A. C. Allen writes: Chaplow comments in his summary and introduction on previous conventional site investigations. The Report of the Geotechnical Survey commissioned by the Scottish Development Department from Allen, Gordon & Co., Consulting Civil Engineers, in December 1972 was issued in September 1973. It dealt with all geotechnical aspects of the full length of the road improvement in the Pass and in relation to the site investigation it covered all stages from deciding upon what should be undertaken, issuing tender documents, recommending the contractor, supervising the investigation and interpreting the report received. From considering four choices of route through the Pass, the Report recommended the adoption of a dual carriageway in cut and on embankment, which was detailed on an alignment close to one of the four choices. Possibilities of tunnel and elevated roadway solutions had been considered and rejected on account of excessive cost. The landslide with a recognised poorly-developed surface drainage system, to which Chaplow refers, affects a length of about 60 m in the two-kilometre-long Pass and it was identified as part of a 600 m long transverse feature between the top of the east side of the Pass and the railway at the bottom, which comprised original undisturbed glacial deposits and slipped reconstituted deposits lying in less consolidated form over, and often between, the ridges of the original glacial deposits. With provision of reasonable drainage, it was considered that the feature would not present any great difficulty during construction or significant risk thereafter, which corresponds.


The control error in a generic two-degree of freedom (TDOF) control system has three major parts: design-, realizability- and modeling-loss. This new decomposition opens useful ways for practical optimization of TDOF systems and helps the construction of new algorithms for robust identification and control. The paper investigates the optimality of the third term.


This paper addresses the two opposing extremes of standardisation in franchising and the dynamics of sales in search of a juncture point in order to reduce franchisees' uncertainties in sales and improve sales performance. A conceptual framework is developed based on both theory and practice in order to investigate the sales process of a specific franchise network. The research is conducted over a period of six weeks in form of a customised sales report considering the sales funnel concept and performance indicators along the sales process. The received quantitative data is analysed through descriptive statistics and logistic regressions in respect to what variations in the sales process can be discovered and what practices yield higher performance. The results indicate an advantage of a prioritisation guideline regarding the activities and choices to make as a salesperson over strict standardisation. Defining the sales funnel plus engaging in the process of monitoring sales in itself has proven to be a way of reducing uncertainty as the franchisor and franchisees alike inherently gain a greater understanding of the process. The extended knowledge gained from this research allowed for both practical as well as theoretical implications and expands the knowledge on standardisation of sales and the appropriateness of the sales funnel and its management for dealing with the dilemma between standardisation and flexibility of sales in franchising contexts.


Indirect calorimetry (IC) is considered the gold standard for assessing resting metabolic rate (RMR). However, many people do not have access to IC devices and use prediction equations for RMR estimation. Equations using fat free mass (FFM) as a predictor have been developed to estimate RMR, as a strong relationship exists between FFM and RMR. One such equation is the Nelson equation which is used by the BodPod (BP). Yet, there is limited evidence whether the Nelson equation is superior to other common equations to predict RMR. To examine the agreement between predicted RMR from common RMR equations and the BP, and RMR measured via IC. Data from 48 healthy volunteers who completed both the BP and IC were collected. Agreement between RMR measured by BP, common regression equations, and indirect caloriometry was evaluated using repeated measures ANOVA, Bland-Altman analysis and root mean square error (RMSE). Predicted RMR values from common equations and BP were significantly different from IC with the exception of the World Health Organization (WHO) equation. Large limits of agreement and RMSE values demonstrate a large amount of error at the individual level. Despite the use of FFM, the Nelson equation does not appear to be superior to other common RMR equations. Although the WHO equation presented the best option within our sample, all equations performed poorly at the individual level. Clinicians should be aware that prediction equations may significantly under- or overestimate RMR compared to IC and when an accurate value of RMR is required, IC is recommended.


Space weather driven atmospheric density variations affect low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites during all phases of their operational lifetime. Rocket launches, re-entry events and space debris are also similarly affected. A better understanding of space weather processes and their impact on atmospheric density is thus critical for satellite operations as well as for safety issues. The Horizon 2020 project Space Weather Atmosphere Model and Indices (SWAMI) project, which started in January 2018, aims to enhance this understanding by:Developing improved neutral atmosphere and thermosphere models, and combining these models to produce a new whole atmosphere model.Developing new geomagnetic activity indices with higher time cadence to enable better representation of thermospheric variability in the models, and improving the forecast of these indices.The project stands out by providing an integrated approach to the satellite neutral environment, in which the main space weather drivers are addressed together with model improvement. The outcomes of SWAMI will provide a pathway to improved space weather services as the project will not only address the science issues, but also the transition of models into operational services.The project aims to develop a unique new whole atmosphere model, by extending and blending the Unified Model (UM), which is the Met Office weather and climate model, and the Drag Temperature Model (DTM), which is a semi-empirical model which covers the 120–1500 km altitude range. A user-focused operational tool for satellite applications shall be developed based on this. In addition, improved geomagnetic indices shall be developed and shall be used in the UM and DTM for enhanced nowcast and forecast capability.In this paper, we report on progress with SWAMI to date. The UM has been extended from its original upper boundary of 85 km to run stably and accurately with a 135 km lid. Developments to the UM radiation scheme to enable accurate performance in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere are described. These include addition of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium effects and extension to include the far ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet. DTM has been re-developed using a more accurate neutral density observation database than has been used in the past. In addition, we describe an algorithm to develop a new version of DTM driven by geomagnetic indices with a 60 minute cadence (denoted Hp60) rather than 3-hourlyKpindices (and corresponding ap indices). The development of the Hp60 index, and the Hp30 and Hp90 indices, which are similar to Hp60 but with 30 minute and 90 minute cadences, respectively, is described, as is the development and testing of neural network and other machine learning methods applied to the forecast of geomagnetic indices.


This paper considers the dialogue that Anna Banti establishes with two female artists, two of her elders and models: the writer Virginia Woolf, and the Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi. But first, let me set the scene – two scenes in fact, striking in their contrast, haunting in their combination. The first is the beginning of Banti's Artemisia (1947): it is 1944 and the narrator – a projection of Banti herself – is sitting in her nightgown on the ground in the Giardino de' Boboli, in Florence, where she has taken refuge having escaped the destruction of her home; she hears a voice: 'non piangere,' 'don't cry.' The Allied troops were entering Florence, the German army were leaving, blowing up bridges before abandoning the town, and the narrator's home, her possessions, her nearly completed manuscript of Artemisia Gentileschi were lost under the rubble. The voice that chides and comforts her is Artemisia's, a painter from three centuries earlier who was raped as a young woman, denounced her rapist in a trial, had to undergo torture to prove that she was telling the truth, was subjected to the humiliation of a gynaecological examination in the court to prove that she had lost her virginity to the rapist, and who went on to become a famous painter, controversial and defiant in her life, sought after by patrons and pupils.


This paper presents the concept of an electromagnetic surface called the Circular Polarization Selective Surface (CPSS). Few papers have dealt with the CPSS and it has even been argued that the ideal CPSS belongs to the category of impossible polarizers. We present herein a theoretical proof for the existence of the ideal CPSS, review the prior art in this area, identify some geometrical constraints inherent to such a device and present the results of numerical computations.


Glacial geomorphology relating to the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) in Britain is used to construct five glacial landsystem models. These landsystems lie on a continuum of increasing ice thickness and decreasing topographic control and typify the principal styles of glaciation during the stadial. The landsystems comprise: the cirque/niche glacier landsystem, the alpine icefield landsystem, the lowland piedmont lobe landsystem, the plateau icefield landsystem and the icecap landsystem. Geomorphological features representing the icecap landsystem are present only at the centre of the West Highland Glacier Complex, which was flanked primarily by satellite alpine and plateau icefields. The cirque/niche glacier landsystem was present predominantly in areas that experienced conditions only marginally favourable for glacier development at peripheral sites. Three styles of glacier retreat are recorded by the geomorphology: active, two‐phase and uninterrupted retreat. Of these, active retreat appears to be most widespread within the Loch Lomond Stadial limits. These retreat styles reflect a combination of climatic and topographic conditions, coupled with local factors influencing the preservation of landforms from which retreat dynamics can be inferred. Likewise, the distribution of landsystems was influenced by an interplay between topography and climate, with glacier formation being facilitated in locations where topographical conditions aided in the accumulation of snow. The pattern also supports the existence of previously recognized northward and eastward precipitation gradients across Britain during the stadial.


Recent research has demonstrated the importance of social belonging in relation to college success in all students, but primarily for African-American students and first-generation college students. The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between belonging and student success at a small liberal arts college in Central Kansas. Participants in this study were 123 first-year freshmen (64 males and 59 females) who took the Psychological Sense of School Membership survey (PSSM; Goodenow, 1993) before reading either a social-belonging narrative or an academic success narrative from a current senior at the college. Students randomly were assigned to narrative groups within blocks defined by Freshman Seminar instructor, race and whether they were a first-generation college student or not. After students read the narrative, they were asked to write a short paragraph about how the narrative could relate to themselves and their success at the college.
At the end of the semester, all participants took the PSSM survey again, along with answering various questions relating to student success; the researchers also collected semester grade-point averages. Results indicated an increase in belonging scores of the social-belonging narrative intervention group and a statistically significant relationship between social belonging and academic performance. However, there were no significant differences in belonging or academic performance between the two narrative groups, irrespective of racial or first-generation block. The small college environment and the high proportion of students involved in varsity athletics (nearly three-fourths) may have altered the effect of the narrative intervention. Thus, the findings of the present study employing a randomized experimental design, while supporting the role of social belonging in student success, do not indicate an intervention modeled after those used in large university settings is effective in this small-college environment.


