The advent of short-pulse electron and x-ray sources has enabled pump-probe approaches for elucidating ultrafast materials dynamics. From such studies, a comprehensive picture of the time-dependent evolution of the initial steps of energy deposition, propagation, relaxation, and conversion in a wide range of materials can be generated. In this article, we provide an overview of the capabilities of femtosecond electron and x-ray scattering for resolving structural dynamics of materials. With such approaches, time resolutions are ultimately limited by the durations of the electron and x-ray pulses, and dynamics can be studied at length scales spanning atomic to mesoscale dimensions. The articles in this issue represent a cross section of the vigorous activity occurring in the study of light-induced ultrafast materials dynamics as it relates to charge carriers, surfaces and interfaces, lattice-coupling mechanisms, coherent structural motions, and next-generation instrument development. The approaches highlighted here are leading to new physical insights, new possibilities for engineering the properties of matter, and ultimately, a new understanding of materials functionality on ultrasmall and ultrashort spatiotemporal scales.


The mechanosensitive channel of small conductance (MscS) is a membrane protein thought to act as a safety valve in bacteria, regulating the release of ions and small solutes when gated by membrane tension under challenging osmotic conditions. The influence of voltage on channel activation and the functional state depicted by the available crystal structure of MscS remain debated. Therefore, in an effort to relate electrophysiological measurements on MscS and properties of the MscS crystal conformation, we report here MscS's response to voltage and pressure as determined by patch-clamp experiments, as well as MscS electrostatics and transport properties as determined through all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the protein embedded in a lipid bilayer, a 224,000-atom system. The experiments reveal that MscS is a slightly anion-selective channel with a conductance of approximately 1 ns, activated by pressure and inactivated in a voltage-dependent manner. On the other hand, the simulations, covering over 200 ns and including biasing electrostatic potentials, show that MscS restrained to the crystal conformation exhibits low conductance; unrestrained it increases the channel radius upon application of a large electrostatic bias and exhibits then ion conduction that matches experimentally determined conductances. The simulated conductance stems mainly from Cl- ions.


Background: Current therapy for inflammatory diseases is glucocorticoids (GCs) either as monotherapy or combined with immunosuppressive medications. The side effects of the GCs are often limiting, therefore new therapeutic options are urgently required. Biological agents such as rituximab, tocilizumab or anti TNF antibodies showed promising results. Hence, we investigated the impact of biologicals on the prescription of GCs, clinical improvement and laboratory findings.
Method: We performed a retrospective analysis of the medical history of 44 cases of severe or relapsing inflammatory diseases, which were not appropriately controlled with standard immunosuppressive therapy. Our focus was on GCs dosage, clinical improvement and inflammatory parameters.
Results: Rituximab treatment (n = 18) resulted in a significant decrease in the daily prednisone dosage and also a clear decrease in CRP levels and leucocyte counts. Another group of 10 patients were treated with anti TNF antibodies (adalimumab n = 8, infliximab n = 1, etanercept n = 1) and displayed an obvious decrease in the daily prednisone dosage as well as a significant decrease of the CRP level. Treatment of patients (n = 5) with tocilizumab showed a pronounced reduction of the daily prednisone dosage, whereas the decrease in CRP levels as well as leucocyte counts was less distinct. Patients treated with anti interleukin 1 antibodies (anakinra n = 10, canakinumab n = 1) showed also a pronounced decrease of the daily prednisone dosage, whereas again the reduction of CRP levels and the leucocyte counts was less distinct. Furthermore, 34 of 39 patients (87%, 5 no data) had a clinical improvement of their symptoms after 24 weeks of treatment.
Conclusion: We demonstrate that the GCs dosage can be reduced and the laboratory inflammation parameters tend to normalization under the treatment with biological agents. Biologicals should be considered if a patient with severe or relapsing inflammatory diseases cannot be treated with the standard immunosuppressive therapy or exerts severe side effects.


The following thirteen papers were delivered on Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at the Thirty-Third Annual Conference of ATWS in Quito, Ecuador. Each was read either by the author, or by a substitute ATWS member in cases where the author could not be present (in my case, for example). They reflect in small measure the profound sense of loss and gratitude felt by everyone who knew Harold Isaacs. Following these papers is a summary of tributes offered by association members who have formed the African Social Research Forum, smartly and beautifully expressed by Dr. Abdul Karim Bangura. Finally, readers will find assorted tributes and reflections sent in by friends and colleagues of Dr. Isaacs. In sum, this collection represents a fraction of the heartfelt outpouring of those who loved, admired, and benefitted from our late founder and editor. It is now up to those of us who cherish his memory and his legacy, the ATWS and the JTWS, to find a path forward and ensure the continued vitality and relevance of this association (akin to a large family without any distinctions of race, religion, socio-economic status, or culture – but with a common mission and benevolent spirit) and its journal. We live in a troubled and complex world, but our strong bond is a shared desire to promote greater understanding between peoples, more peace, richer lives, and social justice globally. This was Dr. Isaacs' lifelong quest, and I am confident that we, the members of ATWS, will keep the dream alive. If you did not know Dr. Isaacs personally, it is even more important that you read the following pages in order to gain insights into his remarkable life. Hopefully, you will be inspired to join ATWS (if you have not done so yet) or to dedicate more time and energy to the association (if you are already a member). The path forward may be daunting, but it is unthinkable to abandon our dream when the world is most in need of it.


Syncope is a common cause of hospitalization, and its frequency increases with age. Its prognosis is largely unpredictable, pending the origin of the sudden loss of consciousness. We report a case of an old woman affected by severe chronic heart failure, who died soon after the development of an episode of syncope, which was eventually attributed to pulmonary embolism. Anticoagulant therapy, promptly instituted, was ineffective. In the differential diagnoses of syncope, pulmonary embolism should always be considered, especially in old patients with risk factors for venous thromboembolism such as a severe heart failure. In patients with high risk of death according to the widely adopted risk stratifications score, aggressive therapy may be considered also in elderly people to prevent unfavourable outcomes.


Acute mercury poisoning, involving a number of organs, leads to severe dysfunctions, such as acute renal failure (ARF), and even threatens patients' lives. A case of acute severe mercuric chloride (HgCl2) poisoning with multiple organ failure was reported in this study. A 38-year-old woman orally took about 50 g HgCl2 powder in 2015, and showed nausea, emesis, clouding of consciousness, lip and nail cyanosis, and dark red bloody fluid from bilateral nostrils. Based on chest and abdominal CT examinations, gastroscopy, and colonoscopy, the patient was found to suffer oral mucosal hyperemia and ulceration, gastrointestinal bleeding (haematemesis and hemafecia), ARF, metabolic acidosis, collapse and shock. Despite assisted respiration and relevant active treatments, the patient's condition deteriorated gradually and she was dead eventually. The study suggests that the best treatments for acute HgCl2 poisoning accompanied with ARF are early blood purification and mercury elimination on the basis of conventional therapy.


Additional Mathematics is an elective subject in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). However, it is treated as a core subject for almost all the science stream students. Many students who can perform well in Modern Mathematics since primary school cannot master the Additional Mathematics. They fail to understand the concepts in Additional Mathematics. This study seeks to identify the factors that affect students in mastering Additional Mathematics at five schools in an urban area. Bayesian network is used to identify the relationship between the factors in the study and to analyze the data as it is able to represent the variables as nodes and the relationships as directed arcs. Constraint-based algorithms and score-based algorithms are used to generate the networks into several categories to compare and identify the strong relationships among the factors that affect the students' learning of the subject. It is concluded that the new symbols and sign learned in Additional Mathematics affects the students in mastering the subject. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JPEN-2015-4002-11


The manufacturing industry is going through a transition from developing of products to the provision of product-service systems (PSS). Earlier research has identified different types of PSS offers, from product offers that include services as "add-on", to the sale of services that include tangible goods as "add-on". This paper addresses what consequences this has on manufacturing organizations undergoing PSS transition. The purpose of the paper is to clarify key success factors for organizational changes needed in the transition process of developing different types of PSS offers. The results are based on a case study of a manufacturer in the aerospace domain; the analysis approached organizational changes from organizational theory perspective. The study identified four key areas that need to be considered in the organizational transformation to PSS development: Business strategy and decision-making, Internal organizational structure, Team composition, and External networks and customer relationship. Based on the analysis of empirical data from these four areas, the paper discusses the successful organizational changes that are required in the transition towards PSS development.


This article is a contribution to the cultural history of English Enlightenment. It examines the formation of a discrete 'family' of philosophes in the West Midlands who maintained close links with their counterparts on the continent. Birmingham's role as a magnet for 'industrial tourists' in the second half of the eighteenth century helped to propagate the influence of this local intelligentsia who were mostly members of the Lunar Society. None the less, it is argued that the activities of the Society correspond more closely to an Enlightenment than to a proto-industrial pattern of inquiry. The events of 1789 in France disrupted this philosophic 'family'. Their impact is explored through the medium of a real family; that of James Watt, the engineer, who came to Birmingham to manufacture the steam engine in partnership with Matthew Boulton. The vicissitudes of the Watt family, and of other prominent members of the Lunar Society, are unravelled to illustrate the dilemmas faced by men raised in the values of the Enlightenment when confronted with the reality – and the proximity – of a far-reaching political revolution.


