The type 1 inositol 1,4,5- trisphosphate receptor (IP3R1) is a Ca2+ channel on the endoplasmic reticulum and is a predominant isoform in the brain among the three types of IP3Rs. Mice lacking IP3R1 show seizure-like behavior; however the cellular and neural circuit mechanism by which IP3R1 deletion causes the abnormal movements is unknown. Here, we found that the conditional knockout mice lacking IP3R1 specifically in the cerebellum and brainstem experience dystonia and show that cerebellar Purkinje cell (PC) firing patterns were coupled to specific dystonic movements. Recordings in freely behaving mice revealed epochs of low and high frequency PC complex spikes linked to body extension and rigidity, respectively. Remarkably, dystonic symptoms were independent of the basal ganglia, and could be rescued by inactivation of the cerebellum, inferior olive or in the absence of PCs. These findings implicate IP3R1-dependent PC firing patterns in cerebellum in motor coordination and the expression of dystonia through the olivo-cerebellar pathway.


Partially hepatectomized male rats were administered high levels of carbohydrates by drinker, in a casein-cellulose synthetic medium and in a commercial meal over a period of 10 days after surgery and the amount of liver regenerating or the increment ascertained; representative hepatic glycogen changes were also followed. Of the carbohydrate solutions, 5% levulose, 5% levulose+5% glucose and 10% sucrose increased the extent of liver regeneration as was also the case with the synthetic diet suplemented with 30 and 60% glucose, 30 and 60% levulose, 30% levulose+30% glucose, 30% each of galactose and the arabinoglactan, Stractan and 60% each of sucrose, honey and unsulphured molasses. The liver increments and glycogen contents were in the control range for animals fed the synthetic diet containing 30% each of lactose, sorbitol, corn starch and raffinose pentahydrate, 5% ascorbic acid and 15% L-arabinose but the liver glycogen was depressed with 30% xylose, a diet which was poorly tolerated; 15% mannitol caused a decrease inthe increment. The incorporation of several sugars into the commercial rat meal, including xylose (11%), raffinose (15%), L-arabinose (8%), D-arabinose (5%), L-sorbose (17%), galactosamine (0.20%) and galactono-gamma-lactone (10%), led to little change over the control increments. In intact rats fed the synthetic diet containing 30% each of glucose, lactose, galactose, sucrose and levulose for an interval of 10 days, the wet and dry liver--body weight ratios were significantly elevated only with the last two sugars but liver glycogen was increased in each instance.


Reasoning in pedagogical versus deceptive situations Russell Warner University of Louisville Todd Stoess University of Louisville Patrick Shafto University of Louisville Abstract: The majority of human learning occurs in social situations. In such situations, people may be cooperating or competing, and these different intentions may affect what kinds of information people exchange. Recently, Shafto and Goodman (2008) formalized a Bayesian model of reasoning in pedagogical situations – situations in which a knowledgeable teacher cooperates with a learner. This and other research suggests that individuals understand what information is more helpful and can use the knowledge of a person's intent to facilitate learning. We extend this model to apply to both the pedagogical and deceptive situations. We present a new experiment comparing reasoning in pedagogical and deceptive games. In the experiment, participants play the role of teacher/deceiver or learner/reasoner in a series of games. The results show that people converge to strategies predicted by the model, that people's behavior differs in pedagogical and deceptive conditions, and an analysis of individual games reveals interesting dynamics. We discuss the implications for models of learning in social situations.


In this study, the relationship between cosmic ray muons and the atmospheric temperature in the
lower stratosphere has been investigated and established. Cosmic ray data from the KACST
muon detector (Rc= 14.4 GV) and radiosonde measurements from Riyadh airport, for the period
2002–2012, have been used for this purpose. We have found that the temperature in the lower
stratosphere is correlated with the cosmic ray muons detected at ground level. The results
obtained are in agreement with previous studies. The technique was then used to predict
temperature variations in the lower stratosphere. It was found that the temperature can be
reproduced with a mean bias error of 0.5 °C and a root mean square error of 3 °C.


Purpose - This editorial piece introduces the special issue titled 'From Linear to Circular Manufacturing Business Models'.
Design/methodology/approach - The 'Background and Motivation' section provides an overview of the current practical environmental challenges faced by the manufacturing sector, mainly due to the use of linear business models, and it argues the potential benefits of adopting the circular economy concept as a potential solution to address such challenges. This section also exposes the limitations of scholarly research in this field. On the other hand, the 'Features and Areas of the Special Issue Contributions' section discusses the themes and related inter-disciplinary topics that were considered in the special issue.
Findings - The editorial concludes with a summary of the accepted papers in terms of the specific topics they address and their main contributions to the domain of manufacturing technology management, with specific focus on how circular economy can intervene, support and contribute to deliver more economic, social and environmentally sustainable manufacturing operations and processes, and in this way help to address some of the most critical challenges we are currently confronting as humankind, i.e. environmental degradation.
Originality/value - Four articles that characterise good and state-of-the-art research work spans from a variety of leading edge research in the area of circular economy, with particular application in the design, management and improvement of manufacturing operations, processes and technology were selected. These papers illustrate the different practical approaches and theoretical perspectives considered by the authors to effectively use/integrate CE into manufacturing operations and processes.


2-[8-hydroxyquinoline-5-yl)azo]benzo[c]cinnoline was synthesized for the first time and shown to possess electrochromic characteristic, i.e. changing color during the forward and back electrolysis at --1.35 V and 0.00 V, respectively, in DMSO medium. Therefore, the electrochemical investigation of this compound appears to be worthwhile. The electrochemical reduction of 2-[8-hydroxyquinoline-5-yl)azo]benzo[c]cinnoline was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, controlled potential electrolysis, and chronoamperometry techniques in the presence of 0.10 mol L$^{-1}$ tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate in dimethyl sulfoxide at platinum electrode. 2-[8-Hydroxyquinoline-5-yl)azo]benzo[c] cinnoline displays three sharp cathodic peaks and three anodic peaks in the cyclic voltammogram. The diffusion coefficients and the number of electrons transferred were calculated by using an ultramicroelectrode and platinum electrode. The number of transferred electrons was found to be one for each peak. The standard heterogeneous rate constant for reduction was calculated by the Klingler--Kochi technique. The electrochemical reduction mechanism of 2-[8-hydroxyquinoline-5-yl)azo]benzo[c]cinnoline was also investigated by using various electrochemical techniques, such as bulk electrolysis, and spectroscopic methods, like electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Bulk electrolysis results also provided evidence for each peak belonging to reduction of one electron, two of which were confirmed by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. This new chemical is found to be an electrochromic substance.


As prostate cancer is a biologically heterogeneous disease for which a variety of treatment options are available, the major objective of prostate cancer imaging is to achieve more precise disease characterization. In clinical practice, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the imaging tools for the evaluation of prostate cancer, the fusion of MRI or dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) with magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) is improving the evaluation of cancer location, size, and extent, while providing an indication of tumor aggressiveness. This review summarizes the role of MRI in the application of prostate cancer and describes molecular MRI techniques (including MRSI and DCE-MRI) for aiding prostate cancer management.


OBJECT
Nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas comprise approximately 30% of all pituitary tumors. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the efficacy and role of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) in the management of residual or recurrent nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas.

METHODS
A review was conducted of the data obtained in 42 patients who underwent adjuvant GKS at the University of Pittsburgh between 1987 and 2001. Prior treatments included transsphenoidal resection, craniotomy and resection, or conventional radiotherapy. Endocrinological, ophthalmological, and radiological responses were evaluated. The duration of follow-up review varied from 6 to 102 months (mean 31.2 months). Fifteen patients were observed for more than 40 months. The mean radiation dose to the tumor margin was 16 Gy. Conformal radiosurgery planning was used to restrict the dose to the optic nerve and chiasm. Tumor control after GKS was achieved in 100% of patients with microadenomas and 97% of patients with macroadenomas. Gamma knife radiosurgery was equally effective in controlling adenomas with cavernous sinus invasion and suprasellar extension. No patient developed a new endocrinological deficiency following GKS. One patient's tumor enlarged with an associated decline in visual function. Another patient experienced a deterioration of visual fields despite a decrease in tumor size.

CONCLUSIONS
Gamma knife radiosurgery can achieve tumor control in virtually all residual or recurrent nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas. Dose sparing facilitates tumor management even when the adenoma is close to the optic apparatus or invades the cavernous sinus.


Polynomial time training and network design are two major issues for the neural network community. A new algorithm has been developed that can learn in polynomial time and also design an appropriate network. The algorithm is for classification problems and uses linear programing models to design and train the network. This paper summarizes the new algorithm, proves its stability properties, and provides some computational results to demonstrate its potential.


Abstract In this study, a layered cuttings transport model is developed for high-angle and horizontal wells, which can be used for incompressible non-Newtonian fluids as well as compressible non-Newtonian fluids (i.e., foams). The effects of major drilling parameters, such as flow rate, rate of penetration, fluid density, viscosity, gas ratio, cuttings size, cuttings density, wellbore inclination and eccentricity of the drillsting on cuttings transport efficiency are analyzed. The major findings from this study are, the dominating parameter on wellbore cleaning is the flow rate, and, as the viscosity of the fluid is increased, the thickness of the cuttings bed developed in the wellbore is significantly increasing. Also, cuttings properties, fluid density, wellbore inclination and eccentricity have some influence on cuttings transport.


