Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS): A Primer for Nurse Practitioner Practice Emily S. Richards College of Nursing, BYU Master of Science Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a form of orthostatic intolerance (OI) that affects 0.2% of the population and is over-represented in women of childbearing age. It is caused by autonomic dysfunction and hypovolemia that presents with marked tachycardia and with minimal change in blood pressure upon standing. Orthostatic symptoms must be present including: lightheadedness, nausea, chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, and nausea and must improve with recumbence. The three main subtypes of POTS are neuropathic POTS associated destruction of peripheral nerves and venous pooling, hypovolemic POTS associated with low blood volume, and hyperadrenergic POTS associated with inappropriate sympathetic activation. It is easily diagnosed by hemodynamic testing, but is difficult to treat. Treatment involves increased fluid and salt intake, exercise, and pharmacologic measures. POTS is a chronic illness that significantly affects quality of life. The purpose of this article is to describe the clinical presentation, the underlying physiological and pathological processes involved, the diagnostic criteria, and current management strategies for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).


PURPOSE
As glioblastoma progresses, patients experience a decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Delaying this decline is an important treatment goal. In newly diagnosed glioblastoma, progression-free survival was prolonged when bevacizumab was added to radiotherapy plus temozolomide (RT/TMZ) versus placebo plus RT/TMZ (phase III AVAglio study; hazard ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.74; P < .001). To ensure that addition of bevacizumab to standard-of-care therapy was not associated with HRQoL detriment, HRQoL assessment was a secondary objective.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients completed European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires C30 and BN20 at each tumor assessment (Appendix Table A1, online only). Raw scores were converted to a 100-point scale and mean changes from baseline scores were evaluated (stable: < 10-point change; clinically relevant deterioration/improvement: ≥ 10-point change). Deterioration-free survival was the time to deterioration/progression/death; time to deterioration was the time to deterioration/death.

RESULTS
Most evaluable patients who had not progressed (> 74%) completed all HRQoL assessments for at least 1 year of treatment, and almost all completed at least one HRQoL assessment at baseline (98.3% and 97.6%, bevacizumab and placebo arms, respectively). Mean changes from baseline did not reach a clinically relevant difference between arms for most items. HRQoL declined at progression in both arms. The addition of bevacizumab to RT/TMZ resulted in statistically longer (P < .001) deterioration-free survival across all items. Time to deterioration was not statistically longer in the placebo plus RT/TMZ arm (v bevacizumab) for any HRQoL item.

CONCLUSION
The addition of bevacizumab to standard-of-care treatment for newly diagnosed glioblastoma had no impact on HRQoL during the progression-free period.


Around the UK, many coastal harbours have reduced in importance and/or lost the original sources of income against which to defray maintenance or refurbishment. Their breakwaters may however still protect harbour-side properties against wave overtopping, and thus flooding. This paper presents results from an exploratory study to identify how blockwork breakwaters common in many smaller UK coastal harbours may collapse due to storm action, and in this paper, how much wave protection is given by collapsed breakwaters. The companion paper by Pearson & Allsop (2017) describes initial work to estimate the failure of blockwork walls, and presents results of wall collapse tests.


Abstract. This article investigates the implementation of disaster risk reduction education for children in Indonesia. In the last decade, education programmes related to this subject have been promoted as capable of reducing disaster losses and increasing resilience, based on several studies that have identified positive outcomes. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate and address any potential challenges that might impede their success. The article uses a case study in Jakarta, a rapidly growing megacity that is highly prone to disasters and natural hazards, especially floods and fires, to explore the scaling up and sustainability of disaster risk reduction in Indonesian schools. Based on previous studies, a new approach was developed for evaluating the implementation of education programmes related to these subjects. This study captured the perspectives of children, school personnel, and non-governmental organisations on the challenges of scaling up the implementation of disaster risk reduction education in schools. The study revealed seven key issues and suggests several policy recommendations to move forward. These key issues may also be apparent in many other developing and developed countries, and the suggested recommendations may well be applicable beyond Indonesia.


Diatoms ( Bacillariophyta ) are one of the most common and diverse algal groups (ca. 200 000 species, ≈ 10–200 μm, unicellular, eukaryotic). Here we investigate the potential of aerial diatoms (i.e. diatoms nearly exclusively occurring outside water bodies, in wet, moist or temporarily dry places) to infer surface hydrological connectivity between hillslope-riparian-stream (HRS) landscape units during storm runoff events. We present data from the Weierbach catchment (0.45 km 2 , northwestern Luxembourg) that quantify the relative abundance of aerial diatom species on hillslopes and in riparian zones (i.e. surface soils, litter, bryophytes and vegetation) and within streams (i.e. stream water, epilithon and epipelon). We tested the hypothesis that different diatom species assemblages inhabit specific moisture domains of the catchment (i.e. HRS units) and, consequently, the presence of certain species assemblages in the stream during runoff events offers the potential for recording whether there was hydrological connectivity between these domains or not. We found that a higher percentage of aerial diatom species was present in samples collected from the riparian and hillslope zones than inside the stream. However, diatoms were absent on hillslopes covered by dry litter and the quantities of diatoms (in absolute numbers) were small in the rest of hillslope samples. This limits their use for inferring hillslope-riparian zone connectivity. Our results also showed that aerial diatom abundance in the stream increased systematically during all sampled events ( n = 11, 2011–2012) in response to incident precipitation and increasing discharge. This transport of aerial diatoms during events suggested a rapid connectivity between the soil surface and the stream. Diatom transport data were compared to two-component hydrograph separation, and end-member mixing analysis (EMMA) using stream water chemistry and stable isotope data. Hillslope overland flow was insignificant during most sampled events. This research suggests that diatoms were likely sourced exclusively from the riparian zone, since it was not only the largest aerial diatom reservoir, but also since soil water from the riparian zone was a major streamflow source during rainfall events under both wet and dry antecedent conditions. In comparison to other tracer methods, diatoms require taxonomy knowledge and a rather large processing time. However, they can provide unequivocal evidence of hydrological connectivity and potentially be used at larger catchment scales.


This paper describes a practical way of generating progressive fluid waves in a wave tank of limited length that may be readily mounted on a geo-centrifuge. The wave tank developed features a quasi-flap-type wavemaker, a sediment trench, and a slotted vertical partition that was placed in the wave channel for wave absorption purposes. A comprehensive series of centrifugal wave tests with either water or silicone oil of scaled viscosity showed that, for a slotted-area ratio of 0.3, the reflection coefficient of the slotted partition became as low as 0.13, thereby giving rise to essentially progressive waves. The optimal distance behind the partition to the far end of the wave channel was found to be equal to approximately a quarter wave length of the incident waves. This led to the second stage of experimentation in which fine-grained sand beds were subjected to a range of essentially progressive waves, with viscous scaling introduced. The results of the centrifugal wave tests showed that, when subjected to severe waves, the sand beds underwent liquefaction, resulting in a complete loss of effective stress due to the buildup of residual pore pressures.


Since the earliest days of macroeconometric analysis, researchers have been concerned about the appropriateness of the assumption that model parameters remain constant over long periods of time; for example see Tinbergen (1939). This concern is also central to the so-called Lucas (1976) critique which has played a central role in shaping macroeconometric analysis in the last thirty years. Lucas (1976) emphasizes the fact that the decision models of economic agents are hard to describe in terms of stable parameterizations, simply because changes in policy may change these decision models and their respective parameterization. These arguments underscore the importance of using structural stability tests as diagnostic checks for macroeconometric models. A large body of empirical macroeconomic studies provides evidence for parameter instability in a variety of macroeconomic models. For example, considerable evidence exists that the New Keynesian Phillips curve has become flat and/or less persistent in recent years; see for example Alogoskoufis and Smith (1991), Cogley and Sargent (2001), Zhang et al. (2008), Kang et al. (2009). Similarly, there is evidence that the interest rate reaction function is asymmetric over the business cycle; see for example Boivin and Giannoni (2006), Surico (2007), Benati and Surico (2008), Liu et al. (2009).


Background: Overexpression/Amplification of the HER2 occurs in 15-18% of breast cancers. Adjuvant trastuzumab is now integrated in the care of most HER2-positive early stage breast cancers. However, an important question persists regarding the concurrent vs. sequential use of trastuzumab as adjuvant treatment in early stage breast cancer. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) was undertaken to compare concurrent vs. sequential trastuzumab. The outcomes of interest were risk of recurrence, death and grade III and IV cardiac toxicity. Method: Systematic review of English literature retrieved from EMBASE (1980 to April 26, 2010), MEDLINE (1996 to April 26, 2010) and Cochrane database for the relevant studies. In addition, conference proceedings of ASCO and SABCS from 2004 to 2009 were searched for relevant abstracts. A manual search of the reference lists of the selected articles was performed in order to further identify relevant studies. The search strategy was conducted according to our well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Our search strategy revealed 1262 citations. Only RCTs were included. The review was performed by 2 reviewers independently. The data analysis was conducted by Review Manager Version 5, which could not compare the number of recurrences and deaths head to head for concurrent vs. sequential trastuzumab. A Fixed effect model was used. When I square showed heterogeneity of >50%, sensitivity analysis was performed. Results: Six eligible trials were identified. Three RCTs used trastuzumab concurrently and 2 RCTs used trastuzumab sequentially. One RCT (NCCTG N9831) had 3 arms, chemo only control arm, sequential trastuzumab arm and concurrent trastuzumab arm. Pooled and sensitivity analysis of 4 RCTS comparing concurrent trastuzumab with chemotherapy showed total HR of 0.73 (P Conclusion: Concurrent trastuzumab with chemotherapy shows a greater improvement in DFS (HR: 0.73 vs. 0.82). HR for OS also favours concurrent trastuzumab (0.78 vs. 0.93). Cardiac toxicity in both concurrent and sequential trastuzumab favours control arms. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-12-03.


