educational background (with p < 0.05 and 0.01). Racial factor was found to be significant only amongst urban residents in terms of the selling of newspapers, as the Chinese (65% amongst themselves) and Malays (46%) were found to be active in the activity. Renters are generally found to be non-recyclers in the study areas. The study supports the theory connecting the environmental values with recycling. Those who support the need to recycle are also found to separate their wastes, reuse plastics and cardboards indicating the positive correlation between values and recycling. Average solid waste figures per household in the study area are 1.78 kg (urban) and 2.12 kg (rural), with per capita weights of 0.41 and 0.48 kg, respectively (which is lower than the average per capita for the whole Johor Bahru area (1.29) due to the exclusion of yard and bulky wastes from the study. From the linear regression, the explanatory variables for the wastes in the urban area are found to be marital status and home-cooking activities (p < 0.01) with a correlation value, R of 0.45). Rural wastes, on the other hand, increase as the family size (p < 0.01) and the frequency of home cooking increase (p < 0.01) with R value of 0.21. The research supports previous findings indicating higher organic and food wastes in the lower-income or rural areas (38 %) and higher paper wastes (30 %) in the urban or high-income areas. Both areas give strong support for resource recycling facility, an increase in number of recycling programs, promotions, and the enforcement of a mandatory recycling and source separation programs all with mean values of between 3.6 and 4.2 (i.e., 5 being 'strongly agree').


A neotype specimen is designated for Chone acustica (Claparede, 1870) with a full description. The original descriptions of Chone arenicola Langerhans, 1880 and Chone collaris Langerhans, 1880, both from Madeira, did not include some details and incomplete or misleading information was provided, so both species are redescribed. Amendments to the description of Chone longiseta Giangrande, 1992 are also given together with the methyl green staining pattern of Chone usticensis Giangrande et al. 2006. Two new species are described: Chone gambiae sp. nov., from the Gulf of Naples and Chone dunerificta sp. nov., from the Gulf of Salerno. This study shows the distribution of Chone duneri Kroyer, 1856, and Chone filicaudata Southern, 1914, to be restricted to the Arctic seas and North Atlantic Ocean, respectively. Records from the Mediterranean Sea are found to be erroneous.


Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a cyanogenic plant which is toxic when consumed without sufficient processing. Cassava is characterized by presence of linamarin a cyanogenic glycoside and when acted upon by an enzyme linamarase is hydrolysed into cyanohydrin which is further hydrolyzed to give hydrogen cyanide (HCN) which is toxic. This study aimed at determination of the levels of cyanide in the sweet cassava variety grown in five different geographical regions of Kenya namely Kisii, Kakamega, Thika, Nairobi and Kitui counties. The picrate paper method whose accuracy was higher compared to picrate solution and titration methods was used. The study also reports on variation of cyanide concentration with cultivar type and its concentration in different parts of cassava root. The concentration of cyanide varied significantly (p<0.05), (n=324) with the geographical location. The concentration of cyanide in cassava from Kakamega was highest (80.79±4.55 mg/kg), while cassava from Kisii had the lowest cyanide concentration (43.27 ± 3.75 mg/kg). The cyanide concentration in cassava from Kitui was 70.46 ± 2.21 mg/kg, while Nairobi and Thika had cyanide concentration of 66.00 ± 2.12 mg/kg and 54.84 ± 0.65 mg/kg respectively. All the eight cultivars (990183, 990014, 990005, 990249, 990006, mm96/5280, ex manakari and 196/0067) analyzed for cyanide showed significant variation (p<0.05) in the cyanide content; 55.04±0.02, 44.27±0.07, 47.76±0.07, 48.68±0.07, 49.60±0.07, 45.88±0.07, 46.76±0.00 and 49.14±0.07 in mg/kg respectively. Three parts of cassava root (Pith, Parechyma and Cortex) contained significantly different concentrations of cyanide; 59.24±3.62, 78.35±2.13, 91.03±2.94 mg/kg respectively. The concentrations of cyanide in cassava from all the five regions were higher than the recommended level by WHO (10mg of HCN/kg body weight). This study provides critical information on the potential toxicity of cyanide in cassava from the five different regions.


Modern speaker verification models use deep neural networks to encode utterance audio into discriminative embedding vectors. During the training process, these networks are typically optimized to differentiate arbitrary speakers. This learning process biases the learning of fine voice characteristics towards dominant demographic groups, which can lead to an unfair performance disparity across different groups. This is observed especially with underrepresented demographic groups sharing similar voice characteristics. In this work, we investigate the fairness of speaker verification models on controlled datasets with imbalanced gender distributions, providing direct evidence that model performance suffers for underrepresented groups. To mitigate this disparity we propose the group-adapted fusion network (GFN) architecture, a modular architecture based on group embedding adaptation and score fusion. We show that our method alleviates model unfairness by improving speaker verification both overall and for individual groups. Given imbalanced group representation in training, our proposed method achieves overall equal error rate (EER) reduction of 9.6% to 29.0% relative, reduces minority group EER by 13.7% to 18.6%, and results in 20.0% to 25.4% less EER disparity, compared to baselines. The approach is applicable to other types of training data skew in speaker recognition systems.


Urban stream restoration continues to be used as an ecological management tool, despite uncertainty about the long‐term sustainability and resilience of restored systems. Evaluations of restoration success often focus on specific instream indicators, with limited attention to the wider basin or parallel hydrologic and geomorphic process. A comprehensive understanding of urban stream restoration progress is particularly important for comparisons with nonurban sites as urban streams can provide substantial secondary benefits to urban residents. Here, we utilize a wide range of indicators to retrospectively examine the restoration of Nine Mile Run, a multi‐million dollar stream restoration project in eastern Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA). Examination of available continuous hydrological data illustrates the high cost of failures to incorporate the data into planning and adaptive management. For example, persistent extreme flows drive geomorphic degradation threatening to reverse hydrologic connections created by the restoration and impact the improved instream biotic communities. In addition, human activities associated with restoration efforts suggest a positive feedback as the stream restoration has focused effort on the basin beyond the reach. Ultimately, urban stream restoration remains a potentially useful management tool, but continued improvements in post‐project assessment should include examination of a wider range of indicators.