OBJECTIVE
Clinical and experimental evidence suggests that hypertrophied myocardium is more susceptible to injury from ischaemia than normal myocardium. This study was designed to investigate whether preconditioning confers protection on hearts with moderate hypertrophy.

METHODS
Cardiac hypertrophy induced by hypertension was produced in rats by giving saline drinking fluid and subcutaneous deoxycorticosterone acetate for four weeks. After thoracotomy, localisation of the left main coronary artery and stabilisation, groups of hypertensive animals with cardiac hypertrophy (HT) and their age matched normotensive controls (NT) underwent a preconditioning protocol consisting of 5 min occlusion of the left main coronary artery followed by 10 min reperfusion. This was followed by 45 min ischaemia and at least 2.5 h reperfusion. Control animals in the hypertrophied and normotensive groups were treated identically but were not subjected to the preconditioning protocol. Thus there were four experimental groups: HT preconditioned (n = 8), HT control (n = 7), NT preconditioned (n = 7), and NT control (n = 7). Infarct size was measured using triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and was expressed as a percentage of the volume at risk, measured with fluorescent particles.

RESULTS
Heart weight was greater (p < 0.01) in the HT groups than in the NT groups [HT preconditioned 1.7(SEM 0.06) g, HT control 1.71(0.02) g, NT preconditioned 1.3(0.04) g, NT control 1.31(0.03) g]. Infarct to risk volume ratio (I/R) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the preconditioned groups as compared with controls [HT preconditioned 19.1(1.5)% v HT control 67.1(5.6)%, and NT preconditioned 33.4(5.5)% v NT control 77.1(3.8)%]. There was no significant difference in the volume at risk of infarction between the four groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Ischaemic preconditioning can induce myocardial protection in hypertrophied myocardium; this is the first study to demonstrate preconditioning in hypertrophy.


Abstract. We present a range of airborne in situ observations of biomass burning carbonaceous aerosol over tropical South America, including a case study of a large tropical forest wildfire and a series of regional survey flights across the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado. The study forms part of the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) project, which was conducted during September and October 2012. We find limited evidence for net increases in aerosol mass through atmospheric ageing combined with substantial changes in the chemical properties of organic aerosol (OA). Oxidation of the OA increases significantly and rapidly on the scale of 2.5–3 h based on our case study analysis and is consistent with secondary organic aerosol production. The observations of limited net enhancement in OA coupled with such changes in chemical composition imply that evaporation of OA is also occurring to balance these changes. We observe significant coatings on black carbon particles at source, but with limited changes with ageing in both particle core size and coating thickness. We quantify variability in the ratio of OA to carbon monoxide across our study as a key parameter representing both initial fire conditions and an indicator of net aerosol production with atmospheric ageing. We observe ratios of 0.075–0.13 µgsm-3ppbv-1 in the west of our study region over the Amazon tropical forest in air masses less influenced by precipitation and a value of 0.095 µgsm-3ppbv-1 over the Cerrado environment in the east (where sm−3 refers to standard metre cubed). Such values are consistent with emission factors used by numerical models to represent biomass burning OA emissions. Black carbon particle core sizes typically range from mean mass diameters of 250 to 290 nm, while coating thicknesses range from 40 to 110 nm in air masses less influenced by precipitation. The primary driver of the variability we observe appears to be related to changes at the initial fire source. A key lesson from our study is that simply aggregating our observations as a function of atmospheric ageing would have been misleading due to the complex nature of the regional aerosol and its drivers, due to the many conflating and competing factors that are present. Our study explores and quantifies key uncertainties in the evolution of biomass burning aerosol at both near-field and regional scales. Our results suggest that the initial conditions of the fire are the primary driver of carbonaceous aerosol physical and chemical properties over tropical South America, aside from significant oxidation of OA during atmospheric ageing. Such findings imply that uncertainties in the magnitude of the aerosol burden and its impact on weather, climate, health and natural ecosystems most likely lie in quantifying emission sources, alongside atmospheric dispersion, transport and removal rather than chemical enhancements in mass.


Abstract : The LASSII spacecraft is a sortie-mode satellite designed to be launched and recovered by Shuttle, and instrumented with a complement of plasma diagnostic tools which have been specifically designed to spatially an temporally resolve all the active elements within an ionospheric irregularity. The satellite, configured for maximum flexibility as an investigative platform, will co-orbit in tandem or in overflight with a Shuttle-borne plasma diagnostics complement, making possible separation of space and time dependencies and allowing important determinations of growth and transport mechanisms in turbulent ionospheric plasmas and their associated effects on military systems. The satellite will be able to execute Hohmann and Crocco maneuvers with complete flexibility for selection of time spacing between Shuttle-borne and LASSII free-flyer measurements of a given ionospheric volume. The uniqueness of the LASSII Mission makes it compatible with all Shuttle orbits from 200 to 1000 km and for all inclinations. The nature of the program, with emphasis on naturally-occurring as well as artificially-produced ionospheric irregularities, is accommodated by Shuttle regardless of season or solar conditions. Program planning will focus on short-duration (7-30 days) experiments which will take advantages of built-in flexibility in the LASSII payload complement. The experiment duration will help develop efficiency through a concentrated approach designed to provide near-term solutions to research and development problems. (Author)


Author(s): Lindsey, Pam | Abstract: In California, flood control facilities protect millions of people and critical infrastructure from flood events by containing water and debris behind engineered structures. Rodent burrow damage to flood control dams and levees results in failure to meet federal and state structural certification criteria. Non-certified structures pose substantial damage risks during flood events and are ineligible for federal flood insurance and reimbursement programs. Most dams and levees are compacted earth, faced with rock, and topped with gravel access roads. These facilities provide excellent habitat for ground squirrels; the rocks provide cover and the creeks, neighborhoods and nearby agricultural fields provide abundant food. Ground squirrels form the base of the food chain for raptors, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions, which routinely foraging along facilities. The Ventura County Watershed Protection District developed an Integrated Pest Management Program (IPMP) to prevent rodent damage to flood control facilities. We found that small amounts of anticoagulant (diphacinone) in bait stations along flood control facilities target ground squirrels with low risk to other fauna. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, other conservation agencies, and members of the public have requested anticoagulant use be terminated to avoid secondary poisonings. Alternative controls do not provide the level of protection necessary to meet structural criteria. The current registered diphacinone label requires verification of pest infestations before application. However, infestation must be prevented at flood control facilities. Treating the few dispersing squirrels avoids treating an entire colony with anticoagulants, and therefore much less bait enters the food chain. Ventura County lobbied to change the label to allow some bait to be left in the bait stations to control dispersing squirrels. Discontinuing diphacinone is not yet an option, but we plan to conduct studies to further improve bait station design and bait application protocols, coordinate with neighboring landowners, and revise the IPMP to reduce bait use.


Recently, the Pew Internet & American Life Project published a study about the number of social relations people maintain online and the omnipresent question was raised again: are actual face-toface contacts declining over time and are they replaced by online social interactions. Our virtual life is scattered in online profiles across sites such as openBC.com, Friendster.com, Match.com or MySpace.com. There are currently more than 400 different online social networking sites – with new sites popping up every day. Building on existing factors of persistence and sustainability of network ties in general, we address the key research questions: Which factors lead to the creation, maintenance, decay and reconnection of online network ties? Our research draws on prominent issues in the social network literature, which address the gap between research on offline and online social networks. We examine individual, dyadic, structural and content-related characteristics to understand how and why actors in different phases of their life cycle turn to online ties. Within the presented research framework, we derive propositions and develop a research design to collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative network data. The overall goal is to develop recommendations on how online social networks can become sustainable over time, and we develop questions and avenues for further research.


Existing visual search research has demonstrated that the receipt of reward will be beneficial for subsequent perceptual and attentional processing of features that have characterized targets, but detrimental for processing of features that have characterized irrelevant distractors. Here we report a similar effect of reward on location. Observers completed a visual search task in which they selected a target, ignored a salient distractor, and received random-magnitude reward for correct performance. Results show that when target selection garnered rewarding outcome attention is subsequently a.) primed to return to the target location, and b.) biased away from the location that was occupied by the salient, task-irrelevant distractor. These results suggest that in addition to priming features, reward acts to guide visual search by priming contextual locations of visual stimuli.