I consider the Turkish banking industry, which is dominated by a few large banks, and taking up a conjectural variation approach, I estimate a structural model to examine the market conduct of the largest banks for the period 1988-2009. The estimation results suggest that Turkish banks colluded in the loan market during the sample period. This evidence demonstrates that there is a conflict between market concentration and competition in the Turkish banking industry. Thus, in order to protect competition, regulatory agencies should be cautious of efforts that may increase concentration in the banking industry.


Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Therapies targeting molecular pathways altered in BC had significantly enhanced treatment options for BC over the last decades, which ultimately improved the lives of millions of women worldwide. Among various molecular pathways accruing substantial interest for the development of targeted therapies are cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs)—in particular, the two closely related members CDK4 and CDK6. CDK4/6 inhibitors indirectly trigger the dephosphorylation of retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein by blocking CDK4/6, thereby blocking the cell cycle transition from the G1 to S phase. Although the CDK4/6 inhibitors abemaciclib, palbociclib, and ribociclib gained FDA approval for the treatment of hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative BC as they significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in randomized clinical trials, regrettably, some patients showed resistance to these therapies. Though multiple molecular pathways could be mechanistically responsible for CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy resistance, one of the most predominant ones seems to be the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) pathway. FGFRs are involved in many aspects of cancer formation, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and growth. Importantly, FGFRs are frequently mutated in BC, and their overexpression and/or hyperactivation correlates with CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance and shortened PFS in BC. Intriguingly, the inhibition of aberrant FGFR activity is capable of reversing the resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. This review summarizes the molecular background of FGFR signaling and discusses the role of aberrant FGFR signaling during cancer development in general and during the development of CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance in BC in particular, together with other possible mechanisms for resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Subsequently, future directions on novel therapeutic strategies targeting FGFR signaling to overcome such resistance during BC treatment will be further debated.


In two cases of basal cell carcinoma with prominent granular cell features, light microscopic examination showed a tumor with the general configuration of a nodular basal cell carcinoma. Focally, there were masses of cells with eosinophilic, granular cytoplasm and large cytoplasmic inclusions, strongly suggestive of granular cell myoblastoma. Ultrastructural observations in one case showed numerous lysosome-like organelles that were similar to those described for granular cell myoblastoma, but were identical to those described for the granular cell variant of ameloblastoma, a tumor that frequently resembles basal cell carcinoma. Additional features included tonofilaments and desmosomes, both of which support an epithelial origin for the granular cells in this rare variant of basal cell carcinoma. ( Arch Dermatol 115:1064-1067, 1979)


Over the past decade, many global supply chains have experienced a shift in which large and emerging economies are playing prominent roles as exporters, with Asia represented as among the higher exporters of intermediate goods to European Union and North America. Within the context of Malaysia, the development and growth of the local manufacturing sector was so rapid since the late 1990s; with the industry account for a significant proportion of Malaysia's total exports. With increased uncertainty of global supply chains, export demand from the advanced economies is expected to be less buoyant. The integration of Malaysian into international markets entails the local firms to comply with stricter quality regulations and produce technology-intensive goods, which may impede their participation. The emerging trend of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) further is expected to create more competition and challenges for the Malaysian local companies, as a result of the removal of impediments to trade, which would encourage greater imports. Both critics and supporters of the TPPA contest the Malaysia's readiness to take advantage of its export, as many of the key-sectors are low on value addition. Due to this reason, the local manufacturing firms need to be able to develop effective management practices to help them in competing globally and to be more secure in times of economic crisis. Despite the growing importance of developing countries' participation including Malaysia in global supply chains, majority of studies that explore how global supply chain competitiveness could be achieved are drawn from developed countries' perspectives. While there is a growing argument that development of information technology has expedited effective supply chain management, empirical evidence still remains inconclusive with numerous inconsistencies and contradictory findings on the potential benefits, indicating a possibility of mediator.
Drawing upon the resource-based view (RBV), dynamic capability theory (DCT), and social exchange theory (SCT), this study develops an integrative framework determining the impact of supply chain capabilities on global supply chain competitiveness. This research also investigates the mediating role of information sharing in the relationship between the different global supply chain capability factors and global supply chain competitiveness. In order to validate the theories, cross-sectional data were collected from Malaysian firms involved in the manufacturing industry; and analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM) to determine the relationships established.
The study demonstrates that local manufacturers perceive organisational-culture fit and logistics integration commitmentas a significant component that affect their global supply chain competitiveness. The role of information sharing as a mediator in this research also facilitate in explaining why many local firms engage in international businesses fail to gain global supply chain competitiveness despite of investing huge amount of resources in building information technology infrastructure, trusts and strategic relationships. As Malaysia is moving towards a knowledge-based economy, more advanced and innovative technology should be adopted to improve competitiveness. The quality of information exchanged could further be improved if they are also willing to share not only operational information, but also strategic information. This study offers theoretical contributions by demonstrating knowledge on the issues relating to global supply chain competitiveness from the perspectives of Malaysian home-grown companies and supports the proposal that information sharing plays a mediating role between the different dimensions of theories proposed towards global supply chain competitiveness in the manufacturing industry.


In this work, 9 species of pelagic gastropods were studied during bottom trawling and net sampling for zooplankton of Akkuyu in Erdemli and in ‹skenderun Bay (the northeastern Mediterranean). Among those, Pterotrachea hippocampus Phlippi, 1836, Cavolinia tridentate (Forsskal, 1775), Limacina (Munthea) trochiformis (D'Orbigny, 1836), and Corolla spectabilis (Dall, 1871) were first records for Turkish mollusk fauna, and the remaining, Atlanta peronii Lesuer, 1817, Firoloida desmarestia Lesuer, 1817, Clio pyramidata Linne, 1767, Creseis acicula Rang, 1828, and Creseis virgula Rang, 1828 were first records for the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.


The definition of the mission and the role of a library plays an important role in the administration of libraries. It's important for the users of libraries to know their role so that they can form more realistic and fairer expectations. However if there is no connection between the definition of the mission of library and its direction, there is no point in trying to determine it's mission. The rapid development of the technology of computing as well as the methods of keeping and transmitting information have affected the traditional model of library administration. The model of administration of quality offers a frame within which the management of libraries lies from the sheer realisation of its mission to the action and fulfilment of their goals. The administration of quality is a field that is worth drawing attention to. The philosophy and the methods of administration of quality started being implemented ever since the usefulness of libraries itself needed to be justified, as well as since private documentation centres and service centres appeared. The sure thing is that there is an activity in the field of libraries about matters_ that concern the administration of quality. Shifting from the theory to more systematic methods of administration of quality is important, there is also a growing concern for research in this field, so that methods and philosophies of administration of quality, that can be implemented for libraries, can be found.


This article examines recent trends in global and local foreign exchange (FX) markets, using the 2013 Bank for International Settlements Triennial Survey and the Reserve Bank's foreign exchange turnover data. Global FX turnover continued to increase in 2013, with the US dollar remaining the most-traded currency and the United Kingdom the favoured trading hub. The New Zealand dollar was the tenth most traded currency, with the large majority of these transactions occurring outside New Zealand. FX and cross-currency swaps together accounted for more than half of FX turnover in the New Zealand domestic market, reflecting their use by New Zealand's major financial institutions for hedging and liquidity management purposes.


In this paper, we propose a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) to solve the problem of optimal unification of low-supply-voltage assignment and retiming to reduce dynamic power dissipation under timing constrains for the case of clocked sequential digital designs. We address this problem at the system level where computational elements are multipliers and adders for instance. Assuming flip-flops are able to provide level-conversion from low to high supply voltage when this is needed, the proposed MILP optimally solves this problem without inserting level converters on wires that do not have registers on them. Experimental results have shown that this MILP can produce designs with reduced dynamic power dissipation.


Chalcogenide-based phase change memory (PCM) is a type of non-volatile memory that will most likely replace the currently widespread flash memory. Current research on PCM targets the integration feasibility, as well as the reliability of such memory technology into the currently used complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. Such studies identified special failure modes, known as disturbs, as well as other PCM specific faults. In this study, the authors identify these failures, analyse their behaviours and develop fault primitives/models that describe these faults accurately and effectively. In addition, the authors propose an efficient test algorithm, called March-PCM, to test for these faults and compare its performance to some previously developed test algorithms.


Abstract. Accurate Digital Terrain Models (DTM) are inevitable inputs for mapping areas subject to natural hazards. Topographic airborne laser scanning has become an established technique to characterize the Earth surface: lidar provides 3D point clouds allowing a fine reconstruction of the topography. For flood hazard modeling, the key step before terrain modeling is the discrimination of land and water surfaces within the delivered point clouds. Therefore, instantaneous shoreline, river borders, inland waters can be extracted as a basis for more reliable DTM generation. This paper presents an automatic, efficient, and versatile workflow for land/water classification of airborne topographic lidar data. For that purpose, a classification framework based on Support Vector Machines (SVM) is designed. First, a restricted set of features, based only 3D lidar point coordinates and flightline information, is defined. Then, the SVM learning step is performed on small but well-targeted areas thanks to an automatic region growing strategy. Finally, label probabilities given by the SVM are merged during a probabilistic relaxation step in order to remove pixel-wise misclassification. Results show that survey of millions of points are labelled with high accuracy (>95% in most cases for coastal areas, and >89% for rivers) and that small natural and anthropic features of interest are still well classified though we work at low point densities (0.5–4 pts/m2). Our approach is valid for coasts and rivers, and provides a strong basis for further discrimination of land-cover classes and coastal habitats.


ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replicates its genome as a licensed plasmid in latently infected cells. Although replication of this plasmid is essential for EBV latent infection, its synthesis still fails for 16% of the templates in S phase. In order to understand these failures, we sought to determine whether the affinity of the initiator protein (EBNA1) for its binding sites in the origin affects the efficiency of plasmid replication. We have answered this question by using several engineered origins modeled upon the arrangement of EBNA1-binding sites found in DS, the major plasmid origin of EBV. The human TRF2 protein also binds to half-sites in DS and increases EBNA1's affinity for its own sites; we therefore also tested origin efficiency in the presence or absence of these sites. We have found that if TRF2-half-binding sites are present, the efficiency of supporting the initiation of DNA synthesis and of establishing a plasmid bearing that origin directly correlates with the affinity of EBNA1 for that origin. Moreover, the presence of TRF2-half-binding sites also increases the average level of EBNA1 and ORC2 bound to those origins in vivo, as measured by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Lastly, we have created an origin of DNA synthesis from high-affinity EBNA1-binding sites and TRF2-half-binding sites that functions severalfold more efficiently than does DS. This finding indicates that EBV has selected a submaximally efficient origin of DNA synthesis for the latent phase of its life cycle. This enhanced origin could be used practically in human gene vectors to improve their efficiency in therapy and basic research.


This dissertation will examine the development of Czech piano music through the key figures of Smetana, Dvorak, Foerster, Fibich, Novak, Suk, and Janacek between 1840 and 1912. This period begins with the early piano polkas of Smetana and ends with the last major solo piano work of Janacek in 1912. The chronological framework of the dissertation is important in defining its purpose: the early nineteenth century was a key period in Czech society, and one characterised by aesthetic debates Central to this was the Narodni Obrozeni (National Revival), and the social and cultural framework is essential for a full understanding of the output of the composers in question. At the start of the National Revival, music became invested with an ideological burden which meant that composers were responsible for creating a specifically Czech form of expression. One of the key dualities explored within this dissertation is that of European influence vs the absorption of Czech and Slavonic folk music in the musical languages of the individual composers, so the issue of national vs international is of primary importance here. The ideological backgound of the National Revival meant that opera was afforded more attention, and other genres were marginalised as a result of this focus. This introduces a second duality, namely that of piano music vs opera Previous literature examining, this period of Czech music has focused upon opera and neglected piano music. That which does exist is in Czech, and these writers have concentrated upon detailed analyses of individual works, meaning that a more macroscopic approach linking and connecting the key Czech composers of the period has not existed. This dissertation aims to combine this Czech literature with modern scholarship on surrounding, figures and musical movements in order to give a fuller and more multifaceted account of the period in question, and the role of the piano within it.


test against the Minnesota DC powerline project. The evolution of the project and the resulting grassroots protest provide a fascinating and compelling case history for the study of public participation in energy and technology policy decisions. Casper, a physicist who was involved first as advisor and then as participant, and Wellstone, a political scientist, combine technical description and political analysis with sensitive portrayals of the individuals caught up in the protest. They state, quite forcefully, that in the case of this and many other energy issues the strength of rural opposition &dquo;is far greater than policy-makers in Washington now imagine.&dquo; This resistance, the authors believe, &dquo;is not something that better public relations or technical fixes will be able to handle.&dquo; The farmers see the power companies and government officials as attempting exploitation of a group perceived as politically controllable, possibly even naive; the farmers believe the central issue is territory : &dquo;We are the descendants spiritually, if


Since fibrous cellulose and other polymeric materials are widely used as dressings, it was of interest to study the mechanism of the antimicrobial action of the products from such materials physically and chemically modified by chlorhexidine, a broad spectrum antiseptic. As vehicles and prolongation agents the following products were used: dressing gauze and cation exchange derivatives of cellulose and starch i.e. monocarboxycellulose (MCC), phosphate cellulose (PC), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), monocarboxyl starch (MCS) and alginic acid (AA), a natural compound. It was shown that chemical attachment of chlorhexidine provided a 2-4-fold increase in the antimicrobial effect of the preparations as compared to the use of physical sorption. The antimicrobial effect of the polymeric form of chlorhexidine based on MCC and PC was much higher than that based on MCC, MCS and AA.


[Publisher's Description:] Are you a final year social science student who has to do a dissertation or final year project? Do you have no idea where to start?

If so, Doing Your Undergraduate Social Science Dissertation is the book for you, covering the whole dissertation journey from project planning to submission. Using a mixture of useful information, exercises, practical strategies, case study material and further reading, it helps you through the process, giving hints and tips on beginning and managing your research project and working with your supervisors. Packed with proven practical advice, it also identifies many other sources of information and resources, making it your most dependable starting point and guide on your dissertation journey. Also included are links to accompanying materials on the Routledge website.

The authors have extensive experience in teaching at all levels in the social sciences, supervising social science undergraduates and dissertations.


A range of future climate scenarios are projected for high atmospheric CO2 concentrations, given uncertainties over future human actions as well as potential environmental and climatic feedbacks. The geological record offers an opportunity to understand climate system response to a range of forcings and feedbacks which operate over multiple temporal and spatial scales. Here, we examine a single interglacial during the late Pliocene (KM5c, ca. 3.205±0.01 Ma) when atmospheric CO2 exceeded pre-industrial concentrations, but were similar to today and to the lowest emission scenarios for this century. As orbital forcing and continental configurations were almost identical to today, we are able to focus on equilibrium climate system response to modern and near-future CO2. Using proxy data from 32 sites, we demonstrate that global mean sea-surface temperatures were warmer than pre-industrial values, by ∼2.3 ∘C for the combined proxy data (foraminifera Mg∕Ca and alkenones), or by ∼3.2–3.4 ∘C (alkenones only). Compared to the pre-industrial period, reduced meridional gradients and enhanced warming in the North Atlantic are consistently reconstructed. There is broad agreement between data and models at the global scale, with regional differences reflecting ocean circulation and/or proxy signals. An uneven distribution of proxy data in time and space does, however, add uncertainty to our anomaly calculations. The reconstructed global mean sea-surface temperature anomaly for KM5c is warmer than all but three of the PlioMIP2 model outputs, and the reconstructed North Atlantic data tend to align with the warmest KM5c model values. Our results demonstrate that even under low-CO2 emission scenarios, surface ocean warming may be expected to exceed model projections and will be accentuated in the higher latitudes.


Objective: To correlate the Magnetic Resonance Imaging findings and clinical presentation in patients of eclampsia. Materials and methods: This one year prospective study was conducted in the HDU of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, PT.B.D.Sharma, PGIMS, Rohtak .A total of 50 women with eclampsia (both antepartum and postpartum) were divided into two groups: a) study group patients with abnormal MRI b) control group: b) control group: patients with normal MRI.Comparison was done using chi-square test and unpaired student 't' test. Results: MRI revealed abnormal findings in 24% of women, commonest diagnosis being CVT without infarct (10%) followed by infarct (8%), PRES (4%) and HLE (2%).Totally 66% (n = 33) of the women presented with postpartum eclampsia while 34% (n = 17) had antepartum eclampsia.96%(n = 48) were unbooked cases. Unconsciousness, altered sensorium, headache, blurring of vision, seizures, GCS < 3 correlated well with MRI findings (p = 0.000, p = 0.027, p = 0.001, p = 0.007, p = 0.005, p = 0.000 respectively) whereas fundoscopic changes did not (p = 0.520). The mean uric acid and serum creatinine levels was higher (0.41 ± 0.11 mmol/ L vs 0.26 ± 0.10 mmol/ L and 80 ± 18 µmol/ L vs 71 ± 9 µmol/ L) in the study group and this was statistically significant (p = 0.003, p = 0.04 respectively).There was no statistically significant difference between blood pressure values of cases with or without MR imaging evidence of brain lesions. There was no maternal mortality among 50 cases. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of neurological findings for abnormal MRI in patients with eclampsia was found to be 91.7%, 73.7%, 52.4%, 96.6% respectively. Conclusion: Unconsciousness, altered sensorium, headache, blurring of vision,seizures, GCS < 3, elevated uric acid and serum creatinine levels in the follow-up of pregnant patients with preeclampsia/eclampsia should be a warning for possible brain lesions whereas booking status, mean BP, fundoscopy, platelet, hemoglobin, liver enzymes were not significantly associated with positive MRI findings in patients of eclampsia.


The effects of yohimbine and idazoxane (0.5 and 5 mg/kg, intravenously) on the systemic and regional hemodynamics were studied in conscious Wistar rats by the microsphere technique. The both drugs induced an elevation of the arterial blood pressure and the heart rate. The administration of yohimbine and idazoxane in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg produced a more pronounced increase in the cerebral and coronary blood flow that a higher dose (5.0 mg/kg). The blood flow in the small intestine, kidneys and testis was decreased by a high dose of the studied alpha-blockers. It was suggested that the direct action of alpha 2-blockers on the vessel smooth muscle cells in responsible for the increase in the blood flow whereas blockade of alpha 2-receptors on the sympathetic terminals produces the decrease in the blood flow.