: Development of massive hydrothorax is well known in CAPD patients. Five CAPD patients at one center have developed some form of pleuroperitoneal communication as evidenced by pleural effusion. Temporary discontinuation of CAPD, tetracycline instillation, and surgical patch grafting of the diaphragm have been used as treatments for the communication.


We demonstrate resonant excitation of a semiconductor quantum dot embedded in a p-i-n diode structure in and out of a photonic crystal cavity. We investigate the modification of the spontaneous emission rate and the photon collection efficiency of quantum dots due to the presence of a photonic bandgap. The resonant excitation together with deterministic charging of the quantum dot embedded in a photonic crystal, can be used for single electron spin measurement.


District Census Tables, General population Tables, Area, Houses and Population, Variation in population during fifty years, Town and villages Classified by population, Economic Tables, liveihood classes and sub-classes, Secondary Means of Livelihood, Household and Age (Sample) tables, Household (Size and composition), Social and Cultural Tables, Village, Town Pargana and thana Statistics, Miscellaneous Statistics.


Around 37 percent of those in paid full-time employment in Germany did not claim their full vacation entitlement last year. The number of vacation days actually taken by each employee was on average three days less than the full entitlement. This equates to around twelve percent of the overall volume of vacation entitlement not being used. This figure is corroborated by data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) collected by DIW Berlin together with the survey institute TNS Infratest Sozialforschung. It has been found that younger employees use less of their vacation than older ones. Moreover, employees working for smaller companies and persons who have joined a company more recently in particular do not take their full vacation entitlement. Not taking vacation is linked to short-term increases in income. There is, however, also evidence that it affects quality of life.


Strengthening the resilience of integrated urban water systems (UWS) comprised of water supply and sewer systems against floods and water shortages can be a challenging task. In this paper, a new set of resilience performance indicators is introduced for concurrent assessment of both failure conditions of water shortage and floods in the UWS. A number of potential intervention strategies such as rainwater harvesting (RWH) and greywater recycling (GWR) schemes for enhancement of UWS resilience are evaluated through a conceptual model of urban water metabolism assessment. Modelling of main UWS components is conducted using the WaterMet2 to simulate the performance of intervention strategies in UWS through urban water metabolism. WaterMet2 calculates key performance indicators of urban water metabolisms over a long-term planning horizon that can be used to calculate various resilience performance indicators. The demonstration of the suggested approach on a real-world case study reveals how different elements of resilience performance can be improved in the UWS by specific strategies against failure events such as flood and water shortage conditions.


Political scientists often debate how much information people have and deploy when making electoral decisions. Some scholars suggest that voters are aware of which party is likely to win in their local constituency at British general elections; however, this might not be the case in situations when there is substantial and spatially varying change in the relative fortunes of two or more parties between elections. That argument is evaluated here using as a case study the 2015 and 2017 general elections in Scotland: at the first, the SNP's vote share more than doubled, and it won 56 of the country's 59 seats, having won just six at the previous contest; at the second, its vote share fell by about a third, and it lost 21 of those 56 seats. Analysis of British Election Survey data collected before and during the campaigns preceding those elections shows that most respondents were aware of the SNP's surge in 2015 and expected their victory in every constituency. In 2017, most voters were aware which of the SNP's three competitors was the biggest threat in each constituency, and that awareness became clearer during the campaign; yet, voters – especially those who identified with the SNP and were contacted by it during the campaign – still (incorrectly) anticipated a local SNP victory.


This article will highlight various aspects of the production process of high performance active elements made of ultra high-strength steels. Focus is put on the processing of thick sheet metal regarding hot forming by means of punching, embossing, and forging processes as well as on thermo-mechanical treatment. Due to the material thickness of the semi-finished parts/blanks used and owing to the high strength of the materials (Rm > 2600 MPa) current production techniques and parameters from the field of thin sheet metal can only be limitedly be transferred and have therefore been specially investigated for this application.


CANCER of the colon and rectum is the leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. Early diagnosis is particularly important for lesions of this portion of the gastrointestinal tract if optimum cure rates are to be achieved. Carcinomas of the right side of the colon are thought of as being relatively silent lesions producing nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and vague lower abdominal pain. Contrary to this, left-sided carcinomas are frequently more dramatic producing changes in bowel habits, bloody stools, and obstruction. Most important, up to 50% of the latter lesions are palpable on rectal examination.1 When carcinoma of the colon causes intestinal obstruction, the lesion is most frequently left-sided in a ratio of 7 to 1.2Because of the predominance of left-sided colon carcinomas causing obstruction, physicians frequently fail to consider that right colon carcinoma may cause intestinal obstruction. It is the purpose


Bayesian neural networks (BNNs) allow us to reason about uncertainty in a principled way. Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics (SGLD) enables efficient BNN learning by drawing samples from the BNN posterior using mini-batches. However, SGLD and its extensions require storage of many copies of the model parameters, a potentially prohibitive cost, especially for large neural networks. We propose a framework, Adversarial Posterior Distillation, to distill the SGLD samples using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). At test-time, samples are generated by the GAN. We show that this distillation framework incurs no loss in performance on recent BNN applications including anomaly detection, active learning, and defense against adversarial attacks. By construction, our framework not only distills the Bayesian predictive distribution, but the posterior itself. This allows one to compute quantities such as the approximate model variance, which is useful in downstream tasks. To our knowledge, these are the first results applying MCMC-based BNNs to the aforementioned downstream applications.


A comprehensive clinico-instrumental evaluation was performed of 339 individuals residing in areas with high levels of radionuclide contamination, aimed to identify incidence rate for the development of various gastrointestinal tract pathologies. The digestive organs abnormalities were found to occur in 96% of the examinees, and included, for the most part, chronic gastritis, chronic cholecystitis, and ulcero-erosive lesions of gastric and duodenal mucosa. The results obtained warrant long-term follow-up examination of the digestive system status in victims of the Chernobyl accident, employing instrumental methods of investigation along with the institution of curative-and-prophylactic measures.


We examine attitudes of the pubic toward delegation to presidential commissions. In four survey experiments across a range of contexts, we compare the public response to the creation of a commission to that of a direct presidential action. We find that there is no significant difference in the approval garnered for taking action alone or delegating the decision to a presidential commission. This is true whether this is at the policy formulation stage or implementation stage. Additionally, we do not find that policies formed by commissions are seen as any more effective than those policies formed by the president alone.


Emerging Big Data technologies and the growing amount of data in predictive toxicology (and in chemistry in general) require new solutions and methods for large-scale data and model storage, as well as for model representation and analysis. Knowledge extraction from big and diverse toxicology and chemistry data results in mathematical models that are used to organise and systematise data and structure patterns. Consequently, next to the developments in data organisation and analysis, the systematic representation and organisation of descriptive and predictive qualitative and quantitative structure–activity relationships, (Q)SARs, is equally important. Therefore, full attention from model developers is required to make the new knowledge derived from the data and models easily accessible and usable. This chapter considers issues related to the organisation of (Q)SAR models and gives an overview of the file and data formats used to organise predictive models as well as their storage solutions in the era of data expansion.


The anti-emetic drug domperidone (Motilium - Janssen) was introduced in 1982.1 Like metoclopramide the drug blocks dopamine receptors in the medullary chemoreceptor trigger zone, thereby influencing the central control of nausea and vomiting, and in the gut to increase gastrointestinal motility.2 Parenteral domperidone which was used to prevent vomiting caused by cytotoxic drugs or postoperatively was withdrawn in 1984 because ventricular arrhythmias had followed high intravenous doses.3,4 Oral and rectal domperidone continue to be promoted, especially since the arrival of a second brand (Evoxin - Sterling). The tablets and suppositories are licensed 'for the treatment of acute nausea and vomiting of any aetiology, in adults' - a remarkably broad indication. The suppositories are also for children receiving cytotoxic drugs or radiotherapy.


