The main issues of this dissertation are those problems that are associated with the control of stock externality under the constraint of the rigidity of policy variables. An optimal control on a stock externality requires for the control variables to be adjusted every moment of decision, which is not available in the real world. For the description of such an institutional constraint, a fixed one-time control policy has been introduced. The justification of this assumption is that, under a positive rate of discount, there will not be any great difference in the controller's current decision making whether a policy variable can be changed far in the future or completely fixed forever;Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction of the study in the subsequent Chapters. In Chapter 2, a general review on the theory of externality is provided by examining the concept, the sources and the possible remedies of externality. Based on this review, the directions of future studies in this area are suggested;The main point of Chapter 3 is to clarify the effect of the rigidity of a policy variable. One of the important results is that, if the initial state of the environment is more (less) deteriorated than the first-best optimal state, then the steady state of the stock under the second-best control will end up with less (more) deteriorated than the first-best steady state which is independent of the given initial state;Chapter 4 examines the issue of optimal starting point of fixed one-time control. First, a general rule has been formulated for the decision of optimal starting point. And then, it is proved that there can be an efficiency gain by delaying the start of the control unless the current state of the environmental stock is more deteriorated than its first-best steady state. It is shown that higher levels of the administrative costs may provide the controller an incentive for an unduly long delay in the control;The issue in Chapter 5 is the relative performance of two representative control modes, a Pigouvian tax system and a quantity restriction. The result is that the random factor in the benefit function is the only relevant source of uncertainty that affects the relative economic performance of the two policy schemes. However, this random factor does not reverse the ranking of the two policies, but only affects the magnitude of the difference of the welfare states. A high discount rate and a high amelioration rate turn out to be important factors that make the tax system more attractive and vice versa.


Dealing with congested railway area becomes an important topic in railway operation management. Significant efforts are made to develop Driver Advisory System (DAS) in connection with the trackside Train Management System (TMS). Many advantages are expected from smoothing train dynamic speed profiles: timetable resilience, significant reduction of both the energy consumption and the wear and tear and, finally, positive impacts on the comfort for passengers. Today, on one hand, only a few Centrally Guided Train Operation Systems (CGTO) are already in operation on European major railways. On the other hand, the European Train Control System (ETCS) spreads rapidly. Such combination offers a great opportunity to promote a European standard CGTO system using the ETCS-DMI opportunities. The present paper describes many options using either the "Monitoring" area, or the "Supplementary Driving Info" area, or the "Planning" area, or the "Speed Info" area; or a combination of them on the ETCS Diver Machine Interface (DMI). Some of them give only advices or guidance but some of them indicate operational temporary speed reductions (O_TSR) that are mandatory. Historical research, current experiments, and dispatching concepts in bottlenecks areas militate in favour of the compulsory character of temporary speed limits due to congestion. Therefore, the last option presented here should be more examined more in depth.


Author(s): Yang, Lu | Advisor(s): Rosenfeld, Michael G | Abstract: Discovery of transferable distal genetic elements capable of activating gene transcription was a milestone in the study of transcriptional control. These genetic elements were termed "enhancers" because of their ability to enhance proximal coding gene transcription. Since then, it was believed that the activation potential of enhancers is entirely intrinsic. However, most prior studies of enhancer elements have removed them from their native genomic context, transplanting them onto plasmids or artificial chromosomes, thereby removing any potential effects of other elements in the genome. We sought to ask the question of whether the strongest E2 regulated enhancers on human chromosome 21 might interact, even when located on opposite ends of the chromosome q arm. These interactions play a functional role in allowing all interacting enhancers to have synergistically high levels of robustness. We have found that a cohort of the most highly active "first tier" ERα bound enhancers on chromosome 21, distributed across a linear distance of over 30 mega-bases, exhibit induced proximity when treated with the ligand agonist estradiol-17β (E2). Using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to delete some of these enhancers, we found, these enhancers seem to confer additional robustness onto other interacting enhancers. We believe that this occurs due to the physical proximity between "first tier" enhancers gained in response to E2, and that these interactions are dependent upon eRNA and a host of protein factors. These individual first tier enhancers in effect form a previously unappreciated "spatially distributed super-enhancer network". These interaction events reflect physical constraints placed upon chromosome 21 imposed by a very large heterochromatic "B" compartment, which seems to predominantly localize to the surface of the nucleolus arising from the ribosomal DNA repeat rich p-arm of the acrocentric chromosome 21. The euchromatin "A" compartments on either side of the "B" compartment are thus allowed to interact dynamically. These sorts of dynamic interactions between regions of the chromosome constitute, in part, the overall structure of the chromosome. Therefore, the robustness of individual enhancers in a chromosome cannot be disentangled from the contributions of all interacting enhancers and the subnuclear structures in which these interactions can occur.


The J-integral has significant path dependence immediately adjacent to a blunted crack tip under small-scale yielding conditions in an elastic-plastic material subject to mode I loads and plane-strain conditions. Since the J-integral, evaluated on a contour remote from the crack tip, can be used as the one fracture-mechanics parameter required to represent the intensity of the load when small-scale yielding conditions exist, J retains its role as a parameter characterizing the crack-tip stress fields, at least for materials modelled by the von Mises flow theory. Some results obtained using both the finite-element method and the slip-line theory are suggestive of a situation in which an outer field parameterized by a path-independent value of J controls the deformation in an inner or crack-tip field in which J is path dependent. The outer field is basically the solution to the crack problem when large deformation effects involved in the blunting are ignored. Thus, the conventional small-strain approaches in which the crack-tip deformation is represented by a singularity have been successful in characterizing such features as the crack-tip opening displacement in terms of a value of the J-integral on a remote contour. An interesting deduction concerns a nonlinear elastic material with characteristics in monotonic stressing similar to an elastic-plastic material. Since J is path independent everywhere in such a material, the stress and strain fields near the crack tip in such a material must differ greatly from those arising in the elastic-plastic materials studied so far. This result is of significance because it is believed that such nonlinear elastic constitutive laws can represent the limited strain-path independence suggested by models for plastic flow of polycrystalline aggregates based on crystalline slip within grains.


The current land subdivision practice in Tasmania is not meeting the
objective of sustainable development.
Although Tasmania has an example of world1s best practice planning
legislation there are no links between the objective of sustainable
development and the decision making process in regard to land
subdivision. A link between the objective of sustainable development
and the actual planning schemes which govern how land is used is
required. A greater emphasis on how land is used instead of what land is
used for is needed.
Performance based planning schemes are moving towards addressing the
requirements of how developments occur. The legislative process is
fundamental in controlling the outcome of subdivision in order to meet
the sustainable development objective. The outcome of a subdivision is
dependent on how the land is ultimately used. The process needs to be
outcome focussed as many of the consequences of land subdivision are
practically impossible to reverse, particularly in the case of the natural
environment.
It is apparent that once the subdivision has been approved it too late to
retro-fit sustainable development principles. The decision needs to be
made at a early stage; can or should this parcel of land be subdivided at
all?
The project has shown that there is a over supply of subdivided land
suitable for residential development which clearly does not meet the
sustainable development objective of the Land Use Planning and
Approvals Act 1993 (LUPAA). The reasons for this situation have been
given, along with a historical perspective on the current situation to
better understand the issues involved. This historical perspective also
gives an understanding of what is possible and how circumstances may
be changed.
Clearly, urgent action needs to be taken to prevent the oversupply of land
and subsequent degradation of the environment. The issue of
intergenerational equity is an issue of concern which has not been
addressed or in many cases considered. This issue is of increasing
concern as time passes and present legislation does not consider the
impact of present decisions on future generations.


Novel concept of a photovoltaics (PV) power generation system adding the function of active filter (AF) is proposed in this paper. So far, because the PV power generation system can be treated to a harmonics source for the power distribution systems, the PV system combined the function of AF systems as well as the AF systems using the PV module as the power source have never been reported. Here, the control strategy of PV-AF system is for the first time introduced. Also, in order to stabilize the output current of VSI, the reference voltage MPPT control is applied. Using simulation analysis, it is confirmed that it is possible to combine AF theory to the three phase PV system connected up to utility, and results gave us that it was theoretically positive to actualize the PV-AF system.


Two kinds of mixed powders:Ti-6Al-4V/B/C and Ti-6Al-4V/B4C which are pre-pasted or synchronized fed on Ti-6Al-4V substrates separately were scanned by a 500W pulsed YAG laser to induce in situ formation of titanium composite coatings contained TiBx and TiC ceramic reinforced phases. The influences of laser processing parameters including Pulse Frequency (PF), Pulse Width (PW), Laser Power (P) and Scanning Speed (V) together with the powder proportions on the microstructure and properties of the coatings were investigated. Microstructures, phase components of the coating were analyzed by OM, SEM, TEM and XRD respectively. Experimental results show that two and more kinds of ceramic reinforcements were in situ formatted in the matrix of Ti-6Al-4V. TiB and TiC ceramics were formed evenly with the morphology of needle, tiny dendrites and disperse particles in the prepasted single path specimens. For the powder feed laser cladding layers, the ceramic reinforcements were TiB (needlelike), TiB2 (hexagonal prism or rodlike), a small amount of TiC (disperse particles) and non fully reacted B4C. The microhardness increased with the increase of the amount of B4C and B+C additions. When the added B and C contents are the same, the microhardness of the coating with B4C addition is higher than that of the coating with B+C addition. The average micro-hardness of a powder prepasted (with 20 wt.% B4C addition) multi-path laser cladding layer formed under the optimized processing parameters is up to 800HV, which is more than 2 times of that of the substrate (340Hv), and the wear weight loss of the layer decreased nearly 3 times that of the substrate.