ABSTRACT Background: Many drugs active in mCRC target specific molecular aberrations or cell-signalling pathways and may only be effective in subsets of pts due to molecular differences between tumours. Molecular screening approaches and new biomarkers are required to fully characterize tumours, identify pts most likely to benefit, and predict treatment response. MODUL is a randomised, multicentre, active-controlled, open-label, parallel-group trial of biomarker-driven maintenance therapy for the 1st-line treatment of mCRC. The design permits future adaptation of current cohorts and inclusion of additional treatment cohorts based on novel evidence and corresponding compounds/combinations. Trial design: Eligible pts have measureable, unresectable disease with no prior chemotherapy for mCRC. The study has 3 phases: 1) Induction Treatment (approx. 4 months' of FOLFOX + bevacizumab [bev]); 2) Maintenance Treatment; 3) Post-Treatment Follow-up. Eligible pts without progressive disease are assigned to a Maintenance Treatment cohort based on results of biomarker assessments obtained from tumour tissue. Current cohorts: Cohort 1–BRAF V600E mutated (BRAFmut); Cohort 2–'No Biomarker' cohort. Within each cohort, pts are randomized to either experimental treatment or control (2:1 basis): Cohort 1–experimental (fluoropyrimidine [FP], cetuximab, vemurafenib); Cohort 2–experimental (FP, bev, anti-PD-L1 antibody [MPDL3280A]). The control arm for all cohorts is FP + bev. Co-primary efficacy endpoints: early efficacy (≥20% reduction in tumour size after 2 months of Maintenance Treatment in first 27 pts of experimental arm); PFS (median and 4-month PFS rate from randomisation). Secondary efficacy objectives: overall survival; overall response rate; disease control rate; time to treatment response; duration of response. Safety assessment is based on adverse events, treatment modifications, and clinically significant laboratory values. Recruitment of 1680 pts is expected over approx. 3 years (total 6 years' duration of trial) from sites in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. Disclosure: H. Schmoll: Consultant or Advisory Role (Roche) Research Funding (Roche); D. Arnold: Research funding (Roche) Scientific advisory board (Roche); A. De Gramont, M. Ducreux, A. Grothey, P.J. O'Dwyer and J. Tabernero: Scientific advisory board (Roche); B. Bendahmane, F. Hermann, C. Ingold, C. Mancao, S. Osborne and I. Statovci: Employment (Roche); E. Van Cutsem: Scientific advisory board (Roche).


It has been apparent for some time that desirable plasmonic properties can be produced by combining certain component materials into a variety of nanometer-scale structures. A logical next step would be to develop the ability to actively tune the plasmonic properties of a particular nanostructured material. Exploration of such active tuning methods is at the forefront of plasmonics research. One such technique may be to make use of the magnetization within the material, controlled via external field, in order to alter the conditions necessary for plasmon excitation. Presented here are preliminary measurements of reflectivity for one such nanostructured material-a Co film patterned with a hexagonal lattice of holes. Such reflectivity measurements are useful in determining the optimal conditions for plasmon excitation in a sample, but are often limited to only a few wavelengths of incident light. Use of a white light source and spectrometer allows for resolution in both incidence angle and incident energy. Different polarizations of light as well as different incidence directions relative to the hole lattice are considered.


The positive impact of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs on student achievement, attitude, interest, communication skills and problem-solving has alerted the education community to reform instructional approaches in STEM subjects. This meta-analysis study aims to analyze previous studies' results of STEM program impacting students' mathematics achievement. The criteria for inclusion of literature in the meta-analysis were: published between 1998 and 2017, employed experimental research design, and reported data necessary for computing effect sizes. Based on the Hedges-g effect size values, three of the studies were categorized into the large effect category (n=3), two studies were classified under the medium effect group (n=2), and twelve studies were considered to be small effect sizes (n=12). The overall weighted average effect size was 0.242 with a corresponding p-value of 0.023 demonstrating that STEM had an impact on student mathematics achievement. However, no evidence was found concerning the impact of STEM program on students' mathematics achievement based on the three moderator variables: education level, publication source, and length of intervention. Limitations and implications of the study were discussed.


Six commonly used composite resin materials and recommended bonding systems were tested to assess shear bond strength at the interface between aged and new composites with and without bonding. Test specimens were aged in water for 60 d before new composite was placed. Shear bond strength was assessed after 22 ± 2 h (Test 1) and after additional ageing by thermocycling (5-55°C/5,000 cycles) (Test 2). After an additional 180 d in water, the aged specimens were randomly divided into three groups to blind the test with respect to the aged composite. New composites were placed on aged specimens (two groups with and one without bonding agent) and thermocycled (Test 3). After 24 h (Test 1), the mean shear bond strength of the test specimens was 21-26 MPa when bonding agents were used, as opposed to 10-15 MPa without bonding agents. After thermocycling (Test 2), the mean shear bond strength was 16-23 MPa with a bonding agent and 17 MPa without a bonding agent. After 180 d in water and subsequent thermocycling (Test 3), the mean shear bond strength was 9-13 MPa with bonding agent and 2-3 MPa when no bonding agent was used. The results of this study therefore indicate that the use of bonding agents significantly improves the quality of composite repair.


We study how emotions influence norm outcomes in decision-making contexts. Following the literature, we provide baseline Dynamic Bayesian models to capture an agent's two perspectives on a directed norm. Unlike the literature, these models are holistic in that they incorporate not only norm outcomes and emotions but also trust and goals.
We obtain data from an empirical study involving game play with respect to the above variables. We provide a step-wise process to discover two new Dynamic Bayesian models based on maximizing log-likelihood scores with respect to the data. We compare the new models with the baseline models to discover new insights into the relevant relationships.
Our empirically supported models are thus holistic and characterize how emotions influence norm outcomes better than previous approaches.


We continue the study the ultraviolet problem for QED in d=3 using Balaban's formulation of the renormalization group. The model is defined on a fine toroidal lattice and we seek control as the lattice spacing goes to zero. In an earlier paper the renormalization group flow was controlled with a bounded field approximation. In this paper we lay the groundwork for controlling the large field corrections. The main result in part II is an ultraviolet stability bound in a fixed finite volume.


Assembling expressed sequence tags (ESTs) is essential for removing redundancy and generating long virtual transcripts for EST annotation and gene finding. A number of assemblers are available, but there is a lack of detailed comparative assessment of the strength and weakness of these assemblers. We compared three assemblers including Phrap, CAP3 and TIGR Assembler (TA) using Aspergillus niger and Phanerochaete chrysosporium EST data. Phrap assembled more ESTs into contigs than TA and CAP3. Among the contigs and singletons generated by the three assemblers, 67 – 90% of them were identical. The number of contigs and singletons assembled by Phrap provides an estimate of the maximum number of unique genes represented in the dataset, while the numbers generated by TA and CAP3 provide an approximate estimate of unique transcripts since both TA and CAP are more discriminating to alternatively spliced transcripts. The error rate in contigs generated by Phrap was slightly higher than contigs generated by TA or CAP3. Phrap is thus recommended for EST assembling aiming at generating a set of unisequences with minimum redundancy for estimating the unigene number, and TA or CAP3 are used for assembling ESTs aiming at finding unique transcripts, i. e., for identification of alternative splicing.


Writing is a very important skill in life, are not only important in education, but also very important in people's lives. As soon as  re-write the contents of the short story, students should be able to understand the way of story is written by the author, from the beginning to understand the intrinsic elements and understand the meaning of difficult words contained in a short story. The ability of the students' understanding after reading the short story can be known by asking students to retell or rewrite the content of the short stories that have been read by using their own language. Keywords, Writing, Short Story


Emojis have gained widespread acceptance, globally and cross-culturally. However, Emoji use may also be nuanced due to differences across cultures, which can play a significant role in shaping emotional life. In this paper, we a) present a methodology to learn latent emotional components of Emojis, b) compare Emoji-Emotion associations across cultures, and c) discuss how they may reflect emotion expression in these platforms. Specifically, we learn vector space embeddings with more than 100 million posts from China (Sina Weibo) and the United States (Twitter), quantify the association of Emojis with 8 basic emotions, demonstrate correlation between visual cues and emotional valence, and discuss pairwise similarities between emotions. Our proposed Emoji-Emotion visualization pipeline for uncovering latent emotional components can potentially be used for downstream applications such as sentiment analysis and personalized text recommendations.


Carrion's disease (CD), is a human bartonellosis, that is, endemic in the Andes of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Bartonella bacilliformis, a native hemotrophic bacteria, is the causative agent of CD, and the interaction with the host could have produced changes in the gene frequencies of erythrocyte antigens. The goal here is to investigate the relationship between allele frequencies of blood group systems MNS, Diego, and Duffy and the clinical phases of CD, within a genetic context. In this associative and analytical study, 76 individuals from Bagua Grande, the province of Utcubamba, and the department of Amazonas in Peru, were enrolled. Forty of them resided in Tomocho-Collicate-Vista Hermosa area (high prevalence of cases in chronic phase, verrucous, or eruptive phase, without previous acute phase). Thirty-six individuals were from the area of Miraflores (high prevalence of cases in acute phase only) and were evaluated for blood group systems MNS, Diego, and Duffy. This study constitutes one of the first attempts at evaluating the genetic factors and clinical phases of CD. No significant statistical differences (P > 0.05) between allele frequencies of blood groups MNS, Diego, and Duffy and the prevalence of chronic and acute phases were detected in the two areas of Amazonas, Peru.


A signal bus contains a multiplicity of signals to be recovered. A cooperative arrangement between estimation processors is shown in which each processor acts as an adaptive interference nulling device for all the other processors while performing an efficient estimation of its own signal. Signals being estimated are removed from the common bus driving all of the estimators except that a unique feedback arrangement gives to each estimator full access to its own assigned signal.