In this important and controversial book, one of our leading literary theorists presents a major philosophical statement about the meaning of literature and the shape of literary texts. Drawing on works by the Russian writers Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov, by other writers as diverse as Sophocles, Cervantes, and George Eliot, by thinkers as varied as William James, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Stephen Jay Gould, and from philosophy, the Bible, television, and much more, Gary Saul Morson examines the relation of time to narrative form and to an ethical dimension of the literary experience. Morson asserts that the way we think about the world and narrate events is often in contradiction to the truly eventful and open nature of daily life. Literature, history, and the sciences frequently present experience as if contingency, chance, and the possibility of diverse futures were all illusory. As a result, people draw conclusions or accept ideologies without sufficiently examining their consequences or alternatives. However, says Morson, there is another way to read and construct texts. He explains that most narratives are developed through foreshadowing and "backshadowing" (foreshadowing ascribed after the fact), which tend to reduce the multiplicity of possibilities in each moment. But other literary works try to convey temporal openness through a device he calls "sideshadowing." Sideshadowing suggests that to understand an event is to grasp what else might have happened. Time is not a line but a shifting set of fields of possibility. Morson argues that this view of time and narrative encourages intellectual pluralism, helps to liberate us from the false certainties of dogmatism, creates a healthy skepticism of present orthodoxies, and makes us aware that there are moral choices available to us.


This research examines the use of an anticipatory method and publicly available newsworthy information on ten past cyber failures of critical infrastructures in the United States to predict cyber failures of networks and systems of technology startups. The Anticipatory Failure Determination (AFD) method was modified to enable the use of publicly available information. A list of the resources that were used to cause the ten cyber failures in critical infrastructures was produced and used to make predictions of failure scenarios of a stack of open source software. Finally, the factors that enable and constrain the use of the AFD method to predict cyber failures in technology startups were specified. Junior engineers, designers, contractors and other stakeholders of cyber systems as well as government policy makers will be interested in outcome of this research to predict potential cyber failures for proactive mitigation.


Pyrethrins and Rotenoids extracts from Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium and Tephrosia vogelii plants respectively were combined at various ratio mixtures and tested against adult cockroach Americana periplaneta for their efficacy. A mortality rate of 86% in 200 minutes with a synergistic ratio mixture of 28.5:1 w/w was established. The mixture was found to have an observed LC50 of 0.23mg/g and a theoretical LC50 of 0.92mg/g calculated from the individual Pyrethrins and Rotenoids extracts. The synergism expressed as co-toxicity coefficient CC, was found to be 4. The photodegradation of Rotenoids in the combination was found to have a half life of t1/2 of 6.1hrs compared to that of Rotenone and Pyrethrins of 3hrs respectively.


This article examines in detail amateur film imagery of Soviet-era Russia held in the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University. It discusses footage made and shown during the early 1930s by an early regional cine enthusiast, and places the material within the context of contemporary developments of amateur film aesthetics, of meta-narratives of international relations, and most significantly of local inflections in the Manchester area of cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and the USSR. The article explores issues of East-West relations, identities and visual memory-making within broader considerations of amateur film practice, travel narration and tourism history.


A system for isolating blocks, lines, words, and symbols within images of machine-printed textual documents that is, to a large existent, independent of language and writing system is described. This is achieved by exploiting a small number of nearly universal typesetting and layout conventions. The system does not require prior knowledge of page orientation (module 90/spl deg/), and copes well with nonzero skew and shear angles (within 10/spl deg/). Also it locates blocks of text without reliance on detailed a priori layout models, and in spite of unknown or mixed horizontal and vertical text-line orientations. Within blocks, it infers text-line orientation and isolates lines, without knowledge of the language, symbol set, text sizes, or the number of text lines. Segmentation into words and symbols, and determination of reading order, normally require some knowledge of the language: this is held to minimum by relying on shape-driven algorithms. The underlying algorithms are based on Fourier theory, digital signal processing, computational geometry, and statistical decision theory. Most of the computation occurs within algorithms that possess unambiguous semantics (that is, heuristics are kept to a minimum). The effectiveness of the method on English, Japanese, Hebrew, Thai, and Korean documents is discussed.<<ETX>>


Different procedures for primary reconstruction of ruptured ligaments in fresh lateral ankle ligament injuries are reported. Selective local anesthsia of the nervus fibularis superficialis and suralis is considered a protective and low-risk method. In our opinion the primary surgical treatment of lateral ankle ligament ruptures is still the most adequate treatment, especially in sportsman.


The use of nanomaterials in biomedicine has increased over the past 10 years, with many different nanoparticle systems being utilised within the clinical setting. With limited emerging success in clinical trials, polymeric, metallic, and lipid based nanoparticles have all found a place in medicine, with these generally providing enhanced drug efficacy or therapeutic effect compared to the standard drug treatments. Although there is great anticipation surrounding the field of nanomedicine and its influence on the pharmaceutical industry, there is currently very little regulatory guidance in this area, despite repeated calls from the research community, something that is critical to provide legal certainty to manufacturers, policymakers, healthcare providers and the general public. This is reflected in the lack of an international definition of what these materials are, with several bodies, including the National Institute of Health, USA, the European Science Foundation and the European Technology Platform, having differing definitions, and the FDA having no clear definition at all. The uncertainty created by the lack of consistency across the board may ultimately impact funding, research and development of such products negatively thus destroying public acceptance and perception of nano-products. This review aims to discuss the use of nanomaterials within the clinical setting, why regulation of these materials is so important, and the challenges faced in regulating these materials generally, as well as the current regulation used in different nations.


CASE
A 56-year-old immunosuppressed man presented with pain and swelling in the medial and anterior right foot with accompanied numbness in the second and third toes 1 month after a puncture wound by a Sylvester palm tree thorn. An intraoperative culture/biopsy returned positive for septic arthritis of the naviculocuneiform joint and fungal osteomyelitis of the navicular, medial, and intermediate cuneiforms due to Phaeoacremonium venezuelense.

CONCLUSION
Fungal osteomyelitis is extremely rare. Only 5 cases by Phaeoacremonium venezuelense have been reported previously in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of osteomyelitis by this strain.


Before deploying a software system we need to assure ourselves (and stakeholders) that the system will behave correctly. This assurance is usually done by testing the system. However, it is intuitively obvious that adaptive systems, including agent-based systems, can exhibit complex behaviour, and are thus harder to test. In this paper we examine this "obvious intuition" in the case of Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) agents, by analysing the number of paths through BDI goalplan trees. Our analysis confirms quantitatively that BDI agents are hard to test, sheds light on the role of different parameters, and highlights the enormous difference made by failure handling.


Background: Previous studies indicate that older people are not well aware of dietary recommendations according fruit and vegetable consumption. Further, older people are not aware of risks about food safety and those who are still living at home might be a vulnerable group when it comes to obtain relevant health information. Methods: A questionnaire was responded by 317 respondents (73% women, n=232; and 22% men, n=70 men; 5%, n=15 excluded) in central part of Sweden. Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used as a statistical method (SAS 9.3). Finding: Few respondents reported a daily intake of fruit and vegetables of exactly 5 portions. There was a significant association between knowing the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables to be eaten per day and the amount actually eaten. The results also show a significant association between fruit and vegetable consumption showing that women consume more than men and that responders living together eat more than those living alone. Positive correlations imply that answering that it is harmful to taste raw minced meat will raise the probability of actually not tasting raw minced meat. One reason not to taste raw minced meat is that it might contain Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli, a dangerous of bacteria. Regarding refrigerator temperature, the study indicates that it was common to think that 8 °C, since this is the temperature often written on food products. A negative correlation is indicating that the respondents do not know the recommended temperature for the refrigerator which should be < 5°C. Discussion: The present results are in line with earlier studies performed in this group. Knowledge regarding daily consumption of fruit and vegetables as well as an awareness of the risks of tasting raw minced meat might have an impact on behavior. Further research should focus on relevant channels for health communication targeting older people. One limitation of this study might be that the larger proportion was women. Thus, further studies should include a larger proportion of men.


We reevaluate the use of adaptive compressed caching in order to improve system performance through reduction of accesses to the backing stores. We propose a new and simple adaptability policy that adjusts the compressed cache size on-the-fly, and evaluate a compressed caching system with this policy through an implementation in a widely used operating system, Linux. We also redesign compressed caching in order to provide performance improvements for all tested workloads and address the problems faced in previous works and implementations that led to nonconclusive results. Among these fundamental modifications, our compressed cache is the first one to also compress file cache pages, to adaptively disable compression of clean pages when necessary and to address applications with poor compressibility. We tested a system with our adaptive compressed cache under many applications and benchmarks, each one with different memory pressures. The results showed performance improvements (up to 171.4%) in all of them if under memory pressure, and minimal overhead (up to 0.39%) when there is very light memory pressure. We show that this adaptive compressed cache design is actually considered as an effective mechanism for improvement in system performance.