In this thesis, we develop scalable frameworks to (re)design a class of large-scale network systems with built-in control mechanisms, including electric power systems and the Internet, in order to improve their economic efficiency and performance while guaranteeing their stability and robustness. After a detailed introduction relating to power system control and optimization, as well as network congestion control, we turn our attention to merging primary and secondary frequency control for the power grid. We present modifications in the conventional generation control using a consensus design approach while considering the participation of controllable loads. The optimality, stability and delay robustness of the redesigned system are studied. Moreover, we extend the proposed control scheme to (i) networks with more complexity and (ii) the case where controllable loads are involved in the optimization. As a result, our controllers can balance power flow and drive the system to an economically optimal operating point in the steady state. We then study a real-time control framework that merges primary, secondary and tertiary frequency control in power systems. In particular, we consider a transmission level network with tree topology. A distributed dynamic feedback controller is designed via a primal-dual decomposition approach and the stability of the overall system is studied. In addition, we introduce extra dynamics to improve system performance and emphasize the trade-off when choosing the gains of the extra dynamics. As a result, the proposed controller can balance supply and demand in the presence of disturbances, and achieve optimal power flow in the steady state. Furthermore, after introducing the extra dynamics, the transient performance of the system significantly improves. A redesign framework for network congestion control is developed next. Motivated by the augmented Lagrangian method, we introduce extra terms to the Lagrangian, which is used to redesign the primal-dual, primal and dual algorithms. We investigate how the gains resulting from the extra dynamics influence the stability and robustness of the system. Moreover, we show that the overall system can achieve added robustness to communication delays by appropriately tuning these gains. Also, the meaning of these extra dynamics is investigated and a distributed proportional-integral-derivative controller for solving network congestion control problems is further developed. Finally, we concentrate on a reverse- and forward-engineering framework for distributed control of a class of linear network systems to achieve optimal steady-state performance. As a typical illustration, we use the proposed framework to solve the real-time economic dispatch problem in the power grid. On the other hand, we provide a general procedure to modify control schemes for a special class of dynamic systems. In order to investigate how general the reverse- and forward-engineering framework is, we develop necessary and sufficient conditions under which an linear time-invariant system can be reverse-engineered as a gradient algorithm to solve an optimization problem. These conditions are characterized using properties of system matrices and relevant linear matrix inequalities. We conclude this thesis with an account for future research.


The tectonic plates of UK economic and political power are shifting. The Glorious Revolution in 1688 brought institutional reforms, including the Bill of Rights, that aligned political and taxation power in Westminster. In their famous study, North and Weingast (1989) interpreted this alignment as a necessary condition for the industrial revolution to take place in England. Local government functioned through parishes, boroughs and counties which survived most of the next century before consolidating into regional authorities. Over the next two centuries, UK government became increasingly centralised in line with political enfranchisement.


The representation of navigable space, consisting of multiple interconnected spaces, yet is not well understood. We examined different levels of integration within memory (local, regional, global). Participants learned two distinctive regions of a virtual environment that converged at a common transition-point. Subsequently, we tested their memory with a pointing task, varying body alignment during pointing, corridor distance to and regional belonging of the target. Pointing latency increased with increasing distance to the target and when pointing into the other region. Further, alignment with local, regional and global reference frames were found to facilitate pointing latency. These findings suggest that participants memorized local corridors, clustered corridors into regions, and also formed global reference frames, thus, represented the environment on multiple levels of integration. They are inconsistent with conceptions of spatial memory for navigable environments based either on exclusive representation within a single reference frame or exclusive reliance on local reference frames.


Speech, one of the important means of communication, has been the subject of intense study and research for many decades. In particular, the acoustic analysis of speech signal has emerged as a potential technique for the evaluation 'of voice and early detection and diagnosis of laryngeal pathology. This noninvasive technique has proved to be an effective tool for the clinicians in the prediagnosis of larynx diseases and could be the quickest low cost indicator of possible voice malfunctions. Acoustic processing of speech also plays an important role in the analysis and evaluation of emotional disorder, particularly
clinical depression. This thesis is focused on an explorative study on the speech processing applications in medicine. Spectral and noise features of speech signal
are proposed as indicators of laryngeal pathology and clinical depression. Harmonic to noise ratio (HNR) and critical band energy spectrum have been used as indicators of laryngeal pathology whereas vocal jitter, formant frequencies,formant bandwidths and power distributions are considered for the analysis of depressed speech. The signal processing methods and algorithms used to extract
these features have been presented in detail in this thesis. The extracted features are used for the differential classification of pathological and normal voices. The main classification technique is the k-means nearest neighbor classifier and the performance of this classifier is tested on a prior labeled database consisting of normal and pathological voice samples. A multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network based classifier using critical band energy spectrum is also designed and
tested for the classification. These methods could be used as tools to supplement the perceptual evaluation of speech for the detection of suspected laryngeal pathologies. The thesis also presents the results of the discriminant analysis of the acoustic features for differentiating clinical depression from normal. The efficacy of these parameters in discriminating depressed speech from normal is tested using a newly constructed database of speech samples.
A brief review encompassing the anatomy and physiology of speech production, different types of speech sound and some. characteristics of pathological and depressed speech is outlined in chapter 1. One of the aims of the present work is the investigation of the performance of acoustic features in discriminating between normal and pathological voices. Therefore, a concise survey of the existing acoustic analysis techniques :for characterizing the
pathological voices is included in chapter 1. Existing literature review of the study of acoustic properties of speech in depression is also included in this chapter.
Pathological voices usually contain higher aperiodic (noise) components mainly due to the malfunctioning of vocal folds. The relative noise level is therefore one of important acoustic properties that describe pathological voices. The quantification of the noise in pathological voice is mainly made in terms of HNR and normalized noise energy (NNE). In the present work, HNR is considered as one of the acoustic indicators of laryngeal pathology. The
estimation of HNR, the design of a simple k-means nearest neighbor classifier and differential classification of normal and pathological voices are considered in
chapter 2. Using the k-means nearest neighbor classifier, it is showed that HNR at four different frequency bands is very effective in screening pathological voices.
The harmonic and noise energies in voiced speech are estimated by decomposing speech signal into harmonic and noise components using a signal extrapolation
algorithm. The fundamental frequency of voicing is accurately estimated by identifying glottal closure instant or stronger excitation location in each glottal
cycle using wavelet band pass filtering function. These algorithms are described in chapter 2. The k-means nearest neighbor classifier classifies the given speech sample into pathologic or normal class by comparing the HNR vector, of test sample with class specific pattern (centroid vector). The centroid vectors are obtained during the training phase of the classifier as the mean of HNR vectors corresponding to some fixed number of samples belonging to a particular class. This classifier is easy to implement with minimum computational cost. The results of the performance of the classifier when tested on speech samples from a prelabeled
database have indicated that HNR at four frequency bands is a good indicator of laryngeal pathology. An overall classification accuracy of 94.28% is reported using 53 normal and 163 pathological voice signals.
Extending the idea of using noise components in voiced speech, we have proposed critical band energy spectrum as another acoustic indicator of laryngeal pathology. The differential classification of normal and pathological voices using this parameter is described in chapter 3 of the thesis. Instead of using noise energy relative to harmonic energy, the effect of noise on spectral distribution is made use of to discriminate pathological voice from normal. This is an extension of the idea
of using the effect of added noise on the spectral distribution reported in an earlier work to distinguish clean speech from noisy speech. This works well for
pathological voice, as the pathological speech is assumed to have additional noise components. Normalized energies at 21 critical frequency bands have formed the features for the classification between normal and pathological voices. A filter bank of Butterworth band pass filters is used to filter the speech and to estimate the energy vector. The k-means nearest neighbor classifier tested on the same data
set gave an overall accuracy of 92.38% in discriminating pathological voice from normal. Though this result is slightly poorer than the HNR based classification,
this method is computationally less expensive. The critical bands used have the center frequencies and band widths that roughly correspond to human auditory neurons. Thus the proposed automated analysis mimics the perceptual evaluation
of pathological voice.
Instead of quantifying voice sample by a single critical band energy vector, we also used short term critical band energy vectors for the classification. Each speech sample signal is segmented into 20 millisecond frames and the critical band energy vectors of all these frames are used as features to train a multilayer perceptron network (MLP). This improved the overall classification accuracy to
93.39%.
In the next chapter (chapter 4), acoustic analysis of depressed speech is presented. The depressed speech has been described as dull, monotone, lifeless and metallic. These perceptual qualities have been associated with vocal jitter,~ formant structure and power distributions. We examined these acoustic properties and studied whether any of these discriminate voices recorded under clinical
depression from normal. The statistical analysis indicated that all parameters studied were significantly different for depressive speech and normal group. The vocal jitter, which is the perturbation in fundamental frequency, is estimated by tracking the pitch variation for voiced speech segments taken from continuous running speech. In order to detect the voiced segments, a Dyadic Wavelet Transform (D,WT) based algorithm was used. The formant frequencies and
bandwidths were estimated using Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) analysis while the power distribution in four frequency bands ranging from 0 to 2 KHz was obtained using Welch method of power spectral density estimation. The efficacy of all these speech parameters in differentiating depressed speech from normal is tested using our own database of speech samples. The database was developed
from speech samples recorded from normal male individuals and male individuals diagnosed for major depression belonging to Kannada (one of the south Indian
languages) speaking local population. For this data set, the vocaljitter and features describing the power spectral distribution emerged as good indicators of depression.
The thesis is concluded by summarizing the results of the analysis and by suggesting the areas of scope for further investigation.


