The ZeBRo (Dutch abbreviation: Zesbenige Robot, six-legged robot), is a walking robot designed by the TU Delft, with its foundations on the RHex. The current version of the ZeBRo project, the DeciZebro, is made for the research to swarming in robotics, and is about the size of an A4-paper. To counter these shortcomings of CPG (a method to determine gait movement), Max-Plus algebra can be used for the timing of the legs of walking robots. This can be done by modeling a walking cycle as two discrete events. These events are the times of the lift-off and touchdown and can be determined by using a Max-Plus Discrete Event System (DES) framework. The main purpose of these events is to determine two separate periods; the stance period, and the swing or flight period. Max-Plus algebra is defined as a semi-ring over the union of real numbers and minus infinity. The standard binary operations are taking the maximum and addition which can be used for scalar and matrix operations. The Max-Plus linear system contain the gait matrix A, and the vector v(k) containing the lift-off and touchdown times of vector instance k. One of the strengths of this method is the ability to change gaits, by simply changing the A-matrix. This then results in the switching Max-Plus linear (SMPL) system: This SPML system determined in only contains gaits with successive recirculating leg-groups, where the synchronization of the lift-off of a certain leg-group I relies on the touchdown of the leg-group i-1. This allows for gaits like walking for humans, or a slow trot for horses, where a leg-group remains on the ground until the previous leg-group has recirculated. To increase the number of possible gaits, the synchronization of successive leg-groups is extended to not only contain the previous leg-groups' touchdown times, but also their lift-off times. This extension allows for gaits containing multiple rotation leg-groups at the same time, making gaits like the gallop possible. Because of the desired stable situation of grounded legs, the synchronization is chosen to not extend the timing of the touchdown, as delays should not hinder the return of the legs to their grounded position. The performance of different gaits is tested on different surfaces, to determine the influence of the amount of legs on the ground and determining whether gait changes could influence the success rate of the system regarding traversing rough terrain. Inertia measurement units (IMU) are used for detecting rough terrain, and tests show that the body movement of a ZeBRo on both flat and rough terrain are heavily influenced by the gaits used. Because of several limitations regarding the actuation of the legs, gaits containing moments of static instability could not be tested. However, the framework for implementation regarding the Max-Plus is lain and tested using simulations.


UNLABELLED A cohort of seven patients receiving intrathecal analgesic drug therapy for chronic intractable pain underwent radiocontrast myelography and computed tomography (CT) scanning to screen for catheter-associated intrathecal masses. Three of seven patients examined had intraspinal masses associated with the tip of the drug infusion catheter after a total of 118 mo of therapy. The index case presented with exacerbation of neuropathic pain and paralysis of the left lower extremity. The two additional cases detected by CT myelography were asymptomatic at the time the catheter-associated mass was assessed. The mean duration of therapy before diagnosis of the catheter-associated mass was 19.6 mo, with a range of 16-25 mo. An intergroup comparison of demographic and treatment variables between patients, with and without catheter-associated masses, demonstrated that patients with masses were younger and were receiving a larger morphine dose than patients without masses. The differences were statistically significant (P = 0.05). In one patient with an asymptomatic catheter-associated intrathecal mass, regression of the mass was observed after cessation of therapy. In a second asymptomatic patient, the mass remained stable over 1 yr of continued treatment after substitution of hydromorphone for morphine without interruption of therapy. Neither asymptomatic patient has subsequently developed additional neurologic findings or injury after detection of occult catheter-associated intrathecal masses and clinical intervention. We suggest that all patients receiving long-term intrathecal analgesia should undergo periodic radiographic surveillance to further define their risk of developing occult catheter-associated masses and to allow intervention before neurologic injury can develop. IMPLICATIONS Catheter-associated intrathecal masses were detected in three of seven patients receiving long-term intrathecal analgesia. In the two asymptomatic patients, timely clinical intervention was associated with the avoidance of subsequent neurologic injury and spontaneous resolution of one of the occult masses.


Abstract Background Numerous studies have found increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) with increasing age. We hypothesized that increased CDI risk in an elderly population is due to poorer overall health status with older age. Methods A total of 174 903 persons aged 66 years and older coded for CDI in 2011 were identified using Medicare claims data. The comparison population consisted of 1 453 867 uninfected persons. Potential risk factors for CDI were identified in the prior 12 months and organized into categories, including infections, acute noninfectious conditions, chronic comorbidities, frailty indicators, and health care utilization. Multivariable logistic regression models with CDI as the dependent variable were used to determine the categories with the biggest impact on model performance. Results Increasing age was associated with progressively increasing risk of CDI in univariate analysis, with 5-fold increased risk of CDI in 94–95-year-old persons compared with those aged 66–67 years. Independent risk factors for CDI with the highest effect sizes included septicemia (odds ratio [OR], 4.1), emergency hospitalization(s) (OR, 3.9), short-term skilled nursing facility stay(s) (OR, 2.7), diverticulitis (OR, 2.2), and pneumonia (OR, 2.1). Exclusion of age from the full model had no impact on model performance. Exclusion of acute noninfectious conditions followed by frailty indicators resulted in lower c-statistics and poor model fit. Further exclusion of health care utilization variables resulted in a large drop in the c-statistic. Conclusions Age did not improve CDI risk prediction after controlling for a wide variety of infections, other acute conditions, frailty indicators, and prior health care utilization.


Ignition and flame inception are well recognised as affecting performance and stable operation of spark ignition engines. The very early stage of combustion is indeed the main source of cycle-to-cycle variability, in particular in gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines, where mixture formation may lead to non-homogenous air-to-fuel distributions, especially under some speed and load conditions. From a numerical perspective, 3D modelling of combustion within Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) approaches is not sufficient to provide reliable information about cyclic variability, unless proper changes in the initial conditions of the flow transport equations are considered. Combustion models based on the flamelet concept prove being particularly suitable for the simulation of the energy conversion process in internal combustion engines, due to their low computational cost. These models include a transport equation for the flame surface density, which needs proper initialization. A flame collocation is indeed to be properly made when starting the calculations, often just based on the user's skill and without resorting to any quantitative data derived from experiments. However, the way to define initial conditions for cyclic variability prediction is often based on just statistical considerations. This work aims at exploiting information derived from images collected in a single cylinder 4-stroke GDI engine to properly collocate the flame at the start of the combustion calculation. The considered engine is optically accessible through a wide fused-silica window fixed on the piston crown having a Bowditch design. Image processing methodologies are applied to evaluate local and integral luminous intensity, and flame morphology parameters. The collected data allows improving the numerical simulation and gaining hints about the main parameters defining the engine cyclic variability.


Asymmetric or heterogeneous multi-core (AMC) architectures have definite performance, performance per watt and fault tolerance advantages for a wide range of workloads. We propose a 16 core AMC architecture mixing simple and complex cores, and single and multiple thread cores of various power envelopes. A priority-based thread scheduling algorithm is also proposed for this AMC architecture. Fairness of this scheduling algorithm vis-a-vis lower priority thread starvation, and hardware and software requirements needed to implement this algorithm are addressed. We illustrate how this algorithm operates by a thread scheduling example. The produced schedule maximizes throughput (but is priority-based) and the core utilization given the available resources, the states and contents of the starting queues, and the threads' core requirement constraints. A simulation model simulates 6 scheduling algorithms which vary in their support of core affinity and thread migration. The simulation results that both core affinity and thread migration positively effect the completion time and that the nearest neighbor scheduling algorithm outperforms or is competitive with the other algorithms in all considered scenarios


The nature and interaction of known cues for the perception of place distinctions were evaluated with a number of behavioral measures. The perceptual role of release burst and both F2 and F3 onset transitions were manipulated factorially in each of several vowel contexts. Within each vowel context, perception was evaluated using classification (labeling) tasks and category goodness ratings for each CV syllable, as well as ratings of similarity between pairs of CV syllables both within and across perceptual categories. For each of the vowel contexts, the results exhibit a generally high degree of consistency across the various behavioral measures. The findings provide complex, multidimensional perspectives of perceptual consonant space for each vowel. Within the perceptual space representations, some category boundaries are simple, whereas other boundaries are complex, being defined interactively across several variables. Perceptual quality or category goodness is seen to vary systematically within categor...