The present workshop constitutes the 5th in the annual series on "Concepts for Convective Parameterizations in Large-Scale Models". The purpose of the workshop series has been to discuss the fundamental theoretical issues of convection parameterization with a small number of European scientists. The workshop series has been funded by European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST) Action ES0905. The theme of the workshop for the year 2012 was decided from a main conclusion of the previous workshop, which focused on the convective organization problem, seeking a means for implementing such effects into convection parameterizations (Yano et al. 2012).
As it turned out, in order to discuss this implementation issue in any concrete manner, we have first to know very well the bells and whistles of convection parameterizations. This was the purpose of the 5th workshop. The title of the workshop is rather metaphorically tagged as "Bulk or Spectrum?", because this is a typical decision we have to face at the outset of any parameterization development. The following report discusses selected issues of bells and whistles addressed
during the meeting.


The results of surgery on multiple intracranial aneurysms tha involve the vertebrobasilar circulation are poor, and associated patient mortality remains high. We describe the endovascular treatment of four patients with mutiple aneurysms that involved the posterior intracrancial circulation. Satisfactory occlusion of all aneurysms was achieved by using electrolytically detachable coils, and all patients had a good clinical recovery. Our early experience suggests that endovascular coil occlusion may be a particularly suitable method for treating this high-risk condition.


Young core-collapse supernovae with dense-wind progenitors may be able to accelerate cosmic-ray hadrons beyond the knee of the cosmic-ray spectrum, and this may result in measurable gamma-ray emission. We searched for gamma-ray emission from ten supernovae observed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) within a year of the supernova event. Nine supernovae were observed serendipitously in the H.E.S.S. data collected between December 2003 and December 2014, with exposure times ranging from 1.4 to 53 h. In addition we observed SN 2016adj as a target of opportunity in February 2016 for 13 h. No significant gamma-ray emission has been detected for any of the objects, and upper limits on the >1 TeV gamma-ray flux of the order of ~10−13 cm−2s−1 are established, corresponding to upper limits on the luminosities in the range ~2 × 1039 to ~1 × 1042 erg s−1. These values are used to place model-dependent constraints on the mass-loss rates of the progenitor stars, implying upper limits between ~2 × 10−5 and ~2 × 10−3 M⊙ yr−1 under reasonable assumptions on the particle acceleration parameters.


AIM: Achalasia is the best known primary motor disorder of the esophagus in which the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) has abnormally high resting pressure and incomplete relaxation with swallowing. Pneumatic dilatation remains the first choice of treatment. The aims of this study were to determine the long term clinical outcome of treating achalasia initially with pneumatic dilatation and usefulness of pneumatic dilatation technique under endoscopic observation without fluoroscopy. METHODS: A total of 65 dilatations were performed in 43 patients with achalasia [23 males and 20 females, the mean age was 43 years (range, 19-73)]. All patients underwent an initial dilatation by inflating a 30mm balloon to 15 psi under endoscopic control. The need for subsequent dilatation was based on symptom assessment. A 3.5cm balloon was used for repeat procedures. RESULTS: The 30mm balloon achieved a satisfactory result in 24 patients (54%) and the 35mm ballon in 78% of the remainder (14/18). Esophageal perforation as a short-term complication was observed in one patient (2.3%). The only late complication encountered was gastroesophageal reflux in 2(4%) patients with a good response to dilatation. The mean follow-up period was 2.4 years (6mo-5years). Of the patients studied, 38(88%) were relieved of their symptoms after only one or two sessions. Five patients were referred for surgery (one for esophageal perforation and four for persistent or recurrent symptoms). Among the patients whose follow up information was available, the percentage of patients in remission was 79% (19/24) at 1year and 54% (7/13) at 5 years. CONCLUSION: Performing balloon dilatation under endoscopic observation as an outpatient procedure is simple, safe and efficacious for treating patients with achalasia and referral of surgical myotomy should be considered for patients who do not respond to medical therapy or individuals that donot desire pneumatic dilatations.


A 39 yr old man presented with a spontaneous pneumothorax. On initial pleural drainage 120 ml of haemorrhagic fluid were collected. Twenty four hours, after re-expansion of the lung, shock developed and 1,200 ml of haemorrhagic fluid were spontaneously collected. The diagnosis haemopneumothorax was considered and at operation a bleeding vessel, which originated from the parietal pleura, was located and coagulated. The occurrence of an air fluid line at radiological examination, the development of a haemorrhagic pleural effusion and shock should alert the physician of this entity. This case stresses the importance of early recognition and surgical intervention because of the possible lethal evolution.


Objectives: The paper designs a technique to optimize the phase noise compensation in the multiple inputs multiple output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing by using the neural network. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The phase noise compensation in the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing consists of two parts, one is the inter-carrier interference and other is the common phase error. This paper represents a neural network and Jaya algorithm based technique for the estimation of phase noise. The neural network has been used to remove the common phase error while inter-carrier interference has been removed by the Jaya algorithm. Findings: The proposed technique has been compared with three states of art techniques on different block size by using bit error rate. The reduced bit error rate can be identified for each block size. The effectiveness of the technique can be recognized by analyzing the results. Application/Improvements: The proposed technique can be used to facilitate the high data rate with better QoS during transmission.


Autonomic sympathetic axons extend along and innervate resistance arteries to control vascular tone and participate in blood pressure regulation. In this issue of the JCI, Brunet and colleagues reveal that sympathetic innervation of arteries is facilitated by secretion of the axon guidance molecule netrin-1 by arterial VSMCs. Furthermore, disruption of the signaling cascade induced by netrin-1 through its receptor DCC resulted in defective arterial innervation and sympathetic control of vasoconstriction. This comprehensive study represents a major step forward in our understanding of the coordinated wiring of the vascular and nervous systems in various tissues.


Propagation of nonlinear acoustic waves radiated from a spherically concave source into an ideal gas is numerically studied in the case where the dissipation effect is negligible everywhere except for the shock front. In order to obtain the precise wave profile including shock waves, a high‐resolution upwind finite difference scheme is employed to solve the Euler equations of gasdynamics. The linear wave equation and the Zabolotskaya–Khokhlov equation are also solved by the high‐resolution upwind scheme, and the results are compared with those obtained from the Euler equations. It is shown that moderately strong shocks cause strong streaming in the focal region. The maximum streaming velocity amounts to the particle velocity of the gas at the sound source.


A volume-filtered Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) of oscillatory flow over a rippled mobile bed is conducted using an Euler-Lagrange approach. As in unsteady marine flows over sedimentary beds, the experimental data, referenced in this work for validation, shows quasi-steady state ripples in the sand bed under oscillatory flow. This work approximately reproduces this configuration with a sinusoidal pressure gradient driven flow and a sinusoidally rippled bed of particles. The LES equations, which are volume-filtered to account for the effect of the particles, are solved on an Eulerian grid, and the particles are tracked in a Lagrangian framework. In the Discrete Particle Method (DPM) used in this work, the particle collisions are handled by a soft-sphere model, and the liquid and solid phases are coupled through volume fraction and momentum exchange terms. Comparison of the numerical results to the experimental data show that the LES-DPM is capable of capturing the mesoscale features of the flow. The large scale shedding of vortices from the ripple peaks are observed in both datasets, which is reflected in the good quantitative agreement between the wall-normal flow statistics, and good qualitative agreement in ripple shape evolution. Additionally, the numerical data provides three insights into the complex interaction between the three-dimensional flow dynamics and bed morphology: (1) there is no observable distinction between reptating and saltating particle velocities, angular velocities or observed Shields parameters; (2) the potential motion of the mobile bed may create issues in the estimation of the bed shear stress used in classical models; and, (3) a helical pairing of vortices is observed, heretofore not known to have to have been identified in this type of flow configuration.