Sand control and sand management require a rigorous assessment of several contributing factors including the sand facies variation, fluid composition, near-wellbore velocities, interaction of the sand control with other completion tools and operational practices. A multivariate approach or risk analysis is required to consider the relative role of each parameter in the overall design for reliable and robust sand control. This paper introduces a qualitative risk factor model for this purpose.
 In this research, a series of Sand Retention Tests (SRT) was conducted, and results were used to formulate a set of design criteria for slotted liners. The proposed criteria specify both the slot width and density for different operational conditions and different classes of Particle Size Distribution (PSD) for the McMurray oil sands. The goal is to provide a qualitative rationale for choosing the best liner design that keeps the produced sand and skin within an acceptable level. The test is performed at several flow rates to account for different operational conditions for Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS) wells. A Traffic Light System (TLS) is adopted for presenting the design criteria in which the red and green colors are used to indicate, respectively, unacceptable and acceptable design concerning sanding and plugging. Yellow color in the TLS is also used to indicate marginal design.
 Testing results indicate the liner performance is affected by the near-wellbore flow velocities, geochemical composition of the produced water, PSD of the formation sand and fines content, and composition of formation clays. For low near-wellbore velocities and typical produced water composition, conservatively designed narrow slots show a similar performance compared to somewhat wider slots. However, high fluid flow velocities or unfavorable water composition results in excessive plugging of the pore space near the screen leading to significant pressure drops for narrow slots. The new design criteria suggest at low flow rates, slot widths up to three and half times of the mean grain size will result in minimal sand production. At elevated flow rates, however, this range shrinks to somewhere between one and a half to three times the mean grain size.
 This paper presents novel design criteria for slotted liners using the results of multi-slot coupons in SRT testing, which is deemed to be more realistic compared to the single-slot coupon experiments in the previous tests. The new design criteria consider not only certain points on the PSD curve (e.g., D50 or D70) but also the shape of the PSD curve, water cut, and gas oil ratio and other parameters.


Abstract This paper explains how the concept of personal data should be delimited. Certainty on this matter is crucial, as it determines the material scope of the data protection obligations. The primary boundary delimiting the scope of personal data is the requirement that personal data 'relate to' an individual. The courts of the UK and the EU have sought to delineate this boundary, but there are serious difficulties in the present approaches that have emerged thus far. Two possible ways forward are suggested, taking into account the implications of the direct application of the GDPR in the UK.


The Freesound Player is a digital instrument developed in Max MSP that uses the Freesound API to make requests for as many as 16 sound samples which are filtered based on sound content. Once the samples are returned they are loaded into buffers and can be performed using a MIDI controller and processed in a variety of ways. The filters implemented will be discussed and demonstrated using three music compositions by the authors, along with considerations for composing and improvising using sound content-based descriptive filtering.


This paper presents modelling and simulation of wind turbine - electrical generation system using Matlab/Simulink software package. This system consists of wind turbine coupled with the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG). The PMSG is connecting to the load through a three-phase full wave rectifier and a buck converter. Control strategy based on Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) is presented to regulate the outputvoltage of the wind generation system irrespective of variations in the wind speed and load. The wind turbine and FLC are implemented in Matlab/Simuli nk based on its mathematical model of its equivalent equations. Simulation results show that the controllers can regulate the output voltage of the system under varying wind speed and load conditions.


Using methods of physical optics, a statistical description of the scattering of waves off a rough surface is obtained. The rough surface is assumed to consist of a large number of independent point scatterers which fluctuate randomly in vertical position and also disappear and appear at random. The surface is divided into cells so that no more than one scatterer can occupy a cell, and the events in any two different cells are independent of each other. The average scattered signal, the mean square fluctuation, and the time covariance of the fluctuating portion of the signal are computed in terms of the mean-square scatterer height, the grazing angle, the radiation wavelength, the decay time for disappearance of scatterers, the time autocorrelation of a scatterer height, and the a priori probability of finding a given cell occupied by a scatterer.


PURPOSE
To determine whether the use of statins after prostate cancer diagnosis is associated with a decreased risk of cancer-related mortality and all-cause mortality and to assess whether this association is modified by prediagnostic use of statins.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A cohort of 11,772 men newly diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between April 1, 1998, and December 31, 2009, followed until October 1, 2012, was identified using a large population-based electronic database from the United Kingdom. Time-dependent Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs of mortality outcomes associated with postdiagnostic use of statins, lagged by 1 year to account for latency considerations and to minimize reverse causality, and considering effect modification by prediagnostic use of statins.

RESULTS
During a mean follow-up time of 4.4 years (standard deviation, 2.9 years), 3,499 deaths occurred, including 1,791 from prostate cancer. Postdiagnostic use of statins was associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer mortality (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.88) and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95). These decreased risks of prostate cancer mortality and all-cause mortality were more pronounced in patients who also used statins before diagnosis (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.74; and HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81, respectively), with weaker effects in patients who initiated the treatment only after diagnosis (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.96; and HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.82 to 1.01, respectively).

CONCLUSION
Overall, the use of statins after diagnosis was associated with a decreased risk in prostate cancer mortality. However, this effect was stronger in patients who also used statins before diagnosis.


Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings, also known as
the Third Pole, play an important role in the global and regional climate
and hydrological cycle. Carbonaceous aerosols (CAs), including black carbon
(BC) and organic carbon (OC), can directly or indirectly absorb and scatter
solar radiation and change the energy balance on the Earth. CAs, along with the
other atmospheric pollutants (e.g., mercury), can be frequently transported
over long distances into the inland Tibetan Plateau. During the last decades,
a coordinated monitoring network and research program named "Atmospheric
Pollution and Cryospheric Changes" (APCC) has been gradually set up and
continuously operated within the Third Pole regions to investigate the
linkage between atmospheric pollutants and cryospheric changes. This paper
presents a systematic dataset of BC, OC, water-soluble organic carbon
(WSOC), and water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) from aerosols (20
stations), glaciers (17 glaciers, including samples from surface snow and ice,
snow pits, and 2 ice cores), snow cover (2 stations continuously observed and
138 locations surveyed once), precipitation (6 stations), and lake sediment
cores (7 lakes) collected across the Third Pole, based on the APCC program.
These data were created based on online (in situ) and laboratory
measurements. High-resolution (daily scale) atmospheric-equivalent BC
concentrations were obtained by using an Aethalometer (AE-33) in the Mt.
Everest (Qomolangma) region, which can provide new insight into the
mechanism of BC transportation over the Himalayas. Spatial distributions of
BC, OC, WSOC, and WIOC from aerosols, glaciers, snow cover, and precipitation
indicated different features among the different regions of the Third Pole,
which were mostly influenced by emission sources, transport pathways, and
deposition processes. Historical records of BC from ice cores and lake
sediment cores revealed the strength of the impacts of human activity since the
Industrial Revolution. BC isotopes from glaciers and aerosols identified the
relative contributions of biomass and fossil fuel combustion to BC
deposition on the Third Pole. Mass absorption cross sections of BC and WSOC
from aerosol, glaciers, snow cover, and precipitation samples were also
provided. This updated dataset is released to the scientific communities
focusing on atmospheric science, cryospheric science, hydrology, climatology,
and environmental science. The related datasets are presented in the form of
excel files. BC and OC datasets over the Third Pole are available to download from the National Cryosphere Desert Data Center (https://doi.org/10.12072/ncdc.NIEER.db0114.2021; Kang and Zhang, 2021).


Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a simple spark spectrochemical sensor technology in which a laser beam is directed at a sample to create a high-temperature microplasma. A spectrometer/array detector is used to disperse the light emission and detect its intensity at specific wavelengths. LIBS has many attributes that make it an attractive tool for chemical analysis. A recent breakthrough in component development, the commercial launching of a small, high-resolution spectrometer, has greatly expanded the utility of LIBS and resulted in a new potential for field-portable broadband LIBS because the technique is now sensitive simultaneously to all chemical elements due to detector response in the 200 to 980 nm range with 0.1 nm spectral resolution. Other attributes include: (a) small size and weight; (b) technologically mature, inherently rugged, and affordable components; (c) in-situ analysis with no sample preparation required; (d) inherent high sensitivity; (e) real-time response; and (f) point sensing or standoff detection. LIBS sensor systems can be used to detect and analyse target samples by identifying all constituent elements and by determining either their relative or absolute abundances.


Perforin-2, the product of the MPEG1 gene, limits the spread and dissemination of bacterial pathogens in vivo. It is highly expressed in murine and human phagocytes, and macrophages lacking Perforin-2 are compromised in their ability to kill phagocytosed bacteria. In this study we used Salmonella typhimurium as a model intracellular pathogen to elucidate the mechanism of Perforin-2's bactericidal activity. In vitro Perforin-2 was found to facilitate the degradation of antigens contained within the envelope of phagocytosed bacteria. In contrast, degradation of a representative surface antigen was found to be independent of Perforin-2. Consistent with our in vitro results a protease sensitive, periplasmic superoxide disumutase (SodCII) contributed to the virulence of S. typhimurium in Perforin-2 knockout but not wild-type mice. In aggregate our studies indicate that Perforin-2 breaches the envelope of phagocytosed bacteria facilitating the delivery of proteases and other antimicrobial effectors to sites within the bacterial envelope.