The WTO's dispute settlement system - and, more particularly, WTO panels and the Appellate Body (AB) - are charged with ruling on the consistency of the actions of WTO Members with the obligations imposed by the WTO Agreements. To do so, panelists and AB judges must first determine the standard of review they are to adopt. A more deferential standard will increase the range of activities that the panel or AB will find permissible, while a more stringent standard will narrow that range. With the exception of the Anti-Dumping Agreement, however, neither the Dispute Settlement Understanding nor the specific WTO Agreements themselves provide much guidance regarding the standard of review that should be applied. Article 11, the key provision in the DSU, leaves a great deal to be worked out in litigation. Identifying the appropriate standard of review requires a determination as to whether the authority to approve certain decisions lies with the Member State or the judicial organs of the WTO. A deferential standard leaves that authority substantially with the state, while a de novo standard gives the panel that authority. This paper provides an analysis of the costs and benefits associated with more or less stringent standards of review. It argues that WTO-review is desirable primarily because panels and the AB are able to approach disputed issues without bias. The states involved in a dispute, in contrast, have an incentive to view both facts and law in a way that suits their own objectives. Panels and the AB, however, are poorly positioned, relative to states, to assess the legal, cultural, economic, and political context within states. This inevitability means that, in some cases, it is wise to leave greater discretion to the states. The different abilities of Member States and the judicial organs of the WTO allow us to develop a sense of when the standard of review should be more or less deferential. Where a lack of bias is particularly important and where the issues involved are ones in which a panel can be expected to have great expertise, a more stringent standard of review would be appropriate. Where, on the other hand, a case demands detailed knowledge of events or priorities in a state, the case for a more deferential standard of review is stronger. After elaborating the above perspective on the appropriate standard of review, the paper then provides several examples of the standards that the panels and the AB should adopt, as well as examples of standards they have actually adopted. Among the disputes considered will be those implicating the SPS Agreement; the Anti-Dumping Agreement; the Safeguards Agreement; the national treatment and most-favored nation obligations; and the general exceptions contained in Article XX of the GATT.


The intensity of the O 1s core photoemission peak has been measured for CuO and NiO as the photon energy is scanned across the L-3 absorption edge of the metal ion. In CuO, the O 1s peak shows a typical antiresonant behavior, with a sizable decrease of its cross section at photon energies below the Cu L-3 threshold. No detectable effect is observed for NiO. The CuO data are well reproduced by a multiatom resonant photoemission model based on resonant light scattering.


Summary Background There is association between sleep quality and arterial blood pressure, but it is still unclear if the association also exists in the very elderly. We examined the individual association between sleep quality and arterial blood pressure among the very elderly. Material/Methods The present study analyzed data from a survey that was conducted on all residents aged 90 years or older in a district with 2,311,709 inhabitants in 2005. Sleep quality was measured using The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results The subjects included in the statistical analysis were 216 men and 444 women. There were no significant differences in sleep quality scores, sleep latency, and sleep efficiency percentage and prevalence of poor sleep quality between subjects with and without hypertension. None of the differences in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and prevalence of hypertension, systolic hypertension and diastolic hypertension among subjects with well, fairly and poor sleep quality were significant. Multiple logistic regressions showed that unadjusted and adjusted Odds Ratio (ORs) of poor sleep quality for increased risk for hypertension were significant. Conclusions Among very elderly subjects, there was no association between sleep quality and arterial blood pressure.


Heterogeneity in quantity and quality of resources provided in the urban matrix may mitigate adverse effects of urbanization intensity on the structure of biotic communities. To assess this we quantified the spatial variation in butterfly richness and abundance along an impervious surface gradient using three measures of urban matrix quality: floral resource availability and origin (native vs exotic plants), tree cover, and the occurrence of remnant habitat patches. Butterfly richness and abundance were surveyed in 100 cells (500 x 500-m), selected using a random-stratified sampling design, across a continuous gradient of imperviousness in Melbourne, Australia. Sampling occurred twice during the butterfly flight season. Occurrence data were analyzed using generalized linear models at local and meso- scales. Despite high sampling completeness we did not detect 75% of species from the regional species pool in the urban area, suggesting that urbanization has caused a large proportion of the region's butterflies to become absent or extremely rare within Melbourne's metro-area. Those species that do remain are largely very generalist in their choice of larval host plants. Butterfly species richness and abundance declined with increasing impervious surface cover and, contrary to evidence for other taxa, there was no evidence that richness peaked at intermediate levels of urbanization. Declines in abundance appeared to be more noticeable when impervious surface cover exceeded 25%, while richness declined linearly with increasing impervious surface cover. We find evidence that the quality of the urban matrix (floral resources and remnant vegetation) influenced butterfly richness and abundance although the effects were small. Total butterfly abundance responded negatively to exotic floral abundance early in the sampling season and positively to total floral abundance later in the sampling season. Butterfly species richness increased with tree cover. Negative impacts of increased urbanization intensity on butterfly species richness and abundance may be mitigated to some extent by improving the quality of the urban matrix by enhancing tree cover and the provision of floral resources - with some evidence that native plants are more effective.


Sarcasm in verbal and nonverbal communication is known to attract higher attention and create deeper influence than other negative responses. Many people are adept at including sarcasm in written communication thus sarcastic comments have the potential to stimulate the virality of social media content. Although diverse computational approaches have been used to detect sarcasm in social media, the use of text mining to explore the influential role of sarcasm in spreading negative content is limited. Using tweets during a service disruption of a leading Australian organization as a case study, we explore this phenomenon using a text mining framework with a combination of statistical modeling and natural language processing (NLP) techniques. Our work targets two main outcomes: the quantification of the influence of sarcasm and the exploration of the change in topical relationships in the conversations over time. We found that sarcastic expressions during the service disruption are higher than on regular days and negative sarcastic tweets attract significantly higher social media responses when compared to literal negative expressions. The content analysis showed that consumers initially complaining sarcastically about the outage tended to eventually widen the negative sarcasm in a cascading effect towards the organization's internal issues and strategies. Organizations could utilize such insights to enable proactive decision‐making during crisis situations. Moreover, detailed exploration of these impacts would elevate the current text mining applications, to better understand the impact of sarcasm by stakeholders expressed in a social media environment, which can significantly affect the reputation and goodwill of an organization.


The Great Migration significantly increased the number of African Americans moving to northern and western cities beginning in the first half of the twentieth century. We show that their arrival shaped slum clearance and urban redevelopment efforts in receiving cities. To estimate the effect of migrants, we instrument for Black population changes using a shift-share instrument that interacts historical migration patterns with local economic shocks that predict Black out-migration from the South. We find that local governments responded by undertaking more urban renewal projects that aimed to redevelop and rehabilitate "blighted" areas. More Black migrants also led to an increase in the estimated number of displaced families. This underscores the contribution of spatial policies such as urban renewal towards understanding the long-term consequences of the Great Migration on central cities and Black neighborhoods and individuals.


BACKGROUND: Over the last period--late 1970 to early 1990--the incidence of prostate carcinoma has nearly doubled, even though many more patients die with prostate cancer rather than of it. This finding, together with the slow growth of this tumor and the absence of a controlled trial, makes early diagnosis for this pathology quite questionable. On the other hand, it is well known that prostatic carcinoma is curable as long as it is intracapsular and that there is an ever increasing encouragement for early detection in all diseases. Since prostatic pathology increases its incidence as age advances, the first step in early diagnosis is to be able to discriminate between healthy, benign prostatic hyperplasia and cancer cases with a well-accepted and easily understandable method. The problem is to find the best method to do it. METHODS: We measured serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in 435 men participating in an epidemiological study, at first in 1987 and again in 1992. Men with PSA levels above 4 ng/ml (in 1992) were invited to undergo other diagnostic tests (digital rectal examination, transrectal ultrasonography, biopsy) in sequence on the basis of the results of the previous tests. The pathological findings from biopsies were the reference test to determine the presence or absence of prostate cancer (2.5% of the population). RESULTS: We divided PSA concentrations into three categories, according to the most used cutoffs ( 10 ng/ml); in the meantime, we took into account the change rate in PSA concentration in time, defined as delta PSA. By the comparison between PSA categories and delta PSA, we found out that the first one does not discriminate between benign and malignant pathologies, while the use of delta PSA strongly discriminates them (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: On the basis of our results, we think that delta PSA might be the best parameter to indicate the presence of prostate cancer cases in an asymptomatic population.


Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have rapidly become the state-of-the-art models for image classification applications. They usually require large groundtruthed datasets for training. Here, we address object identification and recognition in the wild for infrared (IR) imaging in defense applications, where no such large-scale dataset is available. With a focus on robustness issues, especially viewpoint invariance, we introduce a compact and fully convolutional CNN architecture with global average pooling. We show that this model trained from realistic simulation datasets reaches a state-of-the-art performance compared with other CNNs with no data augmentation and fine-tuning steps. We also demonstrate a significant improvement in the robustness to viewpoint changes with respect to an operational support vector machine (SVM)-based scheme.


This review essay explores the need to make the roles of women and of men visible in order to understand the different ways in which they are involved in, and affected by, armed conflict; and also to examine the ways in which gender roles, the relations between women and men, are changed during and as a result of such conflict. The author reviews current literature on the political economy of conflict, and feminist writing on women in conflict, noting that the former tends to be gender-blind, while the latter generally fails to take into account an understanding of the wider Realpolitik. The author focuses on five recent feminist works that have attempted to do this, and hence contributed to moving the debate forward.


In this research it was investigated relations between age at sexual maturity and some production characteristics in Japanese Quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Totally 140 female quails were randomly distributed into individual cages and were determined age at sexual maturity, weight at sexual maturity, hen-day egg production and total egg mass production at 24 weeks old, and egg weights. It was also investigated correlations between determined characteristics. In conclusion late sexual maturity caused high sexual maturity weight and lower total hen-day egg production; on the other hand early sexual maturity resulted with increased egg production without any change for egg weight.