Laboratory and Field Studies Directed toward Accelerating Arsenic Remediation at a Major US Superfund Site in New Jersey Karen Wovkulich Arsenic is a prevalent contaminant at a large fraction of US Superfund sites. Therefore, establishing techniques for accelerating As remediation could benefit many contaminated sites. Remediation of As contaminated groundwater by conventional methods, i.e. pump and treat (P&T), can be impeded by slow desorption of As from Fe and Al (hydr)oxides in aquifer solids. Through experimentation at different physical scales (grain, bench, and field scale), the potential for chemical additions to increase As release from sediments and possibly accelerate P&T remediation is examined. The work described here focuses on As contamination and remediation at the Vineland Chemical Co. Superfund site in southern NJ. The site is extensively contaminated with As resulting from decades of poor chemical storage and disposal practices by the Vineland Chemical Co., which manufactured As-based biocides from 1949-1994. Despite significant intervention, including groundwater remediation by P&T and treatment of solids via soil washing, sufficient site clean up could require many decades with current technologies. Chemical amendments that either compete with As for sorption sites or dissolve Fe and Al (hydr)oxides can increase As mobility and potentially improve P&T remediation efficiency. Simple extrapolations from bench scale column experiments based on pore volumes suggest that treatment with 10 mM oxalic acid could lower the time necessary for clean up at the Vineland site from 600 years (with current techniques involving just groundwater) to potentially on the order of 4 years. Small scale (<1 mm 2 ) X-ray fluorescence maps from columns performed within the synchrotron beamline showed As release during oxalic acid treatment that was consistent with the bulk column materials and suggested that microscale processes can be predictive of the larger system. Finally, during a 3-month pilot study at the Vineland site, oxalic acid was injected into a section of the aquifer via an injection manifold system that was designed and built for the experiment. Groundwater samples indicate that introduction of oxalic acid led to increased As release at a sampling well and pump and treat recovery well in the study area. Addition of oxalic acid shows promise for accelerating treatment of a highly contaminated site.


Desert dust rising from the African region and covered very long distances with meteorological events can be an important source of pollution for many countries from time to time. Although dust and sand masses that remain in the atmosphere for a long time are known to be inert and stable, but studies show that they affect vegetative production by changes in precipitation and radiation regimes. It is important for natural phenomena and has also revealed their effects in regions over which the atmospheric transport occurs. The Sahara dust storm of mid-May 2020 has strongly, affected many European countries. The Sahara dust and hot air transport is reported over the Mediterranean region to the Balkans and further to Turkey. Depending on the climatic conditions, the Sahara dust may remain in some regions for longer period. Rainy and humid weather conditions slow down the flow of dust and increase the settling rate in that region. In such cases it creates mud-like precipitation accompanying with rain. In this study, Sahara dust pollution effect is investigated for a particulate event pollution with the use of measurements from the network system in all cities in Turkey. For this purpose, the values of Particulate Matter (PM) pollution are analysed before the desert dust reached Turkey, during the event and when it left the country. PM measurement values in Karaman province were examined and it was shown that the Sahara dust increased significantly in the period when it reached this region. Then, PM values were seen to come down to normal levels.


Abstract The Large Helical Device (LHD) is one of the world's largest superconducting systems. It consists of a pair of pool-cooled helical coils, three pairs of forced-flow-cooled poloidal coils, nine superconducting bus lines, a helium liquefier and refrigerator of 10-kW class, and six dc power supplies. Its stored magnetic energy reaches 0.8 GJ. Availability higher than 99% has been achieved in the long-term continuous operation since the first cooldown in February 1998 owing to the robustness of the systems and to efforts of maintenance and operation. One major problem is shortage of cryogenic stability of the helical coil conductor due to the slow current diffusion into a thick pure aluminum stabilizer. To improve its cryogenic stability by lowering the temperature, a subcooling system was installed before the tenth cooldown. The outlet temperature of the coil was successfully lowered to 3.8 K from 4.4 K of the saturated temperature, and its operation current was increased to 11.6 kA from 11.0 kA. These experiences of modification, maintenance, and operation should be useful for next large superconducting systems.


A series of azines featuring differently halogen and protic group substituted pyridine, pyrimidine and pyridazine compounds have been synthesized and studied in terms of their crystal structures in order to develop a better understanding of the links between structural conditions and molecular packing behavior. Complemented by the structure results of related compounds known from the literature, intermolecular contact relationships connected to the present substance types were found, having potential use in future crystal engineering of similar compounds. This primarily involves the formation of N⋯I contacts aside from specific halogen⋯halogen and hydrogen bond type interactions.


Occupational gender segregation is an enduring feature of labour markets across all industrialized countries. We study the relevance of segregation with a particular emphasis on gender and occupation and its impact on gender inequalities in access to employment and wages. We analyse four Southern European countries, i.e., Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, characterized by different labour market institutions even though similar in the features of the welfare state. We find that education plays a role especially for female selection into employment and for highly educated women a reduction of occupational segregation (or desegregation). Nonetheless, household characteristics, as presence of kids still represents barriers preventing (low educated) women full participation to the labour market. The nature of these obstacles is mixed since there are socio, cultural, and institutional factors related to the ambivalent role of the welfare state, burdening women of (almost) all caring activities and duties within the household.


Testing is a crucial and necessary part of software development used to detect faults and make sure that the software works properly. One testing method proposed in research is named combinatorial testing, where a test suite covers all combinations of parameter values in a certain way. There is some evidence that indicated that most faults are triggered by a few number of parameter value combinations. There have been various tools proposed for using combinatorial testing in practice. ACTS is one of the most popular combinatorial research tools. Even if ACTS has been used in several industrial projects, few studies have shown how such a combinatorial testing tool can be used for modelling and test generation for industrial control software. In this study we apply modelling and test generation using ACTS on a Programmable Logic Control (PLC) software. This kind of software is used in the safety critical domain for controlling different computer devices, such as a train control management system, which is in charge of many of the critical and safety related procedures on a train. Testing this kind of software is very important because failures can contribute to the loss of lives and money. We show how ACTS can be applied to PLC software. We evaluated ACTS in terms of applicability (i.e., how can ACTS can be applied directly on modelling the PLCs) and efficiency in terms of generation time and test suite size. We used 17 PLC programs provided by Bombardier Transportation. Based on the number of inputs in a program we divided the programs into three complexity categories: small, medium and large programs. An input space model was created for each program, where the needed information was obtained from both the programs and the engineers writing the programs. Each model was created as a system in the graphical interface of ACTS. The different algorithms and combinatorial techniques supported by ACTS were used to generate test suites by varying coverage of the parameter combinations (i.e. t-way) in the command line of ACTS. In this study we used a cut-off time of 1 hour for the test generation, as this is a realistic estimation based on discussion with industrial engineers. Our results showed that not all combinations of algorithms and combinatorial strengths could generate a test suite within the cut-off time. We argue that the results of the the modelling process and the results showing the efficiency of the test generation tool can be useful for practitioners considering to use combinatorial testing for PLC software.


Objective: Unaffected relatives of bipolar disorder (BD) patients have been investigated for the identification of endophenotypes in an attempt to further elucidate the pathophysiology of the disease. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is considered to be implicated in the pathophysiology of BD, but its role as an endophenotype has been poorly studied. We investigated abnormal serum BDNF levels in BD patients, in their unaffected relatives, and in healthy controls. Methods: BDNF levels were obtained from 25 DSM-IV bipolar I disorder patients, 23 unaffected relatives, and 27 healthy controls. All BD patients were in remission. The unaffected subjects were first-degree relatives of the proband who had no lifetime DSM-IV diagnosis of axis I disorder. BDNF serum levels were determined by sandwich ELISA using monoclonal BDNF-specific antibodies. Results: There were no statistical differences in BDNF levels among BD patients, relatives, and healthy controls. Conclusion: Serum BDNF levels may not indicate high genetic risk for BD, possibly acting as state markers rather than trait markers of the disease.


We present a lock-in detection scheme, which simultaneously computes the amplitude and phase of several signals using non-sinusoidal references that have odd harmonics only. By stating constraints on the frequencies of the references and on the measurement time, we guarantee perfect discrimination of the sources. Using square-wave references we simplify the lock-in algorithm, rendering it suitable to an implementation directly in logic. Furthermore, we apply this scheme to the design of a moisture sensor for industrial real-time measurement applications.


This article evaluates the pregnancy experiences of American women by comparing their spontaneous or non-surrogate pregnancies with their gestational surrogate pregnancies. Data were collected through structured interviews using an online video platform. In total, 96 interviews were conducted. Data revealed that a woman was more likely to have a pregnancy that was high-risk during a surrogate pregnancy than during a non-surrogate pregnancy, independent of maternal age or gravidity (OR 11.4, 3.5-36.6; p<.0001). A surrogate pregnancy had three times higher odds of resulting in a cesarean section (p<.0001) and was five times more likely to deliver at an earlier gestational age (p<.0001). Women in this study were significantly more likely to experience postpartum depression following the delivery of surrogate children than after delivering their non-surrogate children (p=.01), and overall, they were more likely to have adverse outcomes during a surrogate pregnancy. The rate of new post-surrogacy chronic health issues for women of color was significantly higher than for women identified as white (p<.0001). We found that women's economic disadvantage was a major contributor to the decision to proceed with surrogacy. This study confirms that health disparities exist for women with surrogate pregnancies compared to non-surrogate pregnancies, which can lead to long-term complications after a surrogate pregnancy. In terms of biomedical ethics, it raises important social, economic, and political issues related to surrogacy, all requiring further exploration. Future research will build on the present work in further helping us to understand the circumstances and consequences involved for women in surrogacy.