Steroid sex hormones induce dramatic seasonal changes in reproductive related behaviors and their underlying neural substrates in seasonally breeding vertebrates. For example, in adult white-crowned sparrows, increased Spring photoperiod raises circulating testosterone, causing morphological and electrophysiological changes in song-control nuclei, which modify song behavior for the breeding season. We investigated how photoperiod and steroid hormones induce these changes in morphology, electrophysiology, and behavior. Neurons in a song premotor nucleus, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), show increased intrinsic spontaneous firing rate and soma size when birds are in breeding condition. Using combinations of systemic and unilateral local intracerebral hormonal manipulations, we show that long-day photoperiod accelerates the effects of systemic testosterone on RA neurons via the estradiol-synthesizing enzyme aromatase (CYP19A1); these changes require inputs from the afferent song control nucleus HVC (used as a proper name) and steroid receptor activation within HVC; local coactivation of androgen and estrogen receptors (ARs and ERs, respectively) within HVC, but not RA, is sufficient to cause neuronal changes in RA; activation of ARs in RA is also permissive. Using bilateral local intracerebral hormone-receptor blockade, we found that ARs and ERs in the song-control nucleus HVC mediate systemic testosterone-induced changes in song stereotypy but not rate. This novel transsynaptic effect of gonadal steroids on activity and morphology of RA neurons is part of a concerted change in key premotor nuclei, enabling stereotyped song.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) is a water-soluble derivative of natural vitamin E, formed by the esterification of vitamin E succinate with polyethylene glycol (PEG). TPGS is finding applications in nanoparticle formulations where it acts as an emulsifier and serves as a promising vehicle for the delivery of anticancer drugs with poor water solubility, bioavailability and cellular uptake. Furthermore, TPGS inhibited the growth of human prostate and lung carcinoma cells both in vitro and in vivo by promoting apoptosis. The objectives of the present study were to: a) determine if there are differences between normal and cancer cells in response to TPGS treatment and b) to elucidate the pathways leading to apoptosis. For this purpose we used multiple breast cancer cell lines as well as normal immortalized breast cells, in order to assess the ability of TPGS to induce cell death. In addition, we thoroughly investigated the mechanism of cell death induction in MDA-MB-231 cells and in MCF-7 cells. The results of our study clearly show that TPGS can effectively decrease cancer cell number by triggering apoptotic signaling pathways as well as by inducing G1-phase cell cycle arrest. In marked contrast, the cell number of "normal" immortalized MCF-10A and MCF-12F cell lines was not significantly affected by TPGS treatment. The decreased levels of full length PARP, in the presence and absence of the 89 kDa product, suggests that TPGS triggered both caspase -dependent and -independent pathways of programmed cell death, depending on the tissue context. Furthermore, we observed a decrease in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and release of AIF and Endo G from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm in MCF-7 cells suggesting that these effectors are involved in the induction of caspase-independent apoptosis. The selective chemotherapeutic effects of TPGS may possibly be attributed to down regulation of the anti-apoptotic proteins Survivin and Bcl-2 that are overexpressed in most cancer cells. The inhibition of cell proliferation at G1 observed in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells may also relate to the two-fold decrease in Survivin mRNA and subsequent elimination of Survivin protein levels. In conclusion, our results show clearly that TPGS is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells and suggest that this vitamin E derivative, in combination with other drugs, may be useful in the treatment of tumors that are resistant to caspase-activating therapeutic agents. The current use of TPGS as a vehicle for the delivery of anticancer drugs, and the insights gained from this study regarding its mode of apoptotic action provides unsurpassed opportunities for the "combination" cancer chemotherapy approach.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4903. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4903


Salinity is one of the major factors reducing plant growth and productivity worldwide and affects about 7% of world's total land area. In India about 6.73 million hectare of land area is salt affected. Wheat is the second most important crop after rice in India and occupies approximately 28.5 million hectare area. Several tolerance indices comprising of mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP), stress tolerance index (STI), stress stability index (SSI), tolerance index (TOL), yield index (YI) and yield stability index (YSI) were calculated in this investigation for salinity and its ability to understand which one or more predictor among studied indices based on correlation, principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Ten wheat genotypes were evaluated in two successive growing seasons (2012-2014), with complete randomized design with three replications under both salinity stress and non-salinity to identify salt tolerant genotypes to the target environment. Multiple indices for salt tolerance were calculated based on the potential yield (Yp) under non-stress and yield (Ys) under stress conditions. The Ys and Yp showed highest significant and positive correlations with GMP, MP and STI among indices studied. Therefore, these indices were considered as a better predictor of Ys and Yp than TOL, SSI and YSI. Principal component analysis classified the genotypes into two groups. The first two PCs with eigen values >1 contributed 99.74% of the variability amongst genotypes. PC1 accounted for about 5.24% of the variation in salt tolerance indices and PC2 for 3.74%. The first PC was related to Ys, Yp, MP, GMP, STI and YI whereas the second PC related to Yp, TOL and SSI. The cluster analysis sequestrated ten genotypes into two clusters based on Ward's method. According to results, salinity significantly reduced the yield of some genotypes while some were found tolerant to stress indicating sufficient genetic variability for salinity tolerance among the studied genotypes. It could be implicated in selection of salinity tolerant wheat genotypes for the development of bread wheat varieties.


ABSTRACT The new category of workers officially labeled "essential" in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States includes a large percentage of women working in care services. In many of these services, health risks are often considered part of the job and are uncompensated by hazard pay. Building on previous feminist research explaining the devaluation of care work, this paper uses the most recent available data from the US Current Population Survey to show that workers in essential care service jobs – especially women – earn less than other essential workers. This pattern cannot be explained by differences in unionization rates and points to other differences in bargaining power, including institutional factors influencing the earnings of doctors and nurses. Care penalties have significant implications for the future supply of care services as the pandemic persists, highlighting the need to develop broad coalitions to challenge the undervaluation of care work. HIGHLIGHTS Care workers are half of all essential workers in the US and mostly women. Essential care workers pay a wage penalty. Features of care work contribute to disempowerment by encouraging commitment over bargaining. Pay penalties contribute to burnout, high turnover, and reduced entry into essential care jobs. Industry-level unionization coalitions should form to contest devaluation of care provision.


Neutrinos play a crucial role in the collapse and explosion of massive stars, governing the infall dynamics of the stellar core, triggering and fueling the explosion and driving the cooling and deleptonization of the newly formed neutron star. Due to their role neutrinos carry information from the heart of the explosion and, due to their weakly interacting nature, offer the only direct probe of the dynamics and thermodynamics at the center of a supernova. In this paper, we review the present status of modelling the neutrino physics and signal formation in collapsing and exploding stars. We assess the capability of current and planned large underground neutrino detectors to yield faithful information of the time and flavor dependent neutrino signal from a future Galactic supernova. We show how the observable neutrino burst would provide a benchmark for fundamental supernova physics with unprecedented richness of detail. Exploiting the treasure of the measured neutrino events requires a careful discrimination of source-generated properties from signal features that originate on the way to the detector. As for the latter, we discuss self-induced flavor conversions associated with neutrino-neutrino interactions that occur in the deepest stellar regions; matter effects that modify the pattern of flavor conversions in the dynamical stellar envelope; neutrino-oscillation signatures that result from structural features associated with the shock-wave propagation as well as turbulent mass motions in post-shock layers. Finally, we highlight our current understanding of the formation of the diffuse supernova neutrino background and we analyse the perspectives for a detection of this relic signal that integrates the contributions from all past core-collapse supernovae in the Universe.


ABSTRACT Investors recently adopted a novel approach to sustainable investing: engaging with countries to advance sustainable development. But engaging with sovereign entities on sustainability challenges, like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is complex. To guide sovereign debt investors in operationalizing this new sustainable investing strategy, this methodology and policy paper creates a framework that navigates the sovereign engagement process. The framework answers three questions: (i) who to engage with; (ii) what to engage on; and (iii) how to engage. First, countries are prioritized based on the investor's investment exposure and the country's progress on the SDGs. Second, using public data, SDGs and sub-targets are identified that face slow progress, thus being priorities to engage on. Third, a detailed roadmap is provided that offers a systematic approach to engaging with the identified country on selected SDG(s). This sovereign SDG Engagement Framework aims to help investors and countries achieve their shared sustainability objectives.


— Nowadays, desalination of salt water is considered an important industrial process. In many parts of the world, particularly in the gulf countries, the multi-stage flash (MSF) water desalination has an essential contribution in the production of fresh water. In this study, a simple mathematical model is defined to design a MSF desalination system and the feasibility of using the MSF desalination process in proximity of a 42 MW power plant is investigated. This power plant can just provide 10 ton/h superheated steam from low pressure (LP) section of heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for thermal desalting system. The designed MSF system with gained output ratio (GOR) of 10.3 has 24 flashing stages and can produce 2480 ton/d of fresh water. The expected performance characteristics of the designed MSF desalination plant are determined. In addition, the effect of motive water pressure on the amount of non-condensable gases removed by water jet vacuum pumps is investigated.


Abstract. Hydrological models are useful tools for exploring the impact of climate change. To prioritize parameters for calibration and to evaluate hydrological
model functioning, sensitivity analysis can be conducted. Parameter
sensitivity, however, varies over climate, and therefore climate change could
influence parameter sensitivity. In this study we explore the change in
parameter sensitivity for the mean discharge and the timing of the discharge,
within a plausible climate change rate. We investigate whether changes in sensitivity propagate into the calibration strategy and diagnostically compare three hydrological models based on the sensitivity results. We
employed three frequently used hydrological models (SAC, VIC, and HBV) and explored parameter sensitivity changes across 605 catchments in the United
States by comparing GCM(RCP8.5)-forced historical and future
periods. Consistent among all hydrological models and both for the mean
discharge and the timing of the discharge is that the sensitivity of snow parameters decreases in the future. Which other parameters increase in
sensitivity is less consistent among the hydrological models. In 45  %
to 55  % of the catchments, dependent on the hydrological model, at
least one parameter changes in the future in the top-5 most sensitive
parameters for mean discharge. For the timing, this varies between
40  % and 88  % . This requires an adapted calibration strategy
for long-term projections, for which we provide several suggestions. The
disagreement among the models on the processes that become more relevant in
future projections also calls for a strict evaluation of the adequacy of the
model structure for long-term simulations.