While it is recognized that tobacco misuse among young females has serious health implications for Aboriginal populations, there is a worrying lack of representation from this community in current tobacco control research. We review the present state of Aboriginal tobacco control across Canada and report on the design, development, and implementation of the weekend workshop for Aboriginal women and girls. We suggest that not only are borrowed tobacco control initiatives failing to protect young Aboriginal females due to their lack of relevance, but that the voice of the Aboriginal community appears to be completely absent when it comes to defining social determinants of nontraditional tobacco use. We suggest that the extent to which the disproportionate burden of nontraditional tobacco use among its young women can be addressed is contingent upon increasing the presence of Aboriginal researchers and recognizing the central importance of community-relevant social determinants.


A comprehensive review of major publications on WECS-utility integration studies has been carried out. Outlines of various modeling and simulation methods used for including WECS plants into the generation mix of electric utility systems are presented. Issues and concerns of the utility industry relevant to the integration of WECS, including planning, cost, operations, reliability, dynamic interactions, etc. are also outlined.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the manufacturing context is said to provide significant benefits to organizations. However, many manufacturers struggle to meet the requirements necessary for the use of AI technologies within their company. A major challenge is linking and processing the existing data into a way in which it can be reliably processed by AI algorithms. This is especially relevant in established companies characterized by a historically grown bulky and decentralized IT infrastructure. Moreover, in many of these companies there is no common understanding of data consistency. Therefore, we investigate the diverse dimensions of data consistency and set the foundation for a maturity model to assess a company division's status quo. Based on our literature review and four interdisciplinary and iterative workshops conducted with experts from an automotive OEM, we developed the concept of a maturity model for data consistency that provides situation-specific recommendations for further improvement.


This paper presents a quantitative analysis on the need for automotive calibration methods for digital tachographs. Digital tachographs are mandatory for vehicles used in people and goods transport and they are an important aspect for road safety and inspection. Digital tachographs need to be calibrated for workshops in order for the digital tachograph to display and record speed and odometer values correctly. Calibration of digital tachographs can be performed either manual or automatic. It is shown in this paper that manual calibration of digital tachographs is prone to errors and there can be differences between manual and automatic calibration parameters. Therefore automatic calibration methods are imperative for digital tachograph calibration. The presented experimental results and error analysis clearly support the claims of the paper by evaluating and statistically comparing manual and automatic calibration methods. Keywords—Digital tachograph, road safety, tachograph calibration, tachograph workshops.


Degradation of water quality is a major issue in New Zealand, to which the loss of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment from agriculture into waterways contributes significantly. To predict and manage diffuse pollution from intensive agriculture it is vital that models are able to spatially map the sources, flows and sinks of nutrients in the landscape and spatially target mitigations. This study investigates the application of one such model, the Land Utilisation Capability Indicator (LUCI). Used in conjunction with OVERSEER, LUCI is a powerful tool to support farm scale land management decision-making.  LUCI includes soil, topography and landcover datasets in its analysis. This thesis examines how the quality and resolution of each dataset affects LUCI's output. Six different case studies are examined, across a range of New Zealand farming systems. This is the most comprehensive study, to date, of LUCI's sensitivity to input datasets.  The results suggest that LUCI nutrient loading estimates are primarily sensitive to soil order, and therefore to changes in order classifications. Utilising different soil datasets in the LUCI model resulted in varying nutrient load predictions. This sensitivity is primarily attributed to the differing hydraulic and phosphorus retention capabilities of the respective soil orders. To test the sensitivity of LUCI to digital elevation model (DEM) resolution, multiple DEMs with varying spatial and vertical resolution were tested. These results strongly indicate that particularly fine resolution DEMs are required to accurately model flat landscapes.  It was recognised that LUCI was not using all of the relevant data available in Landcare Research's S-Map database. LUCI was modified to use more of this information, and alternative methods of incorporating sibling level data in both LUCI and OVERSEER were investigated. Finally, avenues for future development are suggested. Overall, this thesis highlights the potential LUCI has to play a key role in farm scale environmental management.


BACKGROUND
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is designed to measure psychological adjustment in children and adolescents. Psychometric evaluations of the instrument have shown satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity, while factor analysis studies have shown mixed results across countries. In the present study, the construct validity of the five-factor SDQ is evaluated in a large community sample of Norwegian pre-, early, and late adolescents.

METHODS
The sample consisted of 26,269 children and adolescents (10-19 years) with valid answers on all 25 items of the SDQ self-report. Complete parent/proxy data of respective pre-adolescent children was available for 6,645 cases. A Lisrel approach to Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the five-factor model and the presence of a positive construal factor. In the sample of pre-adolescents and their parents/proxies, convergent and discriminant validity was evaluated by a CFA approach to multitrait-multimethods (MTMM).

RESULTS
Fit statistics for the hypothesized five-factor model were satisfactory, but introducing correlated error terms for some of the items led to significant model improvement in all age groups. All factor loadings were higher than .30, except for item 11 (good friend). The loadings differed across age groups and differed markedly between the parent/proxy and self-report measures. The MTMM showed that the source of ratings made a difference on the validity of all subscale ratings, with self-reports discriminating more on ratings of emotional and peer problems, and parents/proxies discriminating more on hyperactivity symptoms. A positive construal factor was identified but had a modest effect compared with the original five traits. Results suggested an unclear construct and meaning of the Prosocial behaviour subscale.

CONCLUSION
The results of the present study indicated support for the proposed five-factor structure of the SDQ (Goodman, 2001) across a wide age range (10-19years), including older adolescents and different informants. However, some improvements should be considered to improve internal reliability and conceptual clarity.


Love is the highest form of attachment (Bowlby, 1979; Sternberg, 1987; Thompson, MacInnis, & Park, 2005) that consumers have towards brands, and it is integral to the success of organizations today. Sports boast of millions of raving consumers and may be one of the industries in which brand love is most evident; however, the multiple general marketing studies that were conducted on the brand love of traditional products (Albert, Merunka, & Valette-Florence, 2008; Batra, Ahuvia, & Bagozzi, 2012; Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006) were not directly applicable to sport. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to empirically validate the sport brand love model to allow sport managers a better understanding of sport brand love. Using consumers from the major professional sport teams in a large metropolitan area of the U.S., participants (N = 635) were surveyed using the sport brand love questionnaire developed in this study. The sample was split into two independent samples so the results could be cross-validated. The measurement model of the calibration sample and holdout sample had reasonably good fit, reliability, and validity considering the complexity of the model, and the structural model of both samples also had reasonably good fit. While the path coefficients for the samples were different, the subsequent multi-sample path analysis of the three teams provided an explanation for these differences. In the NBA and NFL group, "Team Nostalgia" was the only statistically significant (p < .05) antecedent, and "Perceived High Quality," "Team Uniqueness," and "Team Nostalgia" were statistically significant (p < .05) antecedents for the MLB group. The six consequences of sport brand love were statistically significant (p < .05) for all teams. Furthermore, the multi-group path analysis on gender indicated that "Team Nostalgia" was the only antecedent that was statistically significant (p < .05) for the female group, and "Perceived High Quality," "Team Uniqueness," and "Team Nostalgia" were statistically significant (p < .05) for the male group. However, gender was not a significant moderating variable when the individual teams were examined. These results indicate that sport marketers must understand sport brand love and create strategic marketing plans according to the type of sport.