Background: Emotion recognition skills are essential for social communication. Deficits in these skills have been implicated in mental disorders. Prior studies of clinical and high-risk samples have consistently shown that children exposed to adversity are more likely than their unexposed peers to have emotion recognition skills deficits. However, only one population-based study has examined this association. Methods: We analyzed data from children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a prospective birth cohort (n=6,506). We examined the association between eight adversities, assessed repeatedly from birth to age 8 (caregiver physical or emotional abuse; sexual or physical abuse; maternal psychopathology; one adult in the household; family instability; financial stress; parent legal problems; neighborhood disadvantage) and the ability to recognize facial displays of emotion measured using the faces subtest of the Diagnostic Assessment of Non-Verbal Accuracy (DANVA) at age 8.5 years. In addition to examining the role of exposure (vs. non-exposure) to each type of adversity, we also evaluated the role of the timing, duration, and recency of each adversity using a Least Angle Regression variable selection procedure. Results: Over three-quarters of the sample experienced at least one adversity. We found no evidence to support an association between emotion recognition deficits and previous exposure to adversity, either in terms of total lifetime exposure, timing, duration, or recency, or when stratifying by sex. Conclusions: Results from the largest population-based sample suggest that even extreme forms of adversity are unrelated to emotion recognition deficits as measured by the DANVA, suggesting the possible immutability of emotion recognition in the general population. These findings emphasize the importance of population-based studies to generate generalizable results.


Formation of 2-( N -arylamino)benzothiazole takes place, when N , N 0 -diphenylthioureas are treated with polymer-supported tribromide or with iodine-alumina as catalyst under solvent free conditions. However, when N -substituted- N 0 -benzoylthioureas are treated with polymer-supported tribromide or with iodine-alumina as catalyst either under vari- ous conditions or under solvent free conditions, decomposition takes place to give the respective benzamides and thiobenzamides. Mechanistic study of the formation of these compounds is studied using DFT calculations. It is found that electron donating group at the para -position of the aryl group of benzoylthiourea favors the formation of benzamide whereas the presence of electron withdrawing group at para -position of the aryl group of benzoylthiourea, formation of thiobenzamide takes place. When the catalyst is changed to diacetoxyiodobenzene (DIB) under similar reaction conditions, benzoxazole amides are formed; expected benzothiazoles or the decomposition products are not obtained. Mech- anistic study of the reaction using DFT calculation again shows that the reaction followed through carbodiimide intermediate undergoes the formation of C-O bond in benzoxazole moiety, instead of the expected C-S bond formation of benzothiazole moiety via a sequential acylation and deacylation process.


Interactions between water and solid substrates are of fundamental importance to various processes in nature and industry. Electric control is widely used to modify interfacial water, where the influence of surface charges is inevitable. Here we obtain positively and negatively charged surfaces using LiTaO3 crystals and observe that a large net surface charge up to 0.1 C/m2 can nominally change the contact angles of pure water droplets comparing to the same uncharged surface. However, even a small amount of surface charge can efficiently increase the water contact angle in the presence of aerosols. Our results indicate that such surface charges can hardly affect the structure of interfacial water molecular layers and the morphology of the macroscopic droplet, while adsorption of a small amount of organic contaminants from aerosols with the help of Coulomb attraction can notably decrease the wettability of solid surface. Our results not only provide a fundamental understanding of the interactions between charged surfaces and water, but also help to develop new techniques on electric control of wettability and microfluidics in real aerosol environments.


The objectives of this study were to (1) examine distribution and habitat use of leatherside chub ( Gila copei ) in a creek with high densities of predatory brown trout ( Salmo trutta ), and (2) compare study results with published accounts of leatherside chub habitat use in streams with few or no brown trout. A 14-km section of Diamond Fork Creek, Utah, was point-shocked to determine macrohabitat (main channel and lateral habitat) and microhabitat (current, depth, substrate, and cover) use of leatherside chug. At the macrohabitat level, leatherside chub were most common in lower reaches of Diamond Fork Creek where the channel was braided and lateral habitats (cutoff pools and backwaters) were abundant. Only a single leatherside chub was found in the main channel of Diamond Fork. Investigations in other systems lacking brown trout indicated that leatherside chub occupy main channel habitats. At the microhabitat level, we found significant positive associations between presence of leatherside chub and both habitat depth and silt. In addition, we found a significant negative association between presence of leatherside chub and number of brown trout. Our results suggest predation by brown trout may limit leatherside chub to lateral habitats that could provide refugia against predation. The introduction of brown trout to systems with little lateral habitat could have serious effects on persistence of resident leatherside chub populations.


BACKGROUND
Suppressing acid secretion is thought o reduce the risk of ulcers associated with regular use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but the best means of accomplishing this is uncertain.

METHODS
We studied 541 patients who required continuous treatment with NSAIDs and who had ulcers or more than 10 erosions in either the stomach or duodenum. Patients were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with omeprazole, 20 mg or 40 mg orally per day, or ranitidine, 150 mg orally twice a day, for four or eight weeks, depending on when treatment was successful (defined as the resolution of ulcer and the presence of fewer than five erosions in the stomach, and fewer than five erosions in the duodenum, and not more than mild dyspepsia). We randomly assigned 432 patients in whom treatment was successful to maintenance treatment with either 20 mg of omeprazole per day or 150 mg of ranitidine twice a day for six months.

RESULTS
At eight weeks, treatment was successful in 80 percent (140 of 174) of the patients in the group given 20 mg of omeprazole per day, 79 percent (148 of 187) of those given 40 mg of omeprazole per day, and 63 percent (110 of 174) of those given ranitidine (P<0.001 for the comparison with 20 mg of omeprazole and P=0.001 for the comparison with 40 mg of omeprazole). The rates of healing of all types of lesions were higher with omeprazole than with ranitidine. During maintenance therapy, the estimated proportion of patients in remission at the end of six months was 72 percent in the omeprazole group and 59 percent in the ranitidine group. The rates of adverse events were similar between groups during both phases. Both medications were well tolerated.

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with regular use of NSAIDs, omeprazole healed and prevented ulcers more effectively than did ranitidine.


Introduction: Earlier detection of cancer may help reduce the current high level of cancer mortality in the UK. Cancer risk assessment tools such as QCancer, which predict the absolute risk of cancer in symptomatic individuals, may help identify those at high risk needing investigation for possible cancer. Little is known about the views of service users and primary care practitioners on the use of QCancer in primary care consultations. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of service users and primary care practitioners on use of QCancer and how communication with patients might be enhanced when using QCancer in primary care consultations.

Methods: The study was conducted in Lincolnshire, a large rural county in the East Midlands, using a qualitative research design. This involved individual interviews with service users recruited from the general public, and both individual and focus group interviews with primary care practitioners including general practitioners and practice nurses. Data were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the framework approach. Ethics approval was granted by the University of Lincoln School of Health and Social Care Ethics Committee.

Results: We interviewed 36 participants (19 service users and 17 practitioners) until data saturation was achieved. Four main themes emerged: the implications of quantifying cancer risk; usefulness of QCancer; communicating cancer risk and barriers to implementation in primary care consultations.

Participants expressed a range of views about the implications of quantifying cancer risk using QCancer. These included: potential conflict with current cancer risk guidelines and the need to refer patients with symptoms suggestive of cancer whatever their quantified risk.

Participants agreed that QCancer would help to: quantify cancer risk; support clinical decision making; inform efforts to modify health behaviours; improve processes and speed of assessments, diagnosis and treatment; and, enable practitioners to personalise patient care.

To enhance patient-practitioner communication of cancer risk, both service users and primary care practitioners suggested the following: tailoring a visual representation of risk; being honest and open with patients; involving patients in the use of QCancer; and allowing time for listening, explaining, informing and reassuring patients.

Potential challenges to the uptake of QCancer were also identified including: the additional time required for its use and communication; unnecessary worry caused by investigation of false positives; potential for over-referral; and practitioner scepticism with the need to establish the effectiveness of QCancer against current practice before introducing it more widely.

Conclusion: Participants perceived the potential usefulness of QCancer but felt that communication needs of users and potential barriers should be considered when planning to implement QCancer. Before rolling out the tool, further research is needed to pilot and evaluate the impact of QCancer on outcomes such as rates of investigations, referrals, diagnoses as well as patient and practitioner experiences of using the tool.


Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is one of the oldest and simplest attacks on the Web, yet it is still effective on many websites and it can lead to severe consequences, such as economic losses and account takeovers. Unfortunately, tools and techniques proposed so far to identify CSRF vulnerabilities either need manual reviewing by human experts or assume the availability of the source code of the web application. In this paper we present Mitch, the first machine learning solution for the black-box detection of CSRF vulnerabilities. At the core of Mitch there is an automated detector of sensitive HTTP requests, i.e., requests which require protection against CSRF for security reasons. We trained the detector using supervised learning techniques on a dataset of 5,828 HTTP requests collected on popular websites, which we make available to other security researchers. Our solution outperforms existing detection heuristics proposed in the literature, allowing us to identify 35 new CSRF vulnerabilities on 20 major websites and 3 previously undetected CSRF vulnerabilities on production software already analyzed using a state-of-the-art tool.