Group work is used in physical education (PE) to encourage student-directed, collaborative learning. Aligned with this aim, group work is expected to shift some power from teacher to students and enable students to make decisions and co-construct meaning on their own. There are, however, very few investigations focusing on power in group work situations in PE, with most research focusing on learning and content. Assumptions about the nature of power and its mechanisms have been largely implicit. The purpose of this paper was consequently to explore power relations in PE group work. To do this, we have drawn primarily on observational data of three groups working together to choreograph a dance performance in a Swedish PE lesson. A small amount of pre- and post-lesson interview material is used as a complementary data source. Michel Foucault's notion of power as action-on-action is used to identify different types of power relations in this group work. Four specific kinds of relations are presented concerning: (1) the students' task; (2) other cultures; (3) gender; and (4) interactions with one another. These relations suggest that power relations are not simply created locally between group members, nor are power relations only a function of the members' proficiency in the task. In these respects, the results encourage a reconsideration of learning in group work and open up new avenues for further research. The paper is concluded with practical considerations that relate to common assumptions about student power, teacher authority and the potential benefit of ambiguous tasks in group work.


Interaction of cancer cells with diverse cell types in the tumor stroma is today recognized to have a fate-determining role for the progression and outcome of human cancers. Despite the well-described interactions of cancer cells with several stromal components, i.e., inflammatory cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and pericytes, the investigation of their peculiar relationship with neural cells is still at its first footsteps. Pancreatic cancer (PCa) with its abundant stroma represents one of the best-studied examples of a malignant tumor with a mutually trophic interaction between cancer cells and the intratumoral nerves embedded in the desmoplastic stroma. Nerves in PCa are a rich source of neurotrophic factors like nerve growth factor (NGF), glial-cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), artemin; of neuronal chemokines like fractalkine; and of autonomic neurotransmitters like norepinephrine which can all enhance the invasiveness of PCa cells via matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP) upregulation, trigger neural invasion (NI), and activate pro-survival signaling pathways. Similarly, PCa cells themselves provide intrapancreatic nerves with abundant trophic agents which entail a remarkable neuroplasticity, leading to emergence of more routes for NI and cancer spread, to augmented local neuro-surveillance, neural sensitization, and neuropathic pain. The strong correlation of NI with PCa-associated desmoplasia suggests the potential presence of a triangular relationship between nerves, PCa cells, and other stromal partners like myofibroblasts and pancreatic stellate cells which generate tumor desmoplasia. Hence, although not a classical hallmark of human cancers, nerve-cancer interactions can be considered as an indispensable sub-class of cancer-stroma interactions in PCa. The present article provides an overview of the so far known nerve-cancer interactions in PCa and illustrates their ominous role in the stromal biology of human PCa.


This research hopes to bridge the gap between the churches of North and South America by advocating for Christian base communities (CEBs) in North America. It is necessary to look at Catholic Action in conjunction with Catholic social thought, as well as the Second Vatican Council. Finally, personal interviews with those involved with CEBs in two districts of Lima, Peru – Villa El Salvador and El Agustino, revealed there is a failure of CEBs to develop in those two respective areas. Despite the failure of CEBs to develop in those areas, CEBs are relevant to North America as they can contribute lessons for parishes in the U.S. The Catholicism in CEBs in Peru is not prevalent in North America because the standard is to focus on individual spirituality and there is a lack of emphasis on social Catholicism.


What role do local governments play in promoting sustainable economic development? This study uses a 2014 national survey to analyze the relationship between local environment and social equity motivations and the kinds of economic development strategies local governments pursue (business incentives or community economic development policies). Municipalities that pay more attention to environmental sustainability and social equity use higher levels of community economic development tools and lower levels of business incentives. These places are also more likely to have written economic development plans and involve more participants in the economic development process. In contrast, communities that use higher levels of business incentives have lower income and are more dependent on manufacturing employment. Other capacity measures do not differentiate types of economic development strategies used. This suggests that sustainable economic development strategies can be pursued by a broad array of communities, especially if the motivations driving their economic development policy include environment and equity goals.


1 Background The time required to get a device to market is critical to a successful design, development, and manufacturing process [1]. Achieving status of the first device to market is often a priority for manufacturers and developers. Upon market introduction, it is well known that device performance must meet at least minimum standards in order to provide consumer satisfaction and be a successful product to prevent competitive devices from taking over the market [1]. However, if a design only meets minimum expectations, it may struggle to maintain market control. This demonstrates the tradeoffs of speed-tomarket and performance, for which optimization has not been clearly defined [2]. Product performance and usability can be designed in, evaluated and enhanced in order to avoid user errors and achieve optimal profitability. For medical devices, clinical trials are a key step in preparing to take a device to market. Clinical trials can allow for analyses of the effectiveness of the device in the patient care process. For wearable medical devices, patient usability is crucial to patient adherence and safety since the device will be operated by non-medically trained individuals [3,4]. Without adequate usability, adherence and continuity of care are greatly reduced which will reduce the overall effectiveness of the device [5,6]. Human factors principles can best be incorporated in the design process to improve the usability of medical devices and patient safety [5,6,7], specifically for those used in telemedicine [4] and cardiovascular treatment [3]. The objective of this project was to evaluate a telemedicine heart rate monitoring device for patient usability in order to improve the next device's performance and lead to greater patient adherence for the current version via an improved user manual.


Bioavailability is critical in ensuring bioefficacy of ginger compounds, which have not been studied in chicks. In this study, day-old chicks were treated with ginger root extract at 0.0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.5, and 3.0% for 42 days. The gingerols and shogaols in chick samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The primary phase-I metabolic pathway for gingerols and shogaols was the reduction of ketone groups into hydroxyl groups. Shogaols were also metabolized through thiol conjugation and hydrogenation of double-bond pathways. Within the bloodstream, gingerols and their metabolites predominantly existed as glucuronidate or sulfate conjugates. However, the levels of the free form and conjugates were comparable for shogaols. In breast meat, the quantities of both the free form and conjugates for all compounds were similar. In plasma, more than 50% of absorbed 6-gingerol (6G) and 90% of absorbed 6-shogaol underwent reduction to their respective metabolites. However, in breast meat, the percentage of reduction for absorbed 6G was less than 50%, and for absorbed 6-shogaol, it was less than 60%. Ginger compounds were absorbed into chick plasma ranging from 1.4 to 8.5 μg/mL and breast meat ranging from 7.1 to 114.6 μg/100 g across the 0.4-3.0% dose range in a dose-dependent manner.


A805. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated disorder characterized by eosinophilic inflammation of the esophagus. Although the underlying etiology is unknown, EoE is thought to be a TH2 response to environmental allergens in a genetically predisposed individual [1]. The inflammation in EoE is associated with tissue remodeling and fibrosis and can progress to esophageal strictures. The pathogenesis of EoE is thought to occur by activation of antigen-specific T-cells with subsequent production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These cytokines (especially eotaxin-3) recruit eosinophils with subsequent activation and release of eosinophilic granules. These granules are thought to be responsible for the clinical symptoms including dysmotility and fibrosis [ 2]. Treatment objectives for patients with EoE include improvement of symptoms and prevention of complications. Ideally, resolution of esophageal inflammation should be the ultimate goal. Currently, standard treatment regimens include topical corticosteroids and elimination diets [3]. Although many studies have demonstrated the benefits of such therapy, most patients have recurrence of inflammation (and symptoms) once the treatment has been stopped. Therefore, the most difficult decision faced by those caring for patients with EoE is what is the most ideal maintenance therapy. As part of the discussion regarding long-term treatment, physicians need to decide what is the goal of maintenance therapy; specifically, is it resolution of symptoms and prevention of complications or mucosal healing. Although mucosal healing would seem the best option, long-term corticosteroid treatment is associated with complications and compliance with strict dietary therapy is difficult, especially in children. We have previously demonstrated that long-term protonpump inhibitor (PPI) therapy is effective in improving symptoms and was not associated with increased complications [4]. Zheng et al. [5] has demonstrated that PPI's effect eotaxin-3 release, thereby potentially preventing eosinophilic recruitment and activation. We have recently demonstrated that long-term PPI monotherapy leads to decreased eosinophil degranulation in children with EoE [6]. However, PPI therapy does not decrease esophageal inflammation. Therefore, the challenge remains as to whether one should strive for mucosal healing and expose the patient to the potential consequences of long-term steroid exposure, continue dietary therapy knowing that most patients are not completely compliant and therefore at risk for under-treatment or consider PPI monotherapy, knowing that, although most patients have improved symptoms, the esophageal inflammation persists and therefore close follow-up is needed to screen for the development of progressive fibrosis and stricture formation.


Background The peer review system has been traditionally challenged due to its many limitations especially for allocating funding. Bibliometric indicators may well present themselves as a complement. Objective We analyze the relationship between peers' ratings and bibliometric indicators for Spanish researchers in the 2007 National R&D Plan for 23 research fields. Methods and Materials We analyze peers' ratings for 2333 applications. We also gathered principal investigators' research output and impact and studied the differences between accepted and rejected applications. We used the Web of Science database and focused on the 2002-2006 period. First, we analyzed the distribution of granted and rejected proposals considering a given set of bibliometric indicators to test if there are significant differences. Then, we applied a multiple logistic regression analysis to determine if bibliometric indicators can explain by themselves the concession of grant proposals. Results 63.4% of the applications were funded. Bibliometric indicators for accepted proposals showed a better previous performance than for those rejected; however the correlation between peer review and bibliometric indicators is very heterogeneous among most areas. The logistic regression analysis showed that the main bibliometric indicators that explain the granting of research proposals in most cases are the output (number of published articles) and the number of papers published in journals that belong to the first quartile ranking of the Journal Citations Report. Discussion Bibliometric indicators predict the concession of grant proposals at least as well as peer ratings. Social Sciences and Education are the only areas where no relation was found, although this may be due to the limitations of the Web of Science's coverage. These findings encourage the use of bibliometric indicators as a complement to peer review in most of the analyzed areas.