Studies in nonhuman primates documented that appropriate stimulation of dopamine (DA) D1 receptors in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is critical for working memory processing. The defective ability of patients with schizophrenia at working memory tasks is a core feature of this illness. It has been postulated that this impairment relates to a deficiency in mesocortical DA function. In this study, D1 receptor availability was measured with positron emission tomography and the selective D1 receptor antagonist [11C]NNC 112 in 16 patients with schizophrenia (seven drug-naive and nine drug-free patients) and 16 matched healthy controls. [11C]NNC 112 binding potential (BP) was significantly elevated in the DLPFC of patients with schizophrenia (1.63 ± 0.39 ml/gm) compared with control subjects (1.27 ± 0.44 ml/gm; p = 0.02). In patients with schizophrenia, increased DLPFC [11C]NNC 112 BP was a strong predictor of poor performance at the n-back task, a test of working memory. These findings confirm that alteration of DLPFC D1 receptor transmission is involved in working memory deficits presented by patients with schizophrenia. Increased D1 receptor availability observed in patients with schizophrenia might represent a compensatory (but ineffective) upregulation secondary to sustained deficiency in mesocortical DA function.


One of the most urgent needs in surgery today is a method of determining the viability of tissue known to be ischemic. All tissue can survive a varying period without blood supply, but at some point cellular death ensues. After this time, revascularization would be fruitless. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) is a dye which is reduced by dehydrogenase enzymes found in living cells. As the dye is reduced, its color changes from yellow to dark blue. The rapidity with which the change occurs has been correlated with cell viability. Terasaki et al1first used this dye to evaluate cadaveric kidneys for transplantation purposes, reporting that it was a simple method of determining the viability of donor organs. In the present experiment, canine ileum was subjected to various periods of total avascularity, and serial tests with the dye were performed. Our results showed a definite correlation between MTT dye times


There is a vast market for cryptography, in which one of the major design concerns is to speed up the execution of encryption and decryption. It is known that the quality (in terms of speed and area) of the cryptography systems is determined by how the inversion/division operators are implemented efficiently. In this paper, we propose a new arithmetic computation architecture for Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) system, which increases efficiency for inverse multiplier/divider. Specifically, we propose a new architectural design approach for inversion/division operators of ECC, which is suitable for portable embedded cryptography systems, by placing the minimization of circuit area as the primary design objective. From experiments using a set of benchmark design, it is shown that our approach is effective and efficient using less circuit area (20% for inverter/37% for divider) than that of the architecture produced by conventional methods.


Background: Hyperoxic lung injury is characterized by epithelial cell death and leukocyte infiltration/inflammation in the lung. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has been shown to improve survival of lung epithelial cells and reduce hyperoxic lung injury in rats. However, the mechanism of CGRP protective activity is not completely understood. The Wnt7b/β-catenin pathway plays an important role in lung development, repair and regeneration. This study therefore was designed to examine the regulatory role of CGRP in the Wnt7b/β-catenin pathway in type II alveolar epithelial cell (AEC II) under hyperoxia. Methods: Rat neonates and AEC II from premature rats were exposed to hyperoxia in the absence or presence of CGRP, Wnt7b and β-catenin protein levels were measured by Western blot analysis, while T cell factor (TCF) and c-myc mRNA levels were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: In the rat lung, both Wnt7b and β-catenin proteins were detectable, and hyperoxia significantly increased Wnt7b and β-catenin protein expression. AEC II, after exposure to hyperoxia, had significantly higher levels of Wnt7b and β-catenin proteins, and TCF and c-myc mRNAs, which was further enhanced by CGRP. Conclusions: CGRP stimulates the expression of multiple molecules in the Wnt 7b/β-catenin pathway in AEC II under hyperoxia, which might be part of the mechanism by which CGRP protects the lung from hyperoxia-induced injury. Cell Mol Med Res. 2017;1(1):15-19 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/cmmr7e


Objectives: We investigated whether an active blood pressure–lowering strategy is associated with more patients receiving thrombolytics compared with a conservative "watch and measure" strategy, and assessed safety and functional outcome of these 2 treatment strategies. Methods: This is a post hoc analysis in 2 randomized controlled stroke trials, the PRACTISE (Promoting Acute Thrombolysis in Ischemic Stroke) and the PASS (Preventive Antibiotics in Stroke Study). We included all patients with elevated pretreatment blood pressure above 185/110 mm Hg at presentation but otherwise eligible for IV thrombolysis (IVT). The decision to use an active or conservative strategy was in accordance with local hospital treatment guidelines. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients treated with IVT. Secondary outcomes were (1) symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (increased neurologic deficit with a concomitant hemorrhage on neuroimaging), (2) functional outcome at 3 months, and (3) the door-to-needle time. Results: We included 224 patients, 66 (29%) received the active and 158 (71%) the conservative strategy. In the active group, 55 patients (83%) received thrombolytics vs 87 (55%) in the conservative group, an increase of 28% (95% confidence interval: 16%–40%). If only patients actually treated with IVT were considered, the rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 7% in both groups. There was no difference in door-to-needle time. Conclusions: Active blood pressure lowering was associated with an increased proportion of patients treated with IVT compared with a conservative strategy, without a difference in symptomatic hemorrhage rate.


The purpose of this investigation was to study one restricted area of language acquisition--the formation of English plurals. Emphasis was placed on carefully controlled sampling, data collection and analysis procedures in an attempt to provide a methodological model which might prove useful to other investigators in their research. This was a descriptive study, and accordingly, all data are reported, amenability to theoretical integration at no point having determined the highlighting or exclusion of any of the information. Whatever interpretations or allusions to theory may be found in the text, while judged relevant enough for inclusion, are incidental to the main purpose of this research, and should be so viewed. The principal aim of this study was the collection of "hard data" and the provision of unequivocal descriptions of those data. That is, the importance of these data lies not in their relevance to any notions particular to this endeavor, but, rather, precisely in their totally empirical foundation. Two linguistic samples were used--native speakers of English and native speakers of Spanish in San Antonio, Texas. An attempt was made to approximate the longitudinal process of acquisition of plurals through apparent time by having as Subjects pupils in the first, second, third and tenth grades. Chapter I presents a critical examination of the literature dealing with first language acquisition deemed most relevant, as well as a similar discussion of material concerned with second language acquisition. This review provides not only the background for this study, but also much of the rationale for the research design which is outlined in Chapter 11. The two final chapters are dedicated to the presentation and discussion of the findings of this investigation.


Human action recognition using depth sensors is an emerging technology especially in game console industry. Depth information can provide robust features about 3D environments and increase accuracy of action recognition in short ranges. This paper presents an approach to recognize basic human actions using depth information obtained from the Kinect sensor. To recognize actions, features extracted from angle and displacement information of joints are used. Actions are classi ̄ed using support vector machines and random forest (RF) algorithm. The model is tested on HUN-3D, MSRC-12, and MSR Action 3D datasets with various testing approaches and obtained promising results especially with the RF algorithm. The proposed approach produces robust results independent from the dataset with simple and computationally cheap features.


The present study aims to evaluate the difference in the fluid-dynamic behavior of an overtopping wave energy converter under the incidence of irregular waves based on a realistic sea state when compared to the incidence of regular waves, representative of this sea state. Thus, the sea data of three regions from the Rio Grande do Sul coast, Brazil, were considered. Fluent software was employed for the computational modeling, which is based on the finite volume method (FVM). The numerical generation of waves occurred through the imposition of the velocity boundary conditions using transient discrete values through the WaveMIMO methodology. The volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase model was applied to treat the water–air interaction. The results for the water amount accumulated in the device reservoir showed that the fluid-dynamic behavior of the overtopping converter has significant differences when comparing the two proposed approaches. Differences up to 240% were found for the water mass accumulated in the overtopping device reservoir, showing evidence that the results can be overestimated when the overtopping device is analyzed under the incidence of the representative regular waves. Furthermore, for all studied cases, it was possible to approximate the water volume accumulated over time in the overtopping reservoir through a first-degree polynomial function.


An increasingly present component in urban architecture, public green spaces is an essential infrastructure that has various functions. The management of these spaces poses enormous difficulties after their establishment. The study has analyzed the uses and management of these spaces in the Municipality of Seme-Podji. It was carried out on the basis of a sample of 84 people made up of users and managers of green spaces, heads of neighborhoods or villages, heads of districts and officials of the Technical Services Department of the Town Hall.  The thirty-three (33) green spaces still functional in the Municipality were visited.  These are unevenly distributed between the districts and that of Agblangandan has the largest number (12). The density of green space in Seme-Podji was 0.132 green space/km2 in 2018 against 0.02 in 2017, which remains low. Very frequented by young people (58.15%), the green spaces serve as places of leisure, rest, maintenance sports and are home to small shops.  They are managed by the town hall, by local elected officials, or entrusted to individuals who, in return, pay royalties to the municipality. Poor infrastructure coverage and maintenance which generates visual and olfactory pollution according to 97.94 and 86.90% of the target population. Besides, the lacks of innovation in the activities offered to the public are the main constraints to the management of green spaces in the Municipality of Seme-Podji.

 Key words: Seme-Podji, public green spaces, management, constraints.