Aims. We study iPTF14hls, a luminous and extraordinary long-lived Type II supernova, which lately has attracted much attention and disparate interpretation.
Methods. We have presented new optical photometry that extends the light curves up to more than three years past discovery. We also obtained optical spectroscopy over this period, and furthermore present additional space-based observations using Swift and HST.
Results. After an almost constant luminosity for hundreds of days, the later light curve of iPTF14hls finally fades and then displays a dramatic drop after about 1000 d, but the supernova is still visible at the latest epochs presented. The spectra have finally turned nebular, and our very last optical spectrum likely displays signatures from the deep and dense interior of the explosion. A high-resolution HST image highlights the complex environment of the explosion in this low-luminosity galaxy.
Conclusions. We provide a large number of additional late-time observations of iPTF14hls, which are (and will continue to be) used to assess the many different interpretations for this intriguing object. In particular, the very late (+1000 d) steep decline of the optical light curve is difficult to reconcile with the proposed central engine models. The lack of very strong X-ray emission, and the emergence of intermediate-width emission lines including [S II] that we propose originate from dense, processed material in the core of the supernova ejecta, are also key observational tests for both existing and future models.


for an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is bad news for everyone. For the patient it may signal the beginning of the terminal phase of the illness. For the health services it is a significant component of the cost of care for a condition that is increasingly burdensome. In recent years knowledge has been growing about the important role of the exacerbation in the deteriorating progress of COPD. The last few years of life with COPD may be characterised by repeated episodes of illness culminating in hospital admission. Exacerbations only lead to hospital admission in about 16% of cases, but their increasing frequency is associated with declining state of health. In UK hospitals emergency inpatient admission is the largest component of the total cost of respiratory disease to the NHS that amounts to over £2.5 billion. In recent years attention has focused on reducing the cost and impact of hospital admissions for COPD. The emphasis of the strategy to date has been on admission avoidance and early supported discharge schemes. These have had some success in curtailing admissions and reducing lengths of hospital stay, and are beginning to be introduced more widely into clinical practice. Contrary to popular perception, COPD is not a stable condition and there are inevitably day to day variations in both symptoms and ability to function. The periodic episodes of worsening are known as exacerbations, although a precise agreed definition is lacking. However, the meaning of the term is generally understood and a working appreciation of the impact of these events is becoming clear. Not all episodes of exacerbation lead to hospital admission, but if these can be contained or prevented by the patient or primary care services, then the burden of COPD will be reduced. A study of the factors that can prevent hospital admission in these circumstances would therefore make an important and valuable contribution. This issue of Thorax contains the third major publication from a group in Barcelona (EFRAM) that has been examining the factors associated with hospital admission. This latest paper is the report of a prospective study that examines the risk factors for readmission to hospital for exacerbations of COPD. In previous publications the group have described the prevalence and relative risk of modifiable risk factors for hospital admission. 8 The initial study population was a sample of 404 patients who were admitted to hospital in Barcelona over a period of 1 year. During the admission the patients completed a questionnaire and 353 later underwent spirometric tests and arterial blood gas measurements. Identification of risk factors that were potentially amenable to modification showed that lack of rehabilitation and poor inhaler technique were the most frequent associations. Other important factors were continued smoking, inadequate oxygen prescription, and lack of influenza immunisation. In the second paper the authors reported a casecontrol study of the factors associated with hospital admission in a subsample of the original cohort. The control subjects were patients with COPD who had had a previous admission but were stable at the time of the comparison. The only apparent risk factors found in 86 pairs of cases and controls were a previous history of three or more admissions, lower FEV1, and underprescription of oxygen. Perversely, continued smoking appeared to convey an advantage and inhaled corticosteroids offered no benefit. Some other potentially modifiable factors including rehabilitation could not be tested because of the very small numbers receiving it. In their conclusion the authors acknowledged that the casecontrol methodology had limitations in terms of selection bias and small numbers and that a prospective cohort study was required. The latest paper describes a prospective study of the risk of readmission in a cohort of 340 patients from the original study population who were followed for over 1 year after their index admission. At the end of the study 63% of the patients had been readmitted and 29% had died, suggesting that previous admission is an important risk factor. Other expected risk factors were lower FEV1 and hypoxaemia. One unexpected finding was that a high level of usual physical activity was associated with a 46% reduction in the risk of admission. The activity profile was obtained through self-reporting and no objective test of exercise capacity was made. Nevertheless, the association was very strong. Once again the authors could not test the influence of rehabilitation because the numbers were too small. Other factors weakly associated with increased admission were supervision by a respiratory specialist, oral corticosteroids, and anticholinergic drugs. These latter associations are unlikely to be causal and probably reflect confounding by severity of disease. Similar findings were reported by the British Thoracic Society and Royal College of Physicians' audit of admission for acute exacerbation of COPD. In this audit of 1400 admissions two thirds of the patients had had a previous admission for COPD and one third had had a similar episode in the previous 4 months. In a follow up audit of readmission within 3 months, poor performance status was a predictor of mortality at the first admission but not readmission. Once again the best predictors of admission were low FEV1 and previous admission. The pattern of hospital readmission may be affected by both patient and healthcare delivery factors. It could be that general practitioners find it easier to admit the patient to hospital than to deal with the exacerbation at home. However, high rates of readmission to hospital are common to both studies from different healthcare systems. The implication of the latest EFRAM study is that the risk of readmission to hospital for COPD can be reduced by improving spontaneous domestic activity and thereby breaking the cycle of hospital dependency. This may be true but, so far, trials of pulmonary rehabilitation that improve exercise capacity have been unable to show a reduction in hospital admission. However, they have shown a reduction in the length of stay once admitted. It is possible that rehabilitation may reduce hospital admissions but studies with an appropriately sensitive design have not been performed. In addition, the capacity to provide rehabilitation in most countries is so poor that it has never been testable. In the British Thoracic Society audit only 3% of the patients were recommended for rehabilitation, while in Spain only 14% of the study group had received it. An alternative explanation for the results of the study is that patients with less severe COPD simply feel better, do more, cope better, and are not admitted so frequently. It is known that physical performance, as reflected by a walking test and functional performance questionnaire, is a strong Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