This study responds to the discussion in education which instructional approach is most effective in primary education. The three instructional approaches that have been examined: 1. direct instruction, 2. unguided discovery learning and 3. guided discovery learning. The effect of the instructional approaches on learning gains, flow and mood have been examined. Because average learners learn different than gifted learners this study has been done with both groups. In total 147 learners participated: 76 average learners and 71 gifted learners. Both groups were divided in the three conditions that teach students, each by another instructional approach, more about electric circuits. In the condition direct instruction the knowledge will be given to learners by a video-instruction. In the video a teacher gives a demonstration with an electricity kit, whereby learners have to answer the questions that are being asked during the video-instruction. Learners in the two discovery learning conditions have to work with the electricity kit by themselves. The unguided condition will do research using three research questions; de guided condition will be using a more extensive roadmap with research questions. Interest and foreknowledge have been measured in addition to learning gains, flow and mood. In this research there was no significant difference between the conditions as to interest and foreknowledge. The instructional approach had no significant effect on mood and flow. This research show the following results that apply to average and gifted learners. Unguided discovery learning provide less learning gains than direct instruction and guided discovery learning. Direct instruction and guided discovery learning provide the same amount of learning gains.


Analysis of the regularity of seasonal changes in physiological age of adult ticks of I. persulcatus has shown that this regularity is described quite satisfactorily by the asymptotic function, by means of which age can be estimated during season for any time. Changes in the age composition of active ticks are associated with the seasonal fluctuations in their abundance. Due to this connection fluctuations in the seasonal abundance of active individuals can be foreseen and evaluated retrospectively by their age composition and conversely age by seasonal fluctuations in ticks' abundance.


Educable mentally handicapped persons lag well behind nonhandicapped children in the development of both fine and gross movement skills. These persons have difficulty in solving movement problems. Based upon recent work done in cognitive science, it is argued that this lag in movement skill development is related to five major sources: (a) deficiencies in the knowledge base or lack of access to it, (b) lack of spontaneous use of strategies, (c) inadequate metacognitive knowledge and understanding, (d) lack of executive control, and (e) inadequate motivation and practice. A seven-step procedure to teach movement skills to mentally handicapped persons that takes into account these five factors is described. Implications for adapted physical activity are outlined briefly.


A high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is a transistor with a channel with high
electron mobility. An important performance characteristic of a gallium nitride (GaN)
HEMT is its high breakdown voltage. To improve this voltage, the GaN (grown via
metal-organic chemical vapor deposition) is doped with carbon atoms, yet this increases
the density of V-pits, which lower the device quality. In order to restore low V-pit
density, pentane is used as carbon source, allowing higher growth pressure. The e�ect of
the growth parameters pressure and dopant type on the V-pit density and morphology
are studied in this work, through examination of three species of samples: 1) low pressure
samples with high carbon concentration through precursor doping, 2) high pressure
samples with low (non-intentional) carbon concentration and 3) high pressure samples
with high carbon concentration through pentane doping. Automated optical inspection
and scanning electron microscopy are used to characterize the surface morphology of
the samples. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to study the origin of the
V-pit.
Increasing the pressure by 165 mbar and the surface temperature by 70°C) lowers the
V-pit density by a factor 3�0.7. Adding pentane further decreases the density a factor
10�5. TEM measurements attribute the change in density to an increase in lateral
growth of a factor 2.7�0.5 over 70°C and 165 mbar. Doping a sample with carbon
increases the average pit diameter and pit depth by a factor 3.5�1.5. Using pentane as
dopant changes the facet orientation of the V-pits from f1�101g-planes to f11�22g-planes.
Based on these results a simple model for formation and closure of V-pits is proposed.
This model states that V-pits originate when the vertical growth is disturbed. Growth
parameters temperature, pressure and carbon concentration a�ect the lateral growth
rate, which eventually can close the pit if it is high enough to overcome the disturbance.


Use case diagrams are an excellent tool for capturing and analyzing the functional requirements of a system under development. Context-aware use case diagrams are an extension of use case diagrams to cater for both the functional requirements and the context-awareness requirements of context-aware and pervasive systems. They provide (graphical) notations for specifying, visualizing and documenting the intended behavior of a context-aware system at an early stage of the system development life-cycle. This paper proposes an approach to analyzing contextaware use case diagrams usind a Calculus of Context-aware Ambients (CCA). An algorithm is proposed that translates a context-aware use case diagram into a CCA process. This process can then be analyzed using the CCA tools such as the simulator ccaPL which enables the execution of CCA processes and the model-checker ccaSPIN that can check automatically whether a CCA process satisfies a desired property, e.g. deadlock freedom and reachability. The proposed approach is evaluated using a real-word example of a context-aware pedestrian collision avoidance system.


The difficulty of filtrating network negative information lies in how to classify information correctly. As one of the classification method with the advantage of strong robustness and good understandability in the field of pattern classification, Naïve Bayes has been used widely. A method for filtrating network negative information on the basis of Naïve Bayes, improvement proposals aiming at the disadvantages of Naïve Bayes and amelioration of erroneous judgment of negative information by setting threshold value k have been put forward in this article. The experiment shows that by adjusting threshold value k can the integrity of the system can be optimum and can favorable application effects be achieved.


BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with combined lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and iliac vein compression syndrome (IVCS). METHODS Between January 2011 and February 2014, 399 patients diagnosed with combined lower extremity DVT and IVCS at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were included in this retrospective study. The odds of symptomatic PE versus combined lower extremity DVT and IVCS were assessed using logistic regression models. The association between thrombophilic risk factors, stenosis, collateral filling, endovascular thrombolysis, and symptomatic PE were assessed. RESULTS Of 399 patients, 28 (7.0%) presented with symptomatic PE. Among the risk factors, collateral filling (odds ratio [OR]=2.61, 95%CI:1.07-6.37, P=0.035) and endovascular thrombolysis (OR=0.32, 95%CI:0.14-0.74, P=0.008) were significantly and independently associated with the presence of PE. CONCLUSIONS Among patients with combined lower extremity DVT and IVCS, the grade of collateral filling and endovascular thrombolysis treatment are the risk factors associated with the presence of PE.


The KNb3O8 potassium triniobate phase is a layered compound that shows excellent photocatalytic activity, intercalation properties and electrochemical performances. In this study, we report the synthesis of this niobate in thin film form. Thin films of layered KNb3O8 phase were grown by pulsed laser deposition on (100)-oriented strontium titanate SrTiO3 substrates using targets with different compositions and various deposition parameters. Samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopies. This work shows that KNb3O8 films are obtained in a narrow composition range, close to K1.13Nb3O8.7 that can be achieved with several combinations of the elaboration parameters (target composition, deposition temperature, target–substrate distance, laser fluence). Slight potassium amount variations in the film composition lead to the growth of other niobates (i.e. K2Nb8O21, K6Nb10.88O30, K3Nb7O19, K4Nb6O17). The KNb3O8 films are either made of elongated crystals (500 nm long, 50–75 nm wide, and 40 nm thick) or of flat lamellas. In both cases, they are (010)-preferentially oriented with epitaxial relationships with the substrate, namely (010)KNb3O8//(100)SrTiO3, [100]KNb3O8//[010]SrTiO3 and [001]KNb3O8//[001]SrTiO3. Protonation of the KNb3O8 films leads to a complete exchange of K+ ions by H3O+ ions that are themselves exchanged by Sn2+ ions after immersion in a tin chloride solution confirming the exchange reaction capabilities also in thin films. Exchange of K+ by Sn2+ leads to the band gap reduction of 0.33 eV.


Many studies describe the Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (CSRD) that emerged since 2007 as obligation and deduction of earnings and requires listed companies to perform philantrophy as part of legitimacy act. This research conducted to determines the hypothesis factors of CSRD specified to Global Reporting Initiavites (GRI) standards in 2014 and 2015 that implemented framework GRI G4. The qualitative and quantitative findings using regression analysis test, best equation model, classic assumption test for 22 sustainability reporting showed current ratio, debt to equity, size, institutional ownership and age have significant effects. This research show increasing disclosure and the recurring topics of standardized CSRD from among members of GRI group.


The digitalization of education systems is presented as a possible way to match the concerns of a knowledge based economy with those of an inclusive information society. To meet this double challenge, education systems are asked to shift from a 'traditional school' to an 'Education 2.0' model, introducing innovative pedagogies through the use of ICT devices characterized by interactivity and multimediality. The article investigates over the presence and breadth of this shift within secondary schools of the region Sardinia, Italy, since the introduction of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB), to focus next on the gender dimension of change. Empirical evidence drawn from an evaluative research adopting a mixed method approach is presented and analysed: first, an idealtype of classroom organization after IWB introduction is offered, then the main gender dynamics emerging in reorganized classrooms are considered, focussing on interaction among its main actors', namely teachers and students. Conclusions suggest that, although a less gendered approach to technology is observed in classroom practices enhanced by Education 2.0 models, these changes haven't (yet) led to a reconfiguration of the symbolic representations and tacit assumptions structuring school settings, still hampering fairer educational and professional trajectories for women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths).