Natural flow plays a vital role in forming biotic diversity by controlling essential environmental conditions within the river channel and floodplain. This paper assesses the changes in streamflow and ecology caused on Krishna River by Srisailam dam. Regulated and unregulated river flow discharge data were collected at Nagarjuna Sagar gauge station which is located downstream of Srisailam dam. Flow Health (FH) software developed by the International Water Centre, Brisbane is used to calculate the hydrological alteration and environmental flow requirements due to Srisailam dam. Results show that impoundment of the dam mainly decreases the high flows by storing flood flow for water supply, irrigation purposes, etc., and enhances low flows due to hydropower operation. Regulation of the dam significantly affected the mean flow in August, September, and October. Mean annual flow (MAF) decreased considerably and seasonal flow shifted. The minimum flow released from the dam to downstream was calculated by two options, namely, low risk and medium risk to the environment. Low risk achieved a score of 0.61 FH and 0.5 FH was achieved by high risk, with a MAF volume of 40% (i.e., 7,225 m3) and 30% (5,847 m3), respectively.


The combination of capillaries with different internal diameters was used to accelerate the separation of enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis. Separation of R,S‐1,1′‐binaphthalene‐2,2′‐diyl hydrogen phosphate using isopropyl derivative of cyclofructan 6 was studied as a model system. The best separation conditions included 500 mM sodium borate pH 9.5 with 60 mM concentration of the chiral selector. Separation lasted approx. 1.5 min using the combination of 50 and 100 μm id capillaries of 9.7 cm and 22.9 cm, respectively. It allowed approx. 12‐fold acceleration in comparison to the traditional long‐end separation mainly due to the higher electroosmotic flow generated in the connected capillaries.


Migrant settlement and integration into the New Zealand labour market has been a longstanding concern for government agencies, migrant community groups, and researchers. Numerous initiatives to enable successful settlement have been created but the effectiveness of these initiatives is questionable as migrants continue to face challenges in finding suitable employment. Non-standard work and under-employment are common experiences among new migrants in New Zealand. These experiences are not unique to New Zealand. Studies show that migrants in countries such as Canada and Australia share similar issues. There is also consensus in the literature for the need to consider the migrants' points of view regarding the effectiveness of settlement initiatives. As few New Zealand studies have taken the migrant perspective into account, this study fills a research gap by looking at the effectiveness of various employment assistance programmes through the eyes of its migrant participants. The first aim of this study, therefore, was to understand what role an employment assistance programme (EAP) plays in facilitating migrants' settlement in employment in the host country. The second aim of the study was to determine how effective EAPs are in Auckland, New Zealand. The third aim was to critique the Auckland-based EAPs by identifying their strengths and weaknesses. These aims were addressed through the migrants' perspectives. In addressing these research aims, a qualitative descriptive interpretive approach was applied to capture the different points of views of the interviewees. This study found that the EAPs in Auckland are only partially successful in supporting the migrants' settlement in employment. Despite attending the EAPs, migrants do not find the right employment – employment that is in line with their educational qualifications and prior work experience. Although the EAPs provide useful labour market information, their effect on reduction of barriers is negligible. Through its findings, this study provides insights for improvement of the current EAPs and offers a starting point for future evaluative, migrant-centred research.


The European Union Tissues and Cells Directive requires screening of tissue and cell donors for infective organisms to prevent inter-patient transmission. The Directive includes the unique term partner donation, which refers to "donation of reproductive cells between a man and a woman who declare that they have an intimate physical relationship". In line with the Directive, partners undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) now require screening before each treatment, regardless of the time interval between consecutive cycles. Evidence to support this recommendation is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective study of all virology screening tests undertaken over a three year period for individuals attending an assisted conception unit serving a high risk inner city population. We ascertained prevalence and seroconversion rates for HIV, hepatitis B and C and estimated the additional cost of implementing the Directive fully in our unit. With more than 3910 ART individuals screened between January 2007 and December 2009, the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B and C was 0.6, 1.7 and 0.4%, respectively. A total of 422 individuals had a second screening test during the three year period and none seroconverted. This study suggests that increasing the frequency of screening individuals undergoing ART to less than 12 months would not confer added benefit and has significant cost implications.


What happens to rural communities in remote raw materials-rich regions when their definitions of the region's natural resources are confronted with competing and incompatible definitions presented and enforced by external actors? The social constructionist approach in environmental sociology provides an essential counterbalance to environmental determinism, but this article argues that in many contexts social construction is actually a process of the imposition of external actors' material interests over the objections of local groups. New historical materialism, via an interdisciplinary and multimethod research strategy, analyzes the changing definitions and uses of the Brazilian Amazon as a revelatory case study of the political economy and ecology of this process and its consequences for nature, rural communities, and indigenous peoples.


Aims &Objectives: The mechanism of the effects of music is still under scientific study and needs to be understood in a better way. We designed this study to see how music affects reaction time and concentration. The aim of our study was to study the effect of Gayatri mantra on reaction time. Material and Methods: 30 healthy subjects were selected for the study. Baseline record of Visual online Reaction time test was taken. Online visual reaction time was measured during listening to Gayatri Mantra was taken. Results:The reaction times decreased significantly p<0.001. Conclusion: Listening to music at work area reduces distractions, helps increase concentration and delays fatigue. It can be used to heal tinnitus, as an educational tool to develop children with special needs, Alzheimers disease, to improve motor skills in Parkinsonism and help alleviate pain after surgery.


Background and Hypothesis: Pie-crusting of the collateral ligaments can help achieve balanced gaps in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in knees with varus or valgus deformity. However, the effect of this technique on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) is unknown.  The purpose of this study was to compare PROMs following primary TKA for patients with and without medial collateral ligament (MCL) or lateral collateral ligament (LCL) pie-crusting.
Experimental Design or Project Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1,305 primary TKAs. Intraoperative MCL or LCL pie-crusting was documented in all operative reports and recorded. Prospectively collected preoperative, 4-month postoperative, and minimum 1-year postoperative PROMs related to overall knee health, pain during functional activities, activity level, and overall satisfaction were compiled and compared between patients with and without MCL or LCL pie-crusting.  Medians were evaluated with Kruskal-Wallis test adjusted for ties.
Results: The cohort was 67% female with mean age 66 years and BMI 34.0 kg/m2. MCL or LCL pie-crusting was performed in 13.0% of the cohort.  There were no intraoperative or postoperative ruptures of the MCL or LCL. 6.3% of conforming bearing TKAs required a collateral ligament pie crusting versus 21.5% of standard bearing TKA (p<0.001). No significant differences were found in preoperative, 4-month, minimum 1-year, or change from preoperative baseline to minimum 1-year PROMs with and without pie-crusting of the collateral ligaments (p≥0.095).  However, the LCL pie-crusting group had slightly better PROMs at minimum 1-year.
Conclusion and Potential Impact: These study results corroborate existing literature that pie-crusting of collateral ligaments is safe and effective to achieve a balanced TKA.  Additionally, no significant outcome differences were found between groups with and without MCL or LCL pie-crusting. However, LCL pie-crusting for valgus knee correction had slightly better PROMs.  Interestingly, conforming bearings may impart enhanced stability and mitigate the need for pie-crusting ligament releases in TKA.


A highly efficient and environmentally more benign synthesis of Fmoc-N-methyl-alpha-amino acids from the corresponding Fmoc-amino acid, via intermediate 5-oxazolidinones, has been developed by using Lewis acid catalysis for the reductive opening of the oxazolidinone ring.


Computed sonographic transmission tomograms of infant and adult human cadaver heads are presented and compared with sonographic pulse-echo and x-ray tomograms of the same horizontal planes. The sonographic attenuation tomograms were reconstructed from broadband transmission data obtained using the rotate/translate axial scan mode in much the same way as x-ray tomography is performed. The formalin-fixed infant cadaver head was scanned through the anterior fontanelle using pulse-echo and in a horizontal plane (3.3 cm superior to the Frankfort plane) using both pulse-echo (3.5 MHz and 5 MHz) and transmission sonography (5 MHz). The computed sonographic transmission tomogram revealed superior anatomic detail as compared with the pulse-echo images obtained in the horizontal plane and compared favorably with x-ray scans. The quantitative, noninvasive nature of sonographic tomography shows promise for clinical applicability in the infant. In the adult human cadaver, sonographic tomograms at 750 kHz are presented in both the transskull and excised brain conditions. These scans also offer promise for the possible clinical exploration of the method.


This paper examines the stock price effect in New Zealand of announcements of increases in dividends and of share repurchases from 1993 to 2009. The results are related to the soft substitution hypothesis on Australian data. Dividend-increase announcements provoke a greater positive effect on the stock price than buyback announcements. The preference of the marginal investor is also examined when firms distribute cash through both mechanisms. Again, investors prefer dividend increases over repurchases, and do so to a greater degree than for firms that only use one form of distribution.


Thin films of three types of fullerene derivatives were prepared through the electrospray deposition (ESD) method. The optimized conditions for the fabrication of the thin films were investigated for different types of fullerene derivatives: [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester, [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester, and indene-C60-monoadduct. The spray diameter during the ESD process was observed as a function of the supply rate achieved by changing the applied voltage. In all cases, the spray diameter increased with increasing applied voltage, reaching the maximum diameter (Dmax) in the voltage range 4 to 6 kV. It was clear that Dmax was influenced by the dipole moments of the fullerene derivatives (as calculated by density functional theory methods). Scanning electron microscopy observation of the fabricated thin films showed that imbricated structures were formed through the stacking of the fullerene-derivative sheets. Atomic force microscopy images revealed that the density of the imbricated structure was dependent on the spray diameter during the ESD process, and the root-mean-square roughness of the film surface decreased with increasing applied voltage. These findings suggest that the ESD method will be effective for the preparation of fullerene-derivative thin films for the production of organic devices.