The prevailing view among researchers of dolphin communication is that bottlenose dolphins possess an individualized whistle contour; known as the 'signature whistle', it accounts for 74–95 % of a dolphin's whistle repertoire and functions to signal the individual identity of the whistler. This study used a new quantitative technique, termed the contour similarity technique (CS technique), and reports on the quantitative comparison of whistles from the individuals of three different social groups of bottlenose dolphins in socially interactive contexts. Results suggest that captive adult dolphins share several different whistle types including one predominant whistle type shared by all individuals across three different social groups. These analyses suggest a different interpretation of the dolphin whistle repertoire than has previously been proposed by proponents of the signature whistle hypothesis. In addition, results from our study support the results of early studies, published before the advent of the signature whistle hypothesis, in which investigators reported a large whistle repertoire within socially interactive captive and free-ranging groups and a predominant whistle type similar to that found in our study. Our results, combined with the results from earlier studies of dolphin vocal behaviour, suggest that the signature whistle hypothesis is incomplete and that dolphin whistle repertoires need to be analysed with respect to behavioural context and social relationships. In addition, these results suggest that contour discrimination and other acoustic features of whistles need to be tested in perception and categorization experiments.


Traditional aspect graphs are topology-based and are impractical for articulated objects. In this work we learn a small number of aspects, or prototypical views, from video data. Groundtruth segmentations in video sequences are utilized for both training and testing aspect models that operate on static images. We represent aspects of an articulated object as collections of line segments. In learning aspects, where object centers are known, a linear matching based on line location and orientation is used to measure similarity between views. We use K-medoid to find cluster centers. When using line aspects in recognition, matching is based on pairwise cues of relative location, relative orientation as well adjacency and parallelism. Matching with pairwise cues leads to a quadratic optimization that we solve with a spectral approximation. We show that our line aspect matching is capable of locating people in a variety of poses. Line aspect matching performs significantly better than an alternative approach using Hausdorff distance, showing merits of the line representation.


Since the launch of the first civilian earth-observing satellite in 1972, satellite remote sensing has provided increasingly sophisticated information on the structure and function of forested ecosystems. Forest classification and mapping, common uses of satellite data, have improved over the years as a result of more discriminating sensors, better classification algorithms, and the use of geographic information systems to incorporate additional spatially referenced data such as topography. Land-use change, including conversion of forests for urban or agricultural development, can now be detected and rates of change calculated by superimposing satellite images taken at different dates. Landscape ecological questions regarding landscape pattern and the variables controlling observed patterns can be addressed using satellite imagery as can forestry and ecological questions regarding spatial variations in physiological characteristics, productivity, successional patterns, forest structure, and forest decline.


The structural properties of surficial sedimentary deposits strongly influence exchange processes across the benthic boundary layer, and hence
are important factors controlling sedimentation and biogeochemical
cycling. They are governed by a complex combination of hydrodynamic,
chemical and biological controls, and therefore exhibit significant
spatial and temporal heterogeneity.
Geophysical techniques have great potential as tools for investigation of
these structural properties. Techniques for determining in situ Electrical
Formation Factor (FF) and acoustic shear-wave velocity (Vs) in the upper few centimetres of saturated intertidal deposits were developed: FF was
measured by a Wenner electrode array at the sediment surface; Vs was
measured by piezoelectric bender transducers inserted to a depth of 40mm.
Geophysical properties, porosity, and textural and biological
characteristics were determined in situ at a variety of locations,
predominantly in sands. The highest variability in all parameters was
obtained over large spatial scales, with primary variation in bulk
textural composition and benthic infaunal community. Within-location
variability was significant over medium spatial scales of tens to hundreds
of metres, controlled by local variation in tide-averaged hydrodynamic
environment and duration of tidal exposure. In sands, bulk textural
variability was of secondary importance over these scales, and was interpreted as due to admixture of relatively small proportions of coarse
and fine sub-populations into a uniform sedimentary framework. Localised
geophysical variability, while significant, was also of secondary importance, being influenced primarily by properties of this framework.
Seasonal variability was also significant, controlled by temporal
variation in hydrodynamic environment and temperature. Structural
parameters (porosity, FF, Vs) were more responsive than textural
parameters to temporal variation in hydrodynamic or biological activity.
Porosity was controlled by grain shape and size distribution, and by the depositional environment. It was not apparently directly affected by benthic macrofaunal activity. FF was controlled by porosity, and
additionally by factors affecting tortuosity. Tortuosity was increased by increasing both carbonate and mud contents. Burrowing organisms (Arenicola
marina and Corophium) and tube-building organisms (Lanice conchilega) reduced FF. Vs was controlled by porosity, and additionally by factors
which control intergranular friction. This was increased by increasing
carbonate content, and reduced by increasing mud content. Burrowing organisms (Arenicola marina and Corophium) reduced Vs, while tube-building organisms (Lanice conchilega and Pygospio elegans) increased it.


In 1993-1994, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory collected high-resolution airborne geophysical data on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, TN. The data were collected in part to address concerns about possible undocumented hazardous waste sites. Interpretation of the aeromagnetic data was complicated, however, by the discovery in remote areas of numerous small magnetic anomalies of natural origin. Magnetic susceptibility measurements of core showed that the underlying Copper Ridge Dolomite was non-magnetic. We attribute the magnetic anomalies to the presence of the ferromagnetic mineral maghemite (γ-Fe 2 O 3 ), which formed during pedogenesis of Fe-enriched colluvium that had infilled low-lying areas, including dolines. We discuss explanations offered in the literature for the formation of magnetic soils, and present evidence based on profile descriptions, thin sections, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), that in this case, maghemite formed either by anaerobic microbial Fe reduction followed by the formation of single-domain maghemite, or by abiological weathering and reduction of an Fe-bearing mineral followed by oxidation. Naturally occurring magnetic soils may produce magnetic anomalies similar to those characteristics of anthropogenic objects, such as buried waste drums, and complicate interpretation of airborne geophysical surveys.


Cupriavidus gilardii isolated from blood sample is a rare condition and is hard to identify via biochemical testing. Bloodstream infection (BSI) caused by this bacterium due to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) has never been reported in the literature. We reported a 52-year-old systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) female with IPA. The lung capillaries were damaged by aspergillus which led to Cupriavidus gilardii circulated through the bloodstream. MALDI-TOF MS and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing led to the identification of the bacillus. We highlighted the identification and treatment of Cupriavidus gilardii BSI .