The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases publishes works involving tropical diseases, toxinology, venoms and their derivatives. According to the World Health Organization, tropical diseases are considered neglected, and only one percent of the new drugs developed by the private industry are geared to them. The fact that these diseases are not a Public Health problem in developed countries may justify this indifference. However, millions of people all over the world are at risk of contracting these diseases, and, annually, millions of deaths, especially of children, are attributed to them. For example, after almost a century from Chagas disease discovering, there is not an efficacious treatment available for the population chronically infected neither a perspective of developing a vaccine for it. This situation is the same for Leishmaniasis, Toxoplamasis, Malaria, and other tropical diseases, which have become less frequent in big centers but still insist in causing epidemic outbreaks, showing the maintenance of their causing factor. Despite these aspects, South American researchers, mainly from Brazilian Universities and Research Institutes, have been making great efforts to correct these failures, trying to eradicate these diseases or at least develop preventive methods. For ophidic accidents, whose serum therapy is still the only efficacious treatment, the search lies in obtaining vaccines and making serum available for veterinary use. This state of affairs has stimulated researchers to seek alternatives in order to achieve good results in this arduous task. The use of ionizing radiation has been decisive in the obtainment of modified proteins with particular and promising properties, both from venoms and parasites. This radiation has already proved to reduce the toxicity of venoms or toxins isolated from snakes, spiders, scorpions, and bees, maintaining or even improving their immunological properties. This is due to the radiation ability to modify proteins, making them easier recognized by the immune system, improving thus the vaccines developed from antigens subjected to this process. This was particularly demonstrated by our group, both in venom proteins, like crotoxin, and in the increase of immunogenicity of recombinant proteins from Mycobacterium leprae, Hansen disease bacillus. Another important aspect of ionizing radiation is its ability to sterilize without decreasing the viability of protozoans, such as malaria and toxoplasmosis. This has allowed the production of promising vaccines, both for irradiated sporozoites and taquizoites. This capacity of sterilizing without killing, i.e., only thwarting reproduction while keeping the agent's cellular biology's properties and capacity of invasion, along with the same kind of exposal by natural infection antigens, is ideal for vaccine production. This is simpler and so efficient as the production of genetically modified protozoans, recently described to have the same ability. Exploiting these aspects better can enhance our ability to produce vaccines, not only in these mechanisms but also in the selection of metacycle forms of kinetoplastids, which are difficult to obtain in axenic cultures. The association of ionizing radiaton with tropical or neglected diseases is very interesting. Radiation was always stigmatized for its association with the damage caused by bombs and nuclear accidents, nevertheless its pacific use is extremely beneficial. Sterilization by radiation of plastic products has enabled widening of their use in Medicine and Biology. Certainly, new pacific uses are going to be discovered. The association of the use of radiation for production of vaccines and immunogens, aiming at preventing tropical diseases and accidents with venomous animals, is only one of its possible applications. Indubitably, our researchers will not lack the ingenuity to use it in other systems that aim at decreasing these social issues which are tropical diseases.


A strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis was transduced to erythromycin resistance, and all of the transductants exhibited the macrolide, lincosamide, streptogramin B resistance phenotype. Curing and antibiotic disk studies also indicated that these resistances were controlled by a single plasmid determinant and were constitutive. Agarose gel electrophoresis of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from donor, cured, and transduced strains showed that a single plasmid was responsible. This plasmid, designated pNE131, was examined for sequence homology to two other plasmids, pE194 and p1258, from Staphylococcus aureus, which also code for erythromycin resistance. DNA from plasmids pNE131 and pE194 hybridized with one another, but no extensive homology to pI258 with either pNE131 or pE194 was found. Restriction endonuclease digests of pNE131 and pE194 showed no common fragments. However, sequence homology was localized to the nucleotides in pE194 that code for the 29,000-dalton protein responsible for erythromycin resistance. pNE131 was calculated to have 2,220 base pairs and is the smallest naturally occurring plasmid with a known function yet reported in S. epidermidis.


The wreck on our nation's image by the incidences of insurgency has caused catastrophic effects and depleted interests in entrepreneurship and investments into the nation's economy. An insurgency engulfed nation is infested with political disorder, economic disorientation, social vices, infrastructural decay, cultural and value decadence.  The primary objective of this study is to explore the relationship between nation branding and entrepreneurial activities, and to determine the relationship between insurgency and entrepreneurial activities.  This paper adopted frustration-aggression theory and structural violence theory to explain insurgency. It   argues that the nation needs effective marketing and rebranding to orientate the citizenry and international body, to correct the stigma placed by the activities of insurgents. The paper relied on existing literatures, periodicals, and articles to gather information. The study opines that the roles of professional marketing and public relation firms are necessary to shore up the battered images posed by the marauding effects of the insurgencies. The findings revealed numerous lapses on the part of government which precipitate the insurgencies that brought about untold consequences on the nation's economy. The paper recommends that the nation should adopt a proactive approach in solving the issues by engaging the service of professional marketing and public relation firms while taking lasting corrective measures to stem the tide of insurgency.


Quiescent black hole X-ray binaries (X-ray luminosities ${\lesssim} 10^{34}\,{\rm erg}\, {\rm s}^{-1}$) are believed to be fed by hot accretion flows that launch compact, relativistic jets. However, due to their low luminosities, quiescent jets have been detected in the radio waveband from only five systems so far. Here, we present radio observations of two quiescent black hole X-ray binaries with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. One system, GS 1124-684, was not detected. The other system, BW Cir, was detected over two different epochs in 2018 and 2020, for which we also obtained quasi-simultaneous X-ray detections with Chandra and Swift. BW Cir is now the sixth quiescent X-ray binary with a confirmed radio jet. However, the distance to BW Cir is uncertain, and we find that BW Cir shows different behaviour in the radio/X-ray luminosity plane depending on the correct distance. Estimates based on its G-type subgiant donor star place BW Cir at >25 kpc, while initial optical astrometric measurements from Gaia Data Release 2 suggested likely distances of just a few kpc. Here, we use the most recent measurements from Gaia Early Data Release 3 and find a distance $d=7.1^{+4.8}_{-3.9}$ kpc and a potential kick velocity PKV = $165^{+81}_{-17}$ km s−1, with distances up to ≈20 kpc possible based on its parallax and proper motion. Even though there is now less tension between the parallax and donor-star based distance measurements, it remains an unresolved matter, and we conclude with suggestions on how to reconcile the two measurements.


One of the primary goals in the design of a diamond blade cutting system is to reduce the cutting force. By understanding the fundamentals of the kinematics of the sawing operation, these forces can be lowered and even optimized with respect to the machining parameters, In this work the material chipping geometries have been mathematically defined and derived through kinematic analysis. These geometries are bounded by four curves and depend on the parameters: depth of cut h, blade diameter D, transverse rate of the workpiece v T , peripheral speed of the saw blade v P , and grit spacing λ. From these chipping geometries, chip area and thickness relations have been obtained. A relation for the mean chip thickness to grit spacing ratio (t c /λ) has also been obtained as a function of the nondimensional machining parameter ratios, h/D and v T /v P . The effects of these parameters on t c were also investigated. It was found that increasing ω and D, reduces the chip thickness. Contrarily, increasing v T , λ, and h, increases the magnitude of the chip thickness, A review of older chipping models was performed, comparing well with the developed model. The results show an excellent agreement between the new model and the older ones, However, at moderately small to large h/D values the new model vields a more exact result. Thus, for h/D values greater than 0.08, it is recommended that the kinematic model be used to compute t c and other pertinent sawing parameters (i.e., grit force and grinding ratio) which are a function of t c .


Background: In Australia, there are very few online courses addressing medication safety issues. Educating clinicians about medication safety is paramount given the increased responsibility of clinicians in advanced practice roles including nurses at several key points throughout the medication process that encompass prescribing, dispensing, administering and monitoring medications. Method: The model used for the course design is based on adult teaching principles. The modules incorporate several knowledge-based presentations along with interactive activities. An integrative pedagogical approach is used in designing the modules in the online course. Results: The online education modules target clinicians who work in the community setting. Although the modules are intended to reinforce the principles of medication safety principles identified in the literature, there is a focus on professional responsibility and understanding the laws governing medication disposals and handling. The course used an integrative approach suitable for pharmacy programs. Conclusion: The design and development of a medication safety online course was described by using the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the 2011 Curriculum developed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners frameworks. The course has gained accreditation by the Australian Royal College of General Practice as part of its continuing education development programs.


Profiles of stratospheric ozone and chlorine monoxide radical (C1O) have been obtained from balloon measurements of atmospheric limb thermal emission at millimeter wavelengths. The C1O measurements, important for assessing the predicted depletion of stratospheric ozone by chlorine from industrial sources, are in close agreement with present theory, The predicted decrease of C1O at sunset was measured. A tentative value for the stratospheric abundance of hydrogen peroxide was also determined.


ABSTRACT Assessing the social impact of tourism-related activities is of paramount importance to promoting sustainable development. The present study aimed to assess the social impact of a project in Cabo Delgado (MZ), designed to increase local community residents' employability in the emerging tourism sector through the delivery of vocational training programmes, utilising a multi-phase and mixed-method design. The study comprised three different phases (before, during, and after the intervention) and took into account the perspective of a variety of stakeholders. Programmes were perceived to be effective by local operators in the tourism sector and trainees, as they enhanced their living conditions and increased their employability. International operators and tourists, however, had not yet perceived their effectiveness. This study offers a methodological framework for social impact assessment by performing a programme evaluation as an integral part of the intervention itself. This methodology can be extended to other non-tourism related contexts.