The state of immunity was studied in 28 burned patients with deep lesions on skin before and after autodermoplasty. In 23 patients with a complete take of transplants the immune indices were within normality. In 5 patients with a complete on partial lysis of the transplanted skin there was an increased amount of "active" T-lymphocytes, "stable" T-lymphocytes and lymphocytes forming rosettes with autoerythrocytes. After immunodepressive therapy the immune indices became normal and the following autodermoplastic procedures gave a successful grafting.


The thermal conductivity of Sr2RuO4 along the least conducting direction perpendicular to the RuO2 plane has been studied down to 0.3 K. In this configuration the phonons remain the dominant heat carriers down to the lowest temperature, and their conductivity in the normal state is determined by the scattering on conduction electrons. We show that the phonon mean free path in the superconducting state is sensitive to the density of the quasi-particles in the bulk. An unusual magnetic field dependence of the phonon thermal conductivity is ascribed to the anisotropic superconducting gap structure in Sr2RuO4.


Using medical files, death certificates and an interview at home for the survivors, a long term retrospective follow-up study was done for 82 subjects operated for carotid stenosis. Causes of death, survival rates and medical history of survivors were studied. Subjects were classified in two preoperative risk categories according to their medical history prior to angiography: low risk (36 subjects) and medium risk (46 subjects). None of the subjects were lost during the follow-up period which varies from 81 to 105 months. At seven years, observed survival rate is significantly lower for the medium risk patients than for the low risk patients (43.0 +/- 8.6 versus 80.6 +/- 6.6; X2 M-H, p = 0.006). The difference between the survival rates is markedly noticeable after the fifth year of follow-up. Besides, the percentage of survivors who have developed cerebrovascular problems after the operation is significantly higher in the medium risk group than the low risk group (54.5% versus 25.0%, X2 p congruent to 0.04). Does this mean that the preoperative risk classification separates two different stages or two different forms of atherosclerosis?


Red blood cells interact with glutaraldehyde (GA) in a complex kinetic pattern of events. At a given GA concentration in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), the sequence of cell 'volume' response, as measured by resistive pulse spectroscopy (RPS), includes: an immediate response to the overall solution osmolality; a constant volume, latent phase; a rapid swelling phase; an intermediate constant volume phase; and a shrinkage phase to a final steady state volume. The final volume depends on fixative solution osmolality; for GA concentrations between 0.05% and 0.25% w/v, fixative osmolalities of less than 355 mosM, including 'isotonic', or greater than 355 mosM, lead to final cell volumes greater or less than native, respectively. Cell-membrane deformability decreases continuously and monotonically with time, as assessed by RPS. The rate of fixation is a direct function of GA concentration, in accordance with a derived empirical expression. The measured kinetic responses are related to considerations of cell size, deformability, and form, and to mechanisms involved in abrupt osmotic hemolysis.


In an immersive tele-presence environment a 3D remote real scene is projected from the viewpoint of the local user. This 3D world is acquired through stereo reconstruction at the remote site. In this paper we start a performance analysis of stereo algorithms with respect to the task of immersive visualization. As opposed to usual monocular image based rendering, we are also interested in the depth error in novel views because our rendering is stereoscopic. We describe an evaluation test-bed which provides a world-wide first available set of registered dense "ground-truth" laser data and image data from multiple views. We establish metrics for novel depth views that reflect discrepancies both in the image and in 3D-space. It is well known that stereo performance is affected by both erroneous matching as well as incorrect depth triangulation. We experimentally study the effects of occlusion and low texture on the distributions of the error metrics. Then, we algebraically predict the behavior of depth and novel projection error as a function of the camera set-up and the error in the disparity. These are first steps towards building a laboratory for psychophysical judgement of depth estimates which is the ultimate performance test of tele-presence stereo.


The complementary techniques of low-energy, variable-angle electron-impact spectroscopy and ultraviolet variable-angle photoelectron spectroscopy have been used to study the electronic spectroscopy and structure of several series of molecules. Electron-impact studies were performed at incident beam energies between 25 eV and 100 eV and at scattering angles ranging from 0° to 90°. The energy-loss regions from 0 eV to greater than 15 eV were studied. Photoelectron spectroscopic studies were conducted using a HeI radiation source and spectra were measured at scattering angles from 45° to 90°. The molecules studied were chosen because of their spectroscopic, chemical, and structural interest. The operation of a new electron-impact spectrometer with multiple-mode target source capability is described. This spectrometer has been used to investigate the spin-forbidden transitions in a number of molecular systems. The electron-impact spectroscopy of the six chloro-substituted ethylenes has been studied over the energy-loss region from 0-15 eV. Spin-forbidden excitations corresponding to the π → π*, N → T transition have been observed at excitation energies ranging from 4.13 eV in vinyl chloride to 3.54 eV in tetrachloroethylene. Symmetry-forbidden transitions of the type π → np have been oberved in trans-dichloroethyene and tetrachlor oethylene. In addition, transitions to many states lying above the first ionization potential were observed for the first time. Many of these bands have been assigned to Rydberg series converging to higher ionization potentials. The trends observed in the measured transition energies for the π → π*, N → T, and N → V as well as the π → 3s excitation are discussed and compared to those observed in the methyl- and fluoro-substituted ethylenes. The electron energy-loss spectra of the group VIb transition metal hexacarbonyls have been studied in the 0 eV to 15 eV region. The differential cross sections were obtained for several features in the 3-7 eV energy-loss region. The symmetry-forbidden nature of the 1A1g → 1A1g, 2t2g(π) → 3t2g(π*) transition in these compounds was confirmed by the high-energy, low-angle behavior of their relative intensities. Several low lying transitions have been assigned to ligand field transitions on the basis of the energy and angular behavior of the differential cross sections for these transitions. No transitions which could clearly be assigned to singlet → triplet excitations involving metal orbitals were located. A number of states lying above the first ionization potential have been observed for the first time. A number of features in the 6-14 eV energy-loss region of the spectra of these compounds correspond quite well to those observed in free CO. A number of exploratory studies have been performed. The π → π*, N → T, singlet → triplet excitation has been located in vinyl bromide at 4.05 eV. We have also observed this transition at approximately 3.8 eV in a cis-/trans- mixture of the 1,2-dibromoethylenes. The low-angle spectrum of iron pentacarbonyl was measured over the energy-loss region extending from 2-12 eV. A number of transitions of 8 eV or greater excitation energy were observed for the first time. Cyclopropane was also studied at both high and low angles but no clear evidence for any spin-forbidden transitions was found. The electron-impact spectrum of the methyl radical resulting from the pyrolysis of tetramethyl tin was obtained at 100 eV incident energy and at 0° scattering angle. Transitions observed at 5.70 eV and 8.30 eV agree well with the previous optical results. In addition, a number of bands were observed in the 8-14 eV region which are most likely due to Rydberg transitions converging to the higher ionization potentials of this molecule. This is the first reported electron-impact spectrum of a polyatomic free radical. Variable-angle photoelectron spectroscopic studies were performed on a series of three-membered-ring heterocyclic compounds. These compounds are of great interest due to their highly unusual structure. Photoelectron angular distributions using HeI radiation have been measured for the first time for ethylene oxide and ethyleneimine. The measured anisotropy parameters, β, along with those measured for cyclopropane were used to confirm the orbital correlations and photoelectron band assignments. No high values of β similar to those expected for alkene π orbitals were observed for the Walsh or Forster-Coulson-Moffit type orbitals.


Abstract:In his quest to win the 2013 New York City mayoral election in the opening moments of the Black Lives Matter movement, Bill de Blasio emphasized his intimate proximity to blackness by way of his mixed race family to signal his racially progressive politics. De Blasio's access to what Cathy Cohen calls "third wave Black politics" allowed him to use his relationships with his son, Dante, and wife, Chirlane McCray, to secure a majority vote in a divided and diverse electorate. However, in centering de Blasio's family in campaign advertising as a tool to express his "biracial cool," the de Blasio campaign did not account for how both the mixed race family and Black motherhood are historically fraught terrain in American history. McCray's presence as a Black queer mother and founding member of the Combahee River Collective presented a challenge to de Blasio's ability to control his family's image and follow through on his message. Because he did not adequately attend to the activist histories or policy needs of the voter blocs his mixed race family represented, the very same characteristics that made de Blasio a standout candidate were used to critique him, his campaign, and subsequently his 2020 presidential bid.


The objective of this study was to conduct exploratory research to determine the viability of a new model for detecting lack of invariance (LOI) for both item responses and response times. LOI occurs when the property of parameter invariance, which states that item parameters are invariant across examinee populations and person parameter are invariant across sets of items, is violated (Rupp & Zumbo, 2006). LOI can be present for item responses, which refer to whether an examinee answered an item correctly or incorrectly, as well as item response times, which refer to how much time an examinee spent answering an item. LOI can be problematic as it has consequences for validity and fairness of the test (Gierl, 2005). Currently, much of the research on LOI is relegated to studies of item responses (see Demars, 2004a, 2004b; Lord, 1977; Rupp & Zumbo, 2006; Wells, Subkoviak, & Serlin, 2002). Little research has been done on LOI for response times (Demars & Wise, 2010; Klein Entink, 2009; van der Linden, Schnipke, & Scrams, 2007), and no research has looked at LOI for item responses and response times at the same time. As such, this study evaluated a model, multiple indicator multiple cause model for detecting LOI in item responses and response times (MIMIC-IRTRT) that can examine LOI for both item response and response time simultaneously. This study is conducted in two parts consisting of both a simulation and extant data analysis. In these studies, only uniform LOI was examined. In the simulation study, number of items, correlation between person ability and speed, number of LOI items, type of LOI, and magnitude of LOI were manipulated. In the extant data analysis, highstakes, college-level, health profession exam data that was suspected to possess compromised test items was analyzed with the MIMIC-IRTRT model. The results from both the simulation and extant data study provide support for the use of the MIMICIRTRT model in detecting LOI.