Problem statement: Today, organizations are willing to achieve quality as a source of competitive advantage. Therefore, their performance evaluation and quality improvement is essential. One of the international models in this field is Baldrige health care model. Approach: The study aimed to evaluate Performance Evaluation a teaching Hospital Affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences Based on Baldrige Excellence Model. Performance was evaluated by two types Baldrige questionnaire (i.e., process and result criteria). Six process criteria (Leadership; Strategic Planning; Focus on Patients, Other Customers and Markets; Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management; Workforce Focus; and Process Management) with 12 sub-criteria, were evaluated based on four factors of Approach, Deployment, Learning and Integration. Results criteria with six sub- criteria were evaluated based on four factors of performance level, rate and breath of performance improvement, comparative and benchmark data and relevance of evaluation result scales. Results: The teaching hospital obtained 145/21 scores (26/40 percent) out of a total of 550 points in process criteria and 90/37 scores (20/08 percent) out of a total of 450 points in result criteria. Studied hospital obtained the highest score in Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management 28/1 scores (31/22 percent). In Sum, the hospital obtained 235/58 scores (23/55 percent) out of 1000 points. Conclusion: Scores obtained by hospital showed the first level of excellence. The outcome of this study clearly indicates that Baldrige model criteria act as a powerful tool to analyze the quality performance of the hospitals. The researchers attempted to create a common language and a roadmap in order to follow the path of excellence in health care organizations in Iran.


Reduced-recoil-risk (RRR) rope is synthetic fiber rope which is designed to have a reduced tendency to completely break suddenly and to recoil catastrophically. The purpose is to reduce the risk of injuries and damage. The RRR rope usually breaks in a cascading manner which provides time to take corrective action or to "get out of the way" This feature also reduces the energy release at break and thus reduces the reach and impact of the broken rope. This paper discusses the new Cordage Institute (CI) RRR rope test method. It explains some of the physics of how such a rope reduces the risks of recoil. It demonstrates how to use the results of the CI test method to evaluate and compare the performance of different RRR rope designs. The additional stretch of the rope from its length at first break to its length at complete failure is an important RRR criteria. It can be used to calculate the time between first break and complete rope failure. Thus it is called warning- time stretch. Rope length is an important parameter. A short rope might not completely fail, but a longer rope of the same design will completely fail at first break. Rope size is another important parameter. For a given length, a small rope might break but a large rope might not. These principals apply to all ropes - fiber and wire, RRR design or not.


The traveling salesman problem, or TSP, is one of the most famous and well studied problems in combinatorial optimization. There are many studies with the objective of finding an optimal solution for this problem. These studies have not been successful, since it is considered to be an NP-Hard problem. This means that is not possible to find a method that ensures an optimal solution for all instances of this problem. In this paper we present two techniques to solve this problem, a tabu search based algorithm and a memetic algorithm. The results of both techniques are shown and compared to decide which one of the two alternatives gets better results. Apart from this, several studies are performed to determine certain aspects of the algorithms, such as the crossover function for the memetic algorithm or the size of the tabu list.


ABSTRACT The characterization of atypical mutations in loci associated with diseases is a powerful tool to discover novel regulatory elements. We previously identified a dinucleotide deletion in the human ankyrin-1 gene (ANK-1) promoter that underlies ankyrin-deficient hereditary spherocytosis. The presence of the deletion was associated with a decrease in promoter function both in vitro and in vivo establishing it as a causative hereditary spherocytosis mutation. The dinucleotide deletion is located in the 5′ untranslated region of the ANK-1 gene and disrupts the binding of TATA binding protein and TFIID, components of the preinitiation complex. We hypothesized that the nucleotides surrounding the mutation define an uncharacterized regulatory sequence. To test this hypothesis, we generated a library of more than 16,000 ANK-1 promoters with degenerate sequence around the mutation and cloned the functional promoter sequences after cell-free transcription. We identified the wild type and three additional sequences, from which we derived a consensus. The sequences were shown to be functional in cell-free transcription, transient-transfection, and transgenic mouse assays. One sequence increased ANK-1 promoter function 5-fold, while randomly chosen sequences decreased ANK-1 promoter function. Our results demonstrate a novel functional motif in the ANK-1 promoter.


Background In the era of thrombolytic treatment, lower socioeconomic status (SES) was strongly associated with poorer survival after acute myocardial infarction. However, data for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the current era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) is much more limited. Within existing studies, case identification has often been reliant on coding, a significant proportions of patients have been treated with thrombolysis, or there wasn't an emphasis on door-to-balloon times of less than 90 min. This was often because in these studies data collection started in the early 2000s. Methods Data was collected for all patients with acute STEMI undergoing PPCI at The South Yorkshire Cardiothoracic Centre, UK between 2009 and 2014. Cox regression analysis was used to assess differences in survival at 30 days, 1 year, and 3 years, by SES quartile (using an area-level measure) after adjustment for confounding factors. Results There were 3059 STEMI patients. There were no statistically significant differences in survival between SES quartiles at 30 days (p=0.46), 1 year (p=0.69), and 3 years (p=0.75) (figure 1). Risk factors that were significantly differently distributed among SES quartiles were smoking prevalence (p=0.001), age (p=0.001), previous MI (p=0.025), diabetes (p=0.007) and gender (p=0.041). Q1 (the most deprived quartile) had a higher prevalence of smoking (61.9% vs 33.3%), previous MI (39.6% vs 16.0%), and diabetes (39.7% vs 16.2%) compared to Q4 (the least deprived quartile). Q1 also had a greater female preponderance (29.7% vs 24.0%) and a lower mean (SD) age (59.7±12.8 years vs 64.6±12.0 years). In smokers, those within lower SES groups presented with first STEMI at a significantly younger age than those within higher SES groups (Q1: 55.5 years, Q2: 56.4 years, Q3: 58.3 years, Q4: 57.5 years, p=0.01). In contrast, there was no significant difference in mean age at time of first STEMI by SES in never smokers (Q1: 66.5 years, Q2: 65.6 years, Q3: 65.0 years, Q4: 65.8 years, p=0.72). Conclusions There were no statistically significant differences in either short- or long-term survival post-STEMI between SES quartiles. However, first STEMI occurred at a significantly earlier age in lower SES groups compared to higher SES groups in current smokers but not never smokers, indicating that smoking plays a significant role in the younger age of presentation with STEMI in lower SES groups. Abstract 17 Figure 1


The impact of the nozzle and spear valve configuration on the performance of a Pelton turbine is investigated both experimentally and computationally. A previously published computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study has shown that injectors with noticeably steeper nozzle and spear angles, 110° and 70° respectively, attain a higher efficiency than the industry standard 80° and 55°. As a result, three injector design cases were manufactured for experimental testing. Two of those cases were the standard (80/55) design, with nozzle and spear tip angles of 80° and 55° and the Novel 1 design (110/70) with nozzle and spear tip angles of 110° and 70° based on previously published CFD optimisation studies. These studies showed that increasing the nozzle and spear angles to the upper limit of the investigated test plan gave higher efficiencies. The response surfaces suggested that the optimum nozzle and spear angles could be even steeper. That is why, an additional case, a third design (Novel 2) with even steeper angles (150/90) was also manufactured and tested. The experimental tests were carried out in a single jet operation using the upper injector on the Gilkes Pelton runner with series Z120 buckets. The results show that two novel injector design cases produce higher efficiencies than the standard design, when tested with a Pelton runner. An important gain of about 1% in efficiency is achieved at the Best Efficiency Point of the turbine. Furthermore, the improvement is even more pronounced at lower flow rates, where the spear valve opening is smaller and the geometry of the injector has even larger effect. To discuss and analyse these experimental observations, a further 2D axisymmetric CFD analysis is performed. This analysis shows a similar trend to the experimental results. The CFD results show that the largest amount of energy is lost at the region upstream of the nozzle exit, where the static pressure is converted into the dynamic pressure. This conversion starts earlier in case 1, the Standard injector design, at about twice the distance compared to the Novel designs, cases 2 and 3. Consequently, the flow must travel in this region at an increased velocity and it is shown that this region is longer in the Standard injector. Hence, its friction losses are higher. However, the differences between the designs calculated in CFD are about a factor of 2 lower than the experimental results, indicating that the 3D secondary flow mechanisms arising from the geometry upstream of the nozzle and spear tip also affect the performance of the spear valve and the Pelton runner. The mismatch between the efficiency increase magnitude observed experimentally and modelled using the axisymmetric case suggests that the steeper angle injectors cope better with secondary velocities in the flow.


We analyze Boolean functions using a recently proposed measure of their complexity. This complexity measure, motivated by the aim of relating the complexity of the functions with the generalization ability that can be obtained when the functions are implemented in feed-forward neural networks, is the sum of two components. The first of these is related to the 'average sensitivity' of the function and the second is, in a sense, a measure of the 'randomness' or lack of structure of the function. In this paper, we investigate the importance of using the second term in the complexity measure. We also explore the existence of very complex Boolean functions, considering, in particular, the symmetric Boolean functions.


Fretting is a special type of wear, which appears at the contact interface between two solids subjected to constant normal load and periodic tangential forces. Although most studies on fretting have been executed experimentally, some approaches for simulating fretting wear have also been introduced during the last decades. In particular, fretting wear analysis is concerned with the evolution of the surface profiles of the contacting bodies due to wear, and its modeling was executed using numerical, finite-element, semi-analytical, and analytical methods, including the method of dimensionality reduction. In the present review we discuss recent analytical results on fretting wear contact geometry adaptation.