This paper presents intermediate results in the development of a new NaK release model. A new size distribution function is introduced. The cause of the release is assigned to the procedure of the reactor core ejection. The generation of the NaK droplets is modeled as several individual events and not as a continuous leakage. In this work, an improved estimate of the mass is performed. The size distribution function is adjusted to the corrected estimate. The release events are simulated. The distribution of the droplets on orbits is evaluated. The long-term decay behavior is studied. Furthermore, the contribution of the NaK droplets to the entire space debris population is determined. The development of the model is not yet complete. It is therefore possible that the model actually implemented in MASTER-2009 may differ from this work.


ABSTRACT Breeding efforts in cereal crops directed toward developing or improving end-use products of grain require assessment of existing phenotypic variance and an understanding of the genetic control of grain quality traits. To this end, a grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] mapping population consisting of 113 F2:7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between Sureño and RTx430 was evaluated in multiple environments for grain composition (fat, fiber, protein, starch) using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS), and size estimates of grain parts (embryo, vitreous endosperm, floury endosperm, kernel area) using an image-based phenotyping software system. Estimates of broad-sense heritability of grain compositional traits ranged from 0.11 to 0.90, whereas those of grain size ranged from 0.16 to 0.72. Composite interval mapping (CIM) was applied to a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based linkage map to identify marker-trait associations, and through these efforts, a total of 37 quantitative trait loci (QTL) for grain quality were identified across environments. Each QTL explained between 7 and 23% of the phenotypic variation for a given grain trait. Three of the five QTL that colocalized were for traits with significant negative correlation, which included grain protein content that was negatively correlated with grain starch content. In addition, several traits that were positively correlated (e.g. fat and fiber content) also revealed colocalized QTL. Finally, we compared the present study with previous studies identifying grain composition trait loci in an effort to identify genomic regions controlling grain traits across a diversity of environments and sorghum genotypes.


Intrusion detection detects misbehaving nodes in a network. In Internet of Things(IoT), IPv6 Routing for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is the standard routing protocol. In IoT, devices commonly have low energy, storage and memory, which is why the implemented intrusion algorithm in this thesis will try to minimize the usage of these resources. IDS for RPL-networks have been implemented before, but the use of resources or the number of packets sent was too high to be successful when finding malicious nodes. In this thesis, Trust-based Intrusion Detection System (TIDS), a trust based intrusion detection system was implemented. Each node in the network should observe and evaluate its neighbors based on whether or not they were acting according to the RPL protocol. These observation were sent to a centralized node where these observations were analyzed. The trust values used are based on Subjective Logic; values for belief, disbelief and uncertainty are used to analyze the observations received from the normal nodes. The number of detected nodes, false positives, false negatives, energy usage, memory and number of nodes were measured. An attack's detection time is also measured. Seven different experiments were conducted based on this IDS. They were chosen to investigate the different number of nodes and attackers in the network, when the observations should be sent to the border router and whether the border router is always in listening mode. This showed that the implemented IDS captures between 50-100% of the attackers based on what type of experiment was executed and it also introduces between 2 and 15 false positives. Concerning the resource usage, the IDS uses between 5000-6400 bytes of storage and 700-1000 bytes of memory. The energy consumption in the border router increases with 488 mW when the IDS is implemented, while the normal nodes does not see an increase in the energy consumption. The results of the thesis are promising, but needs more work to be extended to the RPL protocol. Regarding energy consumption, the border router with IDS is using more energy than without. The normal nodes however, do not have an increased energy consumption because of the IDS. The proposed IDS detects every attacker, but does also introduce false positives. The number of false positives can be reduced by improving the way sinkhole attack is captured.


The goals of the study were threefold: to examine, in a sample of Hindi-speaking Indian women, (1) the internal consistency reliability and psychometric validity of a broad assessment of intimate partner aggression (IPA) that previously has been used in multiple languages in the public-health domain; (2) the extent to which the trait structure of a widely used personality measure conforms in this sample to the personality structure that has been found in many other cultural and geographic groupings and across many languages; and (3) relations between personality traits and the experience of IPA, including physical, psychological and sexual IPA. A sample of rural, north Indian women were recruited and asked to complete several psychological measures, including one of personality and one of their experience as a recipient of IPA. The data suggest that the structure of IPA, but not personality, in this sample is consistent with that commonly found in western samples. Reasons for the lack of replication in personality structure are discussed. Nonetheless, the relations between personality and IPA domains found in this sample suggest that personality is related to these women's experience of IPA, but in ways that differ somewhat from western samples. Abstract Approved: Thesis SupervisorApproved: Thesis Supervisor Title and Department


Donald Horowitz presents a case study of an attempted military coup in Sri Lanka. On the basis of interviews with twenty-three participants in this attempted coup--a mine of information rarely available for a study like this--he provides first-hand evidence of the way officers' motives interact with social and political conditions to foster coup attempts.Originally published in 1981.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Objective: To provide an example of a new methodology for using multiple characteristics in the study of population aging and to assess its usefulness. Method: Using the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), we investigate three characteristics of each person 60 to 85 years old, by level of education, hand-grip strength in 2004 (measured in kilos), chair rise speed in 2004 (measured in rises per minute), and whether the person survived from 2004 to 2012. Because the three characteristics are measured in different units, we convert them into a common metric, called alpha-ages. Results: We find that the average of the alpha-age differentials in the measures of upper body and lower body strength predicts educational differentials in subsequent survival better than either physical measure alone. Discussion: This result demonstrates the benefit of combining characteristics, using alpha-ages to convert incommensurate observations into a common metric.


The purpose of this chapter is to provide the physician with guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of overuse syndromes. The author describes the normal anatomy of the shoulder and elbow, the physical examination of the patient with overuse syndrome, and various possible etiologies. The value of a conditioning program for the prevention of overuse syndromes is also discussed.


Nociceptin is a non-opioid peptide that modulates pain response. One of mechanism underlying its analgesic action is the inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium current (ICa), similar to that of opioids. We investigated the molecular mechanism by which nociceptin inhibits ICa using sensory neurons and a heterologous expression system. ICa inhibition by nociceptin was voltage-dependent, exhibited the slowing of activation kinetics and prepulse facilitation, and was blocked by N-ethylmaleimide, indicating the involvement of Gi/Go protein. ICa inhibition by nociceptin was primarily mediated through binding to its own receptor, ORL-1, but not through affecting other μ-opioid receptors. Thus, our results strongly demonstrate that heterologous cross-talk between ORL1 and μOR is not involved in the ICa inhibition by nociceptin.


Developing parallel network simulations is a complex task. Besides getting the model right, developers of parallel simulations are striving for an additional design goal: Performance. We argue that developers need an insight into the behavior of a simulation model in order to assess and optimize its parallel performance. Specically, given a parallel simulation model, it is imperative to identify and eliminate performance bottlenecks. To this end, we extend the sequence chart provided by the Eclipse-IDE of OMNeT++ with specic functionality to visualize, analyze, and optimize the performance of parallel simulations in the context of our OMNeT++-based parallel simulation framework Horizon. This extended abstract presents the features and modifications of our code contribution.


Sleep dysfunction is an epidemic affecting a large portion of the adult population. Recent studies have linked sleep dysfunction with an upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines (eg, tumor necrosis factor-&agr;, interleukin-1 and interleukin-6), the implications of which can have a profound impact on a variety of gastrointestinal disease. In particular, sleep dysfunction seems to accelerate disease states characterized by inflammation (eg, gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia, chronic liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer). This article evaluates the complex interplay between sleep dysfunction and gastrointestinal health and disease.


This paper reports on the principal archaeological results of a renewed program of fieldwork in the Niah Caves (Sarawak) by an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists and environmental scientists. The paper focuses on two main themes: (1) the evidence for the changing nature of the human use of the cave and the implications of this evidence for wider debates in Southeast Asia regarding the foraging behaviors of the modern human populations who colonized the region in the later Pleistocene, and (2) the character of the later transition from foraging to farming. The first foragers visiting the caves ca. 45,000 years ago encountered much more varied landscapes than the present-day equatorial evergreen rainforest around Niah, though they were ones in which rainforest probably remained a component. A remarkable array of organic evidence indicates that the Pleistocene foragers using the caves exploited such landscapes with a combination of hunting, fishing, mollusk collection, and plant gathering, the latter including tuberous forest plants such as aroids, taro, yam, and sago palm. In the mid Holocene, when the landscape surrounding the cave was more similar to that of today, the primary use of the caves was for burials: the West Mouth of the Great Cave in particular was the location for an elaborate Neolithic cemetery that was characterized by a considerable degree of formal planning through its ca. 2500-year life. However, Neolithic people may also have used the West Mouth for habitation, as they certainly used other entrances of the cave complex. Based on present evidence, their subsistence base appears to have been forest foraging, though they were in contact with rice farmers. The remarkable antiquity and longevity of rainforest foraging knowledge and technologies at Niah appear to be among the most important conclusions emerging from the project, findings that may provide further support for arguments against the foragerfarmer dichotomy that underpins the currently dominant model of agricultural origins in Southeast Asia.


The MPEG-2 standard is the most used codec for video compression. This paper investigates the consequence of replacing the JPEG core system of the MPEG-2 video codec by a progressive image codec, specifically JPEG 2000, so creating a video codec (VC) that can match any desired bit rate. The quality of compressed video sequences between MPEG-2 and VC is compared. Results show that our codec improves the quality of the decompressed images.


