Single and multiple variable regression analyses were conducted using data from stratified, cluster sample design, iodine surveys in India, Ghana, and Senegal to identify factors associated with urinary iodine concentration (UIC) among women of reproductive age (WRA) at the national and sub-national level. Subjects were survey household respondents, typically WRA. For all three countries, UIC was significantly different (p < 0.05) by household salt iodine category. Other significant differences were by strata and by household vulnerability to poverty in India and Ghana. In multiple variable regression analysis, UIC was significantly associated with strata and household salt iodine category in India and Ghana (p < 0.001). Estimated UIC was 1.6 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.3, 2.0) times higher (India) and 1.4 (95% CI 1.2, 1.6) times higher (Ghana) among WRA from households using adequately iodised salt than among WRA from households using non-iodised salt. Other significant associations with UIC were found in India, with having heard of iodine deficiency (1.2 times higher; CI 1.1, 1.3; p < 0.001) and having improved dietary diversity (1.1 times higher, CI 1.0, 1.2; p = 0.015); and in Ghana, with the level of tomato paste consumption the previous week (p = 0.029) (UIC for highest consumption level was 1.2 times lowest level; CI 1.1, 1.4). No significant associations were found in Senegal. Sub-national data on iodine status are required to assess equity of access to optimal iodine intake and to develop strategic responses as needed.


On 20 December 1999, Macau closed the chapter of more than four centuries of Portuguese rule and officially became one of the Special Administrative Regions (S.A.R.) of China. During these centuries, a creole culture emerged along with a community of racially mixed individuals, commonly known as the Macanese (Pina Cabral, 2002). While many of them have opted to disaffiliate themselves from the 'capital of Portugueseness' (Pina Cabral, 2002:41), for the purpose of conglomerating with and adapting to the major Chinese population in Macau, others remain severely proud of their Macanese identity. By employing a theoretical framework in mixed race studies (Bhabha, 1994; Ali, 2003; Song, 2003), this thesis will explore the Macanese's identity, language and culture as a consequence of the impact of post‐handover in Macau. The focus will be on how the Macanese, as a racially mixed community, have managed and negotiated their identity, language and culture in this context. The perspectives of positioning will be amplified, since there is an apparent lack of research in Macau.   By utilising biographical research in qualitative methodology, this thesis examines the Macanese context due to sinicization from the interviews of three sample groups (Category A, Category B and the Category C). The disparities in ages and experiences are specifically arranged to allow their aspirations and perceptions to be explored and discussed as being mixed in the dominating Chinese society. Despite the consequence of the handover, my results show that younger Macanese are keen to search for new ways to adapt and to preserve their community and cultures from dissipating. Many have acknowledged the significance to look beyond the traditional norms (as previously adopted by the older Macanese generation) and to acquire a receptive attitude with the major Chinese population in order to endure their sustainability in contemporary Macau.


Deep neural networks have seen enormous success in various real-world applications. Beyond their predictions as point estimates, increasing attention has been focused on quantifying the uncertainty of their predictions. In this review, we show that the uncertainty of deep neural networks is not only important in a sense of interpretability and transparency, but also crucial in further advancing their performance, particularly in learning systems seeking robustness and efficiency. We will generalize the definition of the uncertainty of deep neural networks to any number or vector that is associated with an input or an input-label pair, and catalog existing methods on ``mining'' such uncertainty from a deep model. We will include those methods from the classic field of uncertainty quantification as well as those methods that are specific to deep neural networks. We then show a wide spectrum of applications of such generalized uncertainty in realistic learning tasks including robust learning such as noisy learning, adversarially robust learning; data-efficient learning such as semi-supervised and weakly-supervised learning; and model-efficient learning such as model compression and knowledge distillation.


The incorporation of aluminum in the calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) phases formed by hydration of three different white Portland cements has been investigated by 29Si MAS NMR. The principal difference between the three cements is their bulk Al2O3 contents and quantities of alkali (Na+ and K+) ions. 29Si MAS NMR allows indirect detection of tetrahedral Al incorporated in the silicate chains of the C–S–H structure by the resonance from Q2(1Al) sites. Analysis of the relative 29Si NMR intensities for this site, following the hydration for the three cements from 0.5 d to 30 weeks, clearly reveals that the alkali ions promote the incorporation of Al in the bridging sites of the dreierketten structure of SiO4 tetrahedra in the C–S–H phase. The increased incorporation of Al in the C–S–H phase with increasing alkali content in the anhydrous cement is in accord with a proposed substitution mechanism where the charge deficit, obtained by the replacement of Si4+ by Al3+ ions in the bridging sites, is balanced by adsorption/binding of alkali ions in the interlayer region most likely in the near vicinity of the AlO4 tetrahedra. This result is further supported by similar 29Si MAS NMR experiments performed for the white Portland cements hydrated in 0.30M NaOH and NaAlO2 solutions.


A useful space telerobot for on-orbit assembly, maintenance, and repair tasks must have a sensing and perception subsystem which can provide the locations, orientations, and velocities of all relevant objects in the work environment. This function must be accomplished with sufficient speed and accuracy to permit effective grappling and manipulation. Appropriate symbolic names must be attached to each object for use by higher-level planning algorithms. Sensor data and inferences must be presented to the remote human operator in a way that is both comprehensible in ensuring safe autonomous operation and useful for direct teleoperation. Research at JPL toward these objectives is described.


Intestinal fluid secretion is pivotal in the creation of an ideal environment for effective enzymatic digestion, nutrient absorption and stool movement. Since fluid cannot be actively secreted into the gut, this process is dependent on an osmotic gradient, which is mainly created by chloride transport by the enterocyte. A pathological dysbalance between fluid secretion and absorption leads to obstruction or potentially fatal diarrhoea. This article reviews the widely accepted model of intestinal chloride secretion with an emphasis on the molecular players involved in this tightly regulated process.


Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & R. Turner, 2009) is a new indirect contact strategy for promoting tolerance and more positive intergroup relations. In this chapter, we review existing research on imagined contact and propose two routes—cognitive and affective—through which it can exert a positive influence on contact-related attitudes and intentions. We first review research that has established the beneficial impacts of imagined contact on intergroup attitudes via reduced intergroup anxiety, supporting its efficacy as an intervention where there exists little or no opportunity for direct contact. We then review more recent research showing that imagined contact not only improves attitudes, but can also enhance intentions to engage in future contact. These studies suggest that contact imagery provides a behavioural script that forms the cognitive basis for subsequent judgements about future contact intentions. Collectively, the findings from this research programme support the idea that imagined contact can complement more direct forms of contact—providing a way of initially encouraging an interest in engaging positively with outgroups before introducing face-to-face encounters. We discuss the implications of these findings for future theory and research, and how they can inform prejudice-reduction interventions seeking to capitalise on the beneficial effects of mental imagery.


Facial vertical growth pattern plays an important role in achieving facial balance as well as response to orthodontic treatment. Variation in growth pattern ,function of soft tissue and jaw musculature has an impact on dentoalveolar tissues thus influencing the pattern of malocclusion. The present study aims to identify the vertical growth patterns and its association with different malocclusion. A retrospective study was conducted using the case records of patients in a private University hospital between June 2019 to March 2020. The sample size consisted of a total of 225 patients based on malocclusion (class I -75 , class II 75, Class III -75) whose data on age, gender, skeletal growth pattern were recorded. Frequency distribution and chi-square tests were applied for statistical analysis in SPSS 20.0. The study results showed that there is a statistically significant association between type of malocclusion and vertical growth pattern (p=0.026) vertical growth pattern was common in class II malocclusion. Also there was no statistically significant difference between vertical growth pattern and age (p= 0.524), gender (p=0.178). Hence it can be concluded that vertical growth pattern is not associated with age, gender but in subjects with class II malocclusion vertical growth pattern is more common than in other malocclusions.


The use of experimental methods and statistical analysis techniques to study factors influencing operational survivability in gracefully degrading systems is investigated. Survivability data are generated using a statistically designed experiment in conjunction with a simulation model of network survivability. Thirty two factors having stable regression coefficients are used to identify ten regression models explaining survivability. Influential factors include the distributed system network, the application system, and the distribution policy. Nine factors are found in all models: the number of nodes in the distribution system, distributed system connectivity, module memory requirements, module-to-module interaction frequency, distribution policy, percent of nodes lost, initial assignment results, available processing capacity at the end of the subcase, and the interaction of all application-related variables. Models that are acceptable from both an estimation and prediction viewpoint are developed. Possible commercial and military applications are suggested.


Abstract The kinematical properties of the fragment ejection processes in the events that produced the presently known asteroid families have long been poorly understood due to the presence of a couple of unknown angles (the true anomaly and the argument of the perihelion of the parent body at the epoch of the family formation) in Gauss's equations. In the present paper a general procedure for obtaining a reliable estimate of the unknown angles starting from the known values of the proper semimajor axis, eccentricity, and inclination of the family members is described and extensively tested. The results of numerical simulations are highly encouraging when we consider some plausible structures of the ejection velocity fields in agreement with those observed in laboratory experiments. In these cases, we show that the unknown angles can be reliably determined, and the ejection velocities of the fragments can be fairly well reconstructed. An application of this technique to a sample of real asteroid families shows structures of the resulting ejection velocity fields to be fairly plausible according to evidence from laboratory experiments. An interesting by-product of this analysis is an evaluation in each case of the direction of impact of the original projectile in the reference frame of the orbiting parent body. The relevance of these results for the physical studies of the asteroids and their collisional evolution is discussed.