1. The effects of small, brief depolarizing pulses and excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) on neuronal firing were examined in layer V neurons in slices of cat sensorimotor cortex. During intracellular recording, brief depolarizing current pulses (duration, 0.5-2.0 ms; amplitude, 0.1-4.0 nA) were injected in neurons to produce pulse potentials (PPs) with a near-linear rise to a peak (0.08-3.6 mV; rise time = pulse duration) followed by an exponential decay. These PPs resembled EPSPs evoked by electrical stimulation of adjacent sites. When injected in neurons that were induced to discharge tonically, the PPs shortened the interspike intervals (ISIs) in two ways, depending on their time of arrival in the ISI. 2. Toward the end of the ISI, the PPs crossed a time-varying firing level, thereby directly evoking action potentials and shortening the ISIs. These directly evoked spikes occurred during the rise or peak of the PPs. The absolute firing level increased with the membrane trajectory during the latter part of the ISI. 3. PPs that appeared earlier in the ISI did not cross firing level directly but could nevertheless shorten the ISI by a slow regenerative process. The indirectly evoked spikes occurred after the peak of the PPs, at latencies whose magnitude and variability increased as the PPs appeared at successively earlier times in the ISI. PPs that occurred during the initial portion (approximately the 1st 3rd) of the ISI did not affect ISI duration. 4. Stimulus-evoked EPSPs shortened the ISIs in a manner similar to that of PPs. Like PPs, EPSPs caused direct crossings late in the ISI and indirect crossings earlier. Comparison of the mean and maximum ISI shortenings and the range of delays in which the PPs and EPSPs consistently produced ISI shortenings revealed no systematic differences. These similarities suggest that PPs may be used to simulate the ISI shortenings caused by EPSPs. 5. To characterize possible mechanisms underlying the ISI shortening, we examined the PP shapes at different times in the ISI. PPs immediately following a spike were smaller and decayed more rapidly than those evoked by the same current at rest. Late in the ISI, when the membrane potential was > 5 mV above rest, the PP height exceeded that of the PP at rest. This amplitude increase may be due to activation of the persistent sodium current.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Abstract. The Royal Forest Department of Thailand has permitted people to use the resources in national parks since 2005. It leads to a decrease in forest areas. This study aims to monitor and predict forest land change in Phu Phan National Park using Landsat 5 TM images in 1998 and 2008, and Sentinel-2 MSI image in 2018. The atmosphere correction was conducted for satellite images. Land use changes were classified by object base image analysis (OBIA), include forest, agriculture, built-up, water and miscellaneous. The land use maps were measured, and then the CA-Markov model was applied to predict the forest change in a year of 2028. The results demonstrate that overall accuracy (OA) of land use maps is 85.6%, 88%, and 89.6% in 1998, 2008 and 2018, respectively. The land use map in 2018 is more accurate than others because the high-resolution image and current data input. Moreover, the use of reference data nowadays has high potential and reality for classification. During 1998 to 2008, forest and built-up extended 45.35% and 5.07%, respectively. Meanwhile, miscellaneous, agriculture, and water decreased by 41.38%, 21.92%, and 3.45%. During 2008 to 2018, agriculture, miscellaneous, and built-up slightly increased by 21.92%, 14.75%, and 12.26%, respectively while forest and water decreased by 48.82% and 2.24%, respectively. The predicted forest change in 2028 is a decrease by 10.49% due to land use change to miscellaneous, agriculture, built-up, and water area, as forest is likely to be trespassed for built-up and agriculture areas as a result of local population growth. The results of the study can be useful for planning and managing the national park in the future.


This research proposes a framework for the behavioural model in an Intelligent
Tutoring System. This research intends to investigate the components and elements
that are part of the behavioural model. Three components were identified - the
Cognitive model, the Knowledge model, and the Psychological model. The elements
are categorized into two - Navigational and Operational behaviour. The resulting
framework will be integrated into the current Intelligent Tutoring System framework,
which typically has a User model. Expert model, Pedagogical model, and a Domain
model as its components. This research gathers extensive amount of literatures as the
source and idea of the framework designed. During data analysis, it was found that
the behavioural model exists in many researches but is implemented in different
ways. This research proposes a framework of the behavioural model that centralizes
the collection and analysis of behavioural data gathered during the user's interaction
with the system. A prototype has been built to test the soundness of the framework,
and it provided evidence that the framework is valid. Further studies should be done
to enhance the framework. It is recommended that the behaviours of user observed
should not be limited to the traditional inputs of keyboards and mice, but the fiiture
works should develop a way to observe the overall physical behaviour of the user
during the interaction with the system.


Endovascular repair is increasingly being adopted as the treatment of choice for many thoracic aortic conditions. As the application of this technology widens, developing an evidence-based understanding of which patients are most likely to benefit is a priority. A barrier to this has been the relatively few number of procedures that are performed, so that randomized controlled trials on the scale of those performed for infrarenal aortic aneurysm have not been feasible. At present, many published series fail to discriminate between different aortic pathologies when outcomes are reported, making pooled analysis difficult. This first report from the Medtronic Thoracic Endovascular Registry (MOTHER) combines raw data from 5 trials and 1 institutional series, characterizing the difference in early outcomes between the major pathology groups. Regional trends in practice suggest that thoracic endovascular repair has complemented open surgery rather than replaced it and has allowed more patients to be offered therapy than was previously possible. Significantly, some will have been deemed unfit for open surgery because of poor physiological reserve, and although thoracic endovascular aortic repair all but abolishes aortic death, individuals remain subject to an increased risk of mortality from all other causes in comparison with matched controls. Follow-up data collected for the component registries have allowed a description of midterm survival in such patients, and this report serves to highlight the importance of considering all-cause mortality in aneurysm patients and to reinforce the ability of thoracic endovascular aortic repair to prevent aortic-related death in both aneurysm and dissection patients. See p 24.


Background
Developed countries continue to show a decrease in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Little is known about CVD mortality trends in low and middle-income countries. The aim of our study is to describe myocardial infarction (MI) mortality trends and evaluate if differences between ethnic groups and geographic regions are present among the Ecuadorians with acute MI.

Methods
We conducted a cross sectional analysis mortality national registry and included deaths related to MI between 2012 and 2016 that had complete demographic data. To describe the general population, we used the 2010 census and applied estimates as population projections. We calculated age and sex standardized MI mortality rates per 100,000. We compared trends in MI mortality rate for every ethnic group and geographic region and used linear regression to estimate predictors of the changing mortality rates.

Results
We included 18,277 MI deaths between the years 2012 and 2016. The mean age of death was 73.6±19.5, 59% were male and 33% were illiterate. From 2012 to 2016, the standardized MI mortality rate increased from 51 to 157 deaths per 100,000. The most significant predictors of the increasing mortality rate were living in the coast (β=0.10), belonging to a mixed race (β=-0.033) and the year of death (β=0.013).

Conclusions
Our study found a worrisome increase in MI mortality between 2012-2016 in Ecuador, a middle-income country in South America. This rapid increase seems to be driven by geographic and racial differences. A thorough evaluation of the causes of this increase has to be undertaken by the Ecuadorian health authorities.


We study the problem of distribution testing when the samples can only be accessed using a locally differentially private mechanism and focus on two representative testing questions of identity (goodness-of-fit) and independence testing for discrete distributions. First, we construct tests that use existing, general-purpose locally differentially private mechanisms such as the popular RAPPOR or the recently introduced Hadamard Response for collecting data and show that our proposed tests are sample optimal, when we insist on using these mechanisms. Next, we allow bespoke mechanisms designed specifically for testing and introduce the Randomized Aggregated Private Testing Optimal Response (RAPTOR) mechanism which is remarkably simple and requires only one bit of communication per sample. We show that our proposed mechanism yields sample-optimal tests, and in particular outperforms any test based on RAPPOR or Hadamard response. A distinguishing feature of our optimal mechanism is that, in contrast to existing mechanisms, it uses public randomness.


Henry David Thoreau is often referred to as a "prophet," but the degree to which he embraced that role has not been recognized. I argue that with his final manuscript, Wild Fruits, he sought to produce scripture and, through it, to turn humanity's gaze from the skies, where the Judaeo-Christian God was thought to dwell, to the earth and nature.


This article considers a path planning problem for a single fixed-wing aircraft performing a reconnaissance mission using EO (Electro-Optical) camera(s). A mathematical formulation of the general aircraft visual reconnaissance problem for static ground targets in terrain is given and it is shown, under simplifying assumptions, that it can be reduced to what we call the PVDTSP (Polygon-Visiting Dubins Traveling Salesman Problem), a variation of the famous TSP (Traveling Salesman Problem). Two algorithms are developed to solve the PVDTSP. They fall into the class of algorithms known as sampling-based roadmap methods because they operate by sampling a finite set of points from a continuous state space in order to reduce a continuous motion planning problem to planning on a finite discrete graph. The first method is resolution complete, which means it provably converges to a nonisolated global optimum as the number of samples grows. The second method achieves slightly shorter computation times by using approximate dynamic programming, but consequently is only guaranteed to converge to a nonisolated global optimum modulo target order. Numerical experiments indicate that, for up to about 20 targets, both methods deliver good solutions suitably quickly for online purposes. Additionally, both algorithms allow trade-off of computation time for solution quality and are shown extensible to handle wind, airspace constraints, any vehicle dynamics, and open-path (vs. closed-tour) problems.


Motivation, or the desire to learn, has been extensively studied for decades by many linguists and teachers because of its vast array of insights as far as language learning is concerned, and because of its acknowledgment as one of the most prominent factors in educational settings. In fact, we are living in an age where the desire to learn languages, and specifically English, has been pushed to its most explicit limit. In this article, I will talk about a study which I carried out with my third year students and which deals with some important aspects of SDT (The Self-Determination theory)a theory that views motivation both intrinsically and extrinsically. Intrinsic motivation is a construct that reflects the human propensity to learn. However, extrinsic motivation is thought to reflect external control or self-regulation.


The current research investigation is focused on estimating the theoretical capacity of a rehabilitated steel marine pile. The old steel pile can be rehabilitated by installing new concrete encasement (jacket). The new concrete jacket can be easily connected to the old steel pile using shear friction between old pile and new concrete jacket or additional mechanical or welded connection. The under-water welding process is a very expensive task and considerable saving can be realized by eliminating this process.

A previous experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the behaviour of the rehabilitated steel pile. The maximum load and the load-slip deformation data were recorded for all of the tested specimens. The test results indicated that the marine pile can be efficiently rehabilitated by installing a concrete jacket using shear friction principles or the bolted connection to avoid the expense of welding under-water.

The theoretical study included the investigation of surface friction, shear friction mechanism and cohesion on the bond capacity. The effect of the bolted anchor on increasing the effective cross section of the rehabilitated pile is examined. After investigating the predicted values of various equations developed by various researchers, the shear friction mechanical model developed by CSA 1994 is recommended to be used as the most effective formula that can provide an accurate prediction for the rehabilitated pile capacity.