The purpose of this study was to identify the population prevalence across the stages of change (SoC) for regular physical activity and to establish the prevalence of people at risk. With support from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, nine Behavior Change Consortium studies with a common physical activity SoC measure agreed to collaborate and share data. The distribution pattern identified in these predominantly reactively recruited studies was Precontemplation (PC) = 5% (± 10), Contemplation (C) = 10% (± 10), Preparation (P) = 40% (± 10), Action = 10% (± 10), and Maintenance = 35% (± 10). With reactively recruited studies, it can be anticipated that there will be a higher percentage of the sample that is ready to change and a greater percentage of currently active people compared to random representative samples. The at-risk stage distribution (i.e., those not at criteria or PC, C, and P) was approximately 10% PC, 20% C, and 70% P in specific samples and approximately 20% PC, 10% C, and 70% P in the clinical samples. Knowing SoC heuristics can inform public health practitioners and policymakers about the population's motivation for physical activity, help track changes over time, and assist in the allocation of resources.


Author(s): Xu, Tianfu; Pruess, Karsten; Pham, Minh; Klein, Christopher; Sanyal, Subir | Abstract: There are vast reserves of dissolved minerals in the hypersaline brines of geothermal fields in the Imperial Valley of California. Recovery of zinc from geothermal brines is being practiced in this area, and recovery of silica, manganese, silver, lead and lithium has been or is being considered. Therefore, the ability to model mineral recovery is very significant in terms of economic development and resource utilization. The reactive geochemical transport simulator TOUGHREACT has been used to model rock-fluid interactions during production from and injection into a hypersaline brine geothermal system. The modeling uses published water chemistry data from Imperial Valley and simplified flow system intended to capture realistic features of the hydrothermal system. A number of simulations were performed using different production/injection rate, pH values and silica concentrations of the injection waters. Results indicate that evolution of temperature and zinc concentration depends on production and injection rate. A lower rate results in a lower temperature drop and higher zinc concentration. A low injection pH significantly enhances the dissolution of sphalerite in the reservoir rock, increasing aqueous zinc concentration. A higher injection silica concentration leads to silica precipitation, but decreases the reservoir porosity only slightly even after 20 years. The purpose of this "numerical experiment" is to gain useful insight into the process mechanisms and conditions and parameters controlling zinc recovery and silica scaling in the reservoir. This example also demonstrates that TOUGHREACT can be a useful tool for simulating these kinds of problems.


The purpose of this study was to clinically monitor the stability of dental implants in patients with and without a history of radiotherapy, using resonance frequency analysis over 1 year. The stability of patients with 80 implants was monitored with resonance frequency analysis (Osstell Mentor) over 1 year. Data were assessed with Mann-Whitney U test and correlation analysis. Irradiated maxillary implants showed statistically lower values than the mandibular implants at a significant level (P < .05).


A literature review regarding the consequences of trade liberalization on trade flows, productivity and internal demand has led us to consider a simple operational model of how to measure these consequences. This model is applied to the passenger motor vehicle (PMV) industry in Australia. There is clear evidence that this liberalization has increased the volume of trade and productivity, but reduced the locally produced cars for internal consumption. In addition, there are significant estimated lags concerning the reaction of these variables as a consequence of trade liberalization. Econometrically, this paper is an application of the bounds-testing procedure based on the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration.


Natural hazards that are affecting humans are mostly related to geological processes, for example earthquake, volcanic eruption, flooding and landslide. The geological processes itself is a naturally occurring event, it is only become hazardous in the presence of humans as it may cause loss of life and properties. Understanding aspects of geological-related hazards of a region is important to reduce the danger they may pose. Indonesia is located within an active and complicated tectonic setting. Three major tectonic plates: Eurasia, Indo-Australia and Philippine are collide and interact in the vicinity of Indonesia. The mechanism of plate interaction in Indonesia is dominated by subduction, where one plate is subducted beneath the other. The subduction processes are commonly associated with formation of volcanoes as well as active deformation in the crust associated with earthquakes.


: Alloxan diabetes and injections of hydrocortisone into intact animals for 5-7 days resulted in a sharp decrease of NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase in rat epididymal adipose tissue. Combined injection of insulin and hydrocortisone did not produce the decrease of the enzyme activity. Insulin injections into alloxan diabetic rats recovered the activity of NADP-malate dehydrogenase up to the control. Pyruvate kinase activity was decreased under diabetes, and insulin injections produced further decrease of the enzyme activity in diabetic rats. Activities of lactate dehydrogenase and NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase were less decreased under diabetes. Comparison of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes spectrum in adipose tissue of normal and diabetic rats revealed a considerable increase of LDH-1 and a decrease of LDH-4 under diabetes. Insulin injections greatly normalized LDH isoenzyme spectrum.


A new method named mixed fast multipole boundary element (MFM-BEM) is introduced in this paper to solve the contact problem of mill roller bearing. Incompatible elements and compatible elements are used to construct shape functions in non-contact area and contact area. On the one hand, MFM-BEM avoids satisfying the conditions of precise coordination in compatible elements, on the other hand, this method retains the merits of fast multipole boundary element method (FM-BEM). Through numerical examples, it clearly demonstrates that the calculation time and accuracy are improved. MFM-BEM provides an efficient numerical method for designing and analyzing the mill roller bearing. It also provides theoretical basis for prolonging mill roller bearing service life.


In mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), nodes move freely and link/node failures are common, which leads to frequent network partitions. When a network partition occurs, mobile nodes in one partition are not able to access data hosted by nodes in other partitions, and hence significantly degrade the performance of data access. To deal with this problem, we apply data replication techniques. Existing data replication solutions in both wired or wireless networks aim at either reducing the query delay or improving the data availability, but not both. As both metrics are important for mobile nodes, we propose schemes to balance the trade-offs between data availability and query delay under different system settings and requirements. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed schemes can achieve a balance between these two metrics and provide satisfying system performance.


Formal design verification is a methodology for detecting logical errors in systems. In formal design verification, the designer describes a system in a language with a mathematical semantics, and then the system description is analyzed against various correctness requirements. The paradigm is called model checking when the analysis is performed automatically by exhaustive state-sparce exploration. A correctness requirement is usually specified either as a formula expressed in temporal logic, or as an abstract design expressed in the system's description language. If the requirement is specified as an abstract design, the verification problem is called refinement checking . This thesis extends the state-of-art by increasing both the class, and the size of systems on which automatic and semi-automatic refinement checking are viable.
Refinement checking problems are formulated in the form Impl p Spec, where Impl is a description of the system, Spec is the requirement, and p is a preorder over system descriptions. Depending on the properties we ascribe to the p preorder, we get different notions of refinement. Three orthogonal property classes characterize the refinement preorder, namely, (1) linear and branching views of time, (2) finite and fair views of system behaviors, and (3) spatial and temporal abstraction of the requirement. We develop the theory of fair branching refinements, and give an efficient algorithm to check such refinements. We propose a novel and efficient algorithm to check refinements involving temporal abstractions.
Refinement checking algorithms usually explore and analyze the state space of the system. As we seek to enhance the applicability of model checking to complex designs, we are faced with the so-called state-explosion problem: the size of the state space grows exponentially with the size of the system description, making exhaustive state-space exploration infeasible. Scalable approaches to refinement checking make use of the compositional structure of both implementation and specification, and divide the verification task at hand into simpler subtasks. Each such subtask involves checking if an implementation-component refines its corresponding specification-component. Discharging such subtasks requires assumptions about inputs to the implementation-component. These assumptions are taken into account by the assume-guarantee approach, which uses the specification for the inputs as assumptions on the inputs (the apparent circularity in such proofs is resolved by an induction over time). We prove soundness of the assume-guarantee rule when applied to branching refinements (both finite and fair cases). We propose a new assume-guarantee proof rule for checking refinements of implementations against requirements that are both spatially and temporally abstract.
The techniques have been implemented in a new verification tool called MOCHA. MOCHA has been used successfully to detect and fix elusive bugs in a signal-processing chip that has 6 million transistors.


Brain Arteriovenous malformations are difficult lesions to manage surgically. In sub-Saharan Africa the lack of adequate medical equipment make them more challenging because surgery remains the only option. The aim of this report is to demonstrate the results of microsurgical treatment of b AVMS in these less than ideal conditions. Methods: We reviewed retrospectively 14 consecutive cases of b AVMs operated on in Senegal. Patient characteristics, radiological data and outcomes have been analysed. Results: There were 29 cases of bAVMs that were received in our department in the 3 year period, and among those, there were 14 cases for which operations were performed. The patient ages ranged from 7 to 64 years (mean age: 37.6 years). Ten patients were male and 4 were female. Twelve patients presented with ruptured AVM. The mean AVM size was 3.6 cm. According to Spetzler-Martin grade, 5 AVM were I, 6 were II, 2 were III and one was grade IV. No intranidal aneurysm was found. Two patients died preoperatively. According to mRS, for the 12 patients available to follow-up, 9 patients had good outcome (mRS 0 to 2) and 3 patients had poor outcome (mRS 3 and 4). Conclusion: In sub-Saharan Africa this pathology is even more difficult to manage due to under-equipment conditions but judicious selection of patients and the surgical strategy are secrets for good results.