Background: Neurocognitive status may be a risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Neurocognitive domains such as visual attention, processing speed/reaction time, and dual-tasking may influence ACL injury risk via alterations to neuromuscular performance during athletic tasks. However, the relationship between neurocognition and performance during athletic tasks is not yet established. Hypothesis: Athletes with low baseline neurocognitive scores will demonstrate poorer jump landing performance compared with athletes with high baseline neurocognitive score. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Neurocognitive performance was measured using the Concussion Resolution Index (CRI). Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data of the dominant limb were collected for 37 recreational athletes while performing an unanticipated jump-landing task. Healthy, nonconcussed subjects were screened using a computer-based neurocognitive test into a high performers (HP; n = 20; average CRI percentile, 78th) and a low performers (LP; n = 17; average CRI percentile, 41st) group. The task consisted of a forward jump onto a force plate with an immediate rebound to a second target that was assigned 250 milliseconds before landing on the force plate. Kinematic and kinetic data were obtained during the first jump landing. Results: The LP group demonstrated significantly altered neuromuscular performance during the landing phase while completing the jump-landing task, including significantly increased peak vertical ground-reaction force (mean ± SD of LP vs HP: 1.81 ± 0.53 vs 1.38 ± 0.37 body weight [BW]; P < .01), peak anterior tibial shear force (0.91 ± 0.17 vs 0.72 ± 0.22 BW; P < .01), knee abduction moment (0.47 ± 0.56 vs 0.03 ± 0.64 BW × body height; P = .03), and knee abduction angle (6.1° ± 4.7° vs 1.3° ± 5.6°; P = .03), as well as decreased trunk flexion angle (9.6° ± 9.6° vs 16.4° ± 11.2°; P < .01). Conclusion: Healthy athletes with lower baseline neurocognitive performance generate knee kinematic and kinetic patterns that are linked to ACL injury. Clinical Relevance: Neurocognitive testing using the CRI may be useful for identification of athletes at elevated risk for future ACL injury.


The Early Mesozoic record of northern Gondwana was strongly influenced by sea level fluctuations during the opening of the Neotethys Sea. Detailed facies analysis of the Late Triassic / Early Jurassic Abu Shaybah Fm (Libya, western Mediterranean), and the Triassic Mukheiris Fm (Jordan, eastern Mediterranean) documents the transgressions and regressions that took place during the Neotethys opening. Both formations present similar facies and depositional environments, and are made up mainly by continental siliciclastic sequences and minor carbonate deposits. The facies arrangement in both zones indicates deposition in a tide-dominated environment as a part of a transgressive sequence, succeeded by a high-energy sandy fluvial deposition. In both regions the braided fluvial systems drained basinwards and impinged into the Neotethys Sea located to the north. The fluvial deposition of both formations ended abruptly due to renewed Neotethyan marine floodings that resulted in the development of carbonate shelf environments.


Healthcare systems are under stress as never before. An ageing population, increasing complexity and comorbidities, continual innovation, the ambition to allow unfettered access to care and the demands on professionals contrast sharply with the limited capacity of healthcare systems and the realities of financial austerity. This tension inevitably brings new and potentially serious hazards for patients and means that the overall quality of care frequently falls short of the standard expected by both patients and professionals. The early ambition of achieving consistently safe and high-quality care for all1 has not been realised and patients continue to be placed at risk. In this paper, we ask what strategies we might adopt to protect patients when healthcare systems and organisations are under stress and simply cannot provide the standard of care they aspire to.

Teams and organisations constantly have to adapt to times of increased demand. Emergency departments, for instance, become adept at managing times of heightened activity and very sick patients. However, the adaptations are usually improvised and vary widely depending on who is in charge at the time. In contrast, for clinical emergencies such as failed intubation or cardiac arrest, clinicians have many well-rehearsed and adaptable routines.

In the short term, staff adapt and cope with the problems for a few hours or a few days until conditions are easier. However, if pressures continue, poor working conditions and deviations from best practice become increasingly common. For instance, the English Care Quality Commission reported that hospital bed occupancy rates are more or less permanently above the recommended maximum of 85% for acute hospitals. In these circumstances, staff are overburdened to the point that they cannot possible achieve expected standards. These pressures are exacerbated by patients with increasingly complex conditions, inadequate staffing, missing equipment and other constraints. Staff increasingly rely on …


Synthesized of Polyaniline by polymerization of aniline using chemical oxidation with APS as oxidant. Subsequently, the nanocomposite was synthesized at different weight ratio of PbS and MnO2. The characterization of prepared nanocomposite by XRD, TEM and FT-IR. The sharp peaks of XRD indicate the high degree of crystallinity of the nanocomposite. The characteristic FT-IR peaks for PANI-PbS Nanocomposite indicated the PbS and MnO2 dispersed in the polymer matrix. The Thermal stability of Nanocomposite compared with pure PANI using TGA and DTA. It is observed that thermal stability of PANI/PbS and PANI/MnO2 are maximum as compared to bulk PANI.


Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) has been linked to not only thrombosis and fibrosis but also to obesity and insulin resistance. Increased PAI-1 levels have been presumed to be consequent to obesity. We investigated the interrelationships of PAI-1, obesity, and insulin resistance in a high-fat/high-carbohydrate (HF) diet-induced obesity model in wild-type (WT) and PAI-1-deficient mice (PAI-1(-/-)). Obesity and insulin resistance developing in WT mice on an HF diet were completely prevented in mice lacking PAI-1. PAI-1(-/-) mice on an HF diet had increased resting metabolic rates and total energy expenditure compared with WT mice, along with a marked increase in uncoupling protein 3 mRNA expression in skeletal muscle, likely mechanisms contributing to the prevention of obesity. In addition, insulin sensitivity was enhanced significantly in PAI-1(-/-) mice on an HF diet, as shown by euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp studies. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma and adiponectin mRNA, key control molecules in lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, were maintained in response to an HF diet in white adipose tissue in PAI-1(-/-) mice, contrasting with downregulation in WT mice. This maintenance of PPAR-gamma and adiponectin may also contribute to the observed maintenance of body weight and insulin sensitivity in PAI-1(-/-) mice. Treatment in WT mice on an HF diet with the angiotensin type 1 receptor antagonist to downregulate PAI-1 indeed inhibited PAI-1 increases and ameliorated diet-induced obesity, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. PAI-1 deficiency also enhanced basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in adipose cells in vitro. Our data suggest that PAI-1 may not merely increase in response to obesity and insulin resistance, but may have a direct causal role in obesity and insulin resistance. Inhibition of PAI-1 might provide a novel anti-obesity and anti-insulin resistance treatment.


We have developed sensitive amplified immunoassays for measurement of IgE and IgG4 ragweed (RW) antibodies in unconcentrated nasal washes. IgE to Amb a I (formerly antigen E) can be assayed to <0·1 ng/ml using IgE capture by anti‐IgE on microtitre plates and an alkaline phosphatase‐conjugated Amb a I with an amplification substrate technique. IgG4 to whole RW extract was assayed to <0·01 ng/ml by amplification ELISA using monoclonal anti‐IgG4. Nasal washes (NW) (10 ml) and serum were obtained in December from 22 RW‐sensitive patients before and after 1 and 2 yr of RW immunotherapy (IT), and assayed for Amb a I IgE or RW IgE and R W IgG4 antibodies. Amb a I IgE could be measured in the NW of 15/22 pre IT, 19/22 at 1 yr IT, but only 3/10 at 2yr IT (compared with pre‐IT, P 0·05). Mean Amb a I IgE in NW was 0·66, 0·36 and 0·21 ng/ml at pre, 1 yr and 2 yr IT (P‐values > 0·05). Mean serum RW IgE, was 76, 55 and 27 ng/ml at pre, 1 yr and 2 yr IT (P‐values > 0·05). Amb a I IgE in nasal washes was correlated with RW IgE in serum (r=0·56, P <0·001, n=44). RW IgG4 was detectable in NW of 15/22pre‐IT, 18/22 at 1 yr IT and 9/10 at 2 yr IT (P‐ values > 0·05). Mean serum RW IgG4 in NW did not change with IT (0·12, 0·16 and 0·20 ng/ml at pre, 1 yr and 2 yr IT, P‐values > 0·05). whereas serum RW IgG4 rose substantially from a mean 23 ng/ml pre IT to 197ng/ml at 1 yr IT and 1324 ng/ml at 2 yr IT (P‐values < 0·0001). Nevertheless, RW IgG4 in NW and serum was significantly correlated (r= 0·59, P 0·001, n= 44). We conclude that using sensitive immunoassays IgE and IgG4 RW antibodies can be measured in unconcentrated NW of about two‐thirds of ragweed‐sensitive patients. Both isotypes in NW have strong correlation with corresponding serum antibodies, but the significant rise of serum RW IgG4 after IT is not reflected in NW of asymptomatic subjects out of season. Whether allergic inflammation can increase IgG4 in NW remains to be determined.