The present work describes the application of silk fabric for leather garments and goods to support the leather products industry in identifying alternate raw material. The results show that the quilted silk fabric has the potential to be combined with cow nappa leather to make products with improved strength and enhanced aesthetic appeal. The major findings of this study also prove that on treatment with artificial alkaline perspiration, leather and silk-based samples behave inversely and this relation gives a clear direction to product designers and developers about the placement of leather and silk panels while making combination products. Apparently, this study helps the silk industry to attain the major share in the domestic and global market.


A simple personal saving model with interest rate based on random fluctuation of national growth rate is considered. We establish connections between the mean stochastic stability of our model and the deterministic stability of related partial difference equations. Then the asymptotic behavior of our stochastic model is studied. Although the model is simple, the techniques for obtaining its properties are not, and we make use of the theory of abstract Banach algebras and weighted spaces. It is hoped that our study will lead to more realistic random models.


The root is a dynamic system whose structure is regulated by a complex network of interactions between hormones. The primary root meristem is specified in the embryo. After germination, the primary root meristem grows and then reaches a final size that will be maintained during the life of the plant. Subsequently, secondary structures such as lateral roots and root nodules form via the re-specification of differentiated cells. Cytokinin plays key roles in the regulation of root development. Down-regulation of the cytokinin response is required for the specification of a new stem cell niche, during both embryo and lateral root development. In the root meristem, cytokinin signalling regulates the longitudinal zonation of the meristem by controlling cell differentiation. Moreover, cytokinin regulates radial patterning of root vasculature by promoting protophloem cell identity and by spatially inhibiting protoxylem formation. In this review, an effort is made to describe the known details of the role of cytokinin during root development, taking into account also the interactions between cytokinin and other hormones. Attention is given on the dynamicity of cytokinin signalling output during different developmental events. Indeed, there is much evidence that the effects of cytokinin change as organs grow, underlining the importance of the spatiotemporal specificity of cytokinin signalling.


The in vitro cultures of Rindera graeca, a rare endemic plant, were developed as a sustainable source of phenolic acids. Various shoot and root cultures were established and scaled up in a sprinkle bioreactor. A multiplication rate of 7.2 shoots per explant was achieved. HPLC–PDA–ESI–HRMS analysis revealed the presence of rosmarinic acid (RA) and lithospermic acid B (LAB) as the main secondary metabolites in both the shoot and root cultures. The maximum RA (30.0 ± 3.2 mg/g DW) and LAB (49.3 ± 15.5 mg/g DW) yields were determined in root-regenerated shoots. The strongest free radical scavenging activity (87.4 ± 1.1%), according to 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate assay, was noted for roots cultivated in a DCR medium. The highest reducing power (2.3 µM ± 0.4 TE/g DW), determined by the ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay, was noted for shoots cultivated on an SH medium containing 0.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine. A genetic analysis performed using random amplified polymorphic DNA and start codon targeted markers revealed genetic variation of 62.8% to 96.5% among the investigated shoots and roots. This variability reflects the capacity of cultivated shoots and roots to produce phenolic compounds.


Background: Persistent Headache Attributed to Past Stroke (PHAPS) is a controversial entity, recently included in the new ICHD-3 classification despite being described only in retrospective studies. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and characteristics of PHAPS in patients admitted with acute stroke.

Methods: We selected all patients with Headache Associated with Acute Stroke (HAAS) from a prospective, single-centre registry of patients with acute stroke admitted to a Neurology ward between November 2018 and December 2019. We analysed demographic, clinical and neuroimaging data. We assessed the follow-up with a phone call questionnaire at 6-12 months.

Findings: Among 121 patients with acute stroke, only 29 patients (24, 0%) had HAAS. From these, 6 were lost to follow-up. Twenty-three patients answered the 6 to 12- month follow-up questionnaire and were included in this study. Median age was 53 years (IIQ 38-78) and there was no gender predominance. Of the 10 patients (43, 5%) that had persistent headache, 8 clearly suffered from Previous Chronic Headaches (PCH), however, they all mentioned a different kind of headache. Only 1 patient did not have other reasons for a secondary headache.

Conclusions: In this study, only 10 out of 121 stroke patients (8.3%) referred persistent headache at the 6 to 12-month follow-up, and the majority already suffered from PCH. In patients with PCH we observed a change of the usual headache pattern with even total remission. Only one (<0, 1%) patient with persistent headache at the 6 to 12-month follow-up did not have a clear PCH history.


Abstract The Northern Bald Ibis or Waldrapp Geronticus eremita is a species of arid semi-deserts and steppes, which was formerly widely distributed as a breeding bird across North Africa, the Middle East and the European Alps. Just over 100 breeding pairs now remain in the wild at two sites in Morocco whilst two further wild pairs remain in Syria. There is also a population in Turkey, which is maintained for part of the year in captivity, and a large captive population in zoos. The species is classified by IUCN as 'Critically Endangered', the highest threat category. The wild population has grown during the past decade, which represents the first evidence of population growth in the species' recorded history. Conservation action in Morocco has contributed to this recovery. A large part of the contribution of research to conservation action has been to establish and document the value of simple site and species protection. Quantitative assessments of the importance of sites for breeding, roosting and foraging have helped to prevent disturbance and the loss of sites to mass-tourism development. Wardening by members of the local community have reduced disturbance by local people and others and increased the perceived value of the birds. Monitoring has suggested additional ways to improve the breeding status of the species, including the provision of drinking water and removal and deterrence of predators and competitors. These actions have been evaluated by subsequent testing. Steppe and two-year fallows were shown to be the key feeding habitats, and maintaining such non-intensive land uses in future may present major management challenges. The recovery in the Souss-Massa region remains precarious because the population is concentrated in a few places where adverse changes are possible. However, it could provide opportunities for natural extension of the range to formerly occupied sites further north in Morocco.


In this work, nickel (Ni)-loaded activated carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) were prepared for hydrogen storage applications. The process was conducted by chemical activation method at 900oC with KOH:CNTs ratios (4:1, g/g). And then, Ni-loaded ACNTs were also formulated to investigate the hydrogen storage characteristics as a function of Ni content. The microstructures of the Ni-loaded ACNTs were characterized by XRD and TEM measurements. The textural properties of the samples were analyzed using N2 adsorption isotherms at 77 K. The BET, D-R, and BJH equations were used to observe the specific surface areas, the micropore, and mesopore structures, respectively. The hydrogen storage capacity of the Ni-loaded ACNTs was measured at 298 K at a pressure of 100 bar. It was found that the hydrogen storage capacity of Ni-loaded ACNTs was enhanced in proportion to the Ni content, with Ni-5-ACNTs exhibiting the largest hydrogen storage capacity. Therefore, it could be concluded that the significantly created micropores on CNTs by chemical activation had an effect on hydrogen storage behaviors as well as the Ni particles played an important role in hydrogen storage characteristics due to the hydrogen spillover effect.


This study examined the short-term effects of shift work on mood changes. The subjects were 1,608 Japanese female nurses, working on rotating 3-shift schedules consisted of day, evening, and night shift. Repeated measurements of six dimensions of mood and sleep hours in four consecutive days were analyzed. Prominent changes of subjective fatigue, activity and confusion were observed especially when shift changes occurred (e.g., day shift to night shift or night shift to evening shift). The changes of mood were contingent to those of sleep hours, which suggested the close association between them. However, the mood changes were observed even after adjusting for the effect of sleep hours, indicating that irregular sleep pattern is not the only cause that affects mood.


ABSTRACT Background: Older people are generally less physically active than young adults. As the aging population increases, the prevalence of diseases associated with aging also increases. There are numerous health benefits of physical activity for older people. The promotion of regular exercise among the adults is considered a crucial step in preventing a wide range of chronic diseases. The objective of this study is to determine the physical activity level among older people using a validated Modified Baecke Questionnaire and the associated factors for the older people being physically inactive. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The respondents were the elderly aged 60 and above, and were selected by convenience sampling from the outpatient clinics at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). The Modified Baecke Questionnaire for Older Adults was translated to Malay and was administered by structured interview. The total score of the questionnaires was divided into quartiles to classify the respondents into the categories of low, moderate or high physical activity. Low and moderate physical activity levels were further categorized into the inactive group and high activity level was categorized as the active group. Result: The minimum and maximum score obtained were 0.72 and 21.31, respectively with a mean (SD) of 3.85 (2.87). Low, moderate and high physical activity categories comprise of 47.7%, 26.1% and 26.2% of the respondents, respectively. Majority of the respondents (73.8%) fell into the inactive group. Univariable and multivariable analysis of 12 socio demographic and clinical characteristics were not significantly associated with physically inactive elderly . Conclusion: Majority of the elderly fell into the inactive group (73.8%) and no factor was significantly associated with physically inactive elderly in this study. Keywords: physical activity, older people, Modified Baecke Questionnaire, Kelantan, Malaysia


Energetically low-lying structural isomers of the much-studied thiolate-protected gold cluster Au25(SR)18- are discovered from extensive (80 ns) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the reactive molecular force field ReaxFF and confirmed by density functional theory (DFT). A particularly interesting isomer is found, which is topologically connected to the known crystal structure by a low-barrier collective rotation of the icosahedral Au13 core. The isomerization takes place without breaking of any Au-S bonds. The predicted isomer is essentially iso-energetic with the known Au25(SR)18- structure, but has a distinctly different optical spectrum. It has a significantly larger collision cross-section as compared to that of the known structure, which suggests it could be detectable in gas phase ion-mobility mass spectrometry.