Recently, an increasing number of studies has shown that some aspects of cognitive functions in Alzheimer patients may be selectively affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) while others are preserved. They have also demonstrated the heterogeneity of cognitive deficits within AD patients. Furthermore, several researches put into evidence optimizing factors for the cognitive performance of demented patients. Such a cognitive approach to AD has allowed a renewal of rehabilitation strategies, taking daily difficulties into consideration. It mainly consists of optimizing the patient functioning at every stage of the disease course, by exploiting preserved abilities and performance enhancing factors. For example, the clinical management of memory problems in AD patients could be centered on three directions: 1. Temporary facilitation of information encoding or retrieval by the use of optimizing factors shown during detailed cognitive examinations; 2. New knowledge teaching by the use of preserved memory abilities; 3. Arrangement of the patient surroundings with external cues and use of physical supports to compensate for defective functions (e.g. an external memory aid, such as a diary), so as to reduce the impact of cognitive deficits in daily living activities. Such a management of cognitive problems naturally implies the active participation of a caregiver both during the evaluation and the rehabilitation. The caregiver can be of help at different stages: arranging the patient daily environment according to his/her cognitive deficits, and removing sources of confusion; helping the patient with the use of external aids; favoring optimizing factors and preserved abilities utilization; interacting with the patient in good conditions, preventing the call to impaired capacities. Therefore, adapted structures should be put into place to allow these interventions and an enlightenment of caregiver burden, for example day care centers reproducing real life environment, where optimizing strategies could be specifically trained.


Peeter Akerberg Recent Ph.D. graduates are invited to submit abstracts of their dissertations by completing and submitting the submission form ⟨http://www.seg.org/SEGportalWEBproject/prod/SEG-Publications/Pub-Geophysics/Documents/dissertationform.pdf⟩ at http://seg.org/dissertationabstracts. Abstracts are reviewed and accepted or rejected based on their relevance to the readers of Geophysics. Abstracts must be written in English and defended in 2009 or later.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore conceptualizations of mindset across disciplines with particular attention to scholars' care in defining and operationalizing the construct of mindset. Theories of mindset have witnessed increased attention through a variety of disciplines for their applicability as processes with the potential to influence individual and/or organizational outcomes. Exploration of mindset conceptualizations and characterizations reveal substantial divergences.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper generally examines the utilization of mindset constructs via a multidisciplinary review of literature and specifically details three mindset theories (implemental and deliberative, global and growth and fixed mindsets) to illuminate such disparities.

Findings

This paper categorizes the significant variations of the mindset construct and research via three distinct streams. Each stream highlights knowledge as instrumental in the mindset construct; however, the ways in which varying aspects of knowledge, knowledge mechanisms or knowledge as a component of an individuals and/or organization's identity correspond to the inherent presuppositions of varying articulations of mindset theory and praxis.

Practical implications

Effectively influencing an individual and/or organization's mindset necessitates an accurate assessment of the mindset construct. Further, evaluating the applicability of mindset research and/or feedback from a consultant warrants attention to the assumptions undergirding the mindset construct.

Originality/value

Generally, mindset studies and theories have scantly attended to both the historical development of mindset research as well as divergences in the research record within and across disciplines. This paper attempts to address this deficiency. Further, this paper appears to be the first attempt to compare and identify varying conceptualizations and characterizations of mindset theory and, therefore, identifies previously unidentified assumptions.


We discuss how one can identify CP violation (and conservation) in multi-Higgs-doublet potentials. After a brief review of CP violation in the 2HDM, we refer to the fact that for NHDM with N ≥ 3 the well known methods useful in the case N = 2 have not been generalized in order to provide a set of well defined necessary and sufficient conditions for CP conservation. We then present a simple method, proposed by the authors, to be used in such cases. Two non-trivial examples based on an S3-symmetric three-doublet model are analyzed by means of this new method.


In the area of laser material processing, versatile applications for cutting glasses and transparent polymers exist. However, parasitic effects such as the creation of step-like structures appear when laser cutting inside a transparent material. To date, these structures were only described empirically. This work establishes the physical and chemical mechanisms behind the observed effects and describes the influence of process and material parameters onto the creation of step-like structures in hydrogel, Dihydroxyethylmethacrylat (HEMA). By focusing laser pulses in HEMA, reduced pulse separation distance below 50 nm and rise in pulse energy enhances the creation of unintended step-like structures. Spatial resolved Raman-spectroscopy was used to measure the laser induced chemical modification, which results into a reduced breakdown threshold. The reduction in threshold influences the position of optical breakdown for the succeeding laser pulses and consequently leads to the step-like structures. Additionally, the experimental findings were supplemented with numerical simulations of the influence of reduced damage threshold onto the position of optical breakdown. In summary, chemical material change was defined as cause of the step-like structures. Furthermore, the parameters to avoid these structures were identified.


This thesis addresses heat conduction in granular systems both under static and slow flow conditions with and without the presence of astagnant interstitial fluid. A novel discrete simulation technique for granular heat transfer, the Thermal Particle Dynamics (TPD) method hasbeen developed. By modeling particle-particle interactions, bed heterogeneities -- e.g., mechanical and thermal -- are directly accountedfor and transient temperature distribution are obtained at the particle level. This technique, based on the Discrete Element Method, not onlysheds light on fundamental issues in heat conduction in particulate systems, but also provides a valuable test-bench for existingcontinuous theories. Computational results, as well as supporting experiments coupled with existing theoretical models are used to probethe validity of the proposed simulation technique. Studies on heat conduction through static beds of particles indicate that stress and contact heterogeneities -- due primarily to theexistence of localized ``chains' of particles which support the majority of an imposed load (stress chains) -- may cause dramaticchanges in the way that heat is transported by conduction. It is found that by matching the microstructure of an experimental system onlyqualitatively, quantitatively accurate estimates of effective properties are possible, without requiring adjustable parameters. Onekey result in this study reveals that an important consideration has been missing from previous granular conduction studies -- the stressdistribution in the particle bed. Extensions of TPD to incorporate the ability to model heat transfer in particulate systems in the presenceof an interstitial fluid indicate that a good qualitative and quantitative agreement between measured and calculated values of theeffective thermal conductivity for a wide variety of materials in the presence of both liquid and/or gas are possible. Simulation results for slow granular flows -- e.g., simple shear cell and a rotating drum -- indicate that in both cases there is anenhancement of the effective thermal conductivity with increase in the shear rate due to enhanced mixing of the particles. These results arein agreement with previous theoretical and experimental investigations. In contrast to the behavior found at high shear rates, where the thermal conductivity is proportional to the shear rate, a complex non-linear relation is found for the effective conductivity in granular flows at low shear rates. This observation has not beenpreviously reported. It is argued that a balance between heat conduction and convection is necessary to explain these observations.


In this paper we describe a developed switched reluctance linear launcher system with diagrams and photographs, which consists of a three-phase 6/4 structure simple side-switched reluctance linear motor, a three-phase asymmetric bridge power converter, and a TMS320F28335 DSP digital controller. The acceleration closed-loop control of the mover is proposed and verified for the first time. The acceleration closed-loop control of the mover is implemented by a fuzzy control algorithm. The turn-on angle and the turn-off angle of the main switches in the power converter are fixed, and the triggering signals of the main switches are modulated by the pulse width modulation (PWM) signal. The deviation of the acceleration between the given acceleration and the feedback practical acceleration, and the variation from the deviation of the acceleration are the two input control parameters. The increment of the duty ratio of the PWM signal is the output control parameter. The duty ratio of the PWM signal is regulated based on the fuzzy control algorithm. Flow diagrams of the software, such as the main program, the encoder unit time interrupt subroutine, analog-to-digital converter interrupt subroutine, and the fuzzy control algorithm subroutine are given. The developed prototype is tested experimentally. It is shown that the velocity response of the mover is satisfactory.


This paper addresses the 'massification' of strategy. The primary sense of massification reflects the recovery of Latour's 'missing masses' in strategy research, in other words the growing recognition of material artefacts. But there are two contingent senses of massification as well. First, many of these material artefacts are mass-produced (e.g. laptops) and therefore commonly used across many sites of strategy work. Second, some of these material artefacts (e.g. social media) are increasingly tools for mass participation, facilitating the involvement of many employees in strategy work. This paper considers the implications of both mass production and mass participation for strategy-as-practice research, particularly with regard to comparative method and critical scrutiny.


Governments may decide to control the export of unprocessed raw materials hoping that this will promote local downstream industries. There is scant empirical examination of the actual outcomes of such policies put in place. This paper describes use of export control measures by four minerals-rich African countries and looks for effects on activities downstream from the extractive sector that may be attributed to these measures. The measures studied are export taxes, non-automatic export licensing requirements and outright export bans. The industries are manganese in Gabon, lead in South Africa, copper in Zambia and chromite in Zimbabwe. For the empirical analysis the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index is calculated tracking over 20 years the relative global performance of the local mining and processing industries, for the specific minerals studied. The effect of the restrictive measures is investigated by way of identifying structural breaks in the level of the RCA index, for both the raw mineral and related processed products. The results suggest that use of export restrictions as a tool for stimulating local mineral processing does not pay off. There was no improvement in the revealed comparative advantage of processed products presumed to benefit from export controls on the raw material. Moreover, the measures may have undermined the overall performance of the industries in some of the cases studied because the relative export performance of the mined minerals deteriorated.