This thesis consists of an analysis of electronic money (e-money), e-money's privacy policies and relevant privacy laws. The value of information and the development of technology enhance the risk of privacy violations in the information era. Consumer privacy interests with respect to e-money are governed in part by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in Canada and by the European Union's Data Protection Directive. The analysis is directed at whether the privacy policies of three kinds of e-money – Octopus Card, PayPal and MasterCard – comply with the spirit and letter of these laws. In light of technology change, the laws should be interpreted to apply broadly to protect privacy interests. Enhanced privacy protection may in fact lead to greater adoption of e-money by consumers.


The Decent Homes Programme aimed to refurbish all social sector homes to a minimum standard between 2000 and 2010. The government will invest a further £1.6 billion to improve housing in the public sector. However, housing quality is poorest in the private rented sector; homes in this sector housing people on benefits are not supported under the new initiative. This briefing looks at the impact of poor housing on health and examines the implications for housing policy. Overview


Abstract. 3D visualization is a tool that supports geospatial analysis through the application of scientific information. It enhances the quality of standard photography and can be used in many applications. Through this study, a 3D mangrove tree model is generated, as assisted by a tree crown derived from UAV images. The researchers explored different platforms namely: MeshLab, SketchUp (with 3D Tree Maker extension), and Clara.io, to come up with a more realistic three-dimensional (3D) model of a mangrove tree. From an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) derived Digital Surface Model (DSM), an isolated tree crown was selected which was then used as an assisting tool in creating the final 3D mangrove tree model. A default tree object was modified according to the characteristics as described by the DSM. Additional branches and leaves were added to the existing tree object, and its shape was modified to conform to the tree crown. The resulting model may be used to more accurately depict objects in the area to be visualized, however an automation procedure is recommended for an easier and more effective generation of multiple tree models expected in an area.


The coal deposits of Thar occur in the Sara Formation of Paleocene age. The coal bearing formation is considered to have been deposited in alluvial environments. Thar coal field is the largest coal field of Pakistan. The reserves of this coal field are estimated at 175,506 million tonnes. Thar coal field is divided into the four blocks and until 2002, 217 boreholes had been drilled. Core samples from five boreholes from block-l were selected for this study.

Detailed organic petrographic work along with Rock-Eval pyrolysis and geochemical techniques were applied for this study.

On the basis of macroscopic examination the Thar Coal was mainly classified as 'matrix coal' facies. However, Xylite coal facies are observed at a few places. A number of pale and light layers are present in Thar coals which represent reed marsh environments. The matrix coals and pale and light layers suggest that peats were formed in treeless, low-lying swamps. The quantitative petrographic analysis shows that, on the average, the coals are huminite rich (91.0%, on mineral matter free basis) with low concentration of liptinite and inertinite (6.7 % and 2.7 %, mmf basis). Furthermore the Thar coals are rich in humodetrinite, its content varies from 43% to 56%. One-meter thick sapropelic coal facies which may grade into an oil shale facies was found in borehole SV -13.

Tissue Preservation Index and Gelification Index of Diesel, (1992), Ground Water Index and Vegetation index of Calder, (1991 ), Facies-critical Maceral Associations and Mineral Matter Contents, ABC ternary diagram of Kalkreuth(1991) and TFD ternary model of Marchioni and Kalkreuth (1991) were applied for the interpretation of the environments of deposition. All of these parameters suggest herbaceous vegetation, limnic and limno-telmatic environments for most of the coal seams, especially the main coal seam. While three to four samples from three small coal seams suggest wet forest environments. The sulphur content of the main seam ranges from 0.45 to 1.66% on as received basis (ar) and the ash content ranges from 3.24 to 8.46% (ar). There is positive correlation between the sulphur and pyrite contents. The low ash and low sulphur content or the main seam suggests that the mire was not frequently flooded and there was no marine influence on the hydrology of the peat.

The palynomorphs are represented by the prevalence of dicots, monocots and pteridophytes at the time of deposition of the investigated strata. Gymnosperms were rare, while the conifers were totally absent. Occurrence of high percentage of dicots, herbaceous monocots and complete absence of gymnospermic pollen in almost all samples (at all depths) indicate dominance of cool tropical to subtropical environment with low humidity.

Coal petrographic, Rock Eval pyrolysis and gross calorific value based on moist and ash free data, classify these coals as Lignite B, Lignite A and Bituminous C. The geochemical, Rock- Eval pyrolysis and organic petrographic analyses on the coal and associated sediments indicate good to excellent potential for gas as well as for liquid hydrocarbons. The burial and thermal histories established using 1-0 basin modelling programme suggest that these coals were deeply buried (>500m) for a short period during late Oligocene and Early Miocene lime. The Tmax and vitrinite retlectance data show that these coals are not mature for hydrocarbon generation. However the presence of oil droplets in two boreholes point toward hydrocarbon generation. The oil droplets may be generated from resinite which can generate liquid hydrocarbons at low maturity.


Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have excellent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects and are widely used in inflammatory diseases. In this study, mouse macrophage cells stimulated with Lipopolysaccharride were used as a model experiment to investigate the influence of NSAIDs particle size on the inflammatory response. Methods: RAW264.7 cells were used in this study. RAW264.7 cells, the survival rate was measured using the MTT method. Inflammation caused by using Lipopolysaccharride. The NSAIDs used were Indomethacin (IMC), ketprofen (KET), piroxicam (PXC), three kinds, and the antiinflammatory effect on the bulk powder and nano particles was evaluated. Evaluation of inflammation was based on inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-a) and NO production. Results: NSAID nano showed significant inhibitory effect on inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-a) and NO production compared with NSAIDbulk However, in NSAIDs with each particle size, no difference was found between the three drugs. Conclusion: This suggests that the NSAIDnano preparation may be a raw material for new drugs. In addition, it was suggested that NSAIDnano preparation could reduce the concentration of the drug.


Home networks (HNs) will play a crucial role in achieving broadband service delivery and enabling the future Internet. Optical wireless (OW) is a promising technology for realizing this vision. This paper presents the main results of a roadmapping effort undertaken within the project ICT-OMEGA concerning the potential of OW HNs. Using the framework of the analytic hierarchy process, five different optical home networking scenarios are identified and ranked. Within this framework, the importance of several economic, social and performance criteria is also evaluated. The obtained results are justified taking into account the technical particularities of each architecture. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to further elaborate on the results.


This article reports findings from a study in which a total of 110 youths were interviewed to analyze the overall pattern of Short Message Service (SMS) usage among Malaysians. Structured interview questionnaires were used to collect the required data. The selected respondents were between 17 and 25 years old, an age category that has proven to represent the most active SMS users worldwide. Descriptive statistics including frequencies and mean values were used to analyze the data. The results indicate that Malaysian youths are as active SMS users as youths in other countries, with the majority sending between five to seven messages daily. As for gender differences, females are found to be more actively involved in SMS activities compared to the males. The findings should prove interesting for those examining the use of SMS among the younger users, especially in an Asian country such as Malaysia.


Thermoelectric materials - materials that exploit a phenomenon in which the application of heat to combination of certain metals induces an electric current- are emerging as potentially important systems for increasing fuel efficiency and decreasing emissions in future automotive vehicles. The issue of thermoelectric efficiency for automotive application is examined from the standpoint of what material figures of merit (FOMs) enables solid-state devices to compete with conventional electricity generator or vapor compression refrigerators. It is estimated that FOMs of (ZT) equal to or greater than 8 is required. Some of the emerging new bulk materials may eventually reach that level of performance. The goal is to use that excess heat to create electricity that would support many of the existing vehicle system and to deliver the sufficient power to be able to replace mechanical system with electrical system. In this paper many of the automotive marketing issues and technical challenges are taken for discussion, like development of TE generator in light and heavy-duty vehicles, what type TE material, what are all the optimum design parameters like exhaust gas flow rate, its temperature, and suitable location in the vehicle are discussed. Apart from above, how the same TE material can be used in vehicular cooling/heating/climate control also discussed


Recently, Neural Architecture Search (NAS) has successfully identified neural network architectures that exceed human designed ones on large-scale image classification. In this paper, we study NAS for semantic image segmentation. Existing works often focus on searching the repeatable cell structure, while hand-designing the outer network structure that controls the spatial resolution changes. This choice simplifies the search space, but becomes increasingly problematic for dense image prediction which exhibits a lot more network level architectural variations. Therefore, we propose to search the network level structure in addition to the cell level structure, which forms a hierarchical architecture search space. We present a network level search space that includes many popular designs, and develop a formulation that allows efficient gradient-based architecture search (3 P100 GPU days on Cityscapes images). We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on the challenging Cityscapes, PASCAL VOC 2012, and ADE20K datasets. Auto-DeepLab, our architecture searched specifically for semantic image segmentation, attains state-of-the-art performance without any ImageNet pretraining.