The deep southern component water (SCW), comprising Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), is a major component of the global oceanic circulation. It has been suggested that the deep Atlantic water mass structure changed significantly during the last glacial/interglacial cycle. However, deep SCW source-proximal records remain sparse. Here we present three coherent deep SCW paleocurrent records from the deep Argentine continental margin shedding light on deep water circulation and deep SCW flow strength in the Southwest Atlantic since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Based on increased sortable silt values, we propose enhanced deep SCW flow strength from 14 to 10 cal ka B.P. relative to the early deglacial/LGM and the Holocene. We propose a direct influence of deep northern component water (NCW) on deep SCW flow strength due to vertical narrowing of deep SCW spreading, concurrent with a migration of the high-energetic LCDW/AABW interface occupying our core sites. We suggest a shoaled NCW until 13 cal ka B.P., thereby providing space for deep SCW spreading that resulted in reduced carbonate preservation at our core sites. Increased carbonate content from 13 cal ka B.P. indicates that the NCW expanded changing deep water properties at our core sites in the deep Southwest Atlantic. However, southern sourced terrigenous sediments continued to be deposited at our core sites, suggesting that deep SCW flow was uninterrupted along the Argentine continental margin since the LGM.


Introduction Surgical services are increasingly seen to reduce death and disability in Sub-Saharan Africa, where hospital-based mortality remains alarmingly high. This study explores two implementation approaches to improve the quality of perioperative care in a Tanzanian hospital. Effects were compared to a control group of two other hospitals in the region without intervention. Methods All hospitals conducted quality assessments with a Hospital Performance Assessment Tool. Changes in immediate outcome indicators after one and two years were compared to final outcome indicators such as Anaesthetic Complication Rate and Surgical Case Fatality Rate. Results Immediate outcome indicators for Preoperative Care in the intervention hospital improved (52.5% in 2009; 84.2% in 2011, p<0.001). Postoperative Inpatient Care initially improved to then decline again (63.3% in 2009; 70% in 2010; 58.6% in 2011). In the control group, preoperative care declined from 50.8% (2009) to 32.8% (2011, p <0.001), while postoperative care did not significantly change. Anaesthetic Complication Rate in the intervention hospital declined (1.89% before intervention; 0.96% after intervention, p = 0.006). Surgical Case Fatality Rate in the intervention hospital declined from 5.67% before intervention to 2.93% after intervention (p<0.0010). Surgical Case Fatality Rate in the control group was 4% before intervention and 3.8% after intervention (p = 0.411). Anaesthetic Complication Rate in the control group was not available. Discussion Immediate outcome indicators initially improved, while at the same time final outcome declined (Surgical Case Fatality, Anaesthetic Complication Rate). Compared to the control group, final outcome improved more in the intervention hospital, although the effect was not significant over the whole study period. Documentation of final outcome indicators seemed inconsistent. Immediate outcome indicators seem more helpful to steer the Continuous Quality Improvement program. Conclusion Specific interventions as part of Continuous Quality Improvement might lead to sustainable improvement of the quality of care, if embedded in a multi-faceted approach.


In the 1990s, China experienced a high degree of antibiotics abuse, which resulted in increased drug resistance. As a result, the World Health Organization introduced a program for children under the age of 5 years who had an acute respiratory tract infection. We analyze the data pertaining to the treatment provided by doctors in several hospitals in China in order to understand the relationships in the data. The data are nested in a three‐level hierarchical structure with small cluster sizes ranging from 2 to 10. While large sample theory provides a mechanism to construct confidence intervals and test hypotheses about regression coefficients, the estimation algorithms often fail to converge when they are applied to small cluster sizes. This paper presents a combination of the cluster bootstrap and primary unit splitting methods, called split bootstrap, which is a novel combination that can be used as an alternative when analyzing data pertaining to the abuse of antibiotics in China with small cluster sizes. The split bootstrap method provides accurate estimations with a minimal reduction in precision.


In this article, we explore the role of two narrow personality traits, Sensation Seeking and Need for Structure, in soldiers' situational perception in a military task-environment. In the first study, we assess the psychometric qualities of the personality inventories, Sensation Seeking Scale-V and Personal Need for Structure, in an Estonian military sample. In the second study, we explore how these traits are related to soldiers' perception of complexity (predictability) and potential harms involved (riskiness; defined as situation structure) in two field exercise tasks. We found that both of the explored personality traits are significantly and inversely related with soldiers' perception of situation structure in a military environment. Implications for personnel selection, training, and performance of military organizations are discussed.


Tomato (Solanum Iycopersicum) puree is created by homogenising the flesh of tomato fruits. The viscosity of this material and the fibrous content is of commercial interest. Tomato puree consists of suspended particles (consisting of whole cells, broken cells and cellular fragments) in an aqueous serum. The contribution of the non-soluble and soluble material to tomato puree rheology was studied with reference to the varying composition of solids and firmness of tomato fruit at four stages of ripeness; mature green, breaker, pink and red ripe. When purees from the red ripe and the breaker fruit with initial total solids contents of approximately 5.5% were diluted to a range of total solids content (between 5 and 1%), both samples decreased in viscosity with total solids. To observe the effect of the serum on tomato puree viscosity, the pellet fraction containing the particles was spun out of the tomato purees by centrifugation so that the particle fraction and the serum could be assessed separately. On further investigation, the viscosity of puree was shown to be affected only to a small degree by the viscosity of the serum. The fact that stirred viscosity was independent of whether the suspension medium constituted of sucrose solution or serum phase showed that little contribution to the viscosity is coming from the soluble hydrocolloids in the tomato sera.
Most dominant for viscosity was the particle fraction. The particle fraction was affected by the maturity of the fruit which in turn was associated with changes in fruit texture, particle size and size distribution of the puree. The particles did not behave as rigid spheres, as shown by the large departure from the corresponding Krieger Dougherty fit (Krieger and Dougherty 1959), ripened fruit deviating the furthest. This suggested the more ripened fruit has softer (less rigid) particles, which was shown to have softer tissue before the pureeing process. This may also have made the tissue more susceptible to rupture into smaller particles during pureeing. Quantitative data for size distribution measured by laser light scattering show that as the tomato ripened from green to red, particles were smaller; the mean diameters for the particles in the four puree samples were 893J.lm (mature green), 542J.lm (breaker), 377J.lm (pink), and 262J.lm (red ripe) and of a broader size distribution.
Pureed mature green (unripe) fruit were shown to offer more potential as an effective natural viscosifier for foods such as soups and sauces, but they may not meet requirements of taste or colour. The last part of this research (chapter 7) therefore focused on tomatoes with variations in their genes rather than ripeness, harvested at breaker + 7 days. Tomatoes at the same stage of ripeness from the Solanum pennel/ii tomato introgression lines (ILs) were grown and harvested from the glass houses at the University of Nottingham. A screening process was developed to compare the viscosity of small samples of tomato puree from 55 of the ILs, 164 fruits in total; the remaining 21 lines did not produce quantities of fruit sufficient for analysis. The samples were diluted with water to the same total solids of 3.5%. The mean stirred viscosity value for all the lines measured was 132 ± 45 cPo The viscosity was calculated from typically three replicate measurements on three individual fruits per line. Although the particle volume and weight fraction of the puree and the initial total solids content had a strong influence on stirred viscosity, it was shown that the variation between individual fruit was greater than that between the different ILs. Previous texture studies of the IL lines showed marked variations yet there was no clear relationship between the puree viscosities and the expected texture of the whole fruits.


. Stereoscopic medical videos are recorded, e.g., in stereo endoscopy or during video recording medical/dental operations. This paper examines quality issues in the recorded stereoscopic medical videos, as insufficient quality may induce visual fatigue to doctors. No attention has been paid to stereo quality and ensuing fatigue issues in the scientific literature so far. In this work, two of the most commonly encountered quality issues in stereoscopic data, namely Stereoscopic Window Violations and Bent Windows, were searched for in stereo endoscopic medical videos. Furthermore, an additional stereo quality issue encountered in dental operation videos, namely Excessive Disparity, was detected and fixed. The conducted experiments prove the existence of such quality issues in stereoscopic medical data and highlight the need for their detection and correction.


Acebutolol HCl, USP is a selective, hydrophilic beta-adrenoreceptor blocking agent with mild intrinsic sympathomimetic activity for use in treating patients with hypertension and ventricular arrhythmias. It is marketed in capsule form for oral administration. Acebutolol HCl capsules, USP are provided in two dosage strengths which contain 200 mg or 400 mg of acebutolol as the hydrochloride salt. The inactive ingredients present are D&C Red 28, D&C Yellow 10, FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Red 40, gelatin, maize starch, povidone, stearic acid and titanium dioxide.


Abstract Starting with Moore's 'semi-autonomous social field' as an analytical and descriptive tool the paper explores how Foucault's concept of power relations contributes to an understanding of the dynamic nature of individual interaction with legal pluralism in the social field. The interplay of power and legal pluralism is illustrated through an examination of the use of alternative legal orders as a 'strategy of struggles' by members of an adivasi (indigenous tribal) community in India and Bangladesh (the Santal). The Santal are diasporic, often living with other adivasi peoples and non-adivasis. Santal individuals face injustices linked to gender, ethnicity, poverty, political powerlessness, and illiteracy. Relations between individuals are affected by rules and processes of socialisation in a number of co-existing and interconnected normative fields (the legal orders of the family, local community and State). The paper illustrates how individuals navigate through the legal orders of the family, local Santal community and State to access justice, and the factors that limit their opportunity to renegotiate power relations.