Studies of vocabulary size based on dictionary sampling have faced several methodological problems. These problems occur in trying to answer the following three questions: (I) How do we decide what to count as words? (2) How do we choose what words to test? (3) How do we test the chosen words? The present study attempts to overcome these problems and checks in several ways to see if the problems have been overcome. The results indicate that what were previously thought of as conservative estimates of vocabulary size are likely to be the most accurate. These estimates suggest that well-educated adult native speakers of English have a vocabulary of around 17,000 base words. This represents an acquisition rate of around two to three words per day. © 1990 Oxford University Press.


Objectives: Use of a spring as an energy harvest/release mechanism for transfemoral prosthetics designs is gaining traction. While springs theoretically can minimize the energy flow deficiency during the stance phase knee flexion, there are problems associated with controlling the release of energy harvested by springs. The purpose of this review is to discuss the importance of controlled energy flow at the knee joint, recent attempts to harvest/return energy and the emphasis on the role of the ankle prosthesis in achieving assisted gait. Study Design: Literature Review Methods: Use of a spring in emerging prosthetic knee designs are presented in terms of their energy regeneration abilities along with their advantages and limitations. Results: Use of a spring in knee prosthetics can cut power demand significantly as they mimick the musculotendonous structures by harvesting and returning needed energy. Conclusions: Controlled energy flow at the knee joint could not only provide natural movement of the amputated limb but could also create positive power peaks at the knee joint. These features cannot be produced by any of the current generation of controlled damping prosthetic knees.


In tumor-bearing rats the hematocrit volume was decreased. It is recommended therefore to estimate the content of glucose in blood serum but not in the whole blood. In rats with Zajhdela ascites hepatoma and with solid hepatoma 27 contents of insulin and glucagon in blood and of glycogen in liver were altered. The nature and magnitude of these alterations varied depending on the type of the transplated tumor. The hormonal disbalance appears to be due to loss of receptor sensitivity towards these hormones. In blood serum of healthy and tumor-bearing rats maximal glucose content was observed within 30 min after sugar loading, after which the content of glucose in blood serum was decreased. In the tumor-bearing rats the increase in content of glucose after sugar loading was higher than in the healthy animals, and the return of content of glucose to normal values was considerably delayed in the tumor-bearing rats. Apparent Vass for glucose was distinctly lower in healthy as compared with tumor-bearing animals. Simultaneous increase in content of glucose and insulin was found in blood serum of healthy rats after sugar loading, whereas the increase in insulin content was retarded in the tumor-bearing animals.


BACKGROUND
The specificity of impairments in specific reading disabilities (SRD) and specific language impairments (SLI) has recently been questioned, with many children recruited for studies of SRD and SLI demonstrating impairments in both reading and oral language development. This has implications for the results of SRD and SLI studies where both reading and oral language skills are not assessed. Thus there is a need to compare the profiles of children with both oral language and reading impairments to groups of children with SRD and SLI.

METHODS
The reading, oral language, short-term auditory memory, phonological processing, spelling, and maths abilities of 151 children (aged between 7 and 12 years) drawn from a Learning Disabilities Clinic were assessed.

RESULTS
Five groups were identified, including children who demonstrated either a specific reading disability or a specific language impairment and children who showed evidence of both reading and oral language impairments. Differences were found between the groups on maths, phonological processing, short-term auditory memory, and spelling measures, with the children displaying both language and reading deficits generally performing at a lower level than the children with specific reading or language deficits.

CONCLUSIONS
It was concluded that more careful screening needs to be conducted in both clinical and research settings to accurately identify the nature of deficits in children with reading and oral language difficulties. Furthermore, a third and separate category of children with a mixed pattern of impairments needs to be considered.


We exploit recent constraints on the ages and metallicities of early-type galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to gain new insight into the physical origin of two fundamental relations obeyed by these galaxies: the colour–magnitude and the Mg 2 – σ V relations. Our sample consists of 26 003 galaxies selected from the SDSS Data Release 2 (DR2) on the basis of their concentrated light profiles, for which we have previously derived median-likelihood estimates of stellar metallicity, light-weighted age and stellar mass. Our analysis provides the most unambiguous demonstration to date of the fact that both the colour–magnitude and the Mg 2 – σ V relations are primarily sequences in stellar mass and that total stellar metallicity, α -elements-to-iron abundance ratio and light-weighted age all increase with mass along the two relations. For high-mass ellipticals, the dispersion in age is small and consistent with the error. At the low-mass end, there is a tail towards younger ages, which dominates the scatter in colour and index strength at fixed mass. A small, but detectable, intrinsic scatter in the mass– metallicity relation also contributes to the scatter in the two observational scaling relations, even at high masses. Our results suggest that the chemical composition of an early-type galaxy is more tightly related to its dynamical mass (including stars and dark matter) than to its stellar mass. The ratio between stellar mass and dynamical mass appears to decrease from the least massive to the most massive galaxies in our sample.


Rapid deterioration of groundwater quality in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria; due to unregulated exploitation resulting from increasing growth in the oil and gas production activities has become a major concern. The predisposition of groundwater to pollution and the realization of its serious health and economic consequences demand knowledge of the ambient groundwater quality and of the processes leading to an improved understanding of the groundwater in the area. Groundwater samples were collected from eighteen representative boreholes spread over Port Harcourt City. This was done to assess and determine the geochemical processes occurring within the aquifer systems, using groundwater chemistry and ionic ratios. Electrical conductivity, pH and major ion concentrations, such as Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, HCO3, and SO4, of groundwater were taken into consideration. Concentrations of these cations and anions in the groundwater systems of the area vary spatially and temporally. Abundance of these ions are in the following order: Ca > Mg >Na > K = HCO3 > Cl > SO4 > NO3. Ca - Mg - HCO3 and Ca- Mg- SO4- Cl are the dominant hydrochemical facies of the study area. Results show that ion-exchange processes, carbonate and silicate weathering are responsible mechanisms for the groundwater chemistry of the area. Hydrochemical indices Mg/Ca, Cl/HCO3 and Cation Exchange Values (CEV) generally indicates low- salt inland waters, with minimal marine influence. The hydrochemical evidence reveals the importance of recent management decisions (reduced exploitation/controlled pumping) in determining the evolution and distribution of groundwater salinity within the aquiferous zones. This framework as the study observes, will lead to improved understanding of the hydrochemical characteristics of the aquifer systems of the area.

 Key words: Groundwater, water quality, hydrogeochemistry, aquifers, Port Harcourt.