Multiphase machines have attracted significant attention in both academic and industrial sectors as candidates for high-power safety-critical applications as well as wind energy conversion systems. Undoubtedly, this interest has been fueled by the rapid development in semiconductor devices. Due to the lack of available standard stator frames suitable for constructing multiphase machines of any phase order, machines with multiple three-phase winding sets seem to be the standard topology in many industrial applications. Recent literature has demonstrated a simple generalized technique to rewind a standard three-phase stator frame with a generic prime-phase order stator winding. However, based on the selected slot/pole combination, this technique yields a small unbalance component in the stator phase currents due to the stator leakage inductance mismatch among different phases. This paper further investigates the optimal slot/pole choices, for a given phase-order, that minimize the unbalance in the stator leakage components between phases to ensure comparable performance to standard symmetrical $n$ -phase machines. The analysis is presented for the well-known phase orders employed in literature, namely, 5-phase, 7-phase, and 11-phase windings. The effect of winding asymmetry on mathematical modeling and, hence, the dynamic response is also investigated. A 1kW prototype machine equipped with a five-phase winding is used to experimentally verify the theoretical findings.


The implications of quantum information technology for cybersecurity and strategic stability seem worrisome. In theory, an adversary with a quantum computer could defeat the asymmetric encryption protocols that underwrite internet security, while an adversary using quantum communications guaranteed secure by the laws of physics could deny intelligence warning of surprise attack. To assess these claims, this article first develops a general political logic of cryptology grounded in the bargaining model of war, which understands uncertainty as an important cause of war and institutions as an important source of information. Cryptology of any technological vintage is shaped by both aspects of this logic, with ambiguous implications for strategic stability. In practice, strategic interaction between intelligence competitors using real quantum systems implemented in fallible human organizations will mitigate the impact of quantum computing. The upshot is that the revolutionary scientific innovation of quantum computing will probably have only marginal political impact, in part because the fields of cryptology and computing have already undergone important transformations in recent decades.


Somatic effects of diethylstilbestrol on children exposed in utero have long been recognized. This is not the case for psychiatric disorders, although animal studies provide evidence of somatic and behavioral disorders. Recent studies have reported psychiatric effects of synthetic estrogens on the brain of children exposed in utero as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, depression, eating disorders, suicides, suicide attempts. Recently, a team of St. Anne's Hospital, Paris (Prof. Krebs, Dr. Kebir) demonstrated the epigenetic mechanism of DES effect on the brain, a specific methylation of two genes playing important roles in neurodevelopment: the ADAM TS9 (control of the formation of reproductive organs and of the fetus's CNS) and the ZFP 57 gene suggested to be associated with psychosis. Progestins used in contraception and in hormone replacement therapy are known to affect the adult brain, but no data on children existed before our recent paper on their effects after in utero exposure. Clinical data were collected from 1934 children of the Association of Patients HHORAGES cohort. Our data show the presence of somatic disorders and a drastic increase of psychiatric disorders among children in utero exposed to progestins. These mental disorders are the same as pathologies provoked by exposure to synthetic estrogens.


Health economics is concerned with the evaluation of the effectiveness of health care, particularly by examining the social opportunity costs of alternative forms of treatment. The peculiar nature of the market for health care – that doctors have a major influence on both supply and demand - has attracted attention, as has the study of the options available for financing such services. Economic Analysis in Health Care provides a comprehensive coverage of both the economics of health care systems and the evaluation of health care technologies. It has been written as a core textbook for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students with knowledge of economic analysis and will appeal to an international audience. * Adopts an international perspective, using examples and case studies from the UK, the rest of Europe, and other countries. * Contains detailed exposition of the economic theory alongside relevant examples and applications * Focuses on both market-related and economic evaluation aspects of health economics (some books focus purely on market-related aspects) * Strong author team with very broad experience of writing and teaching health economics


Cell transplantation offers a potential new treatment for stroke. Animal studies using models that produce ischemic damage in both the striatum and the frontal cortex have shown beneficial effects when hNT cells (postmitotic immature neurons) were transplanted into the ischemic striatum. In this study, we investigated the effect of hNT cells in a model of stroke in which the striatum remains intact and damage is restricted to the cortex. hNT cells were transplanted into the ischemic cortex 1 week after stroke induced by distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (dMCAo). The cells exhibited robust survival at 4 weeks posttransplant even at the lesion border. hNT cells did not migrate, but they did extend long neurites into the surrounding parenchyma mainly through the white matter. Neurite extension was predominantly toward the lesion in ischemic animals but was bidirectional in uninjured animals. Extension of neurites through the cortex toward the lesion was also seen when there was some surviving cortical tissue between the graft and the infarct. Prolonged deficits were obtained in four tests of sensory‐motor function. hNT‐transplanted animals showed a significant improvement in functional recovery on one motor test, but there was no effect on the other three tests relative to control animals. Thus, despite clear evidence of graft survival and neurite extension, the functional benefit of hNT cells after ischemia is not guaranteed. Functional benefit could depend on other variables, such as infarct location, whether the cells mature, the behavioral tests employed, rehabilitation training, or as yet unidentified factors. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This chapter discusses occupiers' liability, which deals with the risks posed, and harms caused, by dangerous places and buildings. In such cases, the occupier of the premises may be liable where a person who comes onto their land is injured in or by unsafe premises if the occupier has not taken reasonable care to ensure that those entering are safe. The general principles of negligence have been incorporated into, and modified by, statute in the form of the Occupiers' Liability Acts 1957 and 1984. Although the Acts define the circumstances in which a duty of care will be owed (and tell us something as to its extent, as well as matters relating to its discharge and limitation), questions of breach and causation still need to be established by reference to the ordinary principles of negligence.


Utilities have been experimenting with integrated demand side management (IDSM) programs since the 2000s. The potential benefits of improved program cost-effectiveness and customer engagement from combining energy efficiency (EE), demand flexibility (DF), and other distributed energy resources into an integrated customer offering have been recognized although there are several known regulatory and program administrative challenges. In addition, as buildings adopt EE measures, the baseline load profile change generally reduces the potential load that can be shed or shifted. This has been a significant technical barrier for customers and program implementers. However, it is a myth that EE always reduces DF. Load change from EE can be time-varying. Therefore, whether EE improves or reduces DF should be evaluated on an individual measure basis accounting for weather dependencies and interactions. For IDSM program design purpose, it is useful to understand how common EE features influence DF and the underlying building physics. In this paper, we use parametric simulations of a prototype medium office building to evaluate how various EE features influence DF, measured by a "demand decrease intensity" (W/ft2) metric. These EE features cover envelope characteristics, internal loads, and airside HVAC system. The parametric analysis shows that some efficient HVAC control measures will increase DF but not the traditional building envelope, lighting, and ventilation-related efficiency measures. These findings contribute to the technical basis for achieving enhanced energy benefits by packaging appropriate HVAC control measures in IDSM program design. Program developers should further validate these results in targeted pilot projects.


Management organizations for companies and government must respond in a prompt and flexible manner to the large variety of frequently changing requirements of the modern market and society. Earlier management science methods like operations research and mathematical programming often took the approach of expressing problems in equations and solving them, but these tend to lack variety and flexibility and have taken form in which human beings supplement them. Various methods have been developed to systematize the parts that depend on human beings, improve the use of computers and make it possible for managers with little experience to use them. The fuzzy theory focuses on the general situation and generalization of the intelligent information processing of human beings and attempts to create models that simulate these. This book provides a guide to the basics of fuzzy management science, considering the significance, necessity and thinking behind the methodology and presenting an outline of fuzzy management science.


Clustering and visualization of large text document collections aids in browsing, navigation, and information retrieval. We present a document clustering and visualization method based on Latent Dirichlet Allocation and self-organizing maps (LDA-SOM). LDA-SOM clusters documents based on topical content and renders clusters in an intuitive twodimensional format. Document topics are inferred using a probabilistic topic model. Then, due to the topology preserving properties of self-organizing maps, document clusters with similar topic distributions are placed near one another in the visualization. This provides the user an intuitive means of browsing from one cluster to another based on topics held in common. The effectiveness of LDA-SOM is evaluated on the 20 Newsgroups and NIPS data sets.


Anaerobic digestion of pressmud diluted with water for biohydrogen production was performed in continuous fed UASB bio reactor for 120 days. Experiment was conducted at a dilution ratio of 1:7.5, by maintaining constant HRT of 30 hrs and the volume of biohydrogen evolved daily was monitored. Various parameters like COD, volatile fatty acid, alkalinity, volatile solids, total and volatile suspended solids and pH with respect to biohydrogen production were monitored at regular interval of time. Specific biohydrogen production rate was 10.98 ml g COD reduced /day and 12.77 ml g VS reduced on peak yield of biohydrogen. COD reduction was above 70 ± 7%. Maximum gas yield was on the 78 day to 2240 ml day. A VSS/TSS of 1-1.5 and VFA/Alkalinity of 0.6 -1.0 were found to be consistent during steady state condition. The aim of the experiment is to study the feasibility of biohydrogen production by anaerobic fermentation of pressmud which is a renewable form of energy to supplement the global energy crisis.


AIM
This paper will catalogue and debate the recent policies that seek to extend the role of health Service Users in England. For operational purposes, the term 'Service User' refers collectively to individual patients and also to the public at large.

BACKGROUND
The provision of principal features of user involvement are twofold. First, it concerns more personalized services to individuals. Second, it represents recognition that the 60 million potential users of health services have a rightful role in determining the design of service development and delivery.