Most research and policy discussions of education in the global city have focused on the ways in which globalization and the emergence of global or globalizing cities can create social, economic and educational inequality locally, within the global city itself. Global cities, however, are, by definition, powerful places, where the core institutions, structures and processes of the global economy are constituted and controlled; as such, they are places where decisions and actions taken locally can have significant and often destructive effects all over the globe. This article presents a case study of a series of partnerships between public institutions of education and the global corporate mining sector in Toronto, Canada to serve as both example and metaphor of how global city education often helps to create, exacerbate and legitimate inequalities and injustices, not just locally, but regionally, nationally and globally, between the city and the rest of the world.


Abstract: Digital Science is an umbrella brand unifying a set of diverse information services and data companies, including Altmetric, GRID, ReadCube, Dimensions, LabGuru, Overleaf, Figshare, UberResearch, Peerwith, and others. Owned primarily by a large, privately held, multinational media conglomerate (Hotlzbrinck), Digital Science has long intrigued scholarly publishers even as it has served them, their authors, and various consumers (libraries, institutions, corporations, and individuals) in the scholarly and scientific publishing space. This article provides a current overview of Digital Science, focusing on some of the controversial aspects of the organization, its growing legacy, and its uncertain future.


A ZK60 magnesium alloy was subjected to isothermal rolling (IR) at 275 and 300°C. This processing resulted in grain refinement through dynamic recrystallization (DRX) at both temperatures. The recrystallized volume fractions of 82 and 95% and average sizes of fine grains of 2.5 and 3.7 µm were achieved after IR at 275 and 300°C, respectively. It was shown that the ultrafine-grained structure produced by DRX at 300°C exhibited higher stability under following static and dynamic annealing than that produced at 275°C. This fact was attributed with the formation of a less constrained DRX structure at higher temperature of IR. As a result, the sheet produced from the ZK60 alloy at 300°C showed superior superplastic properties. Conversely, it was not feasible to enhance the superplastic properties in the ultrafine-grained alloy produced at 275°C because significant grain growth occurred during further processing of the as-rolled alloy.


The cultural approach to implementing public infrastructure policies is new. The approaches commonly used in implementing policies are structural approaches (organizational roles), procedural and management approaches (network planning and control; program evaluation and review techniques), behavioral approaches: communication, complete information at each stage and a political approach (interdepartemental aspects of politics). This shows that, the cultural approach is an innovation of policy implementation to establish a model of policy implementation innovation with a cultural approach, researchers investigate in a case study of a simultaneous village building program (GSM) in the Tulang Bawang regency of Lampung Province. This study uses a qualitative approach that describes and explains the symptoms and trends in phenomena that appear at the research location.
The results obtained, the implementation of the GSMK program is based on the value of mutual cooperation which in local terms Lampung is called sakai sambayan. Sakai Sambayan, covering a broad understanding, such as mutual cooperation, help to help, tolerance to others and to others both morally and materially at times of pleasure and distress.
This value provides a spirit in the implementation of the GSMK program in Tulang Bawang Regency. The GSMK program is a movement carried out by, from, and for the people of Tulang Bawang Regency to do good together in an effort to accelerate infrastructure development in 147 villages simultaneously throughout the Tulang Bawang Regency with a budget sourced from non-government organizations, private parties from each village and Community Direct Assistance (BLM) of the APBD of Tulang Bawang Regency. This program is considered quite successful by many people, the innovation of cultural approaches in the implementation of policies makes it an alternative so that policies can be successful and goals can be achieved.


Latest advances in hardware technology and state of the art of mobile agent, and artificial intelligence research can be employed to develop autonomous and distributed monitoring systems. The intelligent space (lSpace) is the space where many intelligent devices, such as computers and sensors, are distributed. According to the cooperation of many intelligent devices, the environment, it is very important that the system knows the location information to offer the useful services. In order to achieve these goals, we present a method for representing, tracking and human following by fusing distributed multiple vision systems in ISpace, with application to pedestrian tracking in a crowd. And the article presents the integration of color distributions into particle filtering. Particle filters provide a robust tracking framework under ambiguity conditions. We propose to track the moving objects by generating hypotheses not in the image plan but on the top-view reconstruction of the scene. Comparative results on real video sequences show the advantage of our method for multi-object tracking. Simulations are carried out to evaluate the proposed performance. Also, the method is applied to the intelligent environment and its performance is verified by the experiments


Fracture toughness for full scale steel pipe of API 5L grade X65 PSL1 (ASTM A694) medium strength grade pipeline steel has been measured by a new test specimen utilizing the same procedures of the standard test methods ASTM E399-90 and ASTM E1820-01. Full scale pipe sections with circumferentially machined notches were pulled axially by tensile loads until fracture. An external circumferential sharp notch was machined in the wall of the pipe to simulate the crack. In addition to testing a plain pipe, a well lubricated and axially free loaded plug was mounted inside the pipe to provide plane strain condition for notch failure. Ductile dimple fracture was observed on fractured surfaces of plain pipes, while evidences of cleavage fractures have been observed when the internal plug was used. The measured value of the fracture toughness has been found to be in good agreement with the values measured according to the standard tests for steel plates of similar grade and with the with those measured using in situ Automated Ball Indentation (ABI) tests conducted on the same pipe section. The new testing method for full scale pipe can be used regardless of pipe dimensions since it appears to provide plane strain conditions around the crack.


OBJECTIVE Advances in health measurement have led to the application of Rasch Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis (Rasch analysis) to evaluate instruments measuring health status and quality of life of patients, including the Health Assessment Questionnaire and SF-36. This study investigated the extent to which the Western Ontario MacMaster osteoarthritis questionnaire (WOMAC) satisfies the Rasch model, particularly in respect to unidimensionality, item separation, and linearity. METHODS The study included a total of 2205 patients, 1013 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 655 with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip (OA), and 537 with fibromyalgia. All patients completed the WOMAC as part of a longitudinal study of rheumatic disease outcomes. To examine whether the WOMAC pain and function scales each fits the Rasch model, the Winsteps program was used to assess item difficulty, scale unidimensionality, item separation, and linearity. RESULTS Although the WOMAC worked best in OA, regardless of disorder, both the pain and function scales were unidimensional, had adequate item separation, and had a long range (25–150) of linearity in the function scale. Several functional items, however, had a high information weight fit (INFIT) statistic, indicating poor fit to the model. These items included "getting in and out of the bath" and "going down stairs." CONCLUSION The WOMAC generally satisfies the requirements of Rasch item response theory across all disorders studied, and is an appropriate measure of lower body function in OA, RA and fibromyalgia. Although some individual items do not fit well, it is not likely that removing such items would result in more than overall minimal differences, and it will be difficult to remove traces of multidimensionality while keeping the central constructs of progressive lower body musculoskeletal abnormality intact. In addition, it is possible that a "purer", still more unidimensional instrument would be less useful in clinical trials and epidemiological studies by restricting the range of the scale.


Subacute combined degeneration (SCD) is considered the neurological counterpart of pernicious anaemia because it is the paradigmatic neurological manifestation of acquired vitamin B12 (cobalamin (Cbl)) deficiency in adulthood. Hitherto, the theories advanced to explain the pathogenesis of SCD have postulated a causal relationship between SCD lesions and the impairment of either or both of two Cbl-dependent reactions. We have identified a new experimental model, the totally gastrectomised (TGX) rat, to reproduce the key morphological features of the disease, and found new mechanisms responsible for the pathogenesis of SCD. We have demonstrated that the neuropathological lesions in TGX rats are not only due to mere vitamin withdrawal but also to the overproduction of the myelinolytic tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, nerve growth factor, the soluble(s) CD40:sCD40 ligand dyad, and the reduced synthesis of the neurotrophic agents, epidermal growth factor and interleukin-6. Cbl replacement treatments normalised all of these abnormalities.


Acoustic abundance estimates of blue whiting have generally been higher than estimates based on catch data. One explanation has been that the relationship between acoustic target strength (TS) and length is too low and hence overestimates the number of fish. Measurements of TS were conducted during surveys of blue whiting in March/April 2003–2007 to the west of the British Isles from several different measurement platforms, and also during August 2005 in the Norwegian Sea. Results from these experiments confirm the view that the existing TS–length relationship is too low. A new TS–length relationship is proposed that is 5 dB higher. Blue whiting TS is considerably higher than observed and modelled for a similar species, southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis).


This paper concerns the prediction of career success among migrants. We focus specifically on the role of occupation as a mediating variable between the predictor variables education and time since migration, and the dependent variable career success as denoted by occupational status, linked to earnings. Following a review of the literature specifically focused on occupation, we apply Ordered Probit analysis to a sample of over 37,900 employed males surveyed in New Zealand. New Zealand provides an interesting case, as a country where migrants from diverse ethnic groups comprise a significant part of the population. We focus on the occupational attainment of immigrants and the native-born populations and provide evidence on the mediating effect of occupational attainment on earnings. Our analyses show the interplay of factors leading to occupational attainment: for example, education level is of greatest importance, and much of its effect on earnings is through occupational attainment; different immigrant groups have differentiable outcomes, and years of experience in the host country enable gradual occupational advancement. This is the first application of this analysis to New Zealand data. Our results highlight the significant mediating role of occupational attainment in explaining earnings across immigrant and native-born groups.


Filled with great masterpieces by such artists as Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Mantegna and Titian, "Understanding Italian Renaissance Painting" takes a journey into their world. As in the acclaimed and innovative "How to Read a Painting", each spread uses an important painting as a way to explain a key concept, with numerous large details. Here, 180 works illuminate key ideas in Renaissance painting, from perspective and the golden section to grace and symbolism. In addition, there are brief biographies of the major artists. The result is an original, accessible and affordable volume that offers an introduction into the art and culture of the Italian Renaissance.