The primary function of agricultural soils is for food, feed, fibre and fuel production. Management measures in agricultural soils should therefore focus on improving and/or sustaining this function, in both the short and long term in a sustainable manner. Both agricultural crop production and crop quality are closely linked to soil quality (i.e. soil fertility). This is largely determined by factors including nutrient and water supply, but the soil's suitability as a growth medium for roots and as a habitat for soil organisms is also important. These factors are all dependant on a multitude of bio-physical, chemical and environmental factors. Nutrient supply is dependent on fertilisation (e.g. synthetic supplies of essential plant nutrients) and decomposition (via mineralisation by soil microbes) of soil organic matter and organic amendments (e.g. animal manure, compost and crop residues) and the buffering capacity of nutrients (Box 4.2). Water supply is determined by weather conditions, irrigation and soil physical properties including soil texture and soil structure (see Box 4.1). Soil organic matter is crucial to both nutrient and water supply in many soils, while a good soil structure can enhance both root growth and the ability of the plants to utilise available nutrients and water in the soil. Soils containing low amounts of soil organic matter require higher inputs of chemicals and irrigation, and the long-term sustainability of high-input farming is now under scrutiny. It is widely hypothesised that the high-input farming typical of much of agriculture (largely reliant on plentiful water supplies and chemical fertilisers whose manufacture uses a lot of energy) will not be sustainable in the long term and that new approaches to farming are now required.


Hydrogen induced embrittlement and associated cracking effects in Zirconium alloys impose a serious problem, for example, within the nuclear industry where these materials are used in a range of applications, including fuel claddings. To get a fuller understanding of the hydrogen diffusion, hydride formation and phase transformations taking place at conditions of external stress and at elevated temperature it is crucial to augment experimental measurements with multi-level modelling. It is, for example, possible to simulate hydride phase-transformation trough phase-field calculations[1]. In order to get accurate results from these calculations, however, it is important to have basic physical information, such as interfacial energies and elastic constants. The latter were obtained completely from first principle calculations of density functional theory. In pure zirconium, at low hydrogen concentrations and at low temperatures, hydrogen atoms are dissolved into the matrix and preferentially occupy tetrahedral sites within the thermodynamically stable aZr hexagonal closed packed unit cell. At higher concentrations the various face centred cubic and tetragonal hydride phases start to form. Using the plane-wave code DACAPO, within the generalized gradient approximation, the lattice parameters and the ionic positions of bulk aZr, dZrHx and gZrHx were relaxed with respect to total energies. The formation energies as well as bulk moduli were then obtained by fitting total energies as a function of lattice parameters with a 3rd or 4th order polynomial. By comparing the present results with previous calculations and experiments it was possible to validate the methods for further use. The results, thus, comprise a foundation and serves to verify methods and codes. The next step is to compute more complex properties such as surface free energies, or interfacial energies, of bi-phase Zr-H systems, so that the full multiscale model can be implemented. 1. V. Vaithyanathan et al., Acta Materialia 52 (2004) p. 2973


Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent sustained arrhythmia, especially in the elderly. Atrial fibrillation often is precipitated by underlying cardiac or noncardiac disease, but it may also occur as 'lone atrial fibrillation'. Hemodynamic impairment and thromboembolic events are leading to an important morbidity, mortality and health costs. This review-article describes the actual management of this common arrhythmia.


OBJECTIVE
(1) To determine which facial landmarks show the greatest movement during specific facial animations and (2) to determine the sensitivity of our instrument in using these landmarks to detect putatively abnormal facial movements.

DESIGN
Movements of an array of skin-based landmarks on five healthy human subjects (2 men and 3 women; mean age, 27.6 years; range, 26 to 29 years) were observed during the execution of specific facial animations. To investigate the instrument sensitivity, we analyzed facial movements during maximal smile animations in six patients with different types of functional problems. In parallel, a panel was asked to view video recordings of the patients and to rate the degree of motor impairment. Comparisons were made between the panel scores and those of the measurement instrument.

RESULTS
Specific regions of the face display movement that is representative of specific animations. During the smile animation, landmarks on the mid- and lower facial regions demonstrated the greatest movement. A similar pattern of movement was seen during the cheek puff animation, except that the infraorbital and chin regions demonstrated minimal movement. For the grimace and eye closure animations, the upper, mid-facial, and upper-lip regions exhibited the greatest movement. During eye opening, the upper and mid-facial regions, excluding the upper lip and cheek, moved the most, and during lip purse, markers on the mid- and lower face demonstrated the most movement. We used the smile-sensitive landmarks to evaluate individuals with functional impairment and found good agreement between instrument rankings based on the data from these landmarks and the panel rankings.

CONCLUSION
The present method of three-dimensional tracking has the potential to detect and characterize a range of clinically significant functional deficits.


Inventory models with deterministic and stochastic deterioration rates are given. The first model, assuming deterministic deterioration rates, is a hyperbolic equation while the second one assuming a stochastic deterioration rate is reduced to a parabolic equation of the second order. Optimization of these in inventory models when costs are quadratic yields linear feedback replenishment policies. This short paper provides an analytic solution to both problems. The importance of such inventory models is to be found when the demand and value of stored products is also dependent on their quality.


Abstract The diseases discussed in this paper include chronic lymphocytic leukemia, monocytic leukemia, chronic granulocytic leukemia, acute leukemias, Hodgkin's disease, and lymphosarcoma. Cutaneous manifestations of these disorders are often sufficiently different to indicate a certain leukemia or lymphoma. The cutaneous manifestations of leukemias and lymphomas may help the clinician suspect the diagnosis.


Abstract The solar magnetic sector structure has a sizable and reproducible influence on tropospheric and lower stratospheric vorticity. The average vorticity during winter in the Northern Hemisphere north of 2ON latitude reaches a minimum approximately one day after the passing of a sector boundary, and then increases during the following two or three days. The effect is found at all heights within the troposphere, but is not prominent in the stratosphere, except at the lower levels. No single longitudinal interval appears to dominate the effect.


We have observed the formation of nanoscale Si spikes atop mesoscopic Si pillars during laser irradiation at intensities sufficiently high to melt silicon. The spikes have a radius on the order of 100 nm (<50 nm at the tip) and up to several micrometres in length. Nanoscale clusters formed during laser ablation deposit on the surface of the melt and nucleate the solidification of a mantle. The spikes are extruded through a solid mantle that applies pressure to a molten core as the liquid fuses. The growth mechanism is shown to be the same as the mechanism for formation of centimetre-scale ice spikes formed from freezing pure water. This mechanism of spike formation scales from the macroscopic to the nanoscopic regime and should be completely general and applicable to any material that expands upon freezing.


In High Performance Computing, systems are evaluated based on their computational throughput. However, performance in contemporary server processors is primarily limited by power and thermal constraints. Ensuring operation within a given power envelope requires a wide range of sophisticated control mechanisms. While some of these are handled transparently by hardware control loops, others are controlled by the operating system. A lack of publicly disclosed implementation details further complicates this topic. However, understanding these mechanisms is a prerequisite for any effort to exploit the full computing capability and to minimize the energy consumption of today's server systems. This paper highlights the various energy efficiency aspects of the AMD Zen 2 microarchitecture to facilitate system understanding and optimization. Key findings include qualitative and quantitative descriptions regarding core frequency transition delays, workload-based frequency limitations, effects of I/O die P-states on memory performance as well as discussion on the built-in power monitoring capabilities and its limitations. Moreover, we present specifics and caveats of idle states, wakeup times as well as the impact of idling and inactive hardware threads and cores on the performance of active resources such as other cores.


OPHTHALMOLOGISTS are asked at some point to do an eye examination on nearly every child who has an academic deficiency. The most prevalent and worrisome of these academic deficiencies involves reading and has been given the name dyslexia. It is unfortunate, however, for those prone to demand a simple, logical solution to the dyslexia problem that the eyes have been found to have little significance in reading disorders. While uncorrected refractive errors and symptomatic phorias can hinder reading and should be treated, treatment of trivial eye malfunctions in the hope of improving reading has been found to be ineffective. Dyslexia exists, however, and ophthalmologists cannot in the best interest of their patients ignore the issue. Dyslexia may be classified as follows: (1) primary specific developmental dyslexia; (2) secondary endogenous dyslexia; and (3) exogenous reading disability. The final category is not considered a true form of dyslexia. Primary, specific developmental dyslexia


Digital technology is becoming increasingly enmeshed in the everyday practices of cooking and eating (see Lewis 2018; Kirkwood 2018). In negotiating the increasingly complex web of culinary information online users need to remain vigilant about the voices and perspectives they turn to for food and nutrition advice.
In examining which online sources are trustworthy, this paper adds to the scholarship that highlights how the growing industrialisation of food negatively impacted food literacy (Pollan 2006; Vileisis 2008). In relation to digital food media, Lewis (2018, 214) argues that "food citizens increasingly require a critical media literacy…". This is important considering that consumers are more likely to turn to the media than nutrition professionals for advice (Contois and Day 2018, 16).
This paper builds on Lewis' (2018) calls for greater critical media literacy Through textual analysis of online news and popular commentary, this paper examines the two Australian case studies of Australian celebrity chef Pete Evans and fraudulent wellness advocate Belle Gibson. These examples highlight risks associated with online culinary information and provide contrasting perspectives on credibility and trustworthiness. Evans leverages mainstream media exposure and experience as a chef to establish credibility for his online channels where he explores his alternative culinary views more extensively. Gibson's reputation meanwhile was established through achieving grassroots fame online for supposedly beating cancer through shunning conventional treatments. Understanding how trustworthiness or authority is established and negotiated, and particularly how these characteristics work between legacy and online media are important in developing critical media literacy around food.