Reducing the amplitude of structural response generated by noise sources such as machine vibrations using passive control measures is of interest to design engineers. This study will focus on the role of joints in multi-jointed structures in the passive control of structural response.
 In a multi-jointed structure, joints play a major role in the response of the structure. First, joints regulate the equilibrium of the whole structure. In such a role, they can act, for example, to transform a pure axial wave in a horizontal member in the structure into a pure flexural wave in a vertical member connected to it at a joint. Second, they are the "recipients" of the noise sources from the secondary beams and floors of the structure. In such a role, joints act as a filter between the noise source and the rest of the structure. These two roles point to the possibility of modifying joints so as to passively control the response of a multi-jointed structure.
 In this study, the addition of energy loss mechanisms, which are concentrated at the joints is evaluated. These energy loss mechanisms include adding filler materials with high loss factor. The different parameters affecting the structural response will be evaluated. These parameters include the amount of added material to the joints, relative loss factors of both structure and the added material and the degree of reductions in structural responses. In all the cases studied, a consideration of the practical engineering detailing of such systems will be discussed.


All over the world there is an increase of the aged in this century. In Europe Austria occupies the second place in the percentage of people over 65 years. Therefrom results also an increase of the medical and psychosocial problems of the old age. Three sections of care for old people have developed: the open care at home, the homes for the aged and the institutional care in hospitals and nursing-homes. A new form is the day-hospital. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Finally a survey of the situation in Vienna is given, specially of the Viennese geriatric hospital in Lainz, which is the largest geriatric centre in Austria.


Every year, new contact allergens, chemicals reported to have caused contact allergy/ACD for the first time, are described in literature. In the journals Contact Dermatitis and Dermatitis, 172 such compounds were identified in the period 2008Y2015, 119 of which induced ACD. These are presented with the following data: name, synonyms, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number, patch test data, function or class, causative product, number of patients, occupation (in case of occupational ACD), additional clinical data (if applicable), and references. Approximately one third of the new allergens were ingredients of cosmetics, followed by drugs causing occupational ACD (18%), chemicals in rubber, plastics, and paints (9%), drugs causing a drug eruption (9%), as well as chemicals used in laboratories inducing occupational ACD (8%). In 40%, the dermatitis was occupationally acquired. Fifty-three other chemicals causing contact allergy as indicated by positive patch test reactions only are shown without specifics.


Concurrent Engineering (CE) attempts to process as many product development tasks in parallel as possible while at the same time maximising the use of downstream life-cycle knowledge at early stages of the design process. An effective implementation of this strategy can reduce the duration of design projects, save development costs, and provide better quality products. The successful management and execution of CE projects within such a highly distributed, knowledge intensive environment requires an appropriate selection of Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) software as well as Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools for product and process modelling and analysis, and includes tools for such functions as data management, decision-making and communications between stakeholders. Because such tools and technology play a significant role in the successful implementation of CE, an important challenge to modern industry is the ability to quickly and accurately assess and acquire the most appropriate software tools to support product development. A framework that utilises the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique and incorporates the unique requirements of the CE product development domain is proposed.


Cocoa has made an important contribution to economic development in Togo. Until recently, virtually all of Togo's exports were agriculture, mainly: cocoa and coffee. In 1961, phosphate exports began, and by 1965 became the leading export commodity. Even after the discovery and production of phosphate minerals, agriculture exports, however, continue to provide more than 30 percent of all foreign exchange and to employ about 75 percent of the active population. Cocoa and coffee represent 70 percent of agricultural exports and cocoa alone provided an average of 27 percent of recorded export earnings between 1966 and 1975. Since 1965, the agriculture sector has been accorded top priority in the national development plan. However, this proclamation has not been fully operationalized. For example, during the Third National Plan for Development (1976-1980), only 20 percent of the total planned investment was intended to finance agriculture. The main objectives in agricultural planning are: a) To increase the aggregate agricultural output, through intensification and diversification of food crops, along with rehabilitation and development of traditional export crops such as: cocoa, coffee, and cotton; b) To raise the level of income and the standard of living of farmers; and c) To create regional growth poles in the rural areas in order to reduce the prevailing rate of rural-urban migration. None of these objectives has been fulfilled. Many studies, however, have been carried out in the agriculture sector, and specific programs have been defined. Cocoa once again has received serious attention among export crops, in the hope that a boost in cocoa production will generate needed foreign exchange. Increasing the production of cocoa will not be easy because of serious problems affecting the industry.


In 1990's, the circumstances of being a contestant on a popular game show were published in a trendy question and answer column in Parade Magazine. If contestant switched from the initial choice to a second choice offer by the host, would the chances of winning the desired prize be increase? The columnist's response to the reader sparked a good deal of controversy among mathematicians. Shortly after the publication of this answer, articles appeared in various mathematical publications some supporting and some refuting the columnist's answer. This document reports the results of research into the controversy generated by some of the probability problems used on Let's Make a Deal game show. Using a variety of approaches and assumption, the author attempts to formulate mathematical proof to explain the correct answer to the contestant's question, "Should I switch?"


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: C-erbB-2 gene is amplified or overexpressed in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer, and is related with enhanced malignancy and metastatic ability, intrinsic chemoresistance, and poor prognosis of tumors. RNA interfering (RNAi), a new genetic technique, can efficiently and specifically suppress gene expression. This study was to investigate the effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated gene silencing of C-erbB-2 on proliferation of human lung adenocarcinoma cell line calu-3. METHODS: C-erbB-2 siRNA was transfected into calu-3 cells; cell morphology was observed under light microscope. The mRNA and protein levels of C-erbB-2 were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry (FCM). The proliferation of calu-3 cells was assessed by MTT assay. Cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by FCM. RESULTS: C-erbB-2 siRNA down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of C-erbB-2 in calu-3 cells; 48 h after transfection of C-erbB-2 siRNA, the protein level of C-erbB-2 was markedly decreased. The positive rate of C-erbB-2 was significantly lower in C-erbB-2 siRNA group than in untransfected group, empty vector group, and nonspecific siRNA group [(25.04±1.56)% vs. (98.24±2.23)%, (95.67±1.98)%, and (94.79±0.87)%, P<0.01]. C-erbB-2 siRNA inhibited proliferation of calu-3 cells: G0/G1 phase proportion of C-erbB-2 siRNA group was significantly higher than that of untransfected group [(56.6±3.6)% vs. (45.5±3.2)%, P<0.01]. C-erbB-2 siRNA also enhanced cell apoptosis. CONCLUSION: Specific siRNA targeting C-erbB-2 can effectively inhibit C-erbB-2 expression and proliferation of calu-3 cells.


The aim of the assignment was to create a wearable for use in an aircraft cabin, offering valuable functionalities to the user for the aerospace developer Zodiac Aerospace.
In the beginning, the target group and the problem to be solved were open. Therefore, research on the potential target group as well as on existing wearables has been done. The target group research included interviews with some flight attendants and pilots, and a survey about passengers' experiences on board of an aircraft.
After this, it was decided that pilots are not a suited target group since they do not have any problems which might be solved by a wearable. However, there still were some possibilities left to design a product. The first one was to design a device that helps to prevent the spread of illnesses on an aircraft. The second possibility was to design a wearable that helps people to overcome their nervousness about flying. The third idea was to design a device that helps passengers to improve their sleeping behavior during a flight; and the last idea was to design a wearable for the cabin crew.
In the next phase, concept ideas were generated for the ideas mentioned before. For the device to be used by the cabin crew potentials for functionalities were examined based on wearables that already have been tested on an aircraft, the scope of duties of a flight attendant as well as problems that sometimes occur during their work.
Afterwards, it was decided to go on with the idea to design a wearable for the cabin crew. As a next step, this idea has been more worked out to become a full concept and also it was chosen to integrate the functions into a smartwatch. It was decided to design an own smartwatch that could be developed by Zodiac Aerospace to ensured that the product is designed in exactly the way how the company wants it to be.
The last step was to examine solutions for the functions of the device and additionally, to design the looks of the device. The functions of the designed smartwatch are:
1. Not fastened seat belts or open bins must be highlighted.
2. The device must inform the flight attendants if and where a drink or meal is available when it is lacking in the corresponding trolley.
3. The device must provide flight attendants with information on the flight, workshops and emergency cases.
4. The device must provide flight attendants with information on that someone made an order and who ordered what when passing their seat.
For the first function sensors are integrated into the passengers' seats and the bins. The system recognizes open bins and unfastened seat belts and informs the flight attendants.
For the second function the flight attendants can check where a certain meal or drink can be replaced by using the application stock inspection. They can look up the corresponding item and then it is displayed where the item can be replaced.
The third function is meant for the unlikely event that there is an emergency on board and a flight attendant has a blackout. Then, it can be looked up what to do in the application database. There, it can be searched for a certain keyword or a chapter can be selected.
For the last function the device informs the flight attendant about orders that have been made by displaying a text message and a screen in the galley shows the details on the orders. While handing out the items, the smartwatch displays the location of the flight attendant and of the passengers who ordered something. When arriving at the right seat the device vibrates and displays the corresponding item.
To conclude, using the device helps to perform the procedures mentioned before more efficiently and the service is improved. Therefore, the wearable does not only offer valuable functionalities to the user but also to the passengers.
The design of the smartwatch is simple and functional. The screen is quite big to ensure that the displayed text can easily be read. For a comfortable fit, the wristband is relatively wide and the bottom side of the smartwatch is curved to adapt to the form of the wearer's wrist.
The smartwatch can be sold or leased to airlines in order to earn money with it. It is interesting for the airlines since it helps to improve the passenger experience and makes the work of flight attendants more convenient.
Right now, the device is designed to have four functions. In the future, the range of functions could be expanded. For inspiration, observations of the work of flight attendants as well as additional interviews could be made. Additionally, it should be tested if the cabin crew enjoys working with the device and if they are satisfied with its handling. Moreover, passengers could be asked how they experience the service when the device is used. Also, for manufacturing, a material and the production technique must be chosen. Additionally, it must be checked which supplier is going to deliver which materials and parts, and what the estimated costs are.