GitHub has become a popular social application platform, where a large number of users post their open source projects. In particular, an increasing number of researchers release repositories of source code related to their research papers in order to attract more people to follow their work. Motivated by this trend, we describe a novel item-item cross-platform recommender system, paper2repo, that recommends relevant repositories on GitHub that match a given paper in an academic search system such as Microsoft Academic. The key challenge is to identify the similarity between an input paper and its related repositories across the two platforms, without the benefit of human labeling. Towards that end, paper2repo integrates text encoding and constrained graph convolutional networks (GCN) to automatically learn and map the embeddings of papers and repositories into the same space, where proximity offers the basis for recommendation. To make our method more practical in real life systems, labels used for model training are computed automatically from features of user actions on GitHub. In machine learning, such automatic labeling is often called distant supervision. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first distant-supervised cross-platform (paper to repository) matching system. We evaluate the performance of paper2repo on real-world data sets collected from GitHub and Microsoft Academic. Results demonstrate that it outperforms other state of the art recommendation methods.


A 20-year-old man is described with drug-induced lupus erythematosus (DILE) induced by carbamazepine prescribed for epilepsy. The symptoms consisted mainly of arthritis and largely disappeared when carbamazepine was replaced by oxcarbazepine. With a simple decision scheme based on serological findings, differentiation between (idiopathic) systemic lupus erythematosus and DILE is possible.


Apoptosis of activated T cells is critical for the termination of immune responses. Here we show that adjuvant-stimulated dendritic cells secrete cytokines that prime activated T cells for survival and analyze the roles of the NF-kappaB regulator Bcl-3 and the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members Bim and Puma. Bcl-3 overexpression increased survival, and activated bcl-3-/- T cells died abnormally rapidly. Cytokines from adjuvant-stimulated dendritic cells induced Bcl-3, but survival through cytokine priming was Bcl-3-independent. Apoptosis inhibition by Bcl-3 involved blockade of Bim activation, because Bim was overactivated in Bcl-3-deficient cells, and Bcl-3 failed to increase survival of bim-/- T cells. However, adjuvants increased survival also in Bim-deficient T cells. This Bim-independent death pathway is at least in part regulated by Puma, as shown by analysis of puma-/- and noxa-/- T cells. IL-1, IL-7, and IL-15 primed T cells for survival even in the absence of Bim or Puma. Our data define interrelations and a Bim-independent pathway to activated T cell death.


Time-domain finite-difference solutions to the wave equation are a standard method for modeling seismic wave propagation, but they see limited use in data processing because they are expensive to compute. Given the resurgence of interest in reverse-time migration, anything that improves the performance and accuracy of the finite-difference method may be worthwhile. Additionally, the design problem for optimal finite-difference operators is a "simple and approachable" problem for teaching non-linear least squares. The standard solution for improving the finite-difference method is to use long spatial difference operators. However, there are computational reasons why it might be preferable to use spatially compact stencils, assuming they can be made accurate enough.


This paper concerns the choice of a preferable exchange rate system for the longer run of an economy which has finally emerged from an era of major disinflationary disturbance and disinflation. The discussion bears particular application to the Israeli case, but this provides a link to the major issues relevant to the world at large. The range of practical choices is somewhat restricted, in the near future, by the still pending development of large common currency areas (especially in Europe), but the relevant issues in that potential choice are integrated into the analysis. Substantively, the analysis finds general superiority in a flexible or floating rate system - maintaining the independence of counter-cyclical monetary policy. It explores the major weakness in this alternative (destabilizing speculation) and the factors which many conduce to a common currency solution in the longer run.


Abstract In this article I explore potential synergies between degrowth and environmental justice movements, with a focus on their shared goal of inclusivity. I turn to the case of the contentious San Cristobal-Palenque highway project in Mexico's southernmost state, Chiapas, and highlight the ability of such intersections to speak to the concerns of protesters of the initiative. Since the mid-1990s, critics of market-based development in Chiapas have provided a sustained critique of the Mexican government's growth-oriented development agenda and related conditions of poverty and inequality in the state. These critics mobilized in 2009 and 2014 to protest the construction of a mega-highway designed to enhance agribusiness and tourism in the region. This opposition finds many points of overlap with perspectives of degrowth proponents in its critique of growthbased development, and yet is rooted in a unique socio-political and historical context. Given the situated nature of this opposition, I argue that a synergistic approach that takes into account the thinking of degrowth proponents and environmental justice advocates is needed, to address the concerns of highway protesters in Chiapas whose critiques of a growth society emerged from its negative effects to which they are disproportionately exposed. Key Words: Degrowth, environmental justice, contestation, Mexico


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

D,L-Sulforaphane (SFN) is a synthetic racemic analogue of broccoli constituent L-sulforaphane with in vivo evidence of cancer chemopreventive effect in rodent models. For example, we showed previously that oral administration of 6 μmol (about 1 mg/mouse) SFN (3x/week) modestly inhibited incidence and/or burden of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and well-differentiated cancer, but not poorly-differentiated (advanced) prostate cancer, in Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate (TRAMP) mice in association with apoptosis induction. Previous studies from our laboratory have also revealed that SFN treatment causes autophagy in cultured human prostate cancer cells, which serves to inhibit apoptotic cell death by delaying release of cytochrome c due to sequestration of mitochondria in autophagosomes. However, the in vivo significance of these cellular observations was unclear. The present study demonstrates, for the first time, in vivo augmentation of SFN-mediated prostate cancer chemoprevention by pharmacologic suppression of autophagy using chloroquine (CQ). A total of 128 four-week old TRAMP mice were randomized into one of the following four groups: (1) control (n=32), (2) SFN (n=32), (3) CQ (n=35), and (4) SFN + CQ (n=29). Termination of the experiment was planned after 18 weeks of treatment, but early sacrifice was necessary for some mice in each group (mostly from groups 1-3) due to a variety of reasons but not unique to any treatment group, including weight loss, premature death, morbidity, or early tumor onset. Nevertheless, % mice with prostate weight of >1g, an indicator of advanced (poorly-differentiated) prostate cancer, was significantly lower in the SFN + CQ group compared with control (P=0.006 by Fisher's exact test), SFN alone (P=0.017), and CQ alone group (P=0.072). Likewise, the incidence and burden of microscopic poorly-differentiated prostate cancer was significantly lower in the mice of the SFN + CQ group compared with control. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed in vivo autophagy induction by SFN administration in the dorsolateral prostate. Augmentation of SFN-mediated prostate cancer chemoprevention by CQ was associated with reduced cell proliferation. Plasma proteomics indicated protein level changes unique to the SFN + CQ combination compared with other groups (control or SFN), including hemopexin, serpina1c protein, and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase A isoform precursor. Cluster analysis of proteomics data revealed significant enrichment for gene ontology (GO) terms proteasome and threonine protease (2.8), protease inhibitor (2.7), and protein-lipid complex (2.6). These results merit determination of the efficacy of SFN + CQ combination for prevention of prostate cancer in a clinical setting. This investigation was supported by the NCI grant CA115498-07.