KEY ISSUES
The paper will review the conceptual and ideological basis for current policy in relation to users. For a while, involvement policies began as benign benevolence, users now find themselves as the means to distributing resources in a way that was originally unintended.

CONCLUSIONS
The dilemmas raised by these policies for both users and providers will be explored and analysed.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
The challenge for managers resides in the empirical evidence. This indicates despite undoubted improvements in the service as a whole, data suggests that at the operational level, care is still far from user centred. The task for policy makers and managers as far as user involvement is concerned, is to move from aspiration to reality.


Catheter sepsis rates related to total parenteral nutrition are variable and depend on several patient-specific factors. These factors include the presence of immunosuppression or critical illness, the use of multiple intravascular catheters, and bacterial translocation. Catheter-related sepsis may present in the patient as fever, chills, change in mental status, hypotension, and leukocytosis. In patients with suspected catheter-related infection whose peripheral blood cultures do not grow the same organism as a blood culture drawn from the catheter, a guidewire exchange of the catheter has been shown to be effective. This technique should be considered a surgical procedure. Complications that are associated with guidewire exchange of central venous catheters are catheter malposition, embolism of air or septic thrombi, and cardiac arrhythmias.


The surface tooth wear which occurs at the gear contact region due to inadequate contact strength of the tooth is one of the predominant modes of gear failures. Currently, higher contact ratio spur gears are increasingly used in power transmission applications such as aircraft, wind turbine, automobiles and compact tracked vehicles due to their high load carrying capacity. In this work, the direct design is found to be one of the efficient gear design methods to reduce the tooth surface wear on high contact ratio asymmetric spur gears. Asymmetric gear tooth is defined, as one whose tooth geometry of the drive and coast sides is not symmetric. Asymmetry between tooth sides is achieved by providing two different pressure angles at the respective coast and drive side pitch circles. The area of existence diagrams for normal and high contact ratio gears have been developed to select suitable design solution with the given variables of gear ratio, contact ratio and teeth number. The contact load capacity, wear resistance, power losses and mechanical efficiency have also been deduced for directly designing normal and high contact ratio asymmetric spur gears. © 2020 IAU, Arak Branch. All rights reserved.


A brief review of the beginning of the University of Nebraska and the College of Agriculture provides the background for the establishment of a Department of Agricultural Economics. During the early 1860's the Congress of the United States passed several acts in support of higher education. These acts gave land and other financial assistance to the individual states to establish public universities which must include Colleges of Agriculture. The Nebraska State Legislature established the University of Nebraska in 1869 providing that it must include six colleges. The College of Agriculture and Industrial Arts was established in 1872. The name was later changed to Industrial College. In 1909 the work was separated into a College of Agriculture and a College of Engineering. The 320 acres of land, which is the site of the present College of Agriculture (East Campus), was purchased in 1874 and was often referred to as the "State Farm". The Agricultural Experiment Station was established in 1888 and in 1895 the School of Agriculture was opened. The School of Agriculture provided high school work related to agriculture and home economics. This school had an important role in providing agricultural education until it was closed in 1928.


The first successfully developed molecularly imprinted polymer toward six ergot alkaloids and their respective epimers is described. A new imprinting molecule, metergoline, was used as template analogue in the production of suspension polymerized beads. These spherical particles functioned as selective sorbent in a solid-phase extraction column. The application of this column in the cleanup of barley samples prior to liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry allowed simple and cost-efficient sample preparation. The performance of the imprinted polymer and a non-imprinted control polymer was evaluated. This includes determination of the recovery values and the matrix effect of each of the 12 tested ergot alkaloids as well as a cross-reactivity study with 25 common mycotoxins. The binding isotherms were obtained for metergoline, thus allowing comparison with other (imprinted) sorbents. A comparison between bulk and suspension polymerization is provided to determine the appropriate production technique.


In recent years Deep Learning based methods gained a growing recognition in many applications and became the state-of-the-art approach in various fields of Machine Learning, such as Object Recognition, Scene Understanding, Natural Language processing and others. Nevertheless, most of the applications of Deep Learning use static datasets which do not change over time. This scenario does not respond well to a big number of recent applications (such as tendency analysis on social networks, video surveillance, sensor monitoring, etc.), especially when working with data streams which require real-time adaptation to the content of the data. In this paper, we propose a model that is able to perform online data classification and can adapt to data classes, never seen by the model before, while preserving previously learned information. Our approach does not need to store and reuse previous observations, which is a big advantage for data-streams applications, since the dataset one wants to work with can potentially be of very large size. To make up for the absence of previous data, the proposed model uses a recently developed Generative Adversarial Network to drive a Deep Convolutional Network for the main classification task. More specifically, we propagate generative models instead of the data itself, to be able to regenerate the historical training data that we didn't keep. We test our proposition on the well known MNIST benchmark database, where our method achieves results close to the state of the art convolutional networks trained by using the full dataset. We also study the impact of dataset re-generation with GANs on the learning process.


This dissertation studies the influence of uncertainty on spacecraft control. The sources of the uncertainty are either imperfect state measurements or stochastic acceleration due to thruster noise. First, we analyze the impact of uncertainty in state measurements on the long-term cost of controlling an unstable periodic system. Under a specific procedure for updating control laws, we show that for unstable systems, there is an optimal time to perform updates in order to minimize the long-term cost per unit time. Second, we consider the effect of stochastic acceleration due to thruster noise, which results in multiplicative noise on the control. Feedback control laws are obtained by numerically solving the stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation using the spectral method. The optimal feedback control law for realistic noise levels is shown to differ significantly from the deterministic control. This suggests that trajectory planning would benefit from the inclusion of these stochastic effects. Finally, we show that Taylor series expansions can be also be used to solve the stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation under the fairly nonrestrictive assumption that the expansion is performed about an equilibrium point and that the gradient of the value function about the expansion point is zero. The Taylor series approach produces a system of ordinary differential equations describing the evolution of the coefficients in the power series. We show that in steady-state, a proper Taylor series may not exist, and that the proper solution is obtained through a Frobenius series expansion.


Presented are the operating characteristics of an integrated CW-near infrared tomographic imaging system capable of fast data collection and producing 2D/3D images of optical contrast features that exhibit dynamic behavior in tissue and other highly scattering media in real time. Results of preliminary in vivo studies on healthy and cancerous breast tissue are shown.


With ever increasing size and use of social networks, there is a large amount of information which users implicitly or explicitly leave behind on social media. This information can be used to identify their personal traits and preferences. In this work, we have proposed a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based approach for clustering users on Facebook (FB) data to identify similar users. Proposed method can be used to recommend people having similar interests. Our results indicate a lesser quantization error than k-means when used for 7 or less clusters. Possible applications of this approach include rope-in exercises for new hires, assigning a resource person to work team, etc.


Biopsies of human normal adrenal medulla, adrenal pheochromocytoma, and chemodectoma were studied for the presence of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). An immunoreactive Mr 18,000 bFGF‐like molecule was detected both in normal and neoplastic tissues. This molecule was identified as bFGF on the basis of its molecular weight, its affinity for heparin, and its capacity to induce plasminogen activator production in cultured endothelial GM 7373 cells. The levels of immunoreactive and biologically active bFGF appeared to be significantly higher in the extracts of adrenal pheochromocytoma and chemodectoma than in the extracts of normal adrenal medulla. bFGF immunostaining was detectable in the nuclei of chief (Type‐I) cells and of endothelial cells both in normal adrenal medulla and in pheochromocytoma. Cytoplasmic bFGF positivity of endothelial cells was also observed in pheochromocytoma but not in normal tissue. The data are in keeping with the hypothesis that bFGF may exert autocrine and paracrine functions in the growth and neovascularization of human pheochromocytoma.


Postoperative nausea and vomiting, both early onset and delayed, continues to be a major concern of patients and practitioners. Postoperative nausea and vomiting is recognized as a debilitating and potentially dangerous occurrence during the recovery period. Extensive studies of the serotonin subtype 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptor antagonist ondansetron have demonstrated efficacy and safety in all age groups. Ondansetron has been shown to be most effective in preventing early postoperative vomiting in high-risk populations. Nausea and delayed postoperative nausea and vomiting are more effectively treated by combination therapies. Further understanding of patient-to-patient variability in the metabolism of ondansetron and the interaction of the different receptors in the nausea–vomiting neuroendocrine pathway may eventually greatly decrease the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.


To download this paper, please click  here. Starting with observations on a coffin that was brought from Egypt in 1722 and displayed at the British Museum from the first day of its opening — coffin EA6695 — this paper explores physical engagements with Egyptian mummies in London at the turn of the 19 th century. It argues that it is through physical engagements — including investigations and destructions — that the Egyptian mummy was used to construct knowledge, not only about ancient Egypt, but about the body, race and the modern world. Using a number of sources from a range of individual reports, this paper sheds light on the cultural practices that surrounded and shaped engagements with Egyptian human remains, and reappraises the value of looking at destructive investigations as cultural interventions that can explain later practices, including the public mummy unrolling.