It is a key task in smart grid to send the readings of smart meters to an access point (AP) in a wireless manner. The requirements of scalability, realtimeness and security make the wireless meter reading highly challenging. On assuming that the number of smart meters is large and the data burst is sparse, i.e., only a small fraction of the smart meters are reporting their power loads at the same time, the technique of compressed sensing is applied for the wireless meter reading. The distinguishing feature of the compressed meter reading is that the active smart meters are allowed to transmit simultaneously and the AP is able to distinguish the reports from different smart meters. The simultaneous access results in uniform delays, in contrast to the possible large delay in carrier sensing multiple access (CSMA) technique. The random sequence used in the compressed sensing enhances the privacy and integrity of the meter reading. The validity of the proposed scheme is then demonstrated by numerical simulations.


Since 2020, the world has been navigating an epidemiologic transition with both infectious diseases (COVID-19) and noncommunicable diseases intertwined in complex and diverse ways. In fact, the pandemics of physical inactivity, noncommunicable diseases, and COVID-19 coincide in a tragically impactful ménage à trois with their detrimental long-term health consequences yet to be determined. We know that people in low- and middle-income countries not only have the highest risk of developing chronic diseases, they also develop the diseases at a younger age, they suffer longer, and they die earlier than people in high-income countries. This commentary features 5 compelling reasons for putting physical activity in low- and middle-income countries high up on the public health research agenda and calls for more commitment to inclusive and context-specific public health practices that are paired with locally relevant promotion and facilitation of PA practice, research, and policymaking.


Generally, hyperthermia is applied by electromagnetic energy and requires the use of complex high technological equipment. A strong relation exists between treatment quality and clinical outcome; hence controlled delivery of heat is the Achilles heel of the treatment. Current efforts to further enhance the HT treatment quality are focusing on our ability to improve dosimetry and to prospectively prescribe thermal dose. Non Invasive Thermometry (NIT) by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) represents the most recent, major technological improvement. Using a hybrid HT system it is possible to perform on-line NIT during high power RF-heating. The results obtained with NIT by MRI-technology are very promising. The tremendous improvements in the available software for 3-D electromagnetic (EM) modeling offer unique possibilities hyperthermia treatment planning (HTP). HTP offers new ways to optimize the quality of HT to a prospectively defined level. This should be regarded as the gateway to a new decade of progress in the controlled application of HT. At the same time such progress would strongly simplify translation of knowledge from experienced to less experienced or new HT centers (education) as well as allowing a more rigid evaluation of the relation between treatment outcome and quality of the HT treatment (dosimetry). We are convinced that these efforts will improve clinical outcome and/or reduce toxicity as well as stimulates a wider use of hyperthermia.


Minimizing the decrease in intracellular pH during high-intensity exercise training promotes greater improvements in mitochondrial respiration. This raises the intriguing hypothesis that pH may affect the exercise-induced transcription of genes that regulate mitochondrial biogenesis. Eight males performed 10x2-min cycle intervals at 80% V˙O2peak intensity on two occasions separated by ~2 weeks. Participants ingested either ammonium chloride (ACID) or calcium carbonate (PLA) the day before and on the day of the exercise trial in a randomized, counterbalanced order, using a crossover design. Biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis muscle before and after exercise. The mRNA level of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor co-activator 1α (PGC-1α), citrate synthase, cytochome c and FOXO1 was elevated at rest following ACID (P<0.05). During the PLA condition, the mRNA content of mitochondrial- and glucose-regulating proteins was elevated immediately following exercise (P<0.05). In the early phase (0–2 h) of post-exercise recovery during ACID, PGC-1α, citrate synthase, cytochome C, FOXO1, GLUT4, and HKII mRNA levels were not different from resting levels (P>0.05); the difference in PGC-1α mRNA content 2 h post-exercise between ACID and PLA was not significant (P = 0.08). Thus, metabolic acidosis abolished the early post-exercise increase of PGC-1α mRNA and the mRNA of downstream mitochondrial and glucose-regulating proteins. These findings indicate that metabolic acidosis may affect mitochondrial biogenesis, with divergent responses in resting and post-exercise skeletal muscle.


When Sloan's mother left two years ago, Sloan took off into the wilderness around their small Alaskan town and wandered for five days until she was rescued. Since then, Sloan panics if she loses sight of her father or her sister Maren, so when the twelve-year-old wakes up to discover they've left her alone, she's frightened to say the least—and that's before the blizzard sets in. She goes out to find extra diesel for the generator and encounters her teacher, a schoolmate, and a neighbor with a life-threatening injury. As much as her fear of the forest still haunts her, she knows her wilderness skills and ability with a gun mean she's got to lead the group through the woods to get help. However, the wolves of the forest are hungry, they're closing in, and Sloan's only got so many bullets. Sloan's narration is appropriately stoic, both as a leader of the desperate group and as someone who has emotionally shut down after what she sees as yet another abandonment. The tension ratchets up with each nearing howl and each gunshot, and not everyone makes it out alive when the wolves decide to stop playing with their food. A chilling survival story, this is perhaps best read when the forecast is clear of snow and ice. KQG


Objective: To investigate the types of hydrocarbon ingested by children and identify factors associated with hydrocarbons ingestion. Patients and Methods: It was a hospital based case control study in which medical records of sixty seven children with hydrocarbon ingestion, admitted through emergency department between January 2001 to December 2005 of Aga Khan Hospital were reviewed. Variables such as age, sex, types of hydrocarbons, amount ingested, socioeconomic status, family size, number of children, type of containers, trend of ingestion during hot weather, length of stay at hospital along with the outcomes were evaluated. Results: Out of 67 patients, 53(79%) were male and 14(21%) were female. Majority of children 36(54%) were between the ages 2-5 years. Kerosene oil 59(88%) was the most commonly ingested hydrocarbons. Socioeconomically 48(71%) children belonged to lower middle class. Children with large family size (> 3 siblings/family) were more commonly affected. Hydrocarbon were mostly 41(61%) stored in beverages and mineral water bottles. The accident occurred in 43 (65%) during summer, whereas 34 (56%) patients had presented with fever and cough. Consolidation of lungs was found in 38 (56%) cases. Majority 53(79%) of the patients were discharged from the hospital within the first 24 hours of admission. Male, age <2 years, large family size, poor socioeconomic status, hot weather (afternoon and summer vacations), kerosene oil, unsafe containers were the major factors leading to hydrocarbon ingestion in this study. Conclusion: There is a need for strategic planning with parent awareness programs to reduce the hydrocarbon poisoning in our children (JPMA 58:608; 2008).


Although much attention has been bestowed upon the interesting subjee of electric oscillations, there are comparatively few examples in which definite mathematical solutions have been gained. These problems are much simplified when conductors are supposed to be perfect, but even then the difficulties usually remain formidable. Apart from cases where the propagation may be regarded as being in one dimension,* we have Sir J. Thomson's solutions for electrical vibrations upon a conducting sphere or cylinder.-]* But these vibrations have so little persistence as hardly to deserve their name. A more instructive example is afforded by a conductor in the form of a circular ring, whose circular section is supposed small. There is then in the neighbourhood of the conductor a considerable store of energy which is more or less entrapped, and so allows of vibrations of reasonable persistence. This problem was very ably treated by PocklingtonJ in 1897, but with deficient explanations.^ Moreover, Pocklington limits his detailed conclusions to one particular mode of free vibration. I think I shall be doing a service in calling attention to this investigation, and in exhibiting the result for the radiation of vibrations in the higher modes. But I do not attempt a complete re-statement of the argument. Pocklington starts from Hertz's formulae for an elementary vibrator at the origin of co-ordinates £, rj, d m d£dZ' Q d m d m 2tt W + ( 1) dr)d£ where II = ê(2) in which P, Q, R denote the components of electromotive intensity, 27 is


Transportation-related environmental problems have become increasingly serious in many Chinese cities. Vehicle population has been growing rapidly and vehicle emissions have become the dominant pollution source. This paper is concerned with transportation-related environmental knowledge and attitudes of the youth--the generation who will be affected by and will have to ultimately provide solutions to the environment problems arising from today. The authors conducted questionnaire surveys among over 600 high school students in Dongguan, China to examine their environmental knowledge and attitude. Structural equation models confirm that students' environmental knowledge positively impacts their environmental attitudes though the impact is limited: only 15% of the variation in attitude is explained by knowledge. The authors further distinguish the transportation-specific knowledge and attitude from the general ones. Analysis of variance identifies significant difference in general vs. transportation-specific knowledge but not between attitudes. To assess the school education's impact on environmental knowledge and attitude, the authors compare students across the six grades and are disappointed to report that no increases along the grades can be observed in either general or transportation-specific knowledge or attitudes. In fact a trend of decline in attitude is noticeable though not systematic. The high school education does not seem to contribute to students' environmental knowledge or attitude. This study focuses only on one typical school so the finding cannot be generalized without caution and alternative explanations may exist. But it does suggest either environmental education is not yet part of the curriculum's objectives or any attempt on this objective has largely failed.


The annual report prepared by the World Bank Group titled 'Ease of Doing Business' which ranks 190 countries based on 10 factors has lately been the talk in India since the country has recently observed the jump of 30 places. There are however many factors that the World Bank does not consider and hence the full picture of a country doesn't get appropriately represented by a rank. This paper covers(a)correlation that exists between 'GDP growth of a country and its Ease of doing business rank',(b) factors which are not taken into account by World Bank when the entire business operating scenario is considered, (c)the ranking methodology (d) comparison of increase in India's rank with increase in the rank of other countries over the years and (e) implications of this rank covered by a survey conducted. This paper aims to decipher how much does an increase of rank in 'Ease of doing business' 2018 actually mean to India i.e. in spite of the information provided in terms of an increase in rank, is India on the right path of achieving its potential?