Predicting phenology is essential for adapting varieties to different environmental conditions and for crop management. Therefore, it is important to evaluate how well different crop modeling groups can predict phenology. Multiple evaluation studies have been previously published, but it is still difficult to generalize the findings from such studies since they often test some specific aspect of extrapolation to new conditions, or do not test on data that is truly independent of the data used for calibration. In this study, we analyzed the prediction of wheat phenology in Northern France under observed weather and current management, which is a problem of practical importance for wheat management. The results of 27 modeling groups are evaluated, where modeling group encompasses model structure, i.e. the model equations, the calibration method and the values of those parameters not affected by calibration. The data for calibration and evaluation are sampled from the same target population, thus extrapolation is limited. The calibration and evaluation data have neither year nor site in common, to guarantee rigorous evaluation of prediction for new weather and sites. The best modeling groups, and also the mean and median of the simulations, have a mean absolute error (MAE) of about 3 days, which is comparable to the measurement error. Almost all models do better than using average number of days or average sum of degree days to predict phenology. On the other hand, there are important differences between modeling groups, due to model structural differences and to differences between groups using the same model structure, which emphasizes that model structure alone does not completely determine prediction accuracy. In addition to providing information for our specific environments and varieties, these results are a useful contribution to a knowledge base of how well modeling groups can predict phenology, when provided with calibration data from the target population.


The similarity rules for linearized compressible flow theory (Gothert's rule and its supersonic counterpart) are extended to second order. It is shown that any second-order subsonic flow can be related to "nearly incompressible" flow past the same body, which can be calculated by the Janzen-Rayleigh method.


Since World War II, there has been an explosion of medical facts and knowledge. It is almost impossible for a medical student to memorize and retain all there is to know. Even if he or she could, the data base is constantly changing, and new knowledge is being discovered. It is the responsibility of the physician to remain current, even though there are no daily lectures. Problem-based student-directed learning offers the student a different context within which to learn and lays the foundation for becoming a lifelong independent learner.


High-spin states in the Xe-129 nucleus are studied with the reaction Sn-124(Be-9,4n) at a beam energy of 36 MeV. The level scheme is extended significantly. For the positive-parity band, the alpha = +1/2 and the alpha = -1/2 signature components are combined to form a complete band structure based on the 3/2(+) state with spin and parity up to 21/2(+). For the negative-parity band based on the 11/2(-) state, the alpha = +1/2 signature component is newly established and both the alpha = +1/2 and the alpha = -1/2 signature components also form a complete band structure up to the 35/2(-) state. The positive-and negative-parity bands are proposed to originate from nu d(3/2) 3/2(+)[402] and nu h(11/2)11/2(-)[505] Nilsson configurations, respectively. A backbending is observed in the negative-parity band, which originates from the alignments of two h(11/2) protons according to crank shell model calculations. Based on the total Routhian surface and quasiparticle triaxial rotor model calculations, the negative-parity band is interpreted as a triaxially deformed shape with gamma approximate to -30 degrees, while the positive-parity band is associated with. softness, in accordance with previous studies. In the high-spin states, three decoupled bands and one oblate band with gamma approximate to -60 degrees are newly identified. The systematics and other characteristics of these bands are discussed.


The purpose of this study is to determine the differences and the similarities between the textbooks used in the 8th year of the primary schools in Turkey for Turkish language education and those used in the 8th year of the primary schools in U.S.A. for English education at Massachusetts, Melrose Veterans Junior High. Since this study is aimed at determining the status, it has the nature of a descriptive study. The data in this study are grouped under three groups namely visual design (page design, text design and the designs of the visual elements), fields of learning (reading-writing-speaking-listening) , arrangement of the contents (type, theme)  and these themes were compared with each other. The findings obtained within the thematic frame were declared and among these findings, several comparisons were made. Within the results obtained by interpreting these findings, it was determined that the American text books are richer in visual contents compared to the Turkish text books. Although the fields of learning are based on the basic skills in both countries (reading, writing, speaking, listening), several structural differences may be seen. Moreover, it was determined in the American text book that listening skills are not taken into consideration as different and separate fields of learning. The two books differ from each other in terms of their contents as well. The American text books are more diverse than Turkish text books and they are much richer than Turkish text books in terms of the themes, text types and the texts which represent them. In this context, by evaluating the language activities used in different countries, the activities, the methods and the technique used in Turkish text books should be developed and  several environments for studying should be offered to the student.


Background: Fumaric acid esters (FAE) have been used as a drug since 1959. The therapeutic preparation containing FAE has been one of the prominent drugs used for the systemic treatment of psoriasis since 1994 in Germany. FAE have been used in the treatment of sarcoidosis, granuloma annulare, necrobiosis lipoidica, cheilitis granulomatosa, annular elastotic giant cell granuloma, malignant melanoma, pityriasis rubra pilaris, alopecia areata, hidradenitis suppurativa, and lupus erythematosus with different success rates. The results obtained from research articles, case reports or case series of the used FAE of dermatological diseases were revised in this article. FAE can be an effective and safe first-line treatment alternative in the treatment of psoriasis. It also can be beneficial to granulomatous skin diseases, lupus erythematosus, malignant melanoma, pityriasis rubra pilaris, alopecia areata, and hidradenitis suppurativa in patients unresponsive to first line therapies.


AIM
Since the opening of the new Mater Mothers' Hospital in 2008, innovative initiatives were developed, implemented and evaluated to meet women's nutritional needs. This study evaluated changes in women's nutritional awareness, knowledge and behaviours and compared these data with our baseline survey.

METHODS
During 2014-2017, 421 postnatal women were surveyed across nine survey periods. Results were compared with those from our 2008 survey (n = 102). Surveys assessed nutrition knowledge, attitudes, behaviour, education preferences, and dietetic service awareness and were distributed on meal trays.

RESULTS
A greater proportion of women accessed the nutrition services in 2014-2017 compared with 2008 (19.7% vs 9.9%) and rated the resources favourably (≥3.5 out of 5). A similar proportion rated the importance of eating well postnatally (83.1% vs 92.1%) and returning to their pre-pregnancy weight (62.4% vs 68.3%) as important/very important. In both periods, women had poor diet quality, despite identifying healthy eating as a high priority. A reduction in median gestational weight gain (GWG) approached significance, 13.0 kg (2014-2017) versus 14.0 kg (2008), P = 0.055. There was a significant association between GWG and cohort with an increase in the proportion of women gaining within their correct guidelines (by 15.4%), a reduction of excessive gain (by 24.7%, P < 0.001) over time.

CONCLUSIONS
Evidence-based service changes made since 2008 have effected positive change in women's GWG, service preferences, and access. However, women still require awareness-raising and behaviour change programs to improve diet quality and GWG to ensure optimal pregnancy outcomes.


A review of theories of competition and business strategy over the last half-century reveals a fairly linear development of early work by academics and consultants into efforts to understand the determinants of industry profitability and competitive position and, more recently, to add a time or historical dimension to the analysis. The possible implications of the emergence of a market for such ideas are also discussed.


The estimation method for the statistical approach to the number of distribution system insulation failures caused by direct and indirect lightning strikes based on the lightning limiting parameter method is proposed. The optimal computation parameters like computation time-step, the number of strike locations along and perpendicular to the overhead line, and the number of simulations with different lightning current wave-shapes are determined after sensitivity analyses. The reduction of the overhead line flashover rate due to the direct lightning strikes caused by screening effect of the nearby objects is presented.


The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is a technique used in power electronic circuits to extract maximum energy from the Photovoltaic (PV) Systems. In the recent decades, photovoltaic power generation has become more important due its many benefits such as needs a few maintenance and environment advantages and fuel free. However, there are two major barriers for the use of PV systems, low energy conversion efficiency and high initial cost. One of the method to improve the energy efficiency is to work PV system always at its maximum power point. So far, many researches are conducted and many papers were published and suggested different methods for extracting maximum power point. This paper presents in details implementation of Perturb and Observe MPPT using buck ,boost and buck-boost Converters. Some results such as current, voltage and output power for each various combination have been recorded. The simulation has been accomplished in software of MATLAB Math works.


In this paper the values characterizing the society, the state and the stakeholders in relation to the education of disabled children in Cyprus are outlined. A critical analysis is carried out, followed by examples deriving from the Cypriot context. The national context is placed within the international context, so that the discussion finds its place in a more broad framework. Value-driven action at all levels is related to current and prospective developments in Cyprus that are expected to provide further answers to the points made throughout the paper. Finally, it is argued whether or not having some of the existing values as a baseline for productive changes is possible, while the restatement of some other values is thought to be of equal importance.


OBJECTIVE
With MR angiography of peripheral arterial disease, calcifications are unapparent, so a separate calcification-sensitive pulse sequence (proton density-weighted in-phase 3D stack-of-stars [PDIP-SOS]) is needed for complete assessment. We hypothesized that, despite being acquired separately, MR angiography and PDIP-SOS images could be coregistered and fused without loss of significant diagnostic information.

CONCLUSION
In a prospective study of 15 patients, MR image fusion enabled the simultaneous display of vessel lumen and vascular calcifications similarly to CT angiography.


4 Abstract Gender equality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still a contentious and hotly debated issue, both within the country and in global news media as well as social media. Not least has the government app "Absher" drawn attention and criticism, due to features that allow male guardians to track their female dependants, issue or withdraw travel permits, and file for divorce at the click of a button. This study aims to explore the campaigns and debates around the app, and how it has been represented in global media. Focusing mainly on social media campaigning by journalists, activists, as well as the Saudi government, I hope to shed light on the different sides of the debate, and what the representation of Saudi Vision 2030, the reforms and the app, particularly in European and American media discourse, tell us about popular imaginations of Islam, technology, and gender.