Traditionally, regional endowments are viewed as external variables when it comes to location choices of companies. In most concepts on location choices and regional economics companies are thought to view the local labour market, the local innovation system or the general quality of life in a region as given and chose the location that best suits the company's needs. Increasingly however, scholars from different research fields are providing arguments to reverse that view and show that there can be good reasons for a company to engage in improving its location despite implicit externalities. In this paper we try to systematically analyse issue of corporate engagement in regions. We will show how strong and in which fields companies engage in their respective region, how this engagement can be related to their existing regional integration and what differences appear between industries and types of companies in this respect. In this study we draw upon extensive interviews with over thirty companies from three industrial sectors in the Austrian region of Styria: the metals industry, which dates back to medieval times and has gone through a deep process of economic restructuring, the automotive industry, the first industry in which a comprehensive cluster policy approach was applied in Austria and the software industry, a rather young industry that experienced high growth rates in the past years. We will conclude that even though there are differences between the industries and types of companies in terms of scope and scale of regional integration and regional engagement, there is a strong correlation between the two: the higher the regional integration, the higher corporate regional engagement and vice versa.


How can national income be adjusted to indicate welfare improvement if the future is uncertain? The present paper extends the definition of national income to stochastic settings on the basis of discounted utilitarian welfare function. Real interest rate of consumption is redefined so that real national income can be interpreted as the expected present value of real interest on future national consumption. A stochastic one-good model is used to illustrate the application of the stochastic real national income. It turns out that under uncertainty real national income may be decreasing even though captial stock is constant or increasing over time


This is a pharmacokinetic study of two formulations containing Desvenlafaxine succinate 50 mg extended release. Its objective was to compare the bioavailability between the Test product (Desvenlafaxine ER produced by Tecnoquimicas S.A., Colombia laboratory) and the Reference product (Pristiq XR® produced by Wyeth laboratory) and to be able to determine the Bioequivalence between the both of them. For this, an open label, two periods, two previously randomized sequences, crossover, single postprandial 100 mg dose study with an 8 days washout period between each period in 24 healthy volunteers was performed, including the collection of 13 plasma samples within 0 and 48 hours from all volunteers who participated in the clinical phase. The analytical method used was High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with UV detector. The obtained mean peak concentration (Cmax) for the Test and Reference products were 215.8 ng/mL and 196.9 ng/mL and for the area under the curve up to 48 hours (AUC0-t) 3849,6 ng.h/mL and 3605,4 ng.h/mL respectively. The 90% confidence interval for the Cmax parameter is within the range of 103,58-113,63 and for the AUC0-t parameter, the 90% confidence interval is within 97,96-111,39. Based on the FDA, EMA and WHO bioequivalence investigation guidelines, the CI is within the allowed ranges for bioequivalence and interchangeability declaration of the Tecnoquimicas S.A. product with the Reference product.


Abstract This study investigates the impact of pre-hiring (ex-ante) and after-hiring (ex-post) negotiation on organizational citizen behavior (OCB), through three serially connected relationships: (1) between the timing of negotiation and career i-deals (idiosyncratic deals), moderated by feelings of self-worth; (2) between career i-deals and OCB, mediated by psychological contract fulfillment, and employee organizational commitment; and (3) between employer and employee psychological contract fulfillment, mediated by employee organizational commitment. To do so, it utilizes the social exchange theory, and a sample of 1768 employees working within 162 private organizations in the current context of high economic and financial uncertainties in Greece. Using a comprehensive framework tested by structural equation multilevel modeling, the study conclusions imply that in the less-competitive labor market of Greece, (a) core self-evaluation (CSE), which reflect individual differences, do not moderate the relationship between timing of negotiation and career i-deals, but independently predicts career i-deals; (b) career i-deals influence psychological contract expressed in promises fulfillment (PF); employee organizational commitment constitutes the binding epicenter of the relationships between employer and employees PF and between career i-deals and OCB. Based on these findings, the study has several theoretical and practical implications for high uncertainty contexts.


The prevalence of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemases is increasing worldwide. Therapeutic options for infections with these bacteria are limited not only by the production of ESBLs and carbapenemases, which confer resistance to cephalosporins and carbapenems, but also by frequent co-resistance to other antibiotics. The overall aim of this thesis was to obtain a better understanding of multidrug-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae in relation to epidemiology, selection and susceptibility to antibiotic therapy.In a prospective study ESBL-producing E. coli was found to spread easily through international travel. Twenty-four of 100 Swedes travelling outside Northern Europe acquired ESBL-producing E. coli in the intestinal flora. The risk was highest for travelers visiting India and those suffering from gastroenteritis during travel.To minimize selection of ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae during a hospital outbreak with these bacteria, an educational antibiotic intervention was performed at Uppsala University Hospital in 2006. The primary aim of the intervention was to reduce the consumption of parenteral cephalosporins. An immediate and radical reduction of cephalosporins was demonstrated with interrupted time series analysis. The outbreak declined during 2007 and no increased resistance to replacement antibiotics was detected.The impact of ESBL production on the antibacterial activity of ertapenem was studied in time-kill experiments. It was shown that porin-deficient subpopulations with reduced susceptibility to ertapenem frequently emerged in ESBL-producing E. coli during exposure to ertapenem at concentrations simulating human pharmacokinetics.Further, the antibacterial effects of antibiotic combinations against four strains of K. pneumoniae producing carbapenemases of the metallo-beta-lactamase type were studied in time-kill experiments. Double and triple combinations of aztreonam, fosfomycin, meropenem, rifampin and colistin at clinically relevant static concentrations were effective despite that the bacteria were frequently resistant to the individual drugs. These results indicate that there is a largely unexplored potential of antibiotic combination therapy for multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae.


The physics of a planar chiral $p\pm i p$ superconductor is studied for various vortex configurations. The occurrence of vortex quasi-particle bound states is exposed together with their ensuing collective properties, such as sub-gap bands induced by inter-vortex tunneling. A general method to diagonalize the Hamiltonian of a superconductor in the presence of a vortex lattice is developed, that employs only smooth gauge transformations. It renders the Hamiltonian to be periodic (thus allowing the use of a Bloch theorem) and enables the treatment of systems with vortices of finite radii. The pertinent anomalous charge response $c_{xy}$ is calculated (using the Streda formula), and reveals that it contains a quantized contribution. This is attributed to the response to the nucleation of vortices, from which we deduce the system's quantum phase.


This is the definitive guide to quantifying risk vs. return - fully updated to reveal the newest, most effective innovations in financial risk management since the 2008 financial crisis. Written for risk professionals and non-risk professionals alike, this easy-to-understand guide helps you meet the increasingly insistent demand to make sophisticated assessments of companies' risk exposure. It provides the latest methods for: measuring and transferring credit risk; increasing risk-management transparency; and implementing an organization-wide Enterprise risk Management (ERM) approach. Michel Crouhy is head of research and development at NATIXIS and the founder and president of the NATIXIS Foundation for Quantitative Research. Dan Galai is the Abe Gray Professor of Finance and Business Administration at the School of Business Administration, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Robert Mark is the Founding Chief Executive Officer of Black Diamond Risk which provides corporate governance, risk management consulting, risk software tools, and transaction services.


Abstract Numerous paleocommunity studies of marine ecosystems have demonstrated that water depth was the primary factor structuring paleocommunities. In contrast, many ecological studies find other factors play a greater role in delineating communities; this difference in results may be owing to the spatiotemporal scale at which the study is performed. To explore this hypothesis, the present study examines a set of Imperial Formation (Pliocene, California) paleocommunities at a scale potentially fine enough to exclude depth as a control over the communities, thus facilitating recognition of fine-scale ecological and environmental processes operating at this scale. Twenty-six taxa from 21 samples were collected in situ from an 8.5-m-thick interval within a 0.32 km2 area. Cluster, Bray-Curtis (polar) ordination, and detrended correspondence analyses were used to infer community structure. Cluster and ordination analyses produced similar results independent of choice of distance measure. To test whether depth would be the primary control, even at fine scales, the scores from the first ordination axis for each taxon were compared with their modern mean depth; no strong correlation exists between depth and ordination scores. Cluster and ordination results indicate that life mode (as determined by modern relatives) and to a lesser extent, grain size, were the primary factors influencing paleocommunity structure at this scale. Bivalve taxa were grouped by life mode: quasi-infaunal, shallow-burrowing infaunal, byssate, and cemented. Relative to paleoecological studies conducted on much broader spatiotemporal scales, this study highlights the potential utility of embedding fine-scale studies within broader-scale studies to capture and investigate additional sources of ecological and environmental variation.


Abstract Aberrant reinnervation of target organs caused by misdirected axonal growth at the repair site is a major reason for the poor functional outcome usually seen after peripheral nerve transection and repair. The following two studies investigate whether criss-crossing of regenerating rat sciatic nerve axons between tibial and peroneal nerve fascicles can be reduced by using a barrier at the coaption site. The left sciatic nerve was transected and repaired at mid-thigh as follows: epineural sutures (group A, A-II), fascicular repair of tibial and peroneal nerve fascicles (group B, B-II), fascicular repair of tibial and peroneal nerve fascicles separating the two fascicles with a pedicled fat flap (group C), Integra® (group D) or non-vascularized autologous fascia (group C-II). In the control groups E and D-II, only the left tibial fascicle was transected and repaired. Four and 5 months postoperatively, the outcome of regeneration was evaluated by histology, by retrograde tracing, and by assessment of the muscle force of the gastrocnemius and tibial anterior muscles. The tracing experiments showed that specificity of muscle reinnervation significantly improved when a barrier was employed, which significantly or clearly improved muscle twitch tension in groups C and D. However, muscle contraction force was not better when fascia was used as barrier. The histological picture indicated that this inferior result in group C-II was due to nerve compression caused by fibrotic scar tissue at the site of the fascia graft. Results of this study show that a pedicle fat flap and Integra® used as barrier significantly prevent aberrant reinnervation between two sutured nerve fascicles in adjacency resulting in improved motor recovery in rats. Non-vascularized autologous fascia however, reduces also criss-crossing of regenerating axons between the fascicles, but causes significant nerve compression.