NiCr-NiSi K-type thin film thermocouples with multi-layer structure were fabricated on Ni-based superalloy substrates (95 mm×35 mm×2 mm). The multi-layer structure contains NiCrAlY buffer layer (2 μm)/ thermally grown Al2O3 bond coating (200 nm)/ Al2O3 insulating layer (8 μm)/ NiCr-NiSi thin film thermocouples (1 μm)/ Al2O3 protecting layer (500 nm). The samples were statically calibrated in a tube furnace in the temperature range from 170 °C to 610 °C. The results show that the resistance of Al2O3 insulating layer is about 14.6 kΩ at 800 °C and exceeds 100 MΩ at room temperature. The Seebeck coefficient a of the samples is about 34 μV/°C, and the sensitivity coefficient K is greater than 0.8 in the temperature range from 170 °C to 610 °C. The maximal sensitivity coefficient is about 0.97 at 265 °C.


The rapid evolution of our data communications infrastructure is making distributed projects increasingly viable. Without a common infrastructure, computer-supported collaborative tools for distributed teams have been prohibitively expensive to build and maintain. However, the increasing availability of the Internet is enabling companies to develop cost-effective collaborative solutions. Traditional desktop project management software is designed as a single-user tool that lets the project manager track tasks, milestones and deliverables. As teams spread over geographic distances with multiple centers of control, the communication, coordination, and tracking of ongoing project activity become key issues for project success. This article looks beyond the traditional planning focus of project management applications to a network-centric focus on collaboration. It describes the implementation of ActionPlan, a 100 percent Java-based application from Netmosphere that supports real-time collaboration among Java thin clients to facilitate distributed project management.


The phenomenon of fuel poverty is a problem recently identified in Europe and in particular in Southern and Eastern European countries. This paper investigates fuel poverty as an expression of environmental inequalities. It tests the existence of a Kuznets curve between fuel poverty and GDP per capita in Europe. The study covers 28 European countries from 2004 to 2017 using aggregated data from Eurostat ' s EU-SILC survey. To proxy the level of fuel poverty, 2 indicators are alternatively tested, the percentage of individual unable to keep home adequately warm and a composite indicator. The results show the existence of a non-linear U-shaped relationship between fuel poverty and per capita income and not inverted U-shape as in the Kuznets relation. In Europe, economic development has been an important factor in reducing energy poverty, but a per capita income threshold exists after which economic growth no longer reduces fuel poverty. In conclusion, more future growth will not systematically induce less fuel poverty, measures on energy efficiency and / or measures to increase the purchasing power of households must be developed especially at the national level to target the most vulnerable households.


This chapter examines the adaptations that have occurred in Sweden's political and administrative system following its admission to the European Union on 1 January 1995. Sweden became a member of the EU on 1 January 1995 after a long period of hesitation. After fifteen years of membership, reticence has given way to a more positive stance, best characterized as pragmatic support. The chapter first considers patterns in Sweden's membership in the EU before discussing Swedish public opinion towards the EU and the impact of Sweden's EU membership on the country's political parties, political institutions, public administration, and sub-national actors such as the civil service. The chapter goes on to explore Sweden's approach to EU public policy and concludes by comparing its experience with those of other member states, including Austria and Finland.


With the demonstrations against nuclear power in 2011 and 2012 having mobilized thousands of Japanese, some commentators claim that civil society as a whole has been transforming towards a state of increased activity. Within this context, this paper aims to prove however, that long before Fukushima, innovative forms of political and social engagement have been developing in certain layers of society. Often not recognized as such, these forms of participation can be conceptualized with Beck's notion of subpolitics, and are not a particular Japanese phenomenon. This paper focuses on the rhizomatic network surrounding the activists of Shirōto no Ran and the Infoshop Irregular Rhythm Asylum in Tōkyō, who are experimenting with alternative forms of sociality in urban Japan. Also the main organizers of the 2011 anti-nuclear demonstrations, they have been part of a number of protest movements from the mid-2000s in Japan. Therefore, these recent demonstrations should not be interpreted as a singular event or an entirely new development, but must be seen as one aspect of a larger topical and temporal trajectory.


As high level synthesis (HLS) moves towards mainstream adoption among FPGA designers, it has proven to be an effective method for rapid hardware generation. However, in the context of offloading compute intensive software kernels to FPGA accelerators, current HLS tools do not always take full advantage of the hardware platforms. In this paper, we present an automatic flow to refactor and restructure processor-centric software implementations, making them better suited for FPGA platforms. The methodology generates pipelines that decouple memory operations and data access from computation. The resulting pipelines have much better throughput due to their efficient use of the memory bandwidth and improved tolerance to data access latency. The methodology complements existing work in high-level synthesis, easing the creation of heterogeneous systems with high performance accelerators and general purpose processors. With this approach, for a set of non-regular algorithm kernels written in C, a performance improvement of 3.3 to 9.1x is observed over direct C-to-Hardware mapping using a state-of-the-art HLS tool.


Tobacco smoke is an aerosol that contains both gaseous and suspended particulate material (PM). The particles are largely liquid droplets containing a wide variety of condensed organic compounds. Each compound in the smoke will partition between the gas and PM phases and will always seek a state of gas/particle equilibrium. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, a compound such as nicotine can deposit in the respiratory tract (RT) by four different mechanisms: (1) direct gas deposition (DGD) of the portion of the compound that is initially in the gas phase of the inhaled smoke; (2) evaporative gas deposition (EGD) of PM-phase compound by evaporation to the gas phase, then deposition; (3) particle deposition, evaporation from the deposited particle, then deposition from the gas phase (PDE); and (4) particle deposition with diffusion (PDD) into RT tissue. Three of the mechanisms (DGD, EGD, and PDE) involve volatilization from the PM phase. The relative importance of all the mechanisms is therefore greatly affected by the volatility of the compound from the PM phase as it is set by the compound's gas/particle partitioning constant K(p) through the compound's vapor pressure. For a largely nonvolatile compound such as benzo[a]pyrene, only PDD will likely be important. For a semivolatile compound such as nicotine, all four mechanisms can be important. Because tobacco smoke alkaloids such as nicotine can exist in protonated as well as free-base form, the fraction alpha(fb) of the compound that is in the neutral free-base form in the PM phase plays a critical, pH-dependent role in determining the relative importance of the four mechanisms. Equations are developed that can be used to ascertain the importance of the DGD and EGD mechanisms. The value of alpha(fb) for nicotine in a tobacco smoke PM is set by pH(eff), the effective pH of the PM phase. Historically, a primary method for measuring "smoke pH" has involved the direct exposure of a pH electrode to tobacco smoke. This method cannot yield direct insight into pH(eff) or alpha(fb) values because (1) problems exist in using such an electrode to measure smoke PM-phase pH, and (2) by itself, a measurement of the pH of tobacco smoke PM says nothing about the effects of PM-phase activity coefficients of protonated and free-base nicotine on the nicotine species distribution. The "acidic" values that have typically been measured for cigarette "smoke pH" by the direct pH electrode method are therefore neither reliable nor useful in determining the relative distribution of PM-phase nicotine among the protonated and free-base forms. The dependence of the volatility of nicotine from tobacco smoke PM on alpha(fb) means that measuring the gas/particle distribution of nicotine under equilibrium conditions in a tobacco smoke by denuder samplers (or by another method) can yield information about the nicotine K(p) for that smoke. Knowledge of K(p,fb), the partitioning constant for nicotine in the free-base form, then allows calculation of alpha(fb) through the relation K(p) = K(p,fb)/alpha(fb). The available data suggest that the smoke PM from some commercial cigarettes can be characterized by alpha(fb) > or = 0.4, i.e., 40% or more of the nicotine in the free-base form. This conclusion is consistent with (1) the gas-sampling denuder results obtained by Philip Morris in which significant tobacco smoke nicotine was observed to deposit in acid-coated denuder tubes, with more depositing when the cigarette tobacco blend was treated with ammonia; (2) the view that the sensory "impact" exhibited by some tobacco smokes is caused by the deposition of gaseous nicotine in the pharynx; (3) the observed throat irritation caused by nicotine inhalers; and (4) the high overall respiratory tract deposition efficiencies for nicotine of 0.9 and greater that have been reported for some cigarette smokes. The available information combines to create a picture of nicotine in cigarette smoke that contradicts the traditional view that cigarette smoke PM is typically acidic, with little free-base nicotine typically present in the smoke PM phase. Government agencies interested in establishing a framework for the testing and monitoring of nicotine delivery may wish to consider requiring the measurement and publication of the PM-phase alpha(fb) values for the cigars and cigarettes marketed in their jurisdictions.


This article presents a 2D measurement system using Hall effect sensor array for micro robotic applications. This system uses a trilateration method to track the position of a microrobot equipped with a permanent magnet. The objective of this work is to characterize the impact of different physical parameters (i.e., sensors density, number of measurements, etc.) on the localization errors. The simulation and experimental results have shown a good correlation for the measurement system. The tracking trajectory of a mobile permanent magnet in xy-plane was successfully measured with a mean error of 43.9 ± 27.8 μm and of 47.5 ± 28.0 μm along x- and y-axis, respectively.