Metal hydrides are of considerable importance in chemical synthesis as intermediates in catalytic hydrogenation reactions. Transition metal atoms react with dihydrogen to produce metal dihydrides or dihydrogen complexes and these may be trapped in solid matrix samples for infrared spectroscopic study. The MH(2) or M(H(2)) molecules so formed react further to form higher MH(4), (H(2))MH(2), or M(H(2))(2), and MH(6), (H(2))(2)MH(2), or M(H(2))(3) hydrides or complexes depending on the metal. In this critical review these transition metal and dihydrogen reaction products are surveyed for Groups 3 though 12 and the contrasting behaviour in Groups 6 and 10 is discussed. Minimum energy structures and vibrational frequencies predicted by Density Functional Theory agree with the experimental results, strongly supporting the identification of novel binary transition metal hydride species, which the matrix-isolation method is well-suited to investigate. 104 references are cited.


Interoperability is one of the key requirements in the Internet of Things considering the diverse platforms, communication standards and specifications available today. Inherent resource constraints in the majority of IoT devices makes it very difficult to use existing solutions for interoperability, thus demanding new approaches. This paper presents the process of adapting a lightweight interoperability middleware for IoT, LISA, from RIOT to Contiki OS and evaluates memory and power overheads. The middleware follows a service oriented architecture and classifies devices according to available resources to assign different roles, such as Application, Service and Manager Nodes. These roles live in different tiers in a generic IoT architecture, where the Manager nodes are located in the intermediate Fog layer. To adapt to an event based kernel of Contiki, the middleware defines and handles a set of events that are used to communicate with the user application. A network of nodes is simulated to show the architecture promoted by the middleware and the results are presented.


The information and communication technologies are recognized over the last decade as a key driver of modernization of public administration and e-government has become a key concern of Governments. In the present study the problem that is examined is the issue of effective administration of e-government policy in the public sector and more specifically in the Greek public sector. It is carried out through the fields of the organization, design, management, planning and control of the electronic services. Its purpose is to show the value and benefits of the proper application of e-government policies in the public sector through the existing literature review and with the help of a questionnaire which was distributed to a sample of sixty public officers. Finally, it makes an attempt to provide solutions, recommendations and suggestions for the improvement of e-government policy administration in the Greek public sector, as well as, for the future opportunities of Greek e-government policies. The transition of the Greek public administration in the information society is a difficult undertaking that will lead to the consolidation of e-government and the existence of a new relationship between citizen and State.


Microfluidic technology (generally lab-on-a-chip) has been focused area of research since 90s and the main goal of this technology is to develop different chemical and biological techniques. It is quicker than the correspondent traditional techniques and consumes small volumes of material. One of the important functions in micro scale fluidic channels is mixing that its characteristics affected by scale because the viscous forces are more than inertial forces in this range of dimensions that provides laminar flow inside the channel; in this scale the mixing is defined by diffusion rather than turbulence. This dissertation presents the design of a microfluidic device and employing a combination of rapid prototype technology with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for the fabrication. After the fabrication, chemiluminescence phenomenon is tested inside the device and the resultant images from the charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera are analysed using numerical analysis and image processing. Two sets of tests are performed for characterising the chemiluminescence in fabricated device. Preliminary tests to check the device and the chemicals' behaviour and the actual test. In order to find the limit of detection, which is obtained as lower than 4 x 10-6 g of the dominant chemical (luminol) concentration in 100 ml of the solution, depends upon different parameters such as flow rate and the concentration of luminol are checked. The effect of the flow rate and the concentration on the maximum value and the decay length of the light intensity along the fluidic missing channels are then discussed. In the final part of the project, nanoparticles are used to improve the intensity of the light in the channel in order to improve the limit of detection of the system.


In the growing field of conformable electronics, tattoo technology has emerged from among the various approaches so farHere, temporary tattoo paper is adopted as unconventional substrate to build up transferable body compliant devices, which establishes a stable and long-lasting interface with the skin. Tattoo-based devices have shown their capabilities in multiple fields, with the main application in human health biomonitoring. Such an approach is advancing to become state-of-the-art, overcoming some limits of existing technologies, as in the case of skin-contact electrodes and sweat analysis. Temporary tattoo has also been adopted in other fields, such asorganic electronics, the development of organic solar cells, and transferable edible transistors. Multiple and complementary fabrication approaches on temporary tattoos have been demonstrated, spanning from traditional vacuum-based deposition methods to various printing technologies. In this review, together with reporting and discussing the main fabrication methods and applications of tattoo technology, we describe the main features of the tattoo substrate. New insights into its material composition and properties are given, discussing the pros and cons in comparison to other approaches adopted in conformable electronics. Together with providing a comprehensive and up to date review of advancements in tattoo technology, this review aims to contribute in a better understanding of the capabilities offered by such a low cost and versatile substrate. This can help in opening up new research for emerging applications, like in the relevant field of sustainable electronics.


Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and in particular, adaptive neural networks (ANN) have been commonly used in order to Fatigue life prediction. The aim of this paper is to consider a new crack propagation principle based on simulating experimental tests on three point-bend (TPB) specimens, which allow predicting the fatigue life and fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR). An important part of this paper is estimation of FCG rate related to different load histories. The effects of different load histories on the crack growth life are obtained in different representative simulation and experiments.


Distance language learners require new kinds of skills, motivation and commitment to work effectively in a learning setting that is largely new and unfamiliar to them, and which is likely to have a direct impact on their development and use of learning strategies (Oxford & BurryStock, 1995; White, 2004). This paper is based on a study of a group of Chinese students learning English at a distance at Shantou Radio and Television University, China, and investigates their use of language learning strategies. The study found that distance English learners in China are gradually shifting from dependence on teachers to a more autonomous approach to learning. In many cases they are beginning to deploy a variety of strategies to facilitate their learning, and at the same time taking more responsibility for their studies. This appears to challenge the traditional stereotype of the dependent, 'spoon-fed' Chinese language learner as portrayed in previous studies. The paper concludes that learner training should be integrated into the instructional design of the materials in order to enhance strategy awareness and emphasize the facilitative role of learning strategies in language study.


We investigate three schemes for severe compression of iris images in order to assess what their impact would be on recognition performance of the algorithms deployed today for identifying people by this biometric feature. Currently, standard iris images are 600 times larger than the IrisCode templates computed from them for database storage and search; but it is administratively desired that iris data should be stored, transmitted, and embedded in media in the form of images rather than as templates computed with proprietary algorithms. To reconcile that goal with its implications for bandwidth and storage, we present schemes that combine region-of-interest isolation with JPEG and JPEG2000 compression at severe levels, and we test them using a publicly available database of iris images. We show that it is possible to compress iris images to as little as 2000 bytes with minimal impact on recognition performance. Only some 2% to 3% of the bits in the IrisCode templates are changed by such severe image compression, and we calculate the entropy per code bit introduced by each compression scheme. Error tradeoff curve metrics document very good recognition performance despite this reduction in data size by a net factor of 150, approaching a convergence of image data size and template size.


At least 30 major cities and metropolitan areas in the U.S. have implemented real-time, traffic-information web sites to provide pretrip traffic information. Although general web-site-design guidelines are plentiful, no design guidelines were found specific to traffic-information web sites. This project used 4 methods to create and evaluate traffic-information web sites: (1) user analysis, (2) heuristic evaluation, (3) the use of web-design guidelines, and (4) user testing. The knowledge gained from these 4 steps was then combined to form a set of traffic-information web-site-design guidelines. A total of 8 general principles (e.g., consistency, readability, etc.) and 33 specific guidelines in 4 categories (site organization, site navigation, real-time traffic-information presentation, and real-time map colors symbols, and design) were created. The heuristic evaluation of 7 traffic-information web sites revealed problems involving violations of consistency, visibility (as to where the user was and where he could go next), and flexibility or efficiency of use. User testing revealed problems with unexpected feature implementations, confusing icons, legends or instructions, and feature or formats that were difficult to use or frustrating. Although there were strengths and weaknesses in each method, guidelines use and user testing were found to be the most beneficial methods given the likely resources available in the traffic management center to develop a traffic-information web site.


Harvested broccoli heads rapidly senesces after it is severed from the mother plant due to complex metabolic processes occurring in tissues. Specifically, abrupt increase in ethylene and decline in sucrose were reported. To elucidate further these changes, 25% ethanol was applied in heads prior to storage. The relationship between postharvest yellowing of florets and ethylene production, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO) activity, sugar contents and respiration rate are determined. Results revealed that the onsets of climacteric rise in ACO activity and ethylene production were a day delayed by ethanol application. These results may suggest that ethanol inhibits ethylene synthesis by slowing down the activity of ACO at earlier storage period only. It is likely that due to volatilization of ethanol, the dilute concentration could be much less effective at overcoming its inhibitory effect on ethylene synthesis during the later stage of storage. Furthermore, the almost constant levels of sucrose from days 1 to 3 in the treated florets could be attributed to less consumption of respiratory substrate as exhibited by lower CO 2 production. It is, therefore, likely that the relatively higher level of sucrose in treated florets has influenced the responsiveness of the floral tissue to ethylene. Overall, ethanol application appears to delay the metabolic processes which lead to the climacteric rise in ethylene, thereby delaying the onset of floret yellowing in broccoli. Prior to the appearance of visual sign of quality deterioration, significant changes in ACO activity and sucrose level have occurred. Thus, it is considered that yellowing is a late event in broccoli postharvest senescence preceded by significant physio-biochemical changes.