Recently, the dynamical behaviors of coupled neural networks (CNNs) with and without reaction–diffusion terms have been widely researched due to their successful applications in different fields. This article introduces some important and interesting results on this topic. First, synchronization, passivity, and stability analysis results for various CNNs with and without reaction–diffusion terms are summarized, including the results for impulsive, time-varying, time-invariant, uncertain, fuzzy, and stochastic network models. In addition, some control methods, such as sampled-data control, pinning control, impulsive control, state feedback control, and adaptive control, have been used to realize the desired dynamical behaviors in CNNs with and without reaction–diffusion terms. In this article, these methods are summarized. Finally, some challenging and interesting problems deserving of further investigation are discussed.


Since fall down order Soeharto regime, greeted by all as the freedom and expression. Centralization of power in the institutions that accumulate eksikutif past, changes to the system with the power of equity and balance Cheks after the post-1945 amendments to the Constitution. this is evidenced in the adoption rights of the Ambassador is right preogratif president, was not entirely because the president must first ask for the consideration of the House of Representatives, the House of Representatives and make many decisions Ambassador candidates submitted by the government. Problems with how the role of the House of Representatives in giving consideration to the President in lifting the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia according to article 13 of the 1945 Constitution after the amndemen. and how the position of the consideration in the House of Representatives appointed Ambassador.
Research method used is normative juridical, using the techniques of data gathering research library that is in the process of using the law's primary, secondary and tertiary, which will be developed and reviewed through the konprehensif comparison (comparative approach).
From the results of this research, One of the conditions of lifting the Ambassador Article 13 paragraph (2) which in the case of the Ambassador of the President should first ask the consideration of the House of Representatives. House of Representatives for this article as a basis to test ideas through the assessment mission to the vision of the Ambassador of the candidates recommended by the President. however, the authority to give consideration in the House of Representatives are not juridical binding because it can only president after the House of Representatives considers the consideration, the President makes pertimbanganya own. But the consequences will be if the President remains the candidate of the Ambassador is not approved by the House of Representatives and the House of Representatives may use its rights-the right to ask for example, when the Ambassador was an error in the running duties. I hope the House of Representatives to the vision test mission RI Ambassador candidates must see the quality and professionalism, as Ambassador on duty is a symbol or representative on behalf of the State of Indonesia is not the personal or individual.

Keywords: Role of the House of Representatives, the President, The Ambassador, The Consideration


The theoretical model developed in this article predicts that collaboration with top-funded scientists positively affects the number of scientific publications of an individual scientist. Having combined data on funding and publication of Quebec scientists, this article empirically tests the theoretical predictions. This article examines numerous definitions of top-funded scientists as those in the top 10 per cent, or top 5 per cent in terms of total funding, funding from the public sector, and funding from the private sector. The results show that collaborating with such top-funded scientists has a positive effect on a scientist's number of publications, hence confirming our theoretical predictions.


This study was conducted in field conditions to determine the response of cabbage to four different irrigation levels, from 2015 to 2016. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design. Plots were irrigated using a drip irrigation system and the irrigation interval was fixed as 4 days for all treatments. Evaporation was determined by Class-A pan. Six organic acids (ascorbic, tartaric, lactic, citric, malic and oxalic) were identified and quantified by HPLC-UV. White cabbage yields were significantly increased by water applications, but deficit irrigation produced negative results. Maximum amounts of ascorbic, lactic, tartaric and malic acids were found in the low water content treatment, while reducing sugar and total sugar increased in the full irrigation treatment. In the study, supplying different amounts of irrigation water caused changes in the growth and quality of white cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.cv. Capitata). When water stress in cabbage production exceeded more than 30%, the yield and, especially, the quality of cabbage decreased significantly. The results revealed evidence that different soil moisture content in the root depth affected the yield, organic acids, and sugar content.


The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan sparked acute Cold War tensions. The war soon became an undesirable distraction and burden for Soviet leaders, who did not expect to spend most of the 1980s propping up a client regime in Kabul. Drawing on archival sources and interviews, this article traces Soviet decision-making from the intervention in late 1979 to the final withdrawal in early 1989. The article shows that the supporters of the Soviet intervention believed that Soviet military and economic aid efforts were making progress and should not be aborted early. They warned that a premature withdrawal would undermine Soviet prestige in the Third World. Before Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and to some extent afterward, the supporters of intervention were usually able to silence or sideline their critics through deft political maneuvering.


A principal must decide whether or not to implement a project which originated with one of her employees. The employees have private information about the quality of the project. A successfully implemented project raises the inventor's chance of promotion, at his peer's expense, but a failed project may ruin the inventor's career. If the inventor is already ahead in his career, then he may be tempted to suppress his own ideas in order not to risk a big failure. If he is not ahead, then he is instead tempted to exaggerate the quality of his ideas in order to get ahead. The peer may either try to promote the inventor's bad ideas to see him fail, or to denigrate promising ideas to stop the inventor from getting ahead. Within the class of incentive compatible and renegotiation-proof mechanisms, self-assessment (without any peer reports) is optimal. Truthtelling can be guaranteed in different ways. For example, to avoid the exaggeration effect, the inventor can be promised some chance of promotion even if his project is cancelled, or he can be paid a relatively high wage when he is not promoted. We show how the optimal method depends on the parameters.


Based on the Z-source inverter, this paper proposed a novel approach to zero-crossing point (ZCP) detections during the shoot-through vectors for sensorless brushless dc motor (BLDCM). The proposed approach separates the ZCP detections from speed adjustment, and makes the shoot-through vector not influence the motor speed-adjustment directly, while the zero-vectors and active-vectors are used exclusively to adjust the speed of BLDCM. With the proposed approach, the sensorless BLDCM can operate in a wide speed range without switching the detection points and the reference levels, and it is unnecessary to change the reference levels according to the PWM technique. The terminal voltages limited by diode can be directly compared with the reference zero level during the shoot-through vectors, so as to reduce the detection error caused by attenuation. Moreover, Z-source inverter not only provides boost voltage for sensorless BLDCM drive system, but also improves the utilization rate of dc source voltage and the safety of the drive system. In addition, this paper analyzed the terminal voltages of the floating phase during each vector. The experimental results verified the correctness of above theories and proved the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


The study focuses on the effect of thermal deformation degree of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) particles on the electrorheological (ER) properties of their suspensions. The heat-treated PAN particles are manufactured as ER materials using a thermocatalytic processes. The molecular structures of ER materials are analyzed to confirm a stabilization or a carbonization degree. We categorized the prepared ER particles into three basic types according to their deformation degree: Thermal dried PAN, stabilized PAN, and pre-carbonized PAN. The raw, stabilized, and pre-carbonized PAN particle-dispersed suspensions showed positive ER properties. The ER properties are enhanced as the heat-treatment temperature increases due to improved dielectric property. However, the thermal dried PAN particle ER suspensions showed negative ER behavior though the particles have higher conductivity and dielectric constants than those of the host fluid, which is contrary to the conduction model. XRD results indicate that the ER materials could show contradictory ER behavior even if they have the same molecular structures due to their crystallinity. This discovery is expected to boost the development of both positive ER and negative ER suspensions based on carbonaceous ER materials.


OBJECTIVES
Renal artery aneurysms are uncommon, and various surgical options to treat renal artery aneurysms have been described. We report 2 cases of renal transplants from donors with renal artery aneurysm, after resection of aneurysm, and ex vivo renal artery reconstruction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two women, aged 52 and 45 years, had diagnoses of hilar renal artery aneurysms during evaluation for left flank pain and hematuria. In both cases, radiologic interventions were impossible because of anatomical relations. Both patients were informed of the therapeutic options available, including nephrectomy, autotransplant, and kidney donation. The patients and their families decided on a kidney donation.

RESULTS
Renal function test results of both patients satisfied the living-donor selection criteria. The left and right kidney of each patient was removed laparoscopically, and ex vivo resection of the aneurysm and reconstruction of the renal artery was performed under a surgical microscope. The repaired kidneys were successfully transplanted to 2 men, aged 36 and 37 years.

CONCLUSIONS
In cases of renal artery aneurysms that necessitate treatment, a renal allograft transplant should be considered as a treatment option. It provides safety and benefit to the recipient as well the donor.