This study estimates food budget share equations to calculate household equivalence scales that address both base-independence and potential endogeneity, even though an instrument that satisfies the usual exclusion restriction may not be available. The application incorporates semi-parametric methods, control functions and heteroscedasticity instrumentation. The application is founded on the most recent income and expenditure data that is available for South Africa. We find that endogeneity matters, and that failing to account for it leads to overstated equivalence scales in nearly every circumstance. When we fit our calculated scales to a typical (A+κK)ψ equivalence structure via non-linear least squares, we find values of κ near unity and values of ψ mostly below 0.5. Thus, our analysis suggests that a square-root scale is more appropriate than other scales that have been used to examine poverty and inequality in South Africa.


The status of "anthropomorphic" descriptions of animals in terms of intentions and emotions has been generally regarded as a prescriptive methodological concern. In contrast, in the study of human social psychology the nature of psychological descriptions of other people has been approached as a substantive empirical issue. Following this lead, the present study investigated the nature of people's descriptions of short videotaped episodes of animal behavior. The descriptions obtained were predominantly anthropomorphic and structured according to a limited set of "event units" whose psychological meaning was highly consistent across the observers. In common with many social psychologists we conclude that consistency of anthropomorphic description suggests that meaning is specified within the structure of behavior.


Study designs and other criteria for inclusion in the review A systematic review of the literature does not appear to have been undertaken. The authors reported the design of two of the primary studies that were used as the main sources of evidence. One was a retrospective cohort of 382 women recruited at 3 hospitals in the region of Mwanza. The other was a prospective cohort of ANC attendees who were followed to delivery. Life expectancy was derived from both the World Development Report (WDR) by the World Bank and Tanzanian statistics.


Angular measurements taken on preoperative hallux abducto valgus x-rays have been relied upon heavily by surgeons in helping to determine the nature and extent of the deformity, as well as a guide for selecting the most appropriate surgical procedure for correction. The reliability of measuring these angles among different physicians has never been tested, to these authors' knowledge. Therefore, this study is designed to measure the variation in values for the five basic angles among a group of podiatrists with varying capabilities, training, and experiences, and demonstrates that preoperative radiographic measurements may not be an accurate reflection of the general degree of pathology about the first metatarsophalangeal joint.


Mesoporous silica particles (MSPs) enhance the release kinetics of poorly soluble compound probucol (PB) under the influence of a pore-blocking protein corona, prepared with lysozyme protein adsorption. In vivo oral administration experiments show a prolongation in the time to reach maximum systemic concentration and half-life of PB released from the lysozyme-MSP complex in comparison to the MSP alone. Specific hard protein corona complexes can act as functional diffusion barriers for the controlled release of drugs from MSP based formulations.


The quality of answers in the CQA website various a lot. Many indicators influence the quality and their importance are not the same. In order to identify the important indicators and make target improvements, in the paper, DEMATEL-ANP are used. The analyzing results show that Cognitive, Information sources, Socio-emotional are the casual aspects, and Novelty, Effectiveness, Understandability, Reference to external sources as well as Solution feasibility are important influencing factors. These aspects and indicators should be paid more attention as they are more important for improving the quality of answers and guiding posting more high-quality answer.


The study aims to reveal increase in the ability to determine KKM with small  group discussion for Teachers of mathematics SMKN 1, SMKN 4, SMK PGRI 2 Jambi city. This study tested the hypothesis "by using a small group discussion to improve the ability of teachers in the subjects of mathematics sets of minimal completeness criteria (KKM)". This research conducted action research in the format of school, this action conducted in two circles such as: action planning, implementation of act, observation, evaluation and reflection. The method used is a small group discussion. The result of research first action that known the teachers ability to set up the mark of KKM improved in pretest 53.8 to 79 or 49% increasing . The result of second action showed the significant mark is average 93% to 94%. This research reveals that hypothesis is accepted. This implies that in order to improve the ability of teacher to set up KKM in SMK by using small discussion is sought. keyword: Small-Group Discussion


Cloud computing technologies have redefined information technology and information management by global deployments of infrastructures that are scalable, remotecontrolled and agile. However, various risks arise with using cloud services and technologies and how to mitigate them is not widely known. This article discusses some of the risks and the mitigation strategies.


This paper describes our experience in delivering a productivity management module using Team-based Learning (TBL) to a group of final-year Information and Communication Technology students during the height of the COVID-19 infection outbreak in Singapore. As these students were also doing their internships in different companies, to mitigate transmission of COVID-19 among students and further on to staff in these companies, this module was delivered online over Zoom. Every week, students attempted the individual readiness assessment test (iRAT) and group readiness assessment test (gRAT) over Zoom and worked on their team projects solving an industry problem using Lean Methodology and A3 report in Zoom breakout rooms. We explain how we conducted TBL over Zoom and present our findings and feedback from students.


This paper presents the research conducted for an industry partner with the goal of developing a waste heat driven, fully renewable and green, power plant. The industry partner was desirous of a compost waste heat driven power plant with the possibility of supplemental solar thermal energy boost, but with the main energy source being compost. The goal is for the plant to operate with a duty of 24/7 on compost waste heat and utilize solar thermal energy to boost power output during the day. This paper discusses the design of a suitable Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant, the design of a compost driven heat exchanger/boiler, compost pile thermal analysis, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) hybrid plant analysis, and expected power output analysis for this concept. Furthermore, the selection of isobutane as the baseline refrigerant for this ORC plant will be justified. Analysis was conducted and a feasibility study was carried out in order to determine if the concept is feasible and competitive in the open market. As such, a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) analysis was also performed to ensure that the energy produced at this plant would come at a reasonable, competitive cost. The results shown herein for a hybrid CSP / compost waste to heat isobutane driven ORC powerplant afford an LCOE on the order of 4 ¢/kWh for compost alone and 10.7 ¢/kWh for compost and CSP solar. These are in comparison to the average LCOE for solar stations of approximately 10 ¢/kWh. Paramount to the operation of the compost waste heat to power plant presented herein is the correct design and selection of the heat exchanger which interfaces the compost waste heat stream to the isobutane ORC. The design and analysis of this heat exchanger is given in detail herein.


This paper presents some of the facts regarding the use of technology in Nepalese industries and businesses. This is a research of paper. It uses a set of questionnaires to collect the responses regarding technology management issues. It also reviews and describes scholarly papers, professional research works, and research reports of different national and international organizations to answer the research questions and draw results. Results show that Nepal is rich in many types of traditional technologies. Most of rural businesses are dependent on traditional technology for their activities. The contribution of traditional technology is still important in Nepal's social-economic sphere and it cannot altogether be neglected. The results also show that the uses of modern technologies are also increasing in Nepal. Regarding modern technologies, information technology (IT), sophisticated technology, biotechnology and tissue culture technology, solar power, computer technology, automation, e-banking, mobile banking, locker facilities, telephone and television, and e-business become popular in Nepalese industries and businesses. The results reveal that lack of political commitment, lack of interactions, the gap between policies and practices, lack of coordination, lack of need assessment, low quality of practical education, low investment in research & development (R&D), inadequate maintenance facilities, the rapid pace of technological change, and non-involvement in decision-making are the key issues related to the management of technology in our context. The focus on R&D is essential for the development of new technologies in Nepal.


Uppala et al. : Hepatoprotective activity of Aerides odorata Natural products have been playing a vital role in protection against different diseases since ancient times. Many medicinal plants are still unexplored about their medicinal values scientifically, but they are still used in traditional medicine. The current study was aimed to explore and evaluate the phytochemical constituents, antioxidant activity against different free radicals with in vitro methods and in vivo methods using albino Wistar rats and hepatoprotective activity against ethanol-induced liver toxicity. The extracts of Aerides odorata show sterols, terpenoids, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, alkaloids, quinones and the absence of amino acids and oils. The hydroalcoholic extract had showed presence of more phenolic and alkaloid contents compared to ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of Aerides odorata . The extracts of Aerides odorata had shown antioxidant potentiality in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The extracts had more inhibition in reducing 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and almost the same potentiality in altering antioxidant enzymes levels. The extracts of Aerides odorata had shown concentration-dependent hepatoprotective activity. However, it is moderate as compared with the standard drug Liv 52. The hydroalcoholic extracts had more activity compared to ethyl acetate extract. The activity is more in the reduction of free radicals but is lower in the reduction of hepatoprotection. The compound in Aerides odorata may act synergistically or individually in controlling both activities. Further studies are worthful in the evaluation of different biological activities and the isolation of individual bioactive compounds.


To test the hypothesis that carbon monoxide transfer across the placenta is, in part, a facilitated process, we have looked for evidence of saturation kinetics for carbon monoxide. In eight pregnant ewes, fetal to maternal carbon monoxide transfer was examined in a preparation in which the fetal side of the placenta was perfused with blood. The carboxyhemoglobin concentrations on the fetal side of the placenta were varied from 4.8 to 70% in 23 measurements. At increased carbon monoxide tensions, the transfer from fetus to mother always decreased. The slope of log rate of carbon monoxide transfer vs. log partial pressure gradient across the placenta was significantly different from 1. Placental membrane diffusing capacity was calculated separately from total placental diffusing capacity which includes hemoglobin reaction rates and erythrocyte membrane diffusion. Placental membrane diffusing capacity decreased at increased carbon monoxide tensions. Placental permeability for urea did not change with increasing carbon monoxide tensions. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that carbon monoxide diffusion in the placenta is, in part, carrier mediated.