This paper investigates whether civic competences among youngsters are linked to the social and ethnic composition of classrooms and whether these links are influenced by national education systems. Use is made of the IEA Civic Education Study among 14-year olds to investigate these relationships. We find that social segregation across classrooms is most pronounced in systems characterised by early selection and large school differentiation. Moreover, inequalities of civic competences across classes are also relatively large in such systems. The paper further finds that the social composition of the classroom primarily affects the cognitive component of civic competences (knowledge and skills). This relationship is influenced by national education systems: the less a system groups pupils on the basis of ability and the more its schools are homogenous, the weaker the link between classroom social status and civic knowledge and skills will be. However, similar regularities are not found for the attitudinal and behavioural components of civic competences. Both the social and the ethnic composition of classrooms are related in different ways to attitudes and behaviours depending on the outcome under investigation. Furthermore, these relations show no consistent pattern across education systems. I did find a positive relation between ethnic diversity and ethnic tolerance in three of the four systems, supporting the contact perspective on inter-ethnic relations. This link, however, could not be observed in the system characterizing the Mediterranean countries. In view of these inconsistent relations with regard to civic attitudes and behaviours, it is recommendable that future research remains critical of any scholars assuming that these attitudes and behaviours form a coherent syndrome of civic culture.


: With the introduction of newer, more expensive psychotropic medications, pharmacists must consider the cost-effectiveness issues related to the use of these drugs. In general, the newer agents are more effective than conventional drugs, have improved side-effect profiles, and are associated with a lower rate of recidivism. However, because of cost constraints, not every patient who needs a newer psychotropic drug has the opportunity to receive it. To provide these patients with the medication they need, we must look beyond the acquisition cost of the drug and focus on the global impact of the medication on the total mental health budget at a facility. Data from this point of view can justify the greater expense of the medication, and more importantly, the patient can be better served. Cost-effectiveness data from one's own institution may be more convincing to formulary committee members than data from academic centers and can help make newer, more expensive agents available to the patients who need them. Designing and implementing a retrospective study is one means of obtaining these cost-effectiveness data.


Article history: Received 10 September 2014 Received in revised form 23 October 2014 Accepted 15 November 2014 Available online 20 November 2014


Learning‐related morphological modifications in single dendritic spines were studied quantitatively in the brains of young Sprague–Dawley rats. We have previously shown that olfactory discrimination rule‐learning results in transient physiological and morphological modifications in piriform cortex pyramidal neurons. In particular, spine density along the apical dendrites of neurons from trained rats is increased after learning. The aim of the present study was to identify and describe olfactory learning‐induced modifications in the morphology of single spines along apical dendrites of the same type of neurons. By using laser‐scanning confocal microscopy, we show that 3 days after training completion spines on neurons from olfactory discrimination trained rats are shorter as compared to spines on neurons from control rats. Further analysis revealed that spine shortening attributed to olfactory discrimination learning derives from shortening of spine head and not from shortening of spine neck. In addition, detailed analysis of spine head volume suggests that spines with large heads are absent after learning. As spine head size may be related to the efficacy of the synapse it bears, we suggest that modifications in spine head dimensions following olfactory rule‐learning enhance the cortical network ability to enter into a 'learning mode', in which memories of new odours can be acquired rapidly and efficiently.


The intermittent and fluctuating nature of output power of renewable energy sources (RES) can lead to serious security concerns such as congestion in the transmission system. Incorporating storage devices with RES is technically an effective means to mitigate this concern by allowing fluctuating RES to be as stable as traditional power plants. Storage is an even more consumer-friendly solution with greater control over electricity consumption time and price compared to e.g. demand-side management which offers limited control over the price for end users. It can also contribute to lower the electricity price, peak-shave the demand, defer upgrade investments, provide ride-through solution for (momentary) faults, contribute to voltage/frequency control, increase the share of green energy and thus reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions, improve power quality by reducing harmonic distortions and voltage sags/surges, facilitate utilization of more efficient off-peak generation units, etc. This paper assesses the technical applicability and economical viability of different storage devices to the Belgian power network, focusing on the structure of the Belgian electricity market. A high-level overview of widely-used storage technologies, their benefits and shortcomings are also provided.


Background and objectives: recent years have seen a resurgence of syphilis in Spain due to changes in sexual behavior. Here we describe the incidence of the disease in our clinic and investigate its relationship with the sexual habits of men who have sex with men (MSM). Patients and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of incident cases of syphilis in 2007 and 2008 was performed, followed by a case–control study of sexual behavior in the previous year to compare MSM with and without syphilis. Results: We recorded 26 new cases of syphilis, 19 of which were diagnosed at early stages. Eight patients were infected with human immunodeficiency virus and 15 were classed as MSM. Sixty-five MSM without syphilis were selected as a control group. MSM with syphilis had a larger number of sexual partners: odds ratio (Or), 3.98 (95% confidence interval [ci], 0.90–17.46) for the category "2 to 5 sexual partners"; Or, 3.22 (95% ci, 0.84–12.43) for the category "more than 5 sexual partners". the inconsistent use of condoms was significantly more common among MSM with syphilis than among those without syphilis (Or, 3.96; 95% ci, 1.15–13.61; P =.02). Conclusions: Syphilis continues to be a public health problem in our setting, particularly among homosexual and bisexual men. in this study, inconsistent use of condoms and a greater number of sexual partners were risk factors for syphilis in MSM. the development of prevention programs targeting this at-risk population should be considered a


Aneuploidy is the presence of one or more extra chromosomes or the absence of one or more chromosomes. The risk of fetal aneuploidy rises with increasing maternal age. Because fetal aneuploidy can affect any pregnancy, all pregnant women should be offered screening. First-trimester combined screening performed between 10 and 13 weeks' gestation detects 82% to 87% of trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) cases. Second-trimester serum quadruple screening performed between 15 and 22 weeks' gestation detects 81% of trisomy 21 cases. Combinations of these tests include integrated or serum integrated, stepwise sequential, and contingent sequential screenings, all of which improve detection rates compared with each test alone. Fetal cell-free DNA testing (noninvasive prenatal testing) performed at or after 10 weeks' gestation detects more than 99% of trisomy 21 cases, with a lower false-positive rate than traditional first- or second-trimester screening methods. Fetal cell-free DNA testing has similar detection rates in high- and low-risk populations but has lower positive predictive values in younger women. It may be performed as primary screening or as a follow-up test to abnormal findings on first- or second-trimester screenings. Second-trimester ultrasonography has limited utility in aneuploidy screening in women who have already been screened with a first- or second-trimester serum test. Diagnostic tests following a positive screening result include chorionic villus sampling performed between 10 and 13 weeks' gestation or amniocentesis performed after 15 weeks' gestation.


Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a force applied to microparticles in nonuniform electric field. This study discusses the fabrication of the glassy carbon interdigitated microelectrode arrays using lithography process based on lithographic patterning and subsequent pyrolysis of negative SU-8 photoresist. Resulting high-resistance electrodes would have the regions of high electric field at the ends of microarray as demonstrated by simulation. The study demonstrates that combining the alternating current (AC) applied bias with the direct current (DC) offset allows the user to separate subpopulations of microparticulates and control the propulsion of microparticles to the high field areas such as the ends of the electrode array. The direction of the movement of the particles can be switched by changing the offset. The demonstrated novel integrated DEP separation and propulsion can be applied to various fields including in vitro diagnostics as well as to microassembly technologies.


Titanium containing carbon nitride (CNx) films are prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering method. The evolution of intrinsic stress within the nanocomposite films is monitored during growth by using an in situ bending-plate method. The effect of Ti-containing concentration on intrinsic stress is investigated. XRD data shows that TiN nanocrystals are synthesized to embed into the CNx matrix. The film intrinsic stress depends obviously on the content of Ti. We suggest that grain boundary effect is responsible to the intrinsic stress variation as a function of the content of Ti.


The TropiSAR campaign has been conducted in August 2009 in French Guiana with the ONERA airborne radar system SETHI. The main objective of this campaign was to collect data to support the Phase A of the 7th Earth Explorer candidate mission, BIOMASS. Several specific questions needed to be addressed to consolidate the mission concept following the Phase 0 studies, and the data collection strategy was constructed accordingly. More specifically, a tropical forest data set was required in order to provide test data for the evaluation of the foreseen inversion algorithms and data products. The paper provides a description of the resulting data set which is now available through the European Space Agency website under the airborne campaign link. First results from the TropiSAR database analysis are presented with two in-depth analyses about both the temporal radiometric variation and temporal coherence at P-band. The temporal variations of the backscatter values are less than 0.5 dB throughout the campaign, and the coherence values are observed to stay high even after 22 days. These results are essential for the BIOMASS mission. The observed temporal stability of the backscatter is a good indicator of the expected robustness of the biomass estimation in tropical forests, from cross-polarized backscatter values as regarding environmental changes such as soil moisture. The high temporal coherence observed after a 22-day period is a prerequisite for SAR Polarimetric Interferometry and Tomographic applications in a single satellite configuration. The conclusion then summarizes the paper and identifies the next steps in the analysis.