This paper presents improved Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) system based on Smart License Plate Character Detection algorithm, this system is capable of distinguishing license plates under various conditions, such as distance from the camera, rotation angle between camera and vehicle and poor illumination condition (different weather condition, different lighting condition and physical tilted or damage of license plate). In our method, improved ALPR system has three main steps: 1) Image Enhancement, 2) Character Segmentation (Smart License Plate Character Detection), 3) Character Recognition. While in regular ALPR system there are four main steps: 1) Image Enhancement, 2) License Plate Location Extraction 3) Character Segmentation, 4) Character Recognition. In image enhancement introduce Multi-Scale Adaptive NICK thresholding method [1] to achieve all objects as character candidates in the binary image; otherwise we might lose license plate characters in an input image due to complex backgrounds. Single Pass Connected Component Labelling (CCL), put the label on detected objects then new design algorithm called "Smart License Plate Character Detection" finds the license plate characters regardless of location, shape and background colour of license plate. So we eliminate the license plate location extraction as complex and time consuming individual stage [16]. All the steps simulated in Matlab 2014A software and results show the accuracy and reliability of this proposed method.


The Polish translation of the Latin description of the journey by Tomasz Stanisław Wolski (born 1700, died probably after 1766) was based on the printed version of his account ("Illustris Peregrinatio Ierosolimitana latius protracta per tres insigniores mundi partes...,"), which first appeared in print in 1737 in Lwów, and then it was published three more times: in 1748, 1764, and 1766. Wolski came from the Sieradz Voivodeship nobility, and it is known that he was born in Uniejów. The source presents a brief outline of the author's life until 1725, and more extensive descriptions of his travels abroad from 1724 to 1731. First, in 1724-1725, he travelled to Italy, then he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt in 1725-1726. In 1728, he travelled to France and England. Finally, in 1729-1731, he gave an account of his journey through several cities in Italy, the Aegean Sea and Istanbul, from where he returned to Poland. He also recorded his next journey to Vienna and Rome, and then back to Vienna. Wolski's narrative is an example of travel prose of the 18th century, a typical Old Polish account of a journey. It contains many interesting descriptions of events, including sensational threads and observations made about people encountered along the way. The author presented a lot of information about sailing in the Mediterranean Sea and the hardships encountered by travellers in the Holy Land. His book also provides a lot of information on religious issues in the places visited around Europe and the Middle East.


Defects usually have a very large influence on the semiconductor material properties and hence on fabricated electronic devices. The nature and properties of defects in semiconducting materials can be investigated by applying electrical characterization techniques such as thermal admittance spectroscopy (TAS), deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and high resolution Laplace-DLTS measurements. This dissertation presents the electrical characterisation of two different wide bandgap semiconducting materials (polycrystalline diamond and GaN) which have both recently attracted a great deal of attention because of their potential applications in the fields of power electronics and optoelectronics. Raman spectroscopy, I-V and C-V measurements were carried out as supporting experiments for the above investigations.The first part of this work focuses on studying the effect of B concentration on the electronic states in polycrystalline diamond thin films grown on silicon by the hot filament chemical vapour deposition method. A combination of high-resolution LDLTS and direct-capture cross-section measurements was used to investigate whether the deep electronic states present in the layers originated from point or extended defects. There was good agreement between data on deep electronic levels obtained from DLTS and TAS experiments. A number of hole traps have been detected; the majority of these levels show an unusual dependence of the DLTS signal on the fill pulse duration which is interpreted as possibly the levels are part of extended defects within the grain boundaries. In contrast, a defect level found in a more highly doped film, with an activation energy of -0.37 eV, exhibited behaviour characteristic of an isolated point defect, which we attribute to B-related centres in the bulk diamond, away from the dislocations.The second part of this thesis presents electrical measurements carried out at temperatures up to 450 K in order to study the electronic states associated with Mg in Mg-doped GaN films grown on sapphire by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy, and to determine how these are affected by the threading dislocation density (TDD). Two different buffer layer schemes between the film and the sapphire substrate were used, giving rise to different TDDs in the GaN. Admittance spectroscopy of the films finds a single impurity-related acceptor level. It is observed in theses experiments that admittance spectroscopy detects no traps that can be attributed to extended defects, despite the fact that the dislocations are well-known to be active recombination centres. This unexpected finding is discussed in detail.


The poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-67) has been labeled the very icon of modernity, the scribe of the modern city, and an observer of an emerging capitalist culture. "Seeing Double" reconsiders this iconic literary figure and his fraught relationship with the nineteenth-century world by examining the way in which he viewed the increasing dominance of modern life. In doing so, it revises some of our most common assumptions about the unresolved tensions that emerged in Baudelaire's writing during a time of political and social upheaval. Francoise Meltzer argues that Baudelaire did not simply describe the contradictions of modernity; instead, his work embodied and recorded them, leaving them unresolved and often less than comprehensible. Baudelaire's penchant for looking simultaneously backward to an idealized past and forward to an anxious future, while suspending the tension between them, is part of what Meltzer calls his 'double vision' - a way of seeing that produces encounters that are doomed to fail, poems that can't advance, and communications that always seem to falter. In looking again at the poet and his work, "Seeing Double" helps to us to understand the prodigious transformations at stake in the writing of modern life.


Ultra steep spectrum (USS) radio sources have been successfully used to select powerful radio sources at high redshifts (z ≳ 2). Typically restricted to large-sky surveys and relatively bright radio flux densities, it has gradually become possible to extend the USS search to sub-mJy levels, thanks to the recent appearance of sensitive low-frequency radio facilities. Here a first detailed analysis of the nature of the faintest USS sources is presented. By using Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and Very Large Array radio observations of the Lockman Hole at 610 MHz and 1.4 GHz, a sample of 58 USS sources, with 610 MHz integrated fluxes above 100 μJy, is assembled. Deep infrared data at 3.6 and 4.5 μm from the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS) are used to reliably identify counterparts for 48 (83%) of these sources, showing an average total magnitude of [3.6]AB = 19.8 mag. Spectroscopic redshifts for 14 USS sources, together with photometric redshift estimates, improved by the use of the deep SERVS data, for a further 19 objects, show redshifts ranging from z = 0.1 to z = 2.8, peaking at z ∼ 0.6 and tailing off at high redshifts. The remaining 25 USS sources, with no redshift estimate, include the faintest [3.6] magnitudes, with 10 sources undetected at 3.6 and 4.5 μm (typically [3.6] ≳ 22–23 mag from local measurements), which suggests the likely existence of higher redshifts among the sub-mJy USS population. The comparison with the Square Kilometre Array Design Studies Simulated Skies models indicates that Fanaroff–Riley type I radio sources and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei may constitute the bulk of the faintest USS population, and raises the possibility that the high efficiency of the USS technique for the selection of high-redshift sources remains even at the sub-mJy level.


A current-/voltage controlled quadrature oscillator with wide frequency tuning range is investigated. It consists of two coupled multivibrators. Two forms of coupling called here soft and hard, are differentiated. Simulations are performed to obtain the tuning range, the synchronization transients, and the influence of mismatches in timing capacitors and charging currents on synchronization. It is found that hard coupling allows a lower quadrature error (below 1°) and low phase-noise (4 dB improvement) with respect to soft coupling, yet wide tuning range may be achieved for both forms of coupling. A constituent multivibrator operating either alone or coupled can be locked to an external synchronizing harmonic, and the locking range is investigated.


The rank-size model - which states that the size distribution of cities in a country follows a Pareto distribution - has been recognized as one of those stylized facts or amazing empirical regularities, in spatial economics. A common problem in city size distribution studies concerns the definition of "cities", namely the consistency of those definitions over time. In this paper we use a city-proper data base which uses a consistent definition of cities from 1864 to 1991. Portugal is a country with long established national borders and whose mainland urban system shows a constant number of cities over that period. In Portugal, empirical evidence on city size distribution based on census data shows that two large cities dominate the urban system, associated with a large number of very small cities and a clear deficit of medium-size cities. In this paper we analyse the evolution of the rank size exponent and examine the effect of varying city size cut-offs on the estimate value of that exponent. Then, we study the deviations of the rank-size distribution from linearity. Finally, we explore the dynamics underlying the evolution of the urban system by examining the relationship between city growth rates and city size.


The capacity of reef-building corals to associate with environmentally-appropriate types of endosymbionts from the dinoflagellate genus Symbiodinium contributes significantly to their success at local scales. Additionally, some corals are able to acclimatize to environmental perturbations by shuffling the relative proportions of different Symbiodinium types hosted. Understanding the dynamics of these symbioses requires a sensitive and quantitative method of Symbiodinium genotyping. Electrophoresis methods, still widely utilized for this purpose, are predominantly qualitative and cannot guarantee detection of a background type below 10% of the total Symbiodinium population. Here, the relative abundances of four Symbiodinium types (A13, C1, C3, and D1) in mixed samples of known composition were quantified using deep sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal RNA gene (ITS-2) by means of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) using Roche 454. In samples dominated by each of the four Symbiodinium types tested, background levels of the other three types were detected when present at 5%, 1%, and 0.1% levels, and their relative abundances were quantified with high (A13, C1, D1) to variable (C3) accuracy. The potential of this deep sequencing method for resolving fine-scale genetic diversity within a symbiont type was further demonstrated in a natural symbiosis using ITS-1, and uncovered reef-specific differences in the composition of Symbiodinium microadriaticum in two species of acroporid corals (Acropora digitifera and A. hyacinthus) from Palau. The ability of deep sequencing of the ITS locus (1 and 2) to detect and quantify low-abundant Symbiodinium types, as well as finer-scale diversity below the type level, will enable more robust quantification of local genetic diversity in Symbiodinium populations. This method will help to elucidate the role that background types have in maximizing coral fitness across diverse environments and in response to environmental change.


Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized treatment and outcome of melanoma and many other solid malignancies including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Unfortunately, only a minority of patients have a long-term benefit, while the remaining demonstrate primary or acquired resistance. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the prevalence of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) varies based on the anatomical site of metastases. In particular, liver seems to have more immunosuppressive microenvironment while both the presence of lymph nodal disease and lung metastases seem to have the highest prevalence of PD-L1 and TILs. The aim of the present study is to investigate the possible role of site of metastases as a predictive factor for response or resistance to immunotherapy in several types of cancer. In this multicenter retrospective study, we enrolled patients with metastatic NSCLC, melanoma, RCC, urothelial, merkel carcinoma, and colon cancer who received immunotherapy from April 2015 to August 2019. Major clinicopathological parameters were retrieved and correlated with patients' survival outcomes in order to assess their prognostic value and build a useful tool to assist in the decision-making process. A total of 291 patients were included in this study. One hundred eighty-seven (64%) patients were male and 104 (36%) female. The tumor histology was squamous NSCLC in 56 (19%) patients, non-squamous NSCLC in 99 (34%) patients, melanoma in 101 (35%) patients, RCC in 28 (10%) patients, and other tumors in the remaining 7 (2%) patients. The number of metastatic sites was 1 in 103 patients (35%), 2 in 104 patients (36%) and 3 in 84 patients (29%). Out of 183 valuable patients, the entity of response was complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), and progression disease (PD) in 15, 53, 31, and 79 patients, respectively. Using an univariate analysis (UVA), tumor burden (p = 0.0004), the presence of liver (p = 0.0009), bone (p = 0.0016), brain metastases (p < 0.0001), the other metastatic sites (p = 0.0375), the number of metastatic sites (p = 0.0039), the histology (p = 0.0034), the upfront use of immunotherapy (p = 0.0032), and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Perfomance status (PS) ≥ 1 (p < 0.0001) were significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS). Using a multivariate analysis (MVA) the presence of liver (p = 0.0105) and brain (p = 0.0026) metastases, the NSCLC diagnosis (p < 0.0001) and the ECOG PS (p < 0.0001) resulted as significant prognostic factors of survival. Regarding the progression free survival (PFS), using a UVA of the tumor burden (p = 0.0004), bone (p = 0.0098) and brain (p = 0.0038) metastases, the presence of other metastatic sites (p = 0.0063), the number of metastatic sites (p = 0.0007), the histology (p = 0.0007), the use of immunotherapy as first line (p = 0.0031), and the ECOG PS ≥ 1 (p ≤ 0.0001) were associated with a lower PFS rate. Using an MVA, the presence of brain (p = 0.0088) and liver metastases (p = 0.024) and the ECOG PS (p < 0.0001) resulted as predictors of poor PFS. Our study suggests that the site of metastases could have a role as prognostic and predictive factor in patients treated with immunotherapy. Indeed, regardless of the histology, the presence of liver and brain metastases was associated with a shorter PFS and OS, but these results must be confirmed in further studies. In this context, a deep characterization of microenvironment could be crucial to prepare patients through novel strategies with combination or sequential immunotherapy in order to improve treatment response.


Absrmcz- Successful implementation of a transmission level harmonic measurement system requires accurate and reliable measurement of harmonic voltages and currents. Existing substation instrument transformers are designed for harmonic-free 60 Hz measurements. Hence, their use to measure harmonics leads to the introduction of resonance as well as saturation errors in the measurements. An on-line error correction method to correct for these measurement errors has been proposed in previous publications. The error correction was formulated as an output .tracking problem where the distorted measurements were used along with the experimentally developed transformer model to reconstruct the transformer input. The scope of this paper is to develop a sensitivity analysis of the error correction method with respect to the transformer parameters. Results of this analysis indicate that the sensitivity of the method with respect to the transformer parameters is quite low.


Purpose Implementation and evaluation of a personalized care plan for approximately 350 people with (an increased risk of) cardiovascular disease in ten general practices in the Netherlands. Context The 'Healthy Vessels' ('Vitale Vaten') care standard of 2009 describes the optimum care for people with (an increased risk of) cardiovascular disease and is based on the Chronic Care Model. New: working with a personalized care plan, with detailed attention for the promotion of self-management and shared decision-making (SDM). This requires patients to adopt a more active attitude, with a more coaching role from care providers. Vilans has developed the personalized care plan for cardiovascular disease (the booklet 'Zorgplan Vitale Vaten') and the personalized care plan for diabetes and for COPD in 2011. In 2011 Vilans also started with the development of a general care plan for patients with multi morbidity diseases. Data sources Patients: quantitative survey with a written questionnaire sent to approximately 75 patients. Baseline and end points for 40 patients, plus in-depth interviews with eight patients. Care providers Quantitative survey with a written questionnaire sent to 45 care providers. Baseline and end points for 22 care providers, plus in-depth interviews with 10 care providers. Case description The personalized care plan is produced by a shared decision-making process and consists of: A prioritised list of the patient's SMART objectives A personalized plan for achieving those objectives Agreements concerning what the patient will do himself/herself and the support or advice needed Agreements concerning contact to review the progress (how and when) The patient or the care provider notes the plan in the patient's booklet (the 'Zorgplan Vitale Vaten'='Healthy Vessels Care Plan'). This booklet also contains information about the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the importance of the patient adopting an active role, measurement values, medication and the patient's care providers. Advisers from Vilans, the knowledge centre for long-term care in the Netherlands, provide participating organisations guidance for the implementation of the personalized care plan with: work conferences, supporting products and monthly support phone-calls or e-mails. The project consists of the following phases: Jan 2010 to Jun 2010: development of materials Jun 2010 to Oct 2011: implementation and evaluation in ten general practices Nov 2011 to Feb 2012: project completion and reporting The results will be available in February 2012 The study questions in this project are: What effects does the personalized care plan have on the level of self-management of the patients? What effects does the personalized care plan have on professionals in a multidisciplinary team? Do the effects also apply to ethnic minority patients and patients with a low socio-economic status? (Preliminary) conclusions: Self-management/Shared Decision Making is difficult to implement. Regular feedback and joint learning are needed. It is helpful when agreements between the patient and the care provider are made concrete: writing things down makes a difference. Variable response from patients: ranging from 'good to know you have something to fall back on' to 'the idea of writing down personal objectives makes me feel a bit nervous'. The personalized care plan does not seem suitable for all, in particular not for the elderly, for those of low socio-economic status, and for ethnic minorities. Discussion Health care professionals are used to take care of patients with chronic diseases. They are very willing to help and give patients some advice about how they can prevent a chronic disease or have a good life with a chronic disease. During the conferences and phone calls we have with them, we see that the focus is more on caring instead of sharing and self-management. It frustrates professionals when patients do not behave the way they tell them to. They do not know how to handle or turn the conversation into self-management and rather fall back in their roll of caring. It seems necessary to get feedback on a regular basis so they can explore new ways of self-management support together in a multidisciplinary way. Self-management support is more successful when professionals are working together, looking for ways to take into account the perspective and expectations of the patient as well as those of the professional. The personalized care plan can help patients and professionals exploring their new roles. There are some relevant questions concerning personalized care plans in practice which we cannot yet answer. We would like to discuss these essential questions with the participants of INIC12. For example: How important is it for patients to have a personalized care plan? Does it support them in making decisions concerning their health in daily life? In what way can a digital care plan provide help? Do professionals improve their caring and communication with patients with chronic diseases when they use a personalized care plan? Is it more successful when one professional is the central care provider for a patient? What are good ways for integrating personalized care plans in usual care? Does it take more time in comparison to regular care? How to create possibilities for professionals so they can regard the personalized care plan as an important topic in chronic care? We see it is difficult for a small group of patients. How to implement the personalized care plan for all the patients with a chronic disease? What do the answers to these questions mean and does individual care planning change the health care process in such a way that self-management can flourish?