Citation Format: Avani R. Vyas, Eun-Ryeong Hahm, Julie A. Arlotti, Dhimant Desai, Shantu Amin, Shivendra V. Singh. Augmentation of D,L-sulforaphane-mediated prostate cancer chemoprevention by pharmacologic inhibition of autophagy using chloroquine in a transgenic mouse model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3695. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3695


PURPOSE
To compare the utility and efficacy of stress cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and stress echocardiography in an emergency setting in patients with acute chest pain (CP) and intermediate risk of coronary artery disease (CAD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Written informed consent was obtained from all patients. This HIPAA-compliant study was approved by the institutional review board for research ethics. Sixty patients without history of CAD presented to the emergency department with intermediate-risk acute CP and were prospectively enrolled. Patients underwent both stress cardiac MR imaging and stress echocardiography in random order within 12 hours of presentation. Stress imaging results were interpreted clinically immediately (blinded interpretation was performed months later), and coronary angiography was performed if either result was abnormal. CAD was considered significant if it was identified at angiography (narrowing >50% ) or if a cardiac event (death or myocardial infarction) occurred during follow-up (mean, 14 months ± 5 [standard deviation]). McNemar test was used to compare the diagnostic accuracy of techniques.

RESULTS
Stress cardiac MR imaging and stress echocardiography had similar specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values (92% vs 96%, 93% vs 88%, 67% vs 60%, and 100% vs 91%, respectively, for clinical interpretation; 90% vs 92%, 90% vs 88%, 58% vs 56%, and 98% vs 94%, respectively, for blinded interpretation). Stress cardiac MR imaging had higher sensitivity at clinical interpretation (100% vs 38%, P = .025), which did not reach significance at blinded interpretation (88% vs 63%, P = .31). However, multivariable logistic regression analysis showed stress cardiac MR imaging to be the strongest independent predictor of significant CAD (P = .002).

CONCLUSION
In patients presenting to the emergency department with intermediate-risk CP, adenosine stress cardiac MR imaging performed within 12 hours of presentation is safe and potentially has improved performance characteristics compared with stress echocardiography. Online supplemental material is available for this article.


Barbara Novak has written an introduction to this catalogue that provides a theoretical framework for looking at this collection in the philosophical context of nineteenth-century American culture. The works of Thomas Cole and the luminists are seen in relation to Transcendentalism as embodied in the writings of Emerson and Thoreau; the later realism of Winslow Homer is seen in relation to the influence of Darwin, and throughout, the domineering influence of nature and the unpastoralized American landscape is seen as a major factor in leading artists trained in European traditions to modify accepted solutions in a way that led to the development of a distinct national identity. Barbara Novak's essay is followed by a detailed and extensive catalogue of the 109 paintings by 55 artists, in which all the paintings in the collection are illustrated in color. The notes on each painting incorporate meticulous original research by a group of young American scholars, and in addition provide provenance and exhibition information and an account of citations in previous literature. A number of comparative illustrations are also included. Brief biographies of the artists, again using new material and accompanied by a bibliography, follow the catalogue section.


Polymerization of methylbutyl-2-(3-thienyl)-acetate (MBTA) was achieved by constant current electrolysis at low temperature. Subsequently, the syntheses of block copolymers of polyMBTA were accomplished in the presence of either pyrrole or thiophene by constant potential electrolysis. Moreover, the copolymer of MBTA with thiophene was obtained with constant potential electrolysis.


Raspberry ringspot virus (R/1:2.4/43 + 1.4/30 (or 2 × 1.4/46):S/S:S/Ne, nepovirus group) is a multicomponent plant virus with two sizes of RNA having mol. wt. of 2.4 × 106 (RNA-1) and 1.4 × 106 (RNA-2) (Murant et al. 1972). When obtained by centrifuging in sucrose density gradients or by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels, preparations of RNA-2 mostly did not infect the local lesion assay host, Chenopodium amaranticolor Coste & Reyn., and those of RNA-1 were only moderately infective, whereas mixtures of the two kinds of preparation were very infective (Harrison, Murant & Mayo, 1972). No such increase in infectivity occurred when one RNA species from raspberry ringspot virus was mixed with the other from tobacco ringspot virus (another nepovirus), or when either of the RNA species from raspberry ringspot virus was u.v. irradiated before use. A possible explanation of these results is that each RNA species carries genetic information not carried by the other.


BACKGROUND: The gastrorraphy isolated or associated with the use of biological adhesives formed throughout the history of surgery the usual way to promote healing in gastric lesions; however, the use of herbal medicine has been increasingly employed to help the wound healing. AIM: To evaluate the wound healing caused in the stomach of rats using extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi and Carapa guianensis Aublet oil. METHODS: Ninety rats, adult males were divided into three groups: aroeira, andiroba and control group, which were subdivided into three subgroups of five animals according to the time of the deaths (seven, 14 and 21 days). All underwent the same surgical procedure (injury and suture the stomach) differing only to the animals in groups aroeira and andiroba that received a daily dose of 100 mg / kg of hydroalcoholic extract and oil, by gavage, while the control group received normal saline. The parameters evaluated were the macroscopic and microscopic test of resistance to air insufflation and test the traction force. RESULTS: All animals showed good healing of gastric and abdominal wall without infection and dehiscence. Both groups presented neighboring organs adhesions on the gastric surface. The endurance test for air insufflation showed higher average pressure within seven days and the test revealed greater traction force of rupture between seven and 14 days in groups aroeira and andiroba. The intensity of chronic inflammation revealed statistically significant differences in angiogenesis and fibroblast proliferation. CONCLUSION: The use of extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi and Carapa guianensis Aublet oil favored the gastric wound healing in rats.