BACKGROUND: A lack of cost‐conscious medication use is a major contributor to excessive healthcare expenditures in the inpatient setting. Expensive medicines are often utilized when there are comparable alternatives available at a lower cost. Increasing prescriber awareness of medication cost at the time of ordering may help promote cost‐conscious use of medications in the hospital. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of cost messaging on the ordering of 9 expensive medications. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of an institutional cost‐transparency initiative. SETTING: A 1145‐bed, tertiary care, academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Prescribers who ordered medications through the computerized provider order entry system at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. METHODS: Interrupted time series and segmented regression models were used to examine prescriber ordering before and after implementation of cost messaging for 9 highcost medications. RESULTS: Following the implementation of cost messaging, no significant changes were observed in the number of orders or ordering trends for intravenous (IV) formulations of eculizumab, calcitonin, levetiracetam, linezolid, mycophenolate, ribavirin, and levothyroxine. An immediate and sustained reduction in medication utilization was seen in 2 drugs that underwent a policy change during our study, IV pantoprazole and oral voriconazole. IV pantoprazole became restricted at our facility due to a national shortage (‐985 orders per 10,000 patient days; P < 0.001), and oral voriconazole was replaced with an alternative antifungal in oncology order sets (‐110 orders per 10,000 patient days; P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Prescriber cost transparency alone did not significantly influence medication utilization at our institution. Active strategies to reduce ordering resulted in dramatic reductions in ordering.


Objectives While there is increasing concern about the health impact of pyrethroid insecticides, little is known about their effect on lung function. In this cross-sectional study, urinary concentrations of pyrethroid (PYR) metabolites and their associations with lung function were examined among a Canadian general population using data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). Methods Urinary concentrations of 5 pyrethroid metabolites (3-PBA, 4-F-3-PBA, cis-DCCA, trans-DCCA and cis-DBCA) were available for 5436 CHMS participants aged 6–79 years. Lung function parameters considered were forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of FVC. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between PYR concentrations and lung function in children (6–11 years), adolescents (12–19 years) and adults (20–79 years), respectively. Results Almost all CHMS participants (99.8%) had PYR metabolites detectable in urine. In multiple linear regression analyses, 1 unit increase in log transformed urinary concentration (nmol/g creatinine) of total pyrethorid metabolites (ΣPYR) was associated with a 17.4 mL reduction in FEV1 (p=0.045) in children, a 37.1 mL reduction in FVC (p=0.05) in adolescents and a 0.3% (p=0.01) increase in FEV1/FVC ratio in adults. Conclusions These results show evidence of widespread exposures to pyrethroid insecticides among the Canadian general population. Pyrethroid exposures were associated with lower FEV1 in children, lower FVC in adolescents and relatively higher FEV1/FVC ratio in adults. Further research is necessary to confirm the potential effect of pyrethroid insecticides on lung function reported in this study.


Additional mortality of 20–30 % and total rejection of harvest have been recorded for shrimp Penaeus monodon (Fabricius 1798) in Sri Lanka due to white faeces syndrome (WFS). Occurrence of WFS in relation to Vibrio count in culture water, isolation, identification and confirmation of the causative Vibrio , antagonism assay of a locally isolated strain of Bacillus subtilis (Ehrenberg 1835) against the pathogens and the possibility of controlling WFS by a multimodal strategy were carried out. White faeces syndrome was first observed at the 7 th week of post stocking when mean total Vibrio count (TVC) in culture water was 3.1±0.17 × 10 3 CFU mL -1 ; by the 12 th week mean percentage occurrence of WFS was 45.0±1.07 %. The major causative pathogen is a strain of V. alginolyticus (Miyamoto et al. 1961) while a strain of Vibrio fluvialis (Lee et al. 1981) also contributes (accession numbers KU 891054 and KX 361118). Bacillus subtilis showed profound inhibitory activity against both Vibrio species. The tested multimodal strategy (proper disinfection of culture water, zero water exchange and the use of a locally isolated strain of B. subtilis as a bioremediator and a probiotic) could successfully control WFS in grow-out ponds of P. monodon in Sri Lanka.


In recent decades, mimesis has become a critical term for rethinking relationality, difference, and affect, reconsidered against the notions of artistic autonomy and representation. While music—and sound in general—seldom feature in these accounts, issues of musical autonomy and representation (aesthetic and political) in music studies have given way to a concern with immediacy, relationality, and vibration that bypass a revaluation of the discipline's own accounts of mimesis, still understood largely as imitation. I propose a radical revision of mimesis away from its traditional understanding to bridge these various gaps and to reaffirm the necessity of thinking of alterity and difference in expanded conceptions of musical relationality. Music is more central in ancient Greek accounts of mimesis, especially in Plato's Republic, than current musicology acknowledges. In close reading of these texts and drawing on the work of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and Jacques Derrida (1975), I elaborate a critical methodology to analyze the logics of mimesis—the mimetologies—as they are deployed in theoretical works and artistic performances. I propose to understand mimesis in music not as imitation but as (1) related to the ancient Greek mousikē—the collective performance of sung poetry and dance; (2) the production of originals out of copies (and not the reverse); (3) the inscription of the ethos and laws of the community through musical practice; (4) a general process involved in the production and negotiation of value, identity, and difference. This revaluation of mimesis challenges narratives of emancipation and discontinuity that continue to privilege a Romantic philosophy of autonomous music and which fail to offer rigorous accounts of music's social inscription. In close dialogue with musicological and philosophical historiography, I focus on the Artusi-Monteverdi controversy, the Medici intermedi of 1589, and early operas, Peri's L'Euridice (1600) and Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (1607). As a mimetic performance, music does not mirror or represent social orders but participates in their production and regulation. I conclude that early modern spectacle and opera employed an ethos of allegrezza to inscribe the laws of a patriarchal society in which sovereign power was preserved across Europe through marriage ties and strictly male inheritance. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Music First Advisor Jairo Moreno


Petroleum is the most important energy for economic development in China and other countries. But in the process of mining, storage and producing, it has caused many aspects of pollution. In this study, a bacterial strain A-3 which could use ACC as the sole nitrogen sources was isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil. The strain was identified as Achromobacter, according to the results of morphology, physiology and the phylogenetical analyses of 16S rDNA sequence. Strain Achromobacter A-3 could produce ACC deaminase, and could be used for remediation of petroleum-contaminated areas in future.


Early childhood programs, such as Head Start, that serve children at risk can implement programmatic screening procedures to ensure equitable identification of children displaying a range of socioemotional and behavioral needs. We examined administrative records linked to a program-wide mental health screening tool to examine patterns of special needs referral and identification for children within the Head Start program (N=7,301 children). Findings showed that male, Hispanic, and Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learner (DLL) children were identified with a disability at a higher rate compared to female, non-Hispanic, and non-DLL children. Children displaying challenging behaviors such as aggressive, oppositional, or disruptive behavior were identified at higher rates than children displaying shy or socially withdrawn behaviors.


Abstract One problem in incremental product development is that geometric models are limited in their ability to explore radical alternative design variants. In this publication, a function modeling approach is suggested to increase the amount and variety of explored alternatives, since function models (FM) provide greater model flexibility. An enhanced function-means (EF-M) model capable of representing the constraints of the design space as well as alternative designs is created through a reverse engineering process. This model is then used as a basis for the development of a new product variant. This work describes the EF-M model's capabilities for representing the design space and integrating novel solutions into the existing product structure and explains how these capabilities support the exploration of alternative design variants. First-order analyses are executed, and the EF-M model is used to capture and represent already existing design information for further analyses. Based on these findings, a design space exploration approach is developed. It positions the FM as a connection between legacy and novel designs and, through this, allows for the exploration of more diverse product concepts. This approach is based on three steps – decomposition, design, and embodiment – and builds on the capabilities of EF-M to model alternative solutions for different requirements. While the embodiment step of creating the novel product's geometry is still a topic for future research, the design space exploration concept can be used to enable wider, more methodological, and potentially automated design space exploration.


GATE, the Geant4 application for tomographic emission, is a simulation platform developed for PET and SPECT. It combines a powerful simulation core, the Geant4 toolkit, with newly developed software components dedicated to nuclear medicine. In particular, it models the passing of time during real acquisitions, allowing it to handle dynamic systems such as decaying source distributions or moving detectors. We present several series of results that illustrate the possibilities of this new platform. The simulation of decaying sources is illustrated on a dual-isotope acquisition with multiple time-frames. Count rate curves taking into account random coincidences and dead-time are shown for a dual-crystal setup and for a small-animal PET scanner configuration. Simulated resolution curves and reconstructed images are shown for rotating PET scanners. Lastly, we present first comparisons of simulated point-spread functions and spectra with experimental results obtained from a small-animal gamma camera prototype.