【The Fe/MgO catalysts with different Fe loadings (1, 4, 6, 15 and 30 wt% Fe) were prepared by a wet impregnation with iron nitrate as precursor. All of the catalysts were characterized by BET surface analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The maximum removal capacity of $H_2S$ was obtained with 15 wt% Fe/MgO catalyst which had the highest BET surface area among the measured catalysts. XRD of Fe/MgO catalysts showed that well dispersed Fe particles could be present on Fe/MgO with Fe loadings below 15 wt%. The crystallites of bulk $\alpha$ - $Fe_2O_3$ became evident on 30 wt% Fe/MgO, which were confirmed by XRD. TPR profiles showed that the reducibility of Fe/MgO was strongly related to the loaded amounts of Fe on MgO support. Therefore, the highest removal efficiency of $H_2S$ in wet oxidation could be ascribed to a good dispersion and high reducibility of Fe/MgO catalyst. XPS studies indicated that the $H_2S$ oxidation with Fe/MgO could proceed via the redox mechanism ( $Fe^{3+}\;{\leftrightarrow}\;Fe^{2+}$ ).】


Objective: Collagens identified in articular cartilage include the cartilage specific collagen types II, IX, X and XI as well as the more universally distributed types III, V, VI, XII and XIV. Type II collagen is the predominant and characteristic collagen of the articular cartilage, composed of a triple helix of three identical α chains. The hypertrophic chondrocytes of calcified zone of articular cartilage synthesize type X collagen in addition to the type II collagen. The present study was conducted to observe the changes in the collagenase activity in osteoarthritis by detecting TCA fragment of the α chain of collagen type II. The expression of native collagen type X was also observed in the osteoarthritic articular cartilage by SDS-PAGE and western blotting. Methods: 22 osteoarthritic cartilage specimens were obtained from patients with primary osteoarthritis (46-81years) undergoing total knee replacement. 12 age-matched (41-86years) and 14 young (16-40years) non-osteoarthritic control cartilage specimens were obtained from the cadavers in the department of Anatomy and from patients undergoing lower limb amputation in Trauma center of PGIMER, Chandigarh. The cartilage specimens were processed for SDS-PAGE and western blotting. Results: Analysis of the α-chymotrypsin extracts of the articular cartilage for TCA fragment (75kDa) of collagen type II and native collagen type X (60kDa) revealed a much higher content in the osteoarthritic group. Conclusions: The features of the articular cartilage from the osteoarthritic group were markedly different from the non-osteoarthritic age-matched articular cartilage suggesting that OA is not an inevitable feature of aging.


An A/G Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) at position 1,892 of the Mx gene coding sequence has been linked to susceptibility/resistance to avian viral infection in vitro. Using PCR-RFLP and sequencing methods, 1,946 samples from 109 populations from Asia, Africa and Europe; grouped as indigenous village, commercial, fancy chicken as well as wild junglefowl were genotyped for the polymorphism. Allele and genotype frequencies were calculated. Only the G allele was present in Ceylon junglefowl Gallus lafayetti. Using the wild red junglefowl G. gallus population as reference, we assessed if the A/G alleles and genotypes frequencies have been affected by the breeding history and the geographic dispersion of domestic chicken. Within group variation was high but overall there were no significant variation in distribution of alleles and genotypes frequencies between the red junglefowl and indigenous village chickens (p>0.1946), with the exception of the East Asian group (p<0.0001). However, allele and genotype frequencies were significantly different between the red junglefowl and the commercial or fancy groups (p<0.0001). A small but significant negative correlation (r = - 0.166, p<0.0003) was observed between allelic and geographic distance matrices amongst indigenous village chicken populations. Human selection and genetic drift are likely the main factors having shaped today's observed allele and genotype frequencies in commercial and fancy breeds. In indigenous village chicken and red junglefowl, we propose that both A and G alleles have been maintained by natural selection for disease resistance through a balancing selection mechanism.


Current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) bridge specifications require that composite beams have sufficient shear studs to fully yield the steel beam cross section in tension. The large number of studs required is independent of the loading on the bridge. It is recommended that partial composite design as used in building specifications be permitted. It is shown that 85% of the full composite strength can be achieved with 40% fewer studs. The minimum stud spacing requirements in AASHTO were compared with the requirements in other design specifications. Additional research was recommended to evaluate the possibility of relaxing the current minimum requirement. It was shown that the current AASHTO fatigue requirements for stud design are conservative compared to the most recent research but no change is recommended.


This study aimed to assess the diversity and antimicrobial activity of cultivable bacteria associated with Vietnamese sponges. In total, 460 bacterial isolates were obtained from 18 marine sponges. Of these, 58.3% belonged to Proteobacteria, 16.5% to Actinobacteria, 18.0% to Firmicutes, and 7.2% to Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, isolated strains belonged to 55 genera, of which several genera, such as Bacillus, Pseudovibrio, Ruegeria, Vibrio, and Streptomyces, were the most predominant. Culture media influenced the cultivable bacterial composition, whereas, from different sponge species, similar cultivable bacteria were recovered. Interestingly, there was little overlap of bacterial composition associated with sponges when the taxa isolated were compared to cultivation-independent data. Subsequent antimicrobial assays showed that 90 isolated strains exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one of seven indicator microorganisms. From the culture broth of the isolated strain with the strongest activity (Bacillus sp. M1_CRV_171), four secondary metabolites were isolated and identified, including cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) (1), macrolactin A (2), macrolactin H (3), and 15,17-epoxy-16-hydroxy macrolactin A (4). Of these, compounds 2-4 exhibited antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of reference microorganisms.


The Dunbar dome in northeastern Wisconsin is a critical structural feature in the early Proterozoic Penokean orogen. It provides exposures of gneisses (Dunbar Gneiss) that structurally underlie the voluminous metavolcanic rocks of northeastern Wisconsin, and exposures of abundant granitoid rocks ranging from tonalite to granite. The granitoid rocks cut both the gneisses in the core and the supracrustal (cover) metavolcanic rocks and were emplaced essentially along the core-cover boundary. The Dunbar Gneiss is calc-alkaline and was derived from volcanic and intrusive rocks of intermediate composition. The various intrusive rocks have calcic, calc-alkaline, and alkali to alkali-calcic compositions, and they progress with time to more SiO 2 and K 2 -rich compositions. U-Pb zircon ages indicate that accumulation of the layered rocks in the core and cover, deformation and metamorphism, and intrusion of the granitoid rocks spanned a relatively short time, ∼1865–1835 Ma. We interpret the dome as being a large-scale, fold-interference structure resulting from polydeformation modified by diapirism. Northeast-oriented folds (F 3 ) and a related mylonitic foliation (S 3 ), nearly confined to the dome, are superposed on northwest-oriented folds (F 2 ) that developed during regional deformation. In the core-cover boundary, these structures are obliterated by a zone of intense deformation—a mylonitic foliation and a steeply plunging stretching lineation—as much as 500 m wide, which we interpret as resulting from diapirism. Metamorphic zoning is concentric: amphibolite facies in inner parts of the mantle and greenschist facies in the outer part of the mantle. The Wisconsin magmatic terrane, as represented by the rocks in the Dunbar dome, differs from the epicratonic, early Proterozoic sedimentary-volcanic sequence (Marquette Range Supergroup) in Michigan, to the north, in stratigraphy, structure, and volume and composition of igneous rocks. Whereas the basalts in northern Michigan are compositionally similar to continental rift basalts, the volcanic rocks in the Dunbar dome have over-all island-arc compositional affinities. The over-all calc-alkaline compositions of the intrusive rocks are similar to those in magmatic arcs formed at convergent plate-margin settings. Accordingly, we interpret the Wisconsin magmatic terrane as an oceanic-arc complex that was sutured to the North American continent during development of the Penokean orogen. Similar interpretations based on broad regional observations have been proposed previously.


The first experience of remote education in Iran was started in 1970 by the Open University of Iran. In 1991, an e-learning site in Tehran University provided nine courses for students for the first time. Currently, the majority of Iran's universities offer these courses. To benefit more from modern facilities and technology, recently some universities have attempted to use Mobile Learning (MLearning) based education. One of the most important challenges which these universities encounter is the lack of digital information resources and the difficulty of preparing digital content in the Persian language. In this research, services related to M-Learning are considered along with technical impediments in the development of these services in Iran.


Background. The cognitive model of depression suggests that cognitive therapy (CT) improves major depressive disorder (MDD) in part by changing depressive cognitive content (e.g. dysfunctional attitudes, hopelessness). The current analyses clarified: (1) the durability of improvements in cognitive content made by acute-phase CT responders; (2) whether continuation-phase CT (C-CT) or fluoxetine (FLX) further improves cognitive content; and (3) the extent to which cognitive content mediates continuation treatments' effects on depressive symptoms and major depressive relapse/recurrence. Method. Out-patients with recurrent MDD who responded to acute-phase CT (n = 241) were randomized to 8 months of C-CT, FLX or pill placebo (PBO) and followed for an 24 additional months. Cognitive content was assessed approximately every 4 months using five standard patient-report measures. Results. Large improvements in cognitive content made during acute-phase CT were maintained for 32 months, with 78–90% of patients scoring in normal ranges, on average. Cognitive content varied little between C-CT, FLX and PBO arms, overall. Small, transient improvements in cognitive content in C-CT or FLX compared with PBO patients did not clearly mediate the treatments' effects on depressive symptoms or on major depressive relapse/recurrence. Conclusions. Outpatients with recurrent MDD who respond to acute-phase CT show durable improvements in cognitive content. C-CT or FLX may not continue to improve patient-reported cognitive content substantively, and thus may treat recurrent MDD by other paths.


A RAPIDLY GROWING area of research in computer communications is formal protocol specification. The importance of protocols arises from the fact that protocols form the nervous system of teleprocessing networks and, as such, are responsible for ensuring that the pieces of the system work as a harmonious whole. The complexity and size of today's systems and the fact that they are put together from subsystem components manufactured in different locations and even by different companies, virtually demand formal specification. And, there are many side benefits, as this tutorial points out.