The effects of defects and electrostatics on charge transport in realistic organic field effect transistors were studied using a combination of first principles quantum chemistry calculations and Monte Carlo simulations with explicit introduction of defect sites. The results show that electrostatic interactions dramatically affect the field and carrier concentration dependence of charge transport in devices that include a significant number of traps, as well as its "switch-on" characteristics. Our results also show that charge transport decreases linearly as a function of neutral defect concentration as conduction pathways are turned off. For charged defects, mobility of imperfect devices is lower relative to defect-free devices but is surprisingly unaffected by the concentration of charged defects. The exact statistics of electrostatic disorder introduced by charged defects is found to obey a Poisson distribution rather than Gaussian or exponential as previously assumed. We also demonstrate that without ...


DISCLAIMER
In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

PURPOSE
The fluoroquinolone restriction for the prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection (FIRST) trial is a multisite clinical study in which sites carry out a preauthorization process via electronic health record-based best-practice alert (BPA) to optimize the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in acute care settings. Our research team worked closely with clinical implementation coordinators to facilitate the dissemination and implementation of this evidence-based intervention. Clinical implementation coordinators within the antibiotic stewardship team (AST) played a pivotal role in the implementation process; however, considerable research is needed to further understand their role. In this study, we aimed to (1) describe the roles and responsibilities of clinical implementation coordinators within ASTs and (2) identify facilitators and barriers coordinators experienced within the implementation process.

METHODS
We conducted a directed content analysis of semistructured interviews, implementation diaries, and check-in meetings utilizing the conceptual framework of middle managers' roles in innovation implementation in healthcare from Urquhart et al.

RESULTS
Clinical implementation coordinators performed a variety of roles vital to the implementation's success, including gathering and compiling information for BPA design, preparing staff, organizing meetings, connecting relevant stakeholders, evaluating clinical efficacy, and participating in the innovation as clinicians. Coordinators identified organizational staffing models and COVID-19 interruptions as the main barriers. Facilitators included AST empowerment, positive relationships with staff and oversight/governance committees, and using diverse implementation strategies.

CONCLUSION
When implementing healthcare innovations, clinical implementation coordinators facilitated the implementation process through their roles and responsibilities and acted as strategic partners in improving the adoption and sustainability of a fluoroquinolone preauthorization protocol.


Evaluation in machine learning is usually informed by past choices, for example which datasets or metrics to use. This standardization enables the comparison on equal footing using leaderboards, but the evaluation choices become sub-optimal as better alternatives arise. This problem is especially pertinent in natural language generation which requires ever-improving suites of datasets, metrics, and human evaluation to make definitive claims. To make following best model evaluation practices easier, we introduce GEMv2. The new version of the Generation, Evaluation, and Metrics Benchmark introduces a modular infrastructure for dataset, model, and metric developers to benefit from each others work. GEMv2 supports 40 documented datasets in 51 languages. Models for all datasets can be evaluated online and our interactive data card creation and rendering tools make it easier to add new datasets to the living benchmark.


almost the whole of my as yet unpublished paper. In brief, our disagreement, if any, seems to stem from the fact that they refer to "the risk of arterial bleeding" while I wrote about " spontaneous rupture of large arteries." Our interpretation of some of the published reports on arterial complications in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome also differs, because, unlike them, I find it impossible to identify the clinical type of the syndrome in the patients described.-I am, etc., A. P. BARABAS. Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, Norfolk.


This bachelor thesis describes the process of developing a monitoring and control infrastructure for a smart rainwater buffering ecosystem for the municipality of Enschede. The purpose of the system is to reduce the strain on the sewerage system of the Oldenzaalsestraat in order to combat urban flooding. Literature research, neighbourhood research and interviews with stakeholders led towards the development of a concept: a system of smart rainwater buffers which adapt their performance according to the predicted rainfall and show their data on an interface. Ultimately, the system is supposed to be implemented on the private property of citizens living in the neighbourhoods De Bothoven and Velve-Lindenhof. A prototype of the system was realised using a rainwater barrel, which contained sensors to measure the water level and outflow to the sewerage system, the garden and through a faucet. Furthermore, the barrel contained controllable valves to the sewerage system and garden. When rainfall is predicted for the next 2 hours, the valves are opened to release water and create sufficient capacity for the expected rainwater. The data produced by the rain barrels is presented on two web interfaces. The overall buffer performance can be monitored by the municipality on their interface, while the buffers can be monitored and controlled locally by the citizens on theirs. The prototype of the system was evaluated and the interface for the municipality was tested with representatives of the municipality. The performance of the prototype was not yet accurate and stable enough for long-term implementation. However, the interface was found to fulfill its job.


The aim of the article is to clarify the ontological foundations of the political representation within Franklin Ankersmit's theory in the context of the modern discussion about the crisis of the liberal-democratic project and the political per se. Taking an almost unique position in this discussion, Ankersmit insists on the presence of the political in the contemporary institutions of democratic representation, resorting to the tools of the theory of aesthetics to justify his viewpoint. The authors recognize Ankersmit's approach as a promising direction of the reflection on possible ways out of the political crisis, but at the same time they draw attention to its inherent flaws arising from the insufficient conceptual elaboration of its political and ontological foundations. Ankersmit does not clarify how representational relationships arise and what mechanisms are responsible for maintaining the connection between the representative and the represented. Based on the aesthetic theory of Martin Heidegger, as well as the interpretations of the social contract by Carl Schmitt, Paul Ricœur and Alexan der Filippov, the authors suggest that the theory of social contract can be used as an ontological basis for Ankersmit's concept, and show how the aesthetic approach to the political can be harmonized with this theory and why Ankersmit's criticism of this theory is substantively inaccurate. The authors' arguments demonstrate that the theory of social contract can be articulated in the categories of an aesthetic approach to the political and become its ontological foundation, thereby resolving certain concerns about the origin and functioning of the relations of representation in the society


ABSTRACT Introduction Prion diseases are a group of rare and lethal, rapidly progressive neurodegenerative diseases arising due to conversion of the physiological cellular prion protein into its pathological counterparts, denoted as 'prions.' These agents are resistant to inactivation by standard decontamination procedures and can be transmitted between individuals, consequently driving the irreversible brain damage typical of the diseases. Areas covered Since its infancy, prion research has mainly depended on animal models for untangling the pathogenesis of the disease as well as for the drug development studies. With the advent of prion-infected cell lines, relevant animal models have been complemented by a variety of cell-based models presenting a much faster, ethically acceptable alternative. Expert Opinion To date, there are still either no effective prophylactic regimens or therapies for human prion diseases. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more relevant cellular models that best approximate in vivo models. Each cellular model presented and discussed in detail in this review has its own benefits and limitations. Once embarking in a drug screening campaign for the identification of molecules that could interfere with prion conversion and replication, one should carefully consider the ideal cellular model.