Mammals express a wide variety of glycans that include N‐glycans, O‐glycans, proteoglycans, glycolipids, etc. Glycan expression can modulate the cellular functions, and hence is strongly involved in the onset and progression of numerous diseases. Here, we report the relevance of the ectopic expression of keratan sulfate (KS) glycan chains in human malignant melanomas. Using a human melanoma cell line, we found that the KS enhanced the invasiveness of the cells but caused no change in the growth rate of the cells. The phosphorylation of paxillin, a focal adhesion‐associated adaptor protein, was strong at the region where KS was expressed in the melanoma tissues, indicating that KS stimulated the phosphorylation of paxillin. We also observed that KS enhanced the adhesion of melanoma cells and this was accompanied by a greatly increased level of phosphorylation of paxillin. These data suggest that the expression of KS contributes to the development of malignant phenotypes such as strong cell adhesion and the invasiveness of melanoma cells.


With US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting rather ruthless counterinsurgency campaigns, the topic of insurgency and counterinsurgency is of pressing relevance. At the same time, questions of internal violence in developing countries have generally been high on the political and academic agenda in the context of "failed" and "failing states".
This paper describes and analyzes US military doctrines in regard to controlling regional conflicts. It introduces the relevant US military approaches to the academic discourse.
The focal points of analysis are the strategies and concepts of the US military (mainly of the US Army and the US Marine Corps) in regard to counterinsurgency.
The links between military combat and non-combat operations of the armed forces and civilian policies are of special concern.
In order to understand the US counterinsurgency strategies, this paper places them within both a historical perspective and the context of the development of military doctrine. It discusses the concepts of "Small Wars", "Low-Intensity Conflict" (LIC or "Low-Intensity Warfare"), "Military Operations Other than War" (MOOTW) and "Stability and Support Operations", which all deal with questions of pro-insurgency, counterinsurgency and related topics.
One of the results of the analyses is that the political and social aspects of counterinsurgency are of key importance. The US armed forces are quite aware of
this in principle, but to a surprising degree fail to transform this into operational concepts. Counterinsurgency is not a matter of military conquest, but of social control. And while the US Army and the Marine Corps clearly understand this in principle, they often are at a loss as to how to achieve this on the ground. The political context, US governmental policies and the military culture
often lead to practices contradicting key elements of the military doctrine.
Insurgencies and counterinsurgencies are basically struggles for legitimacy, both locally and internationally, using political and military means. In a context of often unilateral or even imperial US foreign policy or policies of
doubtful legality, the US armed forces may be militarily superior to all potential foes, but quite vulnerable in the competition for political legitimacy.


Psoriasis is a skin disease mainly developed in humans, although it is also seen in mon‐ keys and dogs. Animal models with psoriasis‐like lesions have been a key factor for its understanding. Xenotransplants of human psoriatic skin in immunodeficient mice were the first approach for the association of immunologic problems with the development of psoriasis and have been also useful for the evaluation on new therapeutic agents. Imiquimod‐induced murine psoriasis is nowadays one of the most used animal models to study this disease, perhaps because healthy wild‐type mice are used, which means that it is an affordable model, easy to generate, and, more importantly, resembles the inflam‐ matory, angiogenic and hyperproliferative characteristics of human psoriasis. Several transgenic (over‐expressing VEGF, Tie2, TGFβ, STAT3, IL‐36, PPARβ/γ) and knockout (lacking IκBα, JunB, IFNR‐2, IL‐36RA, CD18, IKK2) mice have been useful for the associa‐ tion of specific molecules for the development of psoriasis. Other approach has been the use of both transgenic/knockout mice and imiquimod treatment, where the importance of βTrCP, IκBζ, IL‐35 and Tnip1 for the development of psoriasis was found. In this chap‐ ter, some of these animal models are discussed.


Cellular exposure to mild stress (39.5°C - 41.5°C) induces thermotolerance, rendering cells resistant to a subsequent heat shock (>42°C) insult. We found that mild hyperthermia at 39.5°C leads to elevations in dicer, a protein well-known for its role in microRNA processing and for its role in cellular stress responses. However, whether elevated dicer protein levels play a role in sustaining a thermotolerant phenotype has, to our knowledge, not been reported. Here we demonstrate that elevated dicer protein is linked to a thermotolerant phenotype in the cervical carcinoma cell line HeLa and in murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), and demonstrate that dicer plays a role in mediating PKR and eIF2α phosphorylation. These findings suggest that dicer's role in thermotolerance may be to relay signals to key ER stress pathway components. Moreover, utilizing a MEF cell line defective in microRNA processing, we suggest that dicer's influence on PKR and eIF2α phosphorylation is likely distinct from its microRNA processing role. ATF4 and CHOP are well characterized stress response factors proximal to eIF2α. Evidence is presented that elevated dicer protein in thermotolerant cells differentially modulates ATF4 and CHOP levels to promote a pro-survival phenotype. This work contributes new information on dicer's role in cellular stress responses by defining a pro-survival phenotype in heat stress resistant cells which is sustained, at least in part, by elevated dicer protein levels. Our results suggest an ancillary role for dicer in the cellular stress pathways activated by mild hyperthermia that is likely distinct from its role in microRNA processing.


The cloud computing offers high scalability, confidentiality and the easy accessibility of the information over the Internet. Though the conventional encryption system provides security, the most concerned issue is the regular side channel attack for capturing ones sensitive and confidential image, audio and video. A malicious Virtual Machine (VM) besides a targeted VM can extract all information. Thus, this paper implements a double stage encryption algorithm for multimedia content security using random key generation approach. The first stage encrypted multimedia content into ciphertext-1 using a symmetric public key. The ciphertext-1 is again encrypted in the cloud using a randomly generated asymmetric private key. If anyone gets the cipher text, he could not extract the encryption key to recover the multimedia contents. Low complexity and easy implementation make the proposed algorithm widely applicable safeguard in the cloud computing.


A "mobile telemedicine" is attempted where the mobile satellite communication and remote medicine are applied. This study aims at improving emergency care in a ship on the ocean or in an aircraft flying an international route. The problem has several special points which differ from the usual data communication or telemedicine. These points must be overcome to realize the system.

This paper presents first the analysis, investigation and design for mobile telemedicine, and indicates its feasibility. Based on these results an experimental transmission system is constructed. The fundamental transmission characteristics are measured through the satellite link. By the measurement, the threshold of operation for this system for deteriorated C/N0 is determined, and it is verified that even an experimental system can realize a reliability which is sufficient in practice. Then a transmission experiment is made from a ship navigating close to the shore of Japan, and the basic operation as the mobile telemedicine is verified.


In this paper we estimate a structural VAR model to identify the causes of in∞ation in Ecuador. To examine the VAR dynamics, we use the decomposition of the variance because it provides information about the relative importance of each shock to the variables in the VAR. We difier from previous studies because we are able not only to identify the impact of each exogenous variable on the in∞ation rate but also to estimate the in∞ation rate from the exogenous variables in the model. We found that on the flrst quarter of 2008 the annual in∞ation rate in Ecuador was mainly caused by international prices, exchange rates and public policy.


Beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase cleaves beta,beta-carotene into two molecules of retinal, and is the key enzyme in the metabolism of beta,beta-carotene to vitamin A. The enzyme has been known for more than 40 years, yet all attempts to purify the protein to homogeneity have failed. Recently, the successful cloning and sequencing of an enzyme with beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase activity from chicken, as well as from Drosophila, has been reported. Here, we describe in detail our attempt to enrich the chicken beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase to such an extent as to allow determination of partial amino acid sequences, which were then used to design degenerate oligonucleotides. Screening of a chicken duodenal expression library yielded a full-length clone containing a coding sequence of 1578 bp. Functional expression in Escherichia coli and in eukaryotic cell lines confirmed that we had cloned the first vertebrate dioxygenase that cleaves beta,beta-carotene at the central 15,15'-double bond. By performing a sequence homology search, the cDNA sequence of the mouse homologue was found as an expressed sequence tag (EST) in the gene bank. At the amino-acid level, the degree of homology between the chicken and mouse sequences is 81%. Thus beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase can be considered as being an enzyme that is evolutionarily rather well conserved. We established the expression pattern of beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase in chicken and mouse tissues with a combination of Northern blots and in situ hybridization. The mRNA for beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase was localized primarily in duodenal villi, as well as in liver and in tubular structures of lung and kidney. These new findings demonstrate that beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase is also expressed in epithelial structures, where it serves to provide the tissue-specific vitamin A supply.


The increasing circulation of unhealthy foods in various places threatens the community of malnutrition. One of which is the intake of cholesterol nutrition. When the normal limit is exceeded, it can trigger the spread of various diseases such as coronary heart disease. To anticipate the outbreak of the disease, a practical, stable, simple, and relatively inexpensive, non-enzymatic sensor device for monitoring blood cholesterol levels in some food samples such as milk and meat was developed. In this research, nickel modified catalyst on carbon paste electrodes, NiO/CPE by hydrothermal method and Ni/CPE by electrochemical method were developed. A flower-like morphology for NiO was obtained from hydrothermal method and rock-like morphology was obtained from nickel deposit. Results showed that Ni/CPE worked optimally at pH 14 with sensitivity of 0.8148 μA μM−1 cm−2 and limit of detection (LoD) of 0.1645 μM, while NiO/CPE worked optimally at pH 12 with a sensitivity of 0.1238 μA μM−1 cm−2 and LoD of 0.7804 μM. Cholesterol level measurement from the packaged milk sample showed differences of 20.42 % and 47.18 % from the nutrition table information for Ni/CPE and NiO/CPE, respectively.