Hepatitis C virus infection affects an estimated 180 million people globally. Individuals at high-risk of acquiring infection include people who inject drugs, particularly in high-income settings where medically-acquired or perinatal hepatitis C infection is now rare. While treatment can be curative, detecting recently acquired infection, linking individuals to care, and initiating therapy all remain challenges. This thesis aims to determine whether treatment of recently acquired hepatitis C infection is worthwhile given the complexities and toxicities of antiviral therapy, particularly among people who inject drugs, and recent improvements in treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection. It first explores the effectiveness of antiviral therapy with pegylated-interferon for recent hepatitis C and determines that host IFNL4 genotype and duration of infection, among other factors, can be used to predict cure. It then evaluates how treatment affects quality of life and social functioning, finding that medication side effects have a short-term adverse impact on individuals. Social stability is an independent predictor of treatment uptake and cure. Providing social supports to individuals before treatment could therefore become an important intervention, regardless of which medications are available. Finally, the thesis presents the first, prospective long-term evaluation after acute infection and treatment. Hepatitis C reinfection incidence was low and injecting-risk taking declined over time, indicating that the benefits of early cure are sustained. Recent hepatitis C treatment is shown to be a feasible intervention where incident hepatitis C infection is identified, potentially avoiding long-term complications associated with chronic infection. With the evolution toward simpler, more effective, but more costly interferon-free therapy for chronic hepatitis C, future population health research needs to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of recent HCV treatment and any effect of treatment on preventing transmission. Access to interferon-free treatment should be prioritised for this marginalised population in order to maximise treatment uptake.


Non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) uptake has been reported to follow two pathways, Ca2+-dependent and Ca2+-independent (Wright, T. L., Brissot, P., Ma, W. L., and Weisiger, R. A. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 10909–10914; Sturrock, A., Alexander, J., Lamb, J., Craven, C. M., and Kaplan, J. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 3139–3145). Studies reporting the two pathways have ignored the weak interactions of Ca2+ with the chelator nitrilotriacetate (NTA) and the reducing agent ascorbate. These studies used a constant ratio of total Fe2+ to NTA with and without Ca2+. We observed Ca2+ activation of NTBI uptake in PC12 cells with the characteristics reported for other cells upon using 1 mm ascorbate and a constant ratio of total Fe2+ to NTA with or without Ca2+. However, Ca2+ did not affect NTBI uptake in solutions without NTA. We then determined conditional stability constants for NTA binding to Ca2+ and Fe2+ by potentiometry under conditions of NTBI uptake experiments (pH, ionic strength, temperature, ascorbate, total Fe2+, and total Ca2+concentrations). In solutions based on these constants and taking Ca2+ chelation into account, Ca2+ did not affect NTBI uptake over a range of free Fe2+concentrations. Thus, the Ca2+ activation of NTBI uptake observed using the constant total Fe2+ to NTA ratio was because of Ca2+-NTA chelation rather than an activation of the NTBI transporter itself. It is suggested that the previously reported Ca2+ dependence of NTBI uptake be re-evaluated.


A systematic nanoelectrode-gated electron-tunneling molecular-detection concept with potential for rapid DNA sequencing has recently been invented at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). A DNA molecule is a polymer that typically contains four different types of nucleotide bases: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C) on its phosphate-deoxyribose chain. According to the nanoelectrode-gated molecular-detection concept, it should be possible to obtain genetic sequence information by probing through a DNA molecule base by base at a nanometer scale, as if looking at a strip of movie film. The nanoscale reading of DNA sequences is envisioned to take place at a nanogap (gate) defined by a pair of nanoelectrode tips as a DNA molecule moves through the gate base by base. The rationale is that sample molecules, such as the four different nucleotide bases, each with a distinct chemical composition and structure, should produce a specific perturbation effect on the tunneling electron beam across the two nanoelectrode tips. A sample molecule could thus be detected when it enters the gate. This nanoscience-based approach could lead to a new DNA sequencing technology that could be thousands of times faster than the current technology (Sanger's "dideoxy" protocol-based capillary electrophoresis systems). Both computational and experimental studies are underway at ORNL towards demonstrating this nanotechnology concept.


Waterborne polyurethanes(WPUs) based on isophorone diisocyanate(IPDI), Polybutylene adipate (PBA) and dimethylolproprionic acid(DMPA) were synthesized by prepolymer mixing process. Effect of NCO/OH ratio on the properties of the dispersions was studied. The structure of the WPUs was studied by FT-IR. Besides the mechanical properties and water swelling of the films, the number average diameters of the dispersions and the viscosity of WPUs were characterized, results showed that all WPUs had higher solid content (over 45%). With higher NCO/OH ratio, WPUs had bigger dispersion size and lower dispersion viscosity; the casting film had higher water swelling, lower tensile strength, and more water-soluble substance.


A register file is a critical component of a modern superscalar processor. It has a large number of entries and read/write ports in order to enable high levels of instruction parallelism. As a result, the register file's area, access time, and energy consumption increase dramatically, significantly affecting the overall superscalar processor's performance and energy consumption. This is especially true in 64-bit processors. This paper presents a new integer register file organization, which reduces energy consumption, area, and access time of the register file with a minimal effect on overall IPC. This is accomplished by exploiting a new concept, partial value locality, which is defined as occurrence of multiple live value instances identical in a subset of their bits. A possible implementation of the new register file is described and shown to obtain proposed optimized register file designs. Overall, an energy reduction of over 50%, a 18% decrease in area, and a 15% reduction in the access time are achieved in the new register file. The energy and area savings are achieved with a 1.7% reduction in IPC for integer applications and a negligible 0.3% in numerical applications, assuming the same clock frequency. A performance increase of up to 13% is possible if the clock frequency can be increases due to a reduction in the register file access time. This approach enables other, very promising optimizations, three of which are outlined in the paper.


In this paper we report on the trade-offs that 1,068 Australian university students make between absolute income and the rank of that income in hypothetical income distributions. We find that income rank matters independently of absolute income, with greater weight given to rank by males, migrants, and individuals from wealthy families. Rank-sensitive individuals require as much as a 200 per cent increase in income to be compensated for going from the top to the bottom of the income distribution. In terms of reference groups, we find migrants who reside abroad for longer periods of time, and with more affluent job titles, are more likely to compare themselves to others at the destination. This allows us to derive a dynamic choice model of compensating incomes that allows for endogenous tastes and rates of assimilation. The model predicts the average respondent to need a permanent increase in income of up to $10,000 when moving from a society with a mean income of $14,000 (e.g. Mexico) to a society with a mean income of $46,000 (e.g. the USA).


This review regards the Ito cells, which constitute one of the four types of liver sinusoidal cells. These cells synthesize many cytokines and extracellular matrix proteins. The Ito cells make an important link in retinoid metabolism. The role played by the Ito cells in liver hemopoiesis and differentiation of liver epithelium in prenatal ontogenesis is emphasized. The importance of the Ito cells in reparative liver regeneration is also discussed.


Designed as a starting point for research to support development of a Quality Enhancement Plan, this guide contains links to resources in many formats. Use the tabs below to navigate through web sites, books, and journal databases.


A simple nonlinear control strategy using sparse kernel learning (SKL) with a polynomial kernel form is presented and applied to chemical processes. The nonlinear process is first identified by SKL with a polynomial kernel, and then a predictive control performance index is formulated. This index is characterized as an even-degree polynomial function of the manipulated input and has the benefit that the input can be separated from the index because of its special structure. Consequently, the optimal manipulated input can be efficiently obtained by solving a simple root problem of an odd-degree polynomial equation. Moreover, the control parameter directly relates to its performance and can be tuned in a guided manner. All these attributes result in a practicable solution for real-time process control. The novel controller is applied to two chemical processes to evaluate its performance. The obtained results show the superiority of the proposed method compared to a well-tuned proportional−integral−derivativ...


The production of vegetables and fruits is at a high rate but the major challenging task is the postharvest handling and processing of the products. Approximately 20–30% of the production is being wasted due to a lack of proper postharvest management. Many developments were made to reduce this wastage such as cold chain development, different storage structures, some drying methodologies to promote the shelf life of produce. But all these systems need to be improved and utilized commercially. The losses still occur due to a lack of sound knowledge on the chemical nature of products and different management techniques (e.g., drying, cooling, blanching). Therefore, the successful design of the cooling, packing, storage transport, and drying processes of fresh food requires linking materials sciences, fluid dynamics, mechanical deformation, food chemistry, and process control.


Vibration isolation structure of Siemens-Schottel-Propulsor (SSP) is analyzed and the parameters and optimization in vibration isolation structure is computed theoretically in this paper. The choice of parameters in vibration isolation structure is an optimization process, and it is subjected to many practical constraints. From the view of the force strength, the vibration isolation materials should be "hard" while from vibration reducing effect it should be "soft". For the double-layer vibration reducing structure, in addition to meeting the requirement of deformation and strength, the obvious stiff difference should be arranged in structure to reduce vibration. The vibration isolation structure plays the role as a transfer functions, outputs different responses according to different excitation input. The results show that the characteristics of the exciting signals should be considered in the SSP vibration isolation structure's design, it is important to select the vibration isolation for SSP cushion materials.


This article investigates what it means for corporate social responsibility (CSR) to be "mainstreamed" in a company. Rather than a single ' best practice/narratives provided by managers revealed that mainstreaming can be understood in terms of three distinct CSR orientations: the business-case model, the syncretic stewardship model, and the social values-led model. These different orientations and approaches to mainstreaming CSR are the result of three inter-related factors: an "external market for virtue/an "internal market for virtue/and the established culture of the company. For business case and social values-led firms, incentives can be developed that encourage them to gravitate toward the syncretic stewardship orientation, which may well represent the most sustainable dimension of CSR.


This work describes the physical and chemical properties ofdifferent fatty acid derivatives. Two uncommon and twoconventional fatty acids have been evaluated as monomers incrosslinking reactions. The new fatty acids examined were crepenynic acid fromCrepis alpina, containing an alkene and an alkynefunctionality, and vernolic acid from Euphorbia lagascae,containing an alkene and one epoxy group. The oxidativestability of the pure methyl esters was compared to commonfatty acid methyl esters using chemiluminescence measurements.The results show that theintroduction of epoxy or alkynegroups decreases respectively increases the oxidation rate asdetermined by chemiluminescence. In order to reveal how thefunctionality affects oxidation, model oils based on the methylesters and trimethylol propane were synthesized. The oxidativestudy of the model oils, using real-time IR andchemiluminescence, shows that an increased functionalitydecreases the amount of volatiles emitted from an oxidizingfatty acid derivative, i.e. a methyl ester emits more volatilesthan a triglyceride. An epoxy functional resin was synthesized bytransesterification of vernolic acid methyl ester onto ahyperbranched polyol and was thereafter cationicallypolymerized with different amounts of methyl vernoleate asreactive diluent. The addition of reactive diluent dramaticallylowered the initially high viscosity of the resin mixture withapproximately 50 % for each 10 wt-% diluent added, but alsoproduced much softer films than that of the pure resin. Methyl oleate and methyl linoleate were used as modelcompounds to investigate the thiol-ene coupling reaction withunsaturated fatty acid derivatives. The reactions, which werefollowed with real-time IR and NMR, showed that mercaptoacetate was more prone to add to the unsaturations of the fattyacids than mercapto propionate. The results show the importanceof choosing the right thiol and the appropriate ene in order toachieve a good system with a reasonable polymerizationrate. Chemiluminescence together with real-time IR showed to be avery powerful tool to monitor the oxidation of fatty acidderivatives, and real-time IR also for following the thiol-enecoupling reaction in model systems.


Six morphological deformities were observed and examined in 6 specimens of the goldfish Carassius auratus collected from the southern marshes of Iraq, Basrah. These anomalies include: eye abnormalities (exophthalmos and enophthalmos), mouth deformity (dextral twisted mouth), ankylosis (fusion of vertebrae), lordosis (ventral curvature), pudgheadness (deformation of the front head bones) and scoliosis (lateral curvature). All cases were not fatal as they occurred in adult individuals. The paper discusses the possible causes for such deformities as well as the suitability of this kind of study for environmental monitoring.


ABSTRACT The YMCA step test uses a prescribed step height which is difficult in a telehealth setting. Examine a modification of the YMCA step test allowing for the use of preexisting in-home objects of variable height as the "step" in a virtual environment. Young healthy participants (n = 40) performed step tests with a small and large object of their choosing within their home in a randomized cross-over study. The stepping frequency was modified for each step height using an established metabolic formula to match estimated exercising VO2 of the YMCA step test. Post-exercise self-palpated heart rate from the small (average 101 ± 23 BPM) vs large (103 ± 23 BPM) step tests were correlated (r = 0.865, p < .001) with good reliability (ICC = 0.865) and within-participant coefficient of variation of 6.8%. Modifying step frequency to account for the varying heights of objects used as "steps" results in reliable heart rate responses to the YMCA step test.


Traditional methods for the design of fixed-point IIR filters suggest the use of wave filters to reduce complexity. The application of multiplier blocks, which exploit redundancy across the coefficients, changes the relationships between structures such that the cascade structure is most efficient. The use of variable wordlength methods results in further complexity reduction.


Since the Internet first became a mainstream form of communication, researchers have sought to understand its impact on civic engagement. Given the unprecedented ability of Internet users to access volumes of information and news sources, connect with like-minded people around the world, and communicate instantaneously, it is important to understand how the Internet changes our community relationships and civic engagement. While early research painted a largely positive picture of the Internet's impact, more recent work has pointed to the dangers posed by online echo chambers, misinformation, and the substitution of virtual interactions for real-life community activities. Against this backdrop, we explore the relationship between Internet use and voting in the 2016 and 2018 U.S. elections, paying particular attention to different kinds of devices, technologies, and online activities.

In testing a statistical model of voting that includes indicators of Internet use and other relevant characteristics, we merge overlapping samples from four supplements to the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. First, the November 2017 edition of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Internet Use Survey captures extensive information about Internet adoption and various devices used by Americans. The November 2016 and November 2018 Voting and Registration Supplements capture information regarding voter registration, turnout, and reported reasons for not voting. Finally, the September 2017 Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement captures other important markers of civic engagement, such as the various ways in which people volunteer and participate in activities in their communities. Taking advantage of the Current Population Survey's sample design, which leads to households being included in eight monthly data collections over the course of sixteen months, we examine voting and Internet use while also controlling for variables such as ethnicity, age, gender, education, and income.

Our preliminary findings suggest that Internet use was positively related to voter turnout in both the 2016 presidential election and 2018 midterm election. In both 2016 and 2018, an Internet user was more likely to vote than a non-user after controlling for other factors believed to be related to voter turnout. Other results are equally illuminating; for example, PC or tablet computer use was associated with a higher likelihood of voting, while smartphone use had no statistically significant impact. It is these and other results that our group incorporates into the paper and weaves a story about how the Internet impacts American civic participation.


In the event of sodium leakage from heat transfer circuits of fast breeder reactors (FBR), liquid sodium catches fire in ambient air leading to production of flame, smoke and heat. One of the passive fire protection methods involves immediate collection of the leaking sodium to a sodium hold-up vessel (SHV) covered with a sloping cover tray (SCT) having a few drain pipes and one vent pipe (as in Fig. 1). As soon as the liquid sodium falls on the sloping cover tray, gravity guides the sodium through drain pipes into the bottom tray in which self-extinction occurs due to oxygen starvation. This sodium fire protection equipment called leak collection tray (LCT) works without the intervention of an operator and external power source. A large number of LCTs are strategically arranged under the sodium circulating pipe lines in the FBR plants to serve as passive suppression devices. In order to test the efficacy of the LCT, four tests were conducted. Two tests were with LCT having three drain pipes and rest with one. In each experiment, nearly 40 kg of hot liquid sodium at 550 deg. C was discharged on the LCT in the open air. Continuous on-line monitoring of temperaturemore » at strategic locations ({approx} 28 points) were carried out. Colour video-graphy was employed for taking motion pictures of various time-dependent events like sodium dumping, appearance of flame and release of smoke through vent pipes. After self-extinction of sodium fire, the LCT was allowed to cool overnight in an argon atmosphere. Solid samples of sodium debris in the SCT and SHV were collected by manual core drilling machine. The samples were subjected to chemical analysis for determination of unburnt and burnt sodium. The results of the four tests revealed an interesting feature: LCT with three drain pipes showed far lower sodium collection efficiency and much higher sodium combustion than that with just one drain pipe. Thermal fluctuations in temperature sensor located near the tip of the drain pipe have indicated that transient freezing and remelting processes are responsible for this phenomenon. Moreover comparison of test results between present and earlier experiments has revealed that the LCT with funnel shaped SCT is superior to that with boat shaped SCT. (authors)« less


We present a real-time neural network-based network analyzer system for hotspot area. There are many applications that available in the market today for provide us the network graph of our hotspot areas. These graphs will be analyzed by a network administrator. Because a hotspot area often runs 24 hours, an administrator has a difficulty to monitor the traffic all the time. Therefore we proposed the automatic system to help a network administrator in monitoring the network. This system will replace human skill in interpreting the graph with an Artificial Neural Network System. To minimize the number of input vector we use mean value of axis, so the micro-computer e.g. notebook, laptop, PDA, and other gadgets can handle this system. Testing result showed this system could classify between normal, high and un-normal traffic of network graph periodically.


The acid-base properties of two raw and purified mixed clays from Burkina Faso were studied, as well as their potential to remove copper(II), lead(II) and chromium(III), and thereby their ability to be used to purify water from heavy metals. The purification procedure of the clays involved removal of carbonates, iron oxides and organic matter. A determination of the elemental composition of the mixed clays revealed the presence of aluminum, iron and silicon as main constituents. The high alkaline pH in one of the samples is attributable to the presence of carbonate in the raw clay. The point of zero charge (pH pzc ) values of the clays, as determined by potentiometric titrations, were 6.79 and 9.52 for the raw clays, while after purification they were 6.87 and 6.76, respectively. Metal adsorption to the clay surfaces started at pH values below pH pzc , strongly indicating formation of inner-sphere complexes. With contact time of 48 h, complete removal of copper(II) was achieved at pH 8 for all samples. More than 90% of the lead(II) removal was attributed to adsorption while for chromium(III), it was 85%. Adsorption to organic matter and iron oxides, and precipitation of metal hydroxides gave significant contributions to the removal of metal ions in aqueous systems. Key words: Mixed clays, potentiometric titration, heavy metals, pH pzc .


This paper proposes a strategy to improve the management of supply systems in construction using lean principles and techniques. The objective is to assure on-time delivery of information and materials to project sites at least cost and maximum value for the final customer. The primary mean for achieving this objective is to accomplish supply management functions with least waste; e.g., low supply and demand reliability, large inventories not needed to absorb variability, and physical waste. The paper explores supply complexity in construction in order to better understand where certain types of waste are originated. The strategy proposes the use of a web-based tool based on the Last Planner System to improve planning reliability so demand variability is minimized, the use of regional logistics centers for distribution of materials to sites, the use ofkanban techniques to pull selected materials on a just-in-time basis, and a link between production control and material management processes on site. It also highlights the importance of minimizing material lead times with emphasis on standardization and pre-assembly practices so supply systems are more effective. It concludes highlighting the most important challenges for the implementation ofthis strategy.