Background Nephrotoxicity is common among cancer patients, yet some anti-cancer drugs, for example, platinum derivatives, are nephrotoxic and have narrow therapeutic indices. If nephrotoxicity is not managed, it can progress to kidney injury, which results in unregulated blood pressure, hormonal imbalance, electrolyte imbalance, body fluid imbalance and death. However, the burden of nephrotoxicity among adult cancer patients in Uganda is not documented in the literature. Objective This study assessed the prevalence and risk factors of nephrotoxicity among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital Cancer Unit (MRRHCU). Methods The study was a cross-sectional study carried out at the MRRHCU, Uganda. All the 206 adult cancer patients who received at least three cycles of chemotherapy and fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included. A data collection form was used to collect data, which was recorded into Microsoft Excel version 2013. Data were analyzed using Stata version 12.1. Results Of the 206 participants, 74 (35.9%) developed nephrotoxicity with majority in stage 1 (n = 83, 40.3%) and stage 2 (n = 55, 26.7%). In the multivariate logistic regression of risk factors for nephrotoxicity, age >50 years old (aOR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.91; p > 0.001), hypertension (aOR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.74, 1.94; p = 0.011) and use of platinum agents (aOR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.82, 3.34; p = 0.002) were significant independent risk factors of nephrotoxicity. Conclusion About one-third (1/3) of the adult cancer patients at MRRHCU develop nephrotoxicity, which indicates a high burden of nephrotoxicity. The prevention of progression of nephrotoxicity from grades 0, 1 or 2 to grade 3 or 4 is therefore necessary, especially among the patients with risk factors, such as hypertension and age >50 years old and use of platinum agents.


A new Zr(IV)-based metal–organic framework, termed VNU-23 [Zr6O8(H2O)8(H2SNDC)4], where H2SNDC2− = 4,8-disulfonaphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylate, was synthesized. Subsequently, detailed structural analysis revealed that VNU-23 adopted the bcu topology with a structure characterized by densely packed sulfonic acid groups lining 6 A channels. With this structural feature, an anchoring strategy was employed to dock the proton transfer agent, histamine, into the void space of VNU-23 to enhance the proton conductivity. Remarkably, the proton conductivity of this material reached 1.79 × 10−2 S cm−1 at 95 °C and 85% relative humidity without any appreciable loss of performance for at least 120 h.


Objectives. Inaninnovativeapproachtoimprovethecontributionofhealthpsychology to public health we have analysed the presence and nature of affect within the visual materials deployed in antimicrobial stewardship interventions targeting the public identified through systematic review. Design. A qualitative analysis focused on the affective content of visual materials garnered from a systematic review of antibiotic stewardship ( k = 20). Methods. A novel method was devised drawing on concepts from semiotics to analyse the affective elements within intervention materials. Results. Whilst all studies examined tacitly rely on affect, only one sought to explicitly deploy affect. Three thematic categories of affect are identified within the materials in whichspecificideological machineryis deployed:(1)monsters, bugs,andsuperheroes;(2) responsibility, threat, and the misuse/abuse of antibiotics; (3) the figure of the child. Conclusions. The study demonstrates how affect is a present but tacit communication strategy of antimicrobial stewardship interventions but has not – to date – been adequately theorized or explicitly considered in the intervention design process. Certain affective features were explored in relation to the effectiveness of antimicrobial resistance interventions and warrant further investigation. We argue that further research is needed to systematically illuminate and capitalize upon the use of affect to effect behaviour change concerning antimicrobial stewardship. decreased patient demands for antibiotics, use of them for targeted purposes compliance with prescribed dosing.


OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to assess the feasibility of Extracellular Volume-Fraction (ECV) measurement, and time to achieve contrast equilibrium (CE), in healthy muscles, and to determine whether in-flow and partial-volume errors in the femoral artery affect measurements, and if there are differences in ECV between muscles.

METHODS
T1 was measured in the biceps femoris, vastus intermedius, femoral artery and aorta of ten healthy participants. This was repeated alternately between the thigh and aorta for ≥25 min following a bolus of gadoterate meglumine. The partition coefficient (λ) was calculated for each muscle/blood measurement. Time to CE was assessed semi-quantitatively.

RESULTS
8/10 participants achieved CE. Time to CE = 19±2 min (mean ± 95% confidence interval). Measured λ: biceps femoris/aorta = 0.210±0.034, vastus intermedius/aorta = 0.165±0.015, biceps femoris/femoral artery = 0.265±0.054, vastus intermedius/femoral artery = 0.211±0.026. There were significant differences in λ between the muscles when using the same vessel (p < 0.05), and between λ calculated in the same muscle when using different vessels (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
ECV measurements in the thigh are clinically feasible. The use of the femoral artery for the blood measurement is associated with small but significant differences in λ. ECV measurements are sensitive to differences between muscles within the healthy thigh.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE
This paper determines the time to contrast equilibrium in the healthy thigh and describes a method for measuring accurately ECV in skeletal muscle. This can aid in the diagnosis and understanding of inflammatory auto-immune diseases.


This paper presents an attempt to employ the mask language modeling approach of BERT to pre-train a 12-layer Transformer model over 4,166 pieces of polyphonic piano MIDI files for tackling a number of symbolic-domain discriminative music understanding tasks. These include two note-level classification tasks, i.e., melody extraction and velocity prediction, as well as two sequence-level classification tasks, i.e., composer classification and emotion classification. We find that, given a pre-trained Transformer, our models outperform recurrent neural network based baselines with less than 10 epochs of fine-tuning. Ablation studies show that the pre-training remains effective even if none of the MIDI data of the downstream tasks are seen at the pre-training stage, and that freezing the self-attention layers of the Transformer at the fine-tuning stage slightly degrades performance. All the five datasets employed in this work are publicly available, as well as checkpoints of our pre-trained and fine-tuned models. As such, our research can be taken as a benchmark for symbolic-domain music understanding.


To address the challenges of biodiversity conservation and commodity production, a framework has been proposed that distinguishes between the integration ("land sharing") and separation ("land sparing") of conservation and production. Controversy has arisen around this framework partly because many scholars have focused specifically on food production rather than more encompassing notions such as land scarcity or food security. Controversy further surrounds the practical value of partial trade‐off analyses, the ways in which biodiversity should be quantified, and a series of scale effects that are not readily accounted for. We see key priorities for the future in (1) addressing these issues when using the existing framework, and (2) developing alternative, holistic ways to conceptualise challenges related to food, biodiversity, and land scarcity.


Mobile IP, the current IETF proposal for IP mobility support, represents a key element for future All-IP wireless networks to provide service continuity while on the move within a multi-access environment. We conducted a performance evaluation of Mobile IPv6 and its proposed enhancements, i.e., Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6, Hierarchical Mobile IPv6 and our proposed combination of them, using the network simulator ns-2 for the case of a 'hot spot' deployment scenario. The simulation scenario comprises four access routers and up to 50 mobile nodes that communicate in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard. The study provides quantitative results of the performance improvements obtained by the proposed enhancements as observed by a single mobile user with respect to handoff latency, packet loss rate and achieved bandwidth per station. As a complementary part of the study, the signaling load costs associated with the performance improvements provided by the enhancements has been analyzed. The simulation environment allowed us also to investigate the behavior of the protocol in extreme cases, e.g., under channel saturation conditions and considering different traffic sources: CBR, VoIP, Video and TCP transfers. While some simulation results corroborate the intention of the protocols specifications, other results give insights not easily gained without performing simulations. This study provides a deep understanding of the overall performance of the various protocols and supports the design process of a Mobile IPv6-based network when a decision of whether it is appropriate to implement any of the proposed Mobile IPv6 enhancements has to be made.


There is broad concern that merger policy toward Big Tech has been too lenient. Big Tech typically operates in markets characterized by innovation-driven "competition for the market." I show that this fact provides a rationale for heightened scrutiny of incumbents' acquisitions of emerging or potential competitors. I also address the widespread argument that permissive merger policy promotes innovative entry by facilitating entry for buyout. I show that permissive merger policy can also discourage entrant innovation. One way is by diminishing entrants' incentives to invest in marginal product improvements when such improvements reduce the gains from merger. A second way is by facilitating incumbency for buyout, under which an incumbent makes investments in order to extract rents from an entrant through merger.


The frustrating search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has highlighted how little is known about the world9s oceans. The sea floor in the search area is only very roughly mapped. And there is just rudimentary understanding of the behavior of sound waves in the deep sea and the motion of surface currents, which made the hunt for black box beacons and debris all the more difficult. The plane9s true route and likely point of crashing into the sea could have been known with precision if existing technologies to stream black box data from planes had been implemented. Finding the plane now will require an unprecedented search effort.


The spatial distribution of input and output neurons in the mushroom body (MB) calyx was investigated in the silkmoth Bombyx mori. In Lepidoptera, the brain has a specialized system for processing sex pheromones. How individual pheromone components are represented in the MB has not yet been elucidated. Toward this end, we first compared the distribution of the presynaptic boutons of antennal lobe projection neurons (PNs), which transfer odor information from the antennal lobe to the MB calyx. The axons of PNs that innervate pheromonal glomeruli were confined to a relatively small area within the calyx. In contrast, the axons of PNs that innervate nonpheromonal glomeruli were more widely distributed. PN axons for the minor pheromone component covered a larger area than those for the major pheromone component and partially overlapped with those innervating nonpheromonal glomeruli, suggesting the integration of the minor pheromone component with plant odors. Overall, we found that PN axons innervating pheromonal and nonpheromonal glomeruli were organized into concentric zones. We then analyzed the dendritic fields of Kenyon cells (KCs), which receive inputs from PNs. Despite the strong regional localization of axons of different PN classes, the dendrites of KCs were less well classified. Finally, we estimated the connectivity between PNs and KCs and suggest that the dendritic field may be organized to receive different amounts of pheromonal and nonpheromonal inputs. PNs for multiple pheromone components and plant odors enter the calyx in a concentric fashion, and they are read out by the elaborate dendritic field of KCs. J. Comp. Neurol. 521:1